Just days to go before XP is defunct, yet it is still No. 2 OS globallyLess than a week to go and Microsoft Windows XP remains world’s second No. 2 operating system on desktops, warns analytics firm StatCounter.
Microsoft are to cease providing automatic updates and technical help to the 12 year old Windows XP platform from April 08, and StatCounter has warned XP users are ‘sleep walking’ into a minefield potential virus and security, unless they ditch it asap.
“Despite the stark warnings and publicity surrounding the end of support in six days’ time, it appears that significant numbers of people are still using XP and sleep walking into a potential minefield of security and virus risks,” warns Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter.
According to StatCounter in March, Windows 7 was the top OS in terms of internet usage, running on over half (54.7%) of desktops globally, while XP remains No.2 on 18.6% – more than double Apple Mac OS X 8% user base.
However, in Australia it’s a different story. Just under 8% of desktops are running XP, while Windows 7, 8 and Mac are among the three most popular OS’s.
Many Australian bank ATM’s are still running XP and 1.5 million PCs and laptops are believed to be still running the ageing platform, with SMB’s the slowest to upgrade, according to reports.
Despite the huge security risks, XP remains the second most popular OS in terms of internet usage in Europe (16%); South America (17.8%); Asia (25%) and Africa (30%).
In the US, XP is in third place on 15%.
