Google will stop supporting Chrome for Windows XP in 2015

Google has announced today that it will stop supporting Chrome for devices running Windows XP in April 2015. This means that exactly one year after Microsoft pulls off support for the aging Windows XP, Google will stop lending support to its browser on the platform.

In a blog post on Google Enterprise, Mark Larson, Director of Engineering and Superintendent of Public Safety, Google Chrome, explained that since Windows XP will no longer receive updates and security patches from Microsoft, it could prove to be a threat that allows malware and bugs to infect computers. Under this condition, Google says that it will be providing support for Chrome on Windows XP for another year after Microsoft pulls the security plug on it.

Chrome for XP will say goodbye in 2015

“We recognize that hundreds of millions of users, including a good chunk of current Chrome users, still rely on XP. Moreover, many organisations still run dozens or even hundreds of applications on XP and may have trouble migrating,” Larson said. “Our goal is to support Chrome for XP users during this transition process.” He added that Chrome on XP will still be automatically updated with the latest security fixes to protect against malware and phishing attacks during the period.

Microsoft had announced that the next year was going to be a landmark one for it, since it intended to retire some of its most popular products like Windows XP, Windows Exchange Server 2003 and Office 2003. The Internet giant will no longer be issuing security updates for these products and while users and organisations may still go on using these products, it will not be safe anymore.