Google to Discontinue Chrome on Windows XP and Other Old OSes

[mks_dropcap style=”square” size=”52″ bg_color=”#ff3b3e” txt_color=”#ffffff”]E[/mks_dropcap]very technology, every invention comes to an end, sooner or later. After serving over a decade, Windows XP saw its end on 8th April, 2014.  Even after its discontinuation by Microsoft, Windows XP continued to be one of the most widely used operating system. Keeping this fact in mid, many software vendors kept continuing support for their software on Windows XP. Google was one of them. After announcing discontinuation of Google Chrome on Windows XP twice in past, Google has finally decided cut the cord. Google has announced that they are discontinuing Chrome on older operating systems which includes Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS X 10.8 and earlier.

Even before the actual retirement of Windows XP in 2014, Google announced in October 2013 for the first time that they are planing to keep Chrome alive till April 2015 to support users during transmission from Windows XP to newer operating system. This year in April, Google revised their decision of ending support for Chrome on Windows XP. Google announced that will continue to provide regular updates and security patches to Chrome on XP through the end of 2015. [mks_pullquote align=”right” width=”400″ size=”24″ bg_color=”#f0f0f0″ txt_color=”#ff3b3e”]Older platforms are missing critical security updates and have a greater potential to be infected by viruses.[/mks_pullquote]

Now it seems that the time has finally come when Google has decided to kill Chrome on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8. Google has announced end of support for Chrome which will come effect in April 2016. After April 2016, Chrome will continue to function on these operating systems but will no longer receive updates and security fixes.

Google is still keeping a long window open for older operating systems. All older operating systems including Windows XP are no longer supported by their developers. An operating system with no security updates is dangerous for any activity related to Internet.

I’m still using Google Chrome on Windows XP. What now?

If you are still using Windows XP or other old operating system for offline use, you may wish to continue using it. If you are using it to connect to Internet, think twice about the security of your data. A secure web browser alone can not provide security to you. To make sure your financial transaction and other exchange of confidential data is secure, you should always use an update operating system. This includes your personal computer, your corporate computer, and any other digital devices such as a cellphone. You should consider upgrading to newer and updated operating system such as Windows 10 by Microsoft, Mac OS X El Capitan by Apple or Linux distributions to make sure your data is safe.

I’m using old operating systems for offline work. Should I upgrade?

If you are using an older operating system for offline work, you can continue using it. But always keep in mind that these operating systems are not receiving security updates. People with malicious intentions are not going to stop developing malware for old computers. If you come across a newly developed malware, it is possible that it might go undetected on your computer. Such malware can spread via any removal media like USB thumb drive even if you are working offline. Make sure you are only using removable media and software packages from people whom you trust.