And also for Mac OSX 10.6 /7/8. Windows XP became the most used operating system during its run and why not, it was one of the first Windows OS with so much colors and new features, its legacy it such phenomenal that a big share of OS market still use XP.
What could go wrong suddenly? When you receive a notification saying "This computer will soon stop receiving Google Chrome Updates" you are devastated! But why? It's not that Chrome hates XP or old system, it's for reasons that are legit.
Many, many people still run on the legendary OS by Microsoft, that's Windows XP, then why all of a sudden Chrome is acting like they don't care about their users? Let's have a little background check on the case.
Microsft announce earlier in 2014 that they would end support for Windows XP later that year and then they did it. Support for Windows XP was subsequently ended on 8th April 2014, here is the release from Microsoft on the topic: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/WindowsForBusiness/end-of-xp-support
Basically that means Microsft would now no longer provide security updates and/or technical support for XP. Boom! What is there to do next? Just update your system to a newer OS they say but in the real World not everyone does what the companies says, so we kept using Windows XP, right?
Well, that end of the support didn't only mean you would miss out on latest security updates on the Windows XP platform, but also on the programs that used those security features and updates to make it safer for you to browse the Internet, like Google Chrome. Google Chrome did manage to keep the support up for the browser for nearly 2 years, but the time has come, they can't keep the updates up any longer without the security updates from the vendor.
What About Windows Vista
Microsoft hasn't apparently ended support for Windows Vista and would be doing that until 2017, but due to a very small user base Google decided to end the support for Windows Vista too.
That's it, people tend to hate the flop platform. It's the Jar Jar Binks of Operating System, lousy and hated.
What If I don't Update?
I thought why would it be difficult for people to upgrade to even Windows 7 on their systems, and one of my Google+ post on the topic gave me some interesting and legitimate answers. Many of the older systems didn't support new OS like Windows 7/8.1/10, or either it was not a viable option for many people who just want to work and did not want the hassles of managing their systems.
You can still use Chrome
The notification about the support ending didn't mean to force you to upgrade to a newer OS or was a team plan by the companies to have you buy them. As Microsoft ended support, it was obvious that programs that runs under that platform too would stop the update in the near future and with a program that keeps the updates coming at a regular rate like Chrome it was even more obvious.
Though it is prompting you to upgrade to a new platform for future updates, it doesn't mean Chrome would stop working on your PC. Things would work just as fine as it used to, what you will miss would be security and feature updates from Chrome. For a web browser security is one of the major part of their infrastructure, no one wants their sensitive information to be stolen, and therefore it is recommended to upgrade.
I use a good Anti-virus software, wouldn't that secure me?
"Without critical Windows XP security updates, your PC may become vulnerable to harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software which can steal or damage your business data and information. Anti-virus software will also not be able to fully protect you once Windows XP itself is unsupported." - Microsoft official release page
Though that doesn't mean vulnerabilities and viruses would be coming all your way, but that imposes a significant risk. If you keep using it, you are keeping like a a gold brick in the open air, until someone sees it everything is fine.
What About Switching to Firefox Or Some Other Browser?
The major options are Mozilla Firefox and Opera. Opera itself is built over the Chromium source code, so its fate is the same the Chrome's.
The one left is Mozilla Firefox, it is sure beautiful browser developed by the open-source organization Mozilla. There's a few things you must know before the decision of switching to Firefox on Windows XP.
- The current version of Firefox stable release is 44, note that after the version 12 Firefox doesn't work on Windows XP SP2 and prior. You need to upgrade to Service Pack 3.
- As it progresses it would become obvious to end the support for the SP3 too, and would ultimately require you to upgrade to a newer OS to keep using it too.
- If you don't upgrade, you will still be able to use the last supported version, but that would, again impose security risk.
Upgrading OS Problems and Solutions
In the Google+ post mentioned above, people came up with legitimate reasons why they do not want to upgrade to a newer version of the OS.
- Hardware wouldn't support Windows 7 or later.
- Budget not in the support of upgrading to a new Operating System like Windows 7/8.1/10
- Not tech-savvy so upgrading to a new OS is not a great thing to start the day with.
- I love Windows XP <3
Answers to these questions (opinion based):
- Apparently Windows 7, or even 8 and 8.1 doesn't take much advanced hardware to run. I have been using Windows 7 on a 6 year old computer that came with the hardware cost me $500. You have to analyze to see what more would you need to upgrade with your hardware to be able to run Windows 7 or later. See this page to know the system requirements for Windows 7
Or if that's not that option then see the other solutions. - Use Linux based operating system. Open Source, free and well-managed. Ubuntu is what I use and one of the most used distribution of Linux.
- In this age there are quite many technical experts almost in every locality on the planet, see if you can find one, ask your friends, families, the chances are high that you may find a tech expert among your own relatives!
- Well, love for Windows XP is just phenomenal, I have seen people not upgrading to a new OS even if they can just because they love XP. If that's the case then nothing can be done instead of deciding to move on. As said earlier you can keep using Chrome, well only updates wouldn't come your way in the future. Full stop.
There are many malicious activities carried on by people taking this situation as an opportunity to exploit the general users, I suggest you to not fall for those, before trying anything to help you with this do check the official documents and Google Chrome help forums to make sure it is not malicious.
Thanks for reading. Drop your opinions in the comments, we would love to hear from you!
Disclaimer: We are not affiliated with Google, Apple or Microsoft in any ways and do not intend to market their products through this post.
