In just under a month, Microsoft will finally end one of their turbulent and controversial chapters in their Windows releases. On April 11th, Redmond will finally end support for their Windows Vista operating system. This comes just about a decade after the operating system was released to much criticism and complaints due to the dramatic overhaul compared to the then dominant Windows XP. Microsoft has released its first warning about the EOL and warning the potential security risks of running it unsupported.
For the past couple of years, Vista has been on life support, receiving just security patches and updates. With the end of security support, it means that any security holes and issues that do pop up after the end of support won’t be patched. This means the OS will have known exploits that will exist for sure and be vulnerable to attackers. Windows XP for instance, had multiple exploits go public after the end of support and were never addressed. Microsoft is hoping users will upgrade to Windows 10 or purchase a new PC with Windows 10.
Despite being much maligned at launch, Windows Vista received two service packs that fixed a lot of the complaints and issues. Much of the feedback and criticism was also integrated into the very successful and stellar Windows 7 release. Due to the popularity of Windows 7 and XP, the installed base of Vista users is quite small. Compatibility is also great for at least moving to 7 if not 10. Due to these reasons we likely won’t see as much as of an issue as the Windows XP EOL.
