Mozilla to support Firefox on Windows XP after Microsoft ends support for the OS

[Matsuda]

A few weeks back, Google said that it would continue to support Chrome on Windows XP after Microsoft ended support for the aging operating system. The move is a bit controversial as supporting a browser on an unsupported OS could lure users into a false sense of security as the browser may be up to date with the latest security patches but the underlying OS could be wide open.

But the browser space is not limited to only two platforms, and Mozilla has told Neowin that it intends to continue to support the OS after Microsoft ends its support for XP.

Neowin asked Mozilla, the creator of Firefox, if it has any plans to end support for XP and Johnathan Nightingale, VP of Firefox at Mozilla stated, "We have no plans to discontinue support for our XP users."

This means that for users of Windows XP, who have not upgraded their decade-old OS, they will have two supported browser options once Microsoft ends support for XP (and subsequently Internet Explorer on XP): Chrome and Firefox.

It’s quite obvious as to why Google and Mozilla will support their browser on XP after Microsoft ends support; millions of users will still be using the outdated OS. Where there are users, there are developers eyeing for their attention and in the insanely competitive browser market space, both companies are fighting for any user they can attract. So when Microsoft leaves those with outdated machines in the past, Google and Mozilla want to give them an option to browser securely, even if their OS is vulnerable.

While we doubt Microsoft will change its mind and extend XP's supported lifecycle, it will be interesting to see if IE does drop in market share after April 2014.



View: Original Article

[jackieo]

I got XP on my desktop machine that i built in 2005, but i limit its exposure to the web. Win7 on my laptop is my mainstay for the web.

funny they cant do html5 video but they will support an aging operating system past its EOL,

but Sea Monkey and Thunderbird are a no go? funny huh?

WOW... shes HOT ...

Edited October 28, 2013 by jackieo

[DKT27]

Not sure if great decision or a foolish one. A browser maker should want people to use as latest and non-outdated stuff as possible, however, on the other side, supporting the abandoned, by Microsoft, users is still a good thing to do.

On an entirely different point, I've seen many Firefoxes, but this is the best one so far. So is the source image. :)

[CPowell46]

I don't understand why so many people think that XP will become prey to a flood of malware the moment Microsoft "support" ends. I haven't installed one update since SP3, and I've had no malware problems whatsoever. I have a lot more confidence in Avast! than in Microsoft.

[DKT27]

I don't understand why so many people think that XP will become prey to a flood of malware the moment Microsoft "support" ends. I haven't installed one update since SP3, and I've had no malware problems whatsoever. I have a lot more confidence in Avast! than in Microsoft.

You are doing a mistake if you haven't installed any updates after SP3. :)

Either way, there are many reasons. One of it is that hackers know what OS to target.

[Reefa]

I don't understand why so many people think that XP will become prey to a flood of malware the moment Microsoft "support" ends. I haven't installed one update since SP3, and I've had no malware problems whatsoever. I have a lot more confidence in Avast! than in Microsoft.

Its not a good idea.But if it works for you good-luck :rolleyes:

[CPowell46]

You can't argue with results...and it's been a long time since SP3.

[calguyhunk]

I don't understand why so many people think that XP will become prey to a flood of malware the moment Microsoft "support" ends. I haven't installed one update since SP3, and I've had no malware problems whatsoever. I have a lot more confidence in Avast! than in Microsoft.

It's not just 'bout malware, it's 'bout targeted attacks, something that traditional AV's in isolation cannot do much about ;)

Not sure if great decision or a foolish one. A browser maker should want people to use as latest and non-outdated stuff as possible, however, on the other side, supporting the abandoned, by Microsoft, users is still a good thing to do.

XP has been on the market for 12 years. Just 'bout every major loophole has been discovered and plugged by now for sure. The chances of hackers finding another major vulnerability is mathematically negligible. MS and their cronies - while being technically and politically correct - are for all practical purposes spreading FUD's about it's vulnerability for obvious financial reasons. :angry:

It's like when they ask you not to install pirated OS's or loaders 'cuz they might have trojans and other malware! Really? Daz bundles trojans with his loader? WZOR or Maher bundles malware with their OS's? LOL! :lol: MS obviously knows better, but they'll say what they have to for obvious reasons ;)

Regular users need not worry about this impending end-of-support for XP for the most part. If you have an old PC and cannot afford a hardware upgrade to switch to Win7/8 - either switch over to Linux if you're really worried about the EOL'ing of XP or stay put with your trusty old OS. Just keep your AV and browser updated 'cuz almost all of your threats will come through that route or through rouge downloads, toolbars, Browser Addons, E-Mail attachments, rouge Registry Cleaners or Anti-Virus software etc. if you don't know your way 'round the internetz. The best protection continues to remain your brain. So use it before clicking on 'Download' or 'Install'. :yes:

Edited November 1, 2013 by calguyhunk

[DKT27]

All I can say that knowing a little bit about things and seeing how things work, though on the noob level, I can see a lot of people keeping their XP vulnerabilities to themselves, waiting for Microsoft to stop releasing updates for it, and then, getting their hands on things. You may never know, there might be loads of vulnerabilities waiting to be exploited, but haven't gone public yet.

[insanedown58]

I love XP as it feels insanely fast on my VMs but what about AVs dropping support for XP? Then again.... I'm really split on this one. I guess its to each their own or however that saying goes.

[sanjoa]

I think this is a bad move from Firefox encouraging people to use an OS which will be soon outdated.

fap, fap, fap"!!!!!!!!

[MidnightDistortions]

I don't think there's really a problem, the worst that could happen is your OS could become bricked. If your not doing any banking or got any important data stored on that PC there's really nothing to worry about. Not sure if i would want to do any purchasing even with a secured browser but as always let people figure it out for themselves. I upgraded one of my older desktops from W98 (had used that for 2 years after MS dropped support) to XP mainly because i had browser problems and that W98 doesn't seem to reallocate system resources after closing a program properly. Not sure if it was something i was doing but it was losing system resources within a few hours of operation. XP did a better job with that. Now i just go a bit crazy with getting more RAM space! xD

Edited October 29, 2013 by MidnightDistortions

[calguyhunk]

I love XP as it feels insanely fast on my VMs but what about AVs dropping support for XP? Then again.... I'm really split on this one. I guess its to each their own or however that saying goes.

AV's are not dropping support for it en masse. To the best of my understanding, it's only MS that will drop support for MSE. Not the third party vendors ;)

[banned]

AV's are not dropping support for it en masse. To the best of my understanding, it's only MS that will drop support for MSE. Not the third party vendors ;)

^this

AV is over-rated anyway. It usually either flags files as false-positive, or miss infection entirely.