Microsoft Doesn't Commit to XP Service Expiration, Issues an Out-of-Band XP Security Update for Internet Explorer
Microsoft had been warning Windows XP users that the operating system would no longer be receiving updates since 2009, and just last month announced the official expiration of XP's service. However, surprisingly the company has recently issued an "out-of-band" security update for XP that patches a flaw in Internet Explorer.
At 9 a.m. on May 1st Microsoft announced that the update would be implemented one hour later. This left many XP users confused as to how they would receive the update and whether any additional updates would be offered in the future. Fortunately, the update installed automatically for any users that had Automatic Updates installed and enabled.
Was Microsoft Bluffing When It "Ended" Support for XP?
Some tech pundits and skeptics feel as though Microsoft may have been partially bluffing about the complete closure of support for XP in an effort to motivate users to make the switch over to Windows 7 or 8.1.
Still, in the blog post Microsoft did reiterate that XP is no longer supported but that the decision was made to provide this one-off update for security reasons.
In addition to urging XP users to manually update if their Automatic Update was turned off, Microsoft also recommended that users upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer 11 as well.
It is no secret that Microsoft has been providing XP support extensions to larger organizations and governments while they transition their infrastructures over to newer operating systems. Still, most of us didn't expect to see a consumer update this soon after the service expiration.
This latest update may be just the beginning if Microsoft decides to continue on the same course.
A Worthy Effort or a Failure to Commit?
Although support officially ended in April, thereby eliminating Microsoft's liability, this doesn't mean that the company won't take an ethical approach to maintaining the safety of IE within XP as efficiently as possible, as long as newer versions of Windows remain the top support priority.
While some people believe that Microsoft is doing a good job by providing IE security updates to XP users, others feel as though this move could greatly reduce the integrity and authority of the company's future warnings and commitments.
Overall, Microsoft has a commitment to ensure the quality and security of its products, so if the decision is made to honor this commitment even beyond the support expiration date then it could be argued that the company is acting in defense of its customers.
Conclusion
One might argue that Microsoft had already planned to continue occasional support for XP, and that it was only ending the extended support phase to force XP users into newer operating systems.
However, the truth is probably less complicated in that Microsoft officials decided to patch a relatively serious IE issue that affected XP machines, most likely in order to avoid the bad publicity that might arise from a widespread exploit.
