Microsoft ended support for Windows XP today, hey guess what, I'm using an Windows XP laptop to access the internet and I haven't got every single virus out there. Looks like what Microsoft was saying is just a load of scare mongering to get people to buy either Windows 7 or 8.

Yes, because clearly XP is going to become vulnerable to every single virus in the span of hours.

Or it is because soon no software you can buy will work with windows xp because it won't be worth the effort to code it in that way, as most people use newer versions.

"Ended support" doesn't mean that existing viruses will infect it. It just means that if a new virus is made for it in the future (i.e. a new vulnerability is discovered), Microsoft won't fix it. This may or may not ever happen. So using an unsupported OS is a risk, but it's not guaranteed you'll ever run into a problem.

"Ended support" actually has nothing to do with whether new software will run on it or not. Any company that makes software can choose to stop supporting XP long before Microsoft stops supporting XP, and they can also choose to support XP even after Microsoft stops supporting it.

Ok, I want to make it clear the point I was trying to make. Microsoft has been spamming messages every time you start up your PC to all XP users with a message telling you that your PC is vulnerable. Although it's not what they're trying to say, Microsoft have come across at times as if they're saying "OMG! WE'RE NOT HELPING YOU SO GIVE US MONEY AND GET A NEW OPERATING SYSTEM THAT LETS YOU DO EVERYTHING YOU COULD DO BEFORE WITH SOME FANCY GRAPHICS THAT XP DOESN'T HAVE!" The tone of my original post was very sarcastic and yes, I can see that sarcasm isn't very clear when it's in text form rather than spoken form, so I probably should have mentioned that.

@ Richard and Fizzer, I am aware of the increased risk to security, but as long as I don't do anything stupid, I shouldn't have to worry.

@ Moros, I'm not worried by that, the old software that I use does everything I need it to.

Edited 4/8/2014 22:53:33

Most of us dont have WIndows XP, so we didn't see that message. Also, of course Microsoft wants you to buy a newer OS, thats called marketing and they are telling the truth that your PC is vulnerable, so this is a pretty stupid post.

Dark, I hope you realise a third of people who have had XP still use it today. Many people arround the world will have seen that message. However, I fail to see how it will increase Microsoft's profits if they don't keep supporting their operating systems in the long run. Mivrosoft's profits will not increase but Apple's profits probablly will.

You can't seriously expect a company to support software decades later. It just makes no sense for them or the customers.

Never mind the fact that Apples cost 2-3 times as much as comparable PCs so the average user still won't transition due to sticker shock

Not cool that Microsoft spamming messages...
Microsoft ending support for Windows XP should not be a big deal. you still can protect yourself good against viruses.

I advise you to Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome browser, they will continue to support Windows XP for the time being. Ensuring that third party software such as Adobe Flash player and Java is updated is also important.
Microsoft may no longer be researching vulnerabilities, but antivirus companies have been planning for this day and are working to protect their users data from malware and viruses. Running a current antivirus software package should be an automatic at this point.

If you are going to a new operating system, i advise you Windows 7. Avoid windows 8/vista.
Also apple's reputation is better than it really is, and its too expensive. I expect windows 9 to be a provement of all older versions, but not much better then windows 7, but to be sure you should not bye windows 9 directly after they bring it out and first know if it's really better than Windows 7.

The other main point I'd like to make is that everytime Microsoft brings out a new OS, other than the graphics, what do they actually change about it? It's deffinatly not progress, since you can preform the same tasks on a Windows 8 computer as you could on Windows 95. Do they honestly think everyone is going to fall for "aw, pretty new graphics"? The people who buy the new one each time it comes out must be the same people who don't realise that those pretty shiney things that come on the screen are actually viruses when you click on them because they fall for prettiness of the graphics other than what it actually does.

Only a few computer manufacturers offer systems packaged without an operating system (OS) installed. so most people get the new OS while buying their computer.

Also there will be new programs that you can't run on XP.
But there is no real good reason to buy a new OS.
Most people buy a new computer before it's really necessary.
nice to see not everyone is like that, your not a silly Person for me. :)