Microsoft will kill support for its unloved Windows Vista operating system a few months ahead of its Windows XP SP2 and Windows 2000 planned end-of-the-road-for-updates deadline.
The company said yesterday that a Vista service pack-free OS will no longer get MS support after 13 April this year, leaving the flaky platform entirely at the mercy of hackers who might wish to exploit that code.
Meanwhile, XP SP2 and all versions of Windows 2000 support will trundle along until 13 July, when Redmond will turn out the security update lights on those operating systems.
At the same time Microsoft will move Windows Server 2003 from mainstream support to the extended support phase, which means customers will have to pay for help from MS, with only security updates remaining free.
“Microsoft believes it is important that all customers take action prior to the end of support date, not only so that they know their options and can prepare, but also to ensure their environments are as secure as possible,” said the company, before wheeling out a list of “incentives” to convince consumers and businesses to upgrade their operating systems.
The software maker has more about switching off OS life support for several of its platforms here. ®
