'October 2013 Update For Root Certificate for Windows XP ' KB 931125 Installed

Xircal:

As always, you have been a 'star' and very helpful-I appreciate it sincerely.

I am looking forward to upgrading to Win 8.1 in the near future and putting the BITS issue and various software glitches behind me!

Xircal:

As always, you have been a 'star' and very helpful-I appreciate it sincerely.

I am looking forward to upgrading to Win 8.1 in the near future and putting the BITS issue and various software glitches behind me!

Shopper,

I recommend you do that sooner rather than later. On a supported operating system, there will always be patches to resolve issues, but in a few days time, that won't happen anymore and all manner of issues are bound to arise.

Also, the question of the machine becoming infected is a very real one and in your situation, you just don't know enough about computers to recognize it if it happens.

As a precaution, make a backup of all your important files i.e. the ones you've created yourself and place them on an external hard drive (preferably), but don't leave it connected to the PC. At least that way, you'll have those in case the PC gets infected, or as happened on my machines, an important component fails which prevents the computer from booting.

I am looking forward to upgrading to Win 8.1 in the near future and putting the BITS issue and various software glitches behind me!

    • Help your friends and family get off WinXP

       http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/windowsexperience/archive/2014/02/06/help-your-friends-and-family-get-off-windows-xp.aspx

It is really unfortunate that, even with up to date anti-virus software, a firewall, not visiting suspicious sites, and not opening unknown email attachments, that I will be unable to use Windows XP much longer since it is a user-friendly interface with many useful features, apart from the fact that it was released 10+ years ago.

Still, Microsoft 'is' a business and if an OS was supported indefinitely, there would not be any profit.

Is there 'anything' I can do to prolong the security of XP after support ends or is merely being connected to the internet enough for someone to hack in/suspicious programs to 'break-in' and install themselves automatically? I do not know that everyone with XP has the funds to upgrade their software and/or upgrade their computer (Assuming their current computer config components do not support Win 8.1).

Since Tues Apr 8 will be the last 'Patch Tuesday' and updates are generally 'valid' for a month's period, 'technically,' the computer will be safe until Tues May 13-Correct?

It is really unfortunate that, even with up to date anti-virus software, a firewall, not visiting suspicious sites, and not opening unknown email attachments, that I will be unable to use Windows XP much longer since it is a user-friendly interface with many useful features, apart from the fact that it was released 10+ years ago.

Still, Microsoft 'is' a business and if an OS was supported indefinitely, there would not be any profit.

Is there 'anything' I can do to prolong the security of XP after support ends or is merely being connected to the internet enough for someone to hack in/suspicious programs to 'break-in' and install themselves automatically? I do not know that everyone with XP has the funds to upgrade their software and/or upgrade their computer (Assuming their current computer config components do not support Win 8.1).

Since Tues Apr 8 will be the last 'Patch Tuesday' and updates are generally 'valid' for a month's period, 'technically,' the computer will be safe until Tues May 13-Correct?

A firewall, antivirus, not visiting suspicious sites affords you some degree of protection but not much. It's a bit like a battleship with plenty of armament, but a rusty hull that's rapidly wearing too thin. If the keel fails, all the guns on top won't save the ship from sinking.

Read this article for some tips on XP security: http://www.thewindowsclub.com/secure-windows-xp-after-end-of-support-april-2014

As regards your last question, the answer is no because in spite of any patches which are released, there are too many clever people out there who have decided that crime pays and pays very well come to that. Many of them are located in countries where law enforcement is non-existent, or exists, but will accept a backhander to look the other way.

There are too many Zero Day vulnerabilities waiting in the wings and come April 8, they're going to descend on Windows XP like a giant flock of vultures.

If you don't know what a Zero Day vulnerability is, see this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-day_attack

You may also find that your bank will block access to Internet banking if you're still using XP. Better get in touch with them now to find out what their policy is.