Windows XP: 28 Days Later

I've already gone down the route of comparing the death of Windows XP to the Zombie Apocalypse, and if you've not read through the comparison yet, grab it from the inline link. But, is anyone wondering what will actually happen after April 8, 2014 when Windows XP is finally laid to rest? Will a moment of silence at its passing explode into a full scale malware war?

With just a little over the 28 day mark, we're getting extremely close to finding out if the threats made by industry security pundits will come true. Most agree that something will happen and that nefarious, code crime lords will open up Pandora's Box and wraiths from the Negative Zone will invade the computing space of millions of brazen Windows XP holdouts.

But there are those…

In the most recent Windows Weekly episode, there was talk about a discussion on Security Now (another TWiT program) where Steve Gibson (yes, that Steve Gibson – Spinrite creator) suggests that this Windows XP thing is overblown. In essence, if you know what you're doing there will be no problems. The funny thing is that Gibson was one of the biggest and loudest negative voices on Windows XP security when it released. With old news article titles from 2001 like "Expert: Windows XP could unleash wave of DoS attacks," "Windows XP: Is it safe?," and "Steve Gibson lets rip with UnPlug n'Pray," you'd think he'd have a much different perspective about it in 2014. However, it sounds like Gibson is projecting his comfort level for Windows security on everyone else. Maybe he's still using Windows XP and just doesn't want to give it up like the other 29% of the computing world. Or, maybe he's changed his mind or become more mellow over the years.

There have been many reports, recently, of companies, stuck in the midst of a Windows XP migration, shelling out the cash for extended support for Windows XP. Obviously, they've come to believe that protecting Windows XP is important.

Personally, I believe the majority of issues will be with home users and that business IT has a handle on it. But, who really knows? For me, I'm just waiting to see what happens. Our Windows XP coverage here on Windows IT Pro will continue on past the cutoff date because, no matter what Microsoft does, we're still here to support you.

So, if still using Windows XP in your company, are you planning any additional security measures for after April 8^th? Do you believe that Windows XP is "safe enough" with the proper expertise?