Australia and NZ ahead of Windows XP upgrade curve

Australia and New Zealand are ahead of the curve when it comes to preparedness for the scheduled demise of Windows XP, with only 6.5% of PCs in the markets still running the ancient OS.

Microsoft will officially end support for XP next Tuesday, leaving individuals and companies still using the OS potentially more exposed to cyberattacks.

While an estimated 32% of PCs worldwide are still running XP, Trend Micro estimates that just this percentage is just 6.5% in Australia and New Zealand.

But Trend Micro Australia and New Zealand Managing Director Sanjay Mehta warned that Windows XP machines still connected to the internet after 8 April will pose a potential threat to everybody on the internet.

“The fact is that people running Windows XP are more of a danger to others than themselves, it’s no longer personal business and choice,” he said.

Trend Micro has prepared a flyer urging XP users to migrate to Windows 8.1, Windows 7 or Mac OSX, and is encouraging people to print it out and distribute it to people who have yet to upgrade.

The flyer warns that systems running XP could be compromised and used to infect other, more up-to-date computers, and so the fact that so many computers are still running Windows XP is a “public health risk to the internet”.

“The idea is that if people see someone running Windows XP, they can use this flyer to help them protect themselves and in so doing also help protect the internet,” Mehta said. “Whether it’s friends, family or local businesses, we hope that everyone in ANZ speaks up in the next week if they see someone running Windows XP.”

Pictured: Trend Micro Australia and New Zealand Managing Director Sanjay Mehta