Although Microsoft previously announced it will phase out Microsoft Security Essentials anti-malware program version for Windows XP together with the OS itself on April 8th 2014, MSE for XP will still be updated and available for download through July 14th, 2015.
This delay will help protect PCs running Windows XP after April 8th. These systems will be increasingly vulnerable after that date, because Microsoft will no longer patch and update XP. Therefore, extension of support for MSE will help a bit, but it won’t be able to withhold the level of security like prior to XP’s end-of-life on April 8th. The software maker confirms this by stating that “the effectiveness of antimalware solutions on out-of-support operating systems is limited”.
Security of XP after April 8th can be somewhat improved by running a good third-party anti-malware program and by disabling unused Windows features, but Microsoft is advising XP users to either upgrade their OS to newer version of Windows or get a new PC with a new OS pre-installed. The second option is a batter one in our opinion and here’s why.
Source: Microsoft | Via: Computer World