Are you still using Windows XP? If so, you should probably upgrade already. Microsoft will be taking if off of life support soon, and Google isn’t giving it much longer.
Google announced today that it intends to support Chrome for Windows XP up through April 2015. That means Google will continue to provide security updates to the Windows XP version of Chrome up through that date. After that, you’re on your own.
Funny enough, Google will continue to support the Windows XP version of Chrome for a year after Microsoft drops support for the operating system. Microsoft said back in April of this year that it would drop extended support for the 12-year-old operating system in April 2014. While having Google support Chrome for one more year is certainly nice, it still won’t protect you from the massive amounts of malware that security researchers expect will hit Windows XP next April.
So, why is Google supporting Chrome even when Windows XP itself will become a hive of malware and exploits? It’s all about taking care of Chrome users, especially those in enterprise, during the transition period to newer versions of Windows:
We recognize that hundreds of millions of users, including a good chunk of current Chrome users, still rely on XP. Moreover, many organizations still run dozens or even hundreds of applications on XP and may have trouble migrating. Our goal is to support Chrome for XP users during this transition process. Most importantly, Chrome on XP will still be automatically updated with the latest security fixes to protect against malware and phishing attacks.
Google is right when it says that organizations will have trouble migrating to Windows 7 and Windows 8. That’s why Microsoft recently announced that it was teaming up with HP to help businesses make the move. The two will not only offer new hardware, but they’ll also offer consultation services and planning staff to help make the move as painless as possible.
Even if it takes a year to finally make the transition to Windows 7 or 8, you can at least rest easy knowing that you have a friend in Google. You’re just not going to find a friend anywhere else until you upgrade.
[Image: Savas/YouTube]