Critical updates for windows vista12/27/2023 ![]() What happened to previous operating systems? Combining two outdated software won’t take you anywhere, security wise. One clear such example is Internet Explorer 9, which went out of support on January 12, 2016. ![]() But those versions are also outdated and vulnerable to exploitation. As a workaround, you end up using older versions of software apps that still work with your OS. Since no more security updates will be released for Vista, then every vulnerability discovered after April 11, will be a Zero Day, forever.īut you see, this problem becomes even more acute if you need to use programs that are not backwards compatible with Vista. These are particularly dangerous, since there’s not much an OS (or any other software for that matter) can do to defend itself.ĭepending on type of vulnerability he exploits, a Zero Day attacker can intercept the data your PC sends and receives, deactivate certain programs or functions, simplify a malware infection process, or even take full control of your device with a buffer overflow or code injection exploit. No more security updates, meaning Zero Day attacks forever!Ī Zero Day vulnerability is a weakness or bug in the software which the developer hasn’t yet patched. Given how small Vista’s market share is at the moment, a developer has next-to-no incentive to even consider making his program or game backwards compatible with the OS. The same logic applies to software programs. This can be for a variety of reasons, such as the absence of a critical OS feature, or the developer didn’t consider it cost-effective to provide backwards compatibility for software with only 0.78% market share.Īnd since Vista also passed its end of mainstream support, there are zero chances for it to acquire the missing features that might attract developers and hardware makers. Newer devices, such as printers or webcams, might not be compatible with your Vista operating system. Many new products will not be backwards compatible with your PC Here’s what you need to know now that your Vista OS has nearly reached its end of life support. Source What does this mean for your cybersecurity? The only thing that Microsoft does do in this interval is to update and patch any security issues and bugs it might find along the way.įor Vista, the extended support period started on April 2012, and ends on April 11 2017. ![]() This means that no new features or redesigns will take place. Windows Vista launched in January 2007, and its mainstream support ended April 2012.Īfter the mainstream support period is over, the product enters the extended support phase, which also lasts a minimum of 5 years. Mainstream support means that Microsoft will continuously add new features over this interval, improve the design, offer free support and patch any security issues. To put that into hard numbers, that means nearly 11.7 million devices of the estimated 1.5 billion active PCs worldwide.Īs a policy, Microsoft offers mainstream support for a minimum of 5 years after a product launch. Right now, Vista has only 0.78% of the global PC operating system market share. Microsoft generally stops supporting their older operating systems in order to push users to adopt the latest technologies in newer versions. Microsoft operating system support periods Vulnerabilities and exploits discovered after April 11 won’t be patched, no matter how severe they are. Instead, end of life means that no security updates will be released for the ol’ operating system.
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