Microsoft has announced as of April 2014 they will no longer be supporting Windows XP. What does that mean to people who are still running Windows XP?

The good news is your computer will still work. The bad news is Microsoft will no longer be providing support. What does that mean on a practical level?

By Windows not issuing anymore updates, once hackers find security holes within XP, there will be no security patches for your computer.

This includes anti-virus programs, which will no longer be updating their software to newer threats on XP machines. (They may continue to update the virus definitions, up to a point.)

If there is a cyber-breach on your systems, and you are running Windows XP after Microsoft stopped supplying security updates and patches, some experts predict that the judge will find you liable due to negligence.

4. After 2015, it will be hard to find replacement parts for Windows XP computers.

Sometimes a part breaks, whether small or big, and needs replacement. After 2015,

manufacturers (such as certain printer companies) will stop producing parts for XP machines.

As those of you who have purchased a computer in the past month or so saw, most computers being sold today are coming with Windows 8. However, there are many computers still running on Windows XP. We recommend that people start migrating to Windows 7 or 8, before it is too late. As we have mentioned in earlier newsletters, when migrating to a newer system, one must make sure all programs will be compatible with the newer operating system. Therefore, we recommend planning on upgrading all your computers to Windows 7 or 8 in 2013, so that you will not be left without proper support.