Voice from the Grave: High Number of Windows XP Users Were Just Unaware

With just a week to go before Windows XP hit its support deadline, I surmised that there might be a high number of Windows XP users who simply had no idea that the 13 year old operating system was reaching end of life. You'd think this might be more common among consumer users, but my example was from a discussion with an administrator in charge of a business.

A blog post by Avast today, confirmed my suspicion. In the post, Avast talks about a recent survey they provided that produced some alarming stats showing that 21% of Windows XP users were simply unaware that Microsoft was ending support. That's a pretty high number. The post also suggests that Microsoft's efforts to warn users were not enough, and I'll concur. Microsoft really only revved up promotions around Windows XP's end of life a month prior. In the lead up to the April 8, 2014 deadline, Microsoft starting communicating through the OS with an expiration notice from Windows Update, and then a similar message through its antimalware product, Microsoft Security Essentials. While admirable attempts, these were just too late. So, there's no question that many of those left behind simply didn't know and Microsoft is at fault.

Total Windows XP usage has only dipped a couple points since the April 8, 2014 deadline. Netmarketshare shows Windows XP usage at 27.69 percent.