Final version of Windows XP to shuffle off mortal coil as Microsoft ceases support

The last remnants of the Windows XP era have been swept away, as Microsoft has stopped supporting the old operating system.

Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, a version of XP that powers point of sale systems, and therefore most likely to have been encountered by people scanning in items at their local Tesco, is no longer receiving security patches from Microsoft.

Support for the desktop version of Windows XP used in consumer PCs halted back in 2014, which prompted much protesting from users who’d moved back to XP from Windows 7 and weren’t convinced by the new tile-heavy Metro UI of Windows 10.

But as the spread of the WannaCry malware proved, many users were still running the outdated and unsupported OS as recently as 2017 – even though it was improperly maintained machines running Windows 7 which were more likely to be infected by WannaCry.

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On that note, it’s worth remembering that Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 7 with Extended Security Updates (ESU) after January 2023. The invitation of a free upgrade to Windows 10 might no longer be officially open, but you’ve got enough time to figure that one out or cough up the readies either way.

This death sentence for Windows XP’s final form was passed by the company back in January, and effectively means that Windows XP, in all its forms has now been cast out by its maker.

While there is of course nothing from stopping companies from using Embedded POSReady 2009, they now do so at their – and their customers’ – peril. Microsoft is now recommending that users upgrade to Windows 10 IoT Enterprise or Windows 10 Pro instead.

The next time you see a borked cash machine or self service checkout device giving you the Blue Screen of Death, it may be because whoever was running that was too stingy to fork out for a Windows 10 licence.

XP famously featured photographer Charles O’Rear’s ‘Bliss’ as the stock background image, a photo taken in 1996 – the verdant rolling hills can be found in Sonoma County, California, and the royalty-free image we’ve used here to illustrate XP’s passing, is closer to what it looks like today.

Are you nostalgic for the Windows XP times? Do you know those days are over but want to fantasise? Pull up a stool and tell us about in on Twitter @TrustedReviews.