There are over 3 million PCs in Malaysia, or roughly one in six PCs, which are still running on Windows XP, an 11-year-old operating system no longer capable of handling sophisticated cyber-attacks and demands for more data privacy and productivity, said Microsoft Malaysia.
Microsoft is reminding business and consumers in Malaysia with PCs still running Windows XP that it will officially retire service and support for Windows XP in six months’ time, on 8 April 2014.
After 8 April 2014, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates, non-security related fixes, or online technical content updates for Windows XP and there won’t be a number to call for technical assistance. This means that users will no longer receive the updates that help protect PCs from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. This may result in downtime and software compatibility issues.
Microsoft urged all business and consumers still using PCs running on Windows XP to upgrade to either Windows 7 or Windows 8. According to the findings of Microsoft’s Security Intelligence Report, Volume 14, released in April 2013, Windows XP with SP3 is up to 56.5 times more vulnerable than Windows 8 RTMi.
StatCounter figures for September 2013 show that Windows XP accounts for approximately 17%-23% of PCs in Malaysia, equivalent to about 3 million PCs. On the bright side, as of September 2013, at least 65% of PCs are now on Windows 7 and 8.
Azizah Ali, Director of Small and Medium Partners and Services, Microsoft Malaysia said: “Clearly, there’s still a lack of urgency in some organizations in Malaysia to make migration a priority. While no one likes change, consumers and businesses need to consider newer operating systems like Windows 7 or 8 in order to modernize their computing devices and to address sophisticated threats which can compromise the safety of their personal information. This could result in additional costs associated with support and business continuity. With the typical deployment times for upgrades spanning from three to six months for small businesses, and more than six months for mid-sized businesses, we are really worried that some companies in Malaysia are cutting it too close to the end of service date. We’re committed to helping Malaysia upgrade.”
