Windows XP retirement

Computer hackers have been waiting for the day Microsoft stops releasing security patches for Windows XP. It is left open for computer hackers to get virtually anything they want off of infected computers that run Windows XP. On April 8, 2014 Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP. Now, Windows XP is vulnerable and open to hackers to exploit. Hackers will use exploits and bugs that they have discovered and have been saving to use on retirement day. They have been building up ways to hack into the system for some time now. Hackers can use the 0-day exploits to gain full access to a computer system using XP. This retirement will cost companies millions of dollars. Companies will have to upgrade to a newer operating system or face the threat of hackers. They will be forced to change in order to comply with federal laws like HIPAA, FERPA, PCI-DSS, and more. It’s either pay to upgrade or pay the fine. It was expected that a little over a fourth of computer users are still using Windows XP. This isn’t much of a shock. Many of the computer illiterate won’t upgrade, haven’t upgraded, and don’t understand why they need to upgrade. This will lead to breaches of computer systems all across the world. For example, almost all ATM machines are running on Windows XP. If they haven’t been updated they will compromise the banking information of hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. Hopefully everyone will become aware of this security risk and upgrade their systems.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9241585/XP_s_retirement_will_be_hacker_heaven