Tomorrow Microsoft ends support for Windows XP, and if you believe the company and others, XP holdouts are head-in-the-sand technophobes heading for disaster. In fact, though, sticking with XP can be a smart move.

When Microsoft ends support for XP, it will no longer issue security updates for the operating system. XP users will be on their own, and be potentially vulnerable to a variety of dangers, particularly zero-day threats.

But die-hard owners of XP machines don't seem particularly concerned. Many of them might not know they're about to be vulnerable. But as PC World's Ian Paul reports, many of them are tech-savvy users who know the potential hazards, and believe they have good reasons not to switch.

One example cited by Paul is Bob Appel, who put together his own private network with 12 PCs, of which 10 run XP. Appel told Paul:

"I use a third-party firewall, a free virus checker, and run Housecall periodically. My Firefox browser uses Keyscrambler, HTTPS Anywhere, Ghostery, and Disconnect. I also have a VPN account (PIA) when traveling. For suspicious email attachments, I deploy private proprietary bioware (me!) to analyze before opening. All the 'experts' say I am crazy. Thing is, I stopped the security updates in XP years ago after a bad update trashed my system, and yet I have never been infected, although online for hours each day. So, crazy though I be, I am sticking with XP."

Even though Microsoft will be ending support for XP, makers of anti-malware won't be stopping support. Symantec, McAfee, Kaspersky Lap, and Avast have all said that their anti-malware will continue to protect against threats to XP,although it's not clear how long that protection will last beyond 2015.

more blogs.computerworld.com/windows/23756/forget-xpocalypse-sticking-windows-xp-can-be-smart-move