On April 8, 2014 Microsoft® will stop supporting and updating its popular Windows® XP operating system. To the average person this may sound like it’s “going out of warranty.” But to the computer savvy Certified Legal Nurse Consultant this should be terrifying. Once Bill Gates signs the death warrant on XP there will be no more security or other updates – XP will become a security nightmare. Even CERT – part of the Department of Homeland Security – has warned that after April 8 anyone running XP and using Internet Explorer as their web browser will be at high risk. CERT didn’t go so far as to urge you to abandon XP, instead they simply recommended changing to an alternative browser such as Firefox®.
As a CLNC® consultant you have a duty to do what is necessary to keep your computer files secure. While I don’t recommend going to extremes such as engaging in hard drive encryption, I do recommend installing security patches and Windows updates when they become available. XP users won’t have that privilege or luxury anymore.
So what’s a CLNC consultant to do? Well, you’ve been wanting a new computer for some time, so maybe you should go to Dell, HP, Acer or Lenovo and buy a new computer running Windows 7. Or you could take the great leap forward and go straight to Windows 8 (which is about to become 8.1, a vast improvement over 8.0). If your computer is new enough and powerful enough you can also upgrade from XP straight to Win8 – download the Windows Upgrade Assistant to see if your computer will work with Win8.
Whichever you decide, Mac, Win7 or Win8 – XP users need to get in motion.
Keep on Techin’,
Tom
P.S. Comment and share your decision – Mac, Win7 or Win8.
