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Windows XP End of Life

Well, the day has come and Windows XP finally meets it's end. What does it mean for people still using Windows XP? You can click the link to the right (titled Windows XP End of Life) for Microsoft's summary on the subject.

In a nutshell, the world will not crumble down around you and your computer will not be rendered instantly useless - but as time goes on you will become more and more vunurable to exploits, which puts your data at risk. In addition to data compromises, device manufacturers will stop supporting XP in their products so new printers, scanners, and other devices will not work with your computer.

If you have an old computer, what are your next steps? Well, the most obvious answer is to go purchase a new machine. In lieu of that, you can do the following things to shore up your defenses as much as possible:

• Download an anti-virus program and make sure it's up to date. (Refer to my resources tab at the top of the page to find some free options)
  


• Use a web browser other than Internet Explorer. On Windows XP you can only get up to Internet Explorer 8 (they are on version 11 at the time of this writing), but you can get the most modern versions of Firefox, Chrome, and Opera.


• Use some Chrome Plugins like ScriptSafe and Ad Block to mitigate vectors of attack (although ScriptSafe may interfere with web site rendering)
  
  
• Disable Java or completely uninstall it. You should definitely make sure you do not have a version under 7 installed, as updates will not uninstall versions older than 7.0.
  
  
• Consider an alternative program to read PDF files instead of Adobe Acrobat (I suggest FoxIt Reader, but carefully read the installation and make sure to uncheck the toolbar installs!)
  
  
• Use a utility like Ninite to make sure all of your plugins are up to date. You should run this once a month.
  
  
• Frequently use anti-malware utilities and check your computer frequently for any malicious software that may have gotten through (check the resources tab for suggestions)