Finally, its time to say good bye to Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows XP. Three months after the Microsoft has ended support for Windows XP, my all time favourite operating system, Microsoft has now pulled off the plug for Microsoft Security Essentials on Windows XP.
I'm using my old laptops running Windows XP as backup computers and two days back I was greeted with the "Requires Attention" message from Security Essentials. I expected these things to continue even after Windows XP because I thought virus definitions are commonly created and no separate effort is required for Windows XP. But all good things have to come to an end, its probably a business decision by MS to force users users to upgrade to their newer operating systems. With so many XP loyals still using their machines, MS surely wants them to upgrade. Many users will not be happy with this.
For me, I've shifted temporarily to Avast free, but I'll soon be looking for a replacement for my old laptops. I kept the old laptops because of the OS and not because of the hardware. But with limited support for the OS I'll have to unwillingly switch to a newer OS. XP is like the back of my hand while I'm still not comfortable with Windows 7 and 8 even after years of use.
By the way, its end of life for the malicious software removal tool also on XP.
Users who love XP may still continue with it for some more time. The OS itself is very stable and till the softwares you use force you to switch, you can continue to use them. There are a lot of other anti virus software available instead of MSE, but yeah, MSE I think was the best free anti virus, very light on the system. Windows updates will be missed and you will have to live with that.
Love You XP
Users who plan to use XP for some more time(cos you can not use it for ever), do the following.
1. Install all latest XP updates on your system.
2. Remove Microsoft Security Essentials completely and switch to other anti virus. While paid versions have better features, free versions could be sufficient for many users. I have avast and avg free versions installed in some of my systems. There are free versions of other anti virus applications too. Many ISPs also provide free anti virus software to their subscribers, so check if your ISP provides one.
3. Do not user Internet Explorer. Switch to other browsers. IE for XP is an old version, MS has stopped supporting XP on their latest IE versions long back, so it doesn't make sense to use it any more. Browsing activity is one of the most important thing, so do not neglect this, switch to another browser.
For me, I've shifted temporarily to Avast free, but I'll soon be looking for a replacement for my old laptops. I kept the old laptops because of the OS and not because of the hardware. But with limited support for the OS I'll have to unwillingly switch to a newer OS. XP is like the back of my hand while I'm still not comfortable with Windows 7 and 8 even after years of use.
By the way, its end of life for the malicious software removal tool also on XP.
Users who love XP may still continue with it for some more time. The OS itself is very stable and till the softwares you use force you to switch, you can continue to use them. There are a lot of other anti virus software available instead of MSE, but yeah, MSE I think was the best free anti virus, very light on the system. Windows updates will be missed and you will have to live with that.
Love You XP
Users who plan to use XP for some more time(cos you can not use it for ever), do the following.
1. Install all latest XP updates on your system.
2. Remove Microsoft Security Essentials completely and switch to other anti virus. While paid versions have better features, free versions could be sufficient for many users. I have avast and avg free versions installed in some of my systems. There are free versions of other anti virus applications too. Many ISPs also provide free anti virus software to their subscribers, so check if your ISP provides one.
3. Do not user Internet Explorer. Switch to other browsers. IE for XP is an old version, MS has stopped supporting XP on their latest IE versions long back, so it doesn't make sense to use it any more. Browsing activity is one of the most important thing, so do not neglect this, switch to another browser.
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