Are you still running Windows XP? Many governments, utilities, banks and businesses are, and they could be vulnerable to malware and hackers, especially when Microsoft stops providing free updates in April, an Ottawa security consultant warns.
"Ultimately, if you're running critical software on an architecture that has security flaws in it, you're eventually going to be bitten," said Chris Dodunski, chief technology officer at Phirelight Security Solutions.
Dodunski estimates that about half of government and business computers in Canada still use Windows XP due to the cost of upgrading.
Worldwide, as of January, about 30 per cent of desktop computers were still running the operating system released by Microsoft in 2001.
Microsoft is set to retire XP on April 8, and won't be providing support such as bug fixes after that, although it says it will extend anti-malware support until 2015. However, the company is encouraging users to upgrade to the latest version of its operating system, Windows 8.
