Windows XP: The Zombie Operating System That Will Not Die

[steven36]

As of April 8, 2014, support and updates for Windows XP are no longer available. Don’t let your PC go unprotected

Microsoft has stopped supporting Windows XP which means if you’re still using that operating system, you’re on your own. Even though Windows XP is dead, it has risen again just like a zombie. Many companies are still using this o/s due to budget restraints, lack of time, comfort and familiarity among many other reasons.

If you continue to use Windows XP now that support has ended, your computer will still work but it might become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses.

The term “zombie” has been around nearly 200 years. Depending on the version of origin you choose to believe, outbreaks, causes, prevention, and preventive measures can vary. I submit to you a startling comparison between the most common Zombie assumptions and the possibility that XP is primed to be the electronic equivalent of a Zombie Apocalypse.


Zombies have strength in numbers.
Zombies travel in packs, or herds. Your defense against a single Zombie may allow for your survival, but when you come against 20…50….1000 of them all at once, no way will you be able to control them all. You’ll be eaten. I hope you’re gluten free.

Windows XP is the same. There are A LOT of Windows XP machines out there. A LOT. According to Net Marketshare, as of August 2015 Windows XP still has 12.14% of the destop operating system market share.

That’s enough to maintain a 2^nd place standing, behind Windows 7 (57.67%) as the most used operating system right now! My argument remains valid. Those XP machines are still spinning, communicating, and ready to take a bite out of you.

The Zombie Virus is unstoppable.
The common dilemma in any good Zombie movie is that there is no cure. That’s a problem. With so many XP machines – I mean Zombies – out there, spreading their virus at an alarming rate, it is a race against time.

The April 8, 2014 date I tossed out earlier is when Microsoft officially declared Windows XP as “End of Life” which means that no future bug fixes, patches, or security updates will be made available. Not only will no medicine be provided for your illness, no one is working on one either.
Once an XP outbreak begins, there really is nothing you can do to cure it once an infection occurs. Sounds like the Zombie Apocalypse to me.

Go for the brain.
Zombies can survive. They are quite resilient. Remove an arm and they won’t bleed to death. Compound fracture and they’ll limp. Destroy the brain and you’re walking away from a dead zombie.

If you shut down an infected XP machine, shove it in a closet and put a blanket over it, then turn it on again in 5 years, it will still be infected. There isn’t a cure. There won’t be one.

You have to remove its brain, and destroy it. Grab that hard drive and pick up a sledgehammer. You know you want to. (Upgrading is also an option).

Thoughts on survival.
It is up to you whether you want to start preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse. If you do, I have some suggestions on survival gear and what not to eat. That’s another blog for another time.

Don’t forget:

• The Zombie Virus is unstoppable. Like XP and its now defunct ability to receive security updates, a single infection can spread to many.
• Zombies are everywhere (just like XP). No matter how slow they are or fast you are, XP is no different. XP is one if not THE most popular Microsoft o/s.
• The only way to kill a Zombie is to kill its brain. Go ahead. Destroy that XP hard drive before it’s too late.

Windows XP was a rock solid operating system and has been around a long time. Its popularity in the marketplace keeps it as a dominant force even today. Unfortunately what made XP strong also primes us for an XPombie Apocalypse.

Source

[smallhagrid]

All the cited numbers are not able to be accurate for reasons I have cited in response to your other post, here:

http://www.nsaneforums.com/topic/255101-5-dead-operating-systems-and-what-their-ghosts-can-tell-us/page-2?do=findComment&comment=1004588

Too late ?!?

Zombies !?!

The zombies are all watching their (smart ?) TVs and sucking down plastic 'foods' - and have no technical or other interest in what OS their device(s) may be running.

The zombies also buy whatever they are told to buy - so they needn't be goaded into change.

It is the folks who cannot afford to - or who simply do not want to who will not make such changes - and neither they nor their treasured PCs are zombies my friend.