Windows XP Will Be Supported by Third-Party Anti-Virus … Sort Of

With as many as 29% of PCs still on Windows XP, I’m avidly following what will happen when Microsoft stops supporting it in early April 2014. The recent news is that several third-party anti-virus software makers will continue supporting Windows XP, but how well will they work? Fully? Partially? Not at all? We went on a quest to find out what experts recommend.

OK. I confess that I’m having a hard time letting go of this issue because we’re talking about nearly a third of the hundreds of millions of PCs in use worldwide – about 100 million of them in the U.S. Plenty are still in charities and libraries.

PCMag’s Fahmida Rashid Answers Our Question

Most anti-virus software makers have announced that they will support Windows XP beyond the XPocalypse in April. Our question is: How well will third-party anti-virus software protect Windows XP after Microsoft stops supporting it in April 2014? Fully? Partially? Not at all? 

Contributing analyst for networking security for PCMag, Fahmida Rashid gave our Ginny Mies the low-down:

“The answer is ‘it depends’ on which antivirus company we are talking about. Most of them have committed to continue supporting XP for at least a year, if not longer:

• Avira: April 8, 2015
• BitDefender: January 2016
• Trend Micro: January 30, 2017
• VIPRE: until April 2015 or later
• Sophos: September 30th, 2015
• Norman and Qihoo: until at least January 2016
• Kaspersky: until at least 2018 (2016 for business)
• Webroot: until April of 2019
• Even Microsoft will support XP with its Microsoft Security Essentials - until July 14th, 2015.
• Norton: Hasn't decided yet.

The libraries (and charities) realize that even if the AV is being updated, they are basically leaving themselves wide open, right? I understand the reluctance, and the budget constraints. It's just that in this case, I feel like the AV part is a false sense of hope.

I think of it as sitting in a car facing on-coming traffic, but it's okay, I have a seatbelt!”

Second Opinions

Softpedia.com ran a piece entitled Third-Party Anti-Virus Software Can’t Help Protect Windows XP in October.

Nick Mediati, former security editor at PCWorld told us “My guess is that it all comes down to individual vendors to continue supporting it.”

AV Test maintains: “On a long-term basis, even the best security suites will not be able to repair these weaknesses, which until now have been patched up by the approximately 100 updates released by Microsoft every year. For security reasons, you should therefore plan to switch to another system.”

Microsoft probably should have the final word. Info Security Magazine quotes them: "the effectiveness of anti-malware solutions on out-of-support operating systems is limited."

If You for Some Reason Can’t Upgrade from XP

I like the recommendations from Windows Club, which are confirmed by Tom’s Guide on this. The idea is to replace several major components of Windows XP with alternative software. Here are some examples:

• Use the best third-party anti-virus and firewall software you can, and keep it super current. Tom’s Guide maintains that commercial security software suites are better than freeware ones. They recommend Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2014, and of course Norton AntiVirus, which is available as a donation to qualified charities and libraries on TechSoup. Symantec has said that it will protect XP users if Microsoft doesn’t amend their decision to not support Windows XP beyond April.

• Religiously back up your data – Norton 360 provides security, PC tune-up, backup and restore, and online storage in one integrated application. It is also available on a donation basis from TechSoup.

• Keep all of your other software up-to-date

• Use alternative web browsers rather than the Internet Explorer browser that is native to Windows XP. Find a list of alternative browsers here.

• Start using other non-XP native software, especially a different email program than XP native Outlook Express. Windows Live Mail is a reasonable choice. Find some other email alternatives here.  Consider using an alternative media player, and perhaps the alternative Windows explorer, QTTabBar.

Bottom Line

I think we’ve found that Windows XP users after early April can get a bit of protection from your computer system getting ruined by malware by:

• Getting the best third-party anti-virus and firewall software you can, and keeping it current.
• Downloading and using alternative software to replace the most vulnerable components of Windows XP like the native browser and email software.
• Backing up your PCs frequently in the eventuality of their failing.

It’s pretty clear, though, that if you can afford it you should upgrade your OS before April. 

TechSoup Resources

Microsoft:

• Microsoft Windows and Office Donations (use the pull-down menu under 'Browse Products' to find specific products)
• Should You Upgrade to Windows 8? Questions to Consider
• Windows 8.1: Bridging the Gap Between Keyboard and Touchscreen
• How To Request Microsoft Donations (Webinar)

Symantec:

• Norton Protection: Which One Is Best? - TechSoup
• Overview of the Symantec Donation Program

We'd love to hear your experience on upgrading (or not upgrading) from XP. Please log in to comment.

Image: Joost van Velzen