Windows XP still the third most popular OS two years after end-of-life

[sincity]

It's now been exactly two years since Microsoft ceased support for Windows XP, meaning that users of the OS are no longer covered with security updates. As such, vulnerabilities in the software waiting to be exploited – yet still a worrying amount of people are using Microsoft's zombie-like operating system.

How many exactly? According to one bean counting firm, Netmarketshare, as of March Windows XP still holds a 10.9% share of the desktop OS market. More people are currently using XP than Apple's OS X 10.11 El Capitan (4.05%) and Windows 8.1 (9.56%). Windows 10, which saw a big jump to overtake XP in February, is marginally more popular with 14.15% of users; however, neither trouble Windows 7 and its 51.89% share of the user base.

• 8 uses for your old Windows XP machine

That's a considerable chunk of die-hards using Windows XP, and quite a remarkably large figure for an OS which was launched in 2001. Back in the day, Microsoft spent over a billion dollars marketing XP, but we're guessing that even Redmond didn't think it would be so entrenched that so many users would remain 15 years on.

And all of those users, of course, are exposing themselves to obvious risks.

Key features

Why was Windows XP so popular? The fact is that it introduced a lot of major new features, and it was also a matter of good timing for Microsoft, with the operating system being a major improvement on the poorly thought of Windows ME – with its successor Vista being delayed, and then badly received upon release.

There may be many reasons why people are still clinging to Windows XP, but perhaps the two-year anniversary of support ending will be a useful prompt as to just how out-of-date this OS now is.

If you're still on XP, it would be well worth thinking long and hard about finally making the switch – and if you're not willing to touch more modern versions of Microsoft's desktop OS with a barge pole, then maybe that switch should be to Linux.

• Also check out: 10 features that helped Windows XP achieve legendary status

[Klopen]

Wxp is wonderfull, i have used it for 12 years, now i am using a new pc with w7 and really feel the miss of xp, perhaps we dont have anymore compatibilty with new programs, that's the only reason to change it

[St0rmSlaSh]

I got this OS, but I got SP3

[excedo]

Wxp is wonderfull, i have used it for 12 years, now i am using a new pc with w7 and really feel the miss of xp, perhaps we dont have anymore compatibilty with new programs, that's the only reason to change it

I got zero problems running old programs on W7.

[Klopen]

I got zero problems running old programs on W7.

me too, but new programs like android study or unity doesnt work properly on xp

[Internet Explorer]

Never forget! 

[Thule]

I'm actually not all that surprised that Windows XP hung around for as long as it did.  And, for that matter, continues to do so to some extent.  While XP was never splashy or all that cutting edge, for taking care of everyday tasks it, more or less, just worked.  For the average end-user, they don't care about much else.

 

Windows 2000 was really the first stable version of 32-bit Windows. XP was an end-user friendly, feature-rich derivative.  It worked for most people's needs at home and at the office.  While in the present landscape, there are a lot of options (various Windows flavors, Mac OS, Linux, Android, etc.), it was not really the case in XP's heyday of the 2000s.

 

Vista was an absolute train-wreck on so many different levels.  Windows 7 was, and is, a great OS, but I suspect many felt no need to abandon XP and/or remembered the Vista nightmare.  Then Windows 8 bombed hard.  Now we're at Windows 10 which is, reported, to be the last "version" of Windows.