Windows XP still on more than 26pc of PCs in the world

1 May 2014

Despite Microsoft ending support for Windows XP on 8 April, more than a quarter of computers in the world are still running the operating system, leaving the computers vulnerable to malware and attack by hackers.

The latest analytics from Net Applications show that 26.3pc of all desktop operating system traffic analysed came via a computer with Windows XP.

According to the analytics, Windows 7 is the world’s most dominant operating system, sitting on 49.2pc of computers worldwide.

This was followed by Windows 8 (6.3pc), Windows 8.2 (5.8pc), Mac OS X 10.9 (4pc), Windows Vista (2.8pc) and Linux (1.5pc).

In February, Siliconrepublic.com reported that the Irish Government’s Office of the CIO had signed a €3.3m memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Microsoft to handle security issues that could affect four critical State departments when support for Windows XP ended.

net apps

There are four main sectors covered by the MoU between the Irish Government and Microsoft: Health, Justice and Equality; Environment Community and Local Government; Education and Skills; and all of their associated entities.

In the UK, a similar deal has been reached concerning the extension of security support for thousands of ageing National Health Service Windows XP machines and migrating them to more modern systems.

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John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com