SQL Server 2005 approaching end of life

Companies still using SQL Server 2005 have less than six months to migrate to a new platform, a Microsoft executive has warned.

In a blog post, Microsoft Corporate Vice President Takeshi Numoto noted that extended support for the server software ends on the 12th of April next year. After this time support and security updates will be ended.

“Continuing to operate SQL Server 2005 without security updates and hotfixes from Microsoft may put your organisation at risk for business disruptions, security and compliance issues, and increased maintenance costs,” he cautioned.

He added that Microsoft’s latest SQL server software, SQL Server 2014, offers significantly improved performance.

Underscoring the importance of security updates, Microsoft has just released a critical patch for every supported version of Windows.

Operating systems from Windows Vista up to Windows 10 are vulnerable to a remote code execution bug in Internet Explorer, the patch notes reveal.

The bug is rated critical and affects Internet Explorer 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Users with admin accounts could be more exposed than those on user accounts. Microsoft’s update also fixes various other less severe Internet Explorer vulnerabilities.

During Patch Tuesday the company released two other patches for critical Windows vulnerabilities as well as three other less critical patches.

Image courtesy of Dafne Cholet under CC