Dear Geek,
I understand the risk of staying with Microsoft XP, but I still don’t know. All of my office computers are XP and no one seems to be in a big hurry to change over the operating systems. I like Microsoft XP. Plus, the switch from XP is expensive. Why can’t I just keep my virus scans going and keep XP?
Sincerely,
Can we keep it? Please?
Dear risk-taker,
I really have to stress that the newer viruses, or even just the newer versions will not be recognized because many antivirus programs are not going to be supporting Microsoft XP at all. Many hackers are waiting for Microsoft XP support to end, so that they can send out new viruses, getting them past any kind of protection, so they can take over any kind of information.
Businesses are going to be a big target in these attacks. On a personal computer, hackers know that they can get one, maybe two credit cards, or other kinds of information. On a work computer, they have access to many client files, which can include credit cards, social insurance numbers or other financial information.
You may already know about the laws regarding the protection of client information, but if you don’t, here’s a brief description of it. Protect it. If there’s information on physical paper, lock it up. If it’s computer based, you need to protect it in any way possible. If any important client information is lost, there can be some pretty heavy fines, not to mention the loss of clients and business, as well as your reputation.
Imagine you got the phone call: your business, which you have worked years to establish, has had its financial information stolen, and has lost all of the money it has accumulated. This is because of another business which didn’t protect your information. Would you stop business with this company, knowing that their lack of security was the reason for your company’s downfall? Would you tell your friends to watch out for the business with the lack of security?
Keeping an unsupported operating system is the equivalent of putting your financial information, and your client information in a safe and giving your safe code out to everyone who passes your business on the street. You can hope that no one will try to get your information, and it might not happen right away, but eventually, someone is going to see if the code works.
Yes, it’s expensive to make the switch from XP, but the cost of not making the switch is potentially much, much greater.
Leave a Reply