Microsoft plans popup alerts to warn Windows XP users of April 8 deadline

As the Microsoft deadline for the end of Windows XP support on 8 April draws closer, Microsoft has announced that it will start sending pop-ups and warning messages to users reminding them to upgrade to Windows 8.1. Interestingly as this chart shows, Windows XP still has a 29 percent market share worldwide.    On 8 March, Windows XP customers using the Home or Professional editions, and who have elected to receive updates via Windows Update, will receive an official notification on their desktop screen via Windows Update informing them that support for Windows XP will end on 8 April.  The pop-up will continue on the 8th of every month unless Windows XP users click on the “don’t show this message again” option.   The notification will include a link to the Windows XP End of Support website where Windows XP users can find all the information they need.   Microsoft is also offering a free transfer tool to users to help them migrate to the newer platform.   Microsoft’s team wrote on their blog, “We have partnered with Laplink to provide Windows XP users with a free data migration tool called PCmover Express for Windows XP which copies your files and settings from your Windows XP PC to a new device running Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. This tool will copy your files, music, videos, email and user profiles and settings from your old PC to your new device, transferring across your home or work network, and even enables Windows XP users to customize exactly what they want to bring over to their new device.”   PCmover Express will be available for download in English starting later this week via WindowsXP.com. It will also come in French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish initially and later on in it will be available in Korean, Chinese, Russian and Brazilian Portuguese.  You can also check out whether your computer is running Windows XP on this special site created by Microsoft here.   While the support for Windows XP will end on 8 April, the fact remains that a lot of users still rely on it. As this piece in Ars Technica points out, “Windows 8 isn’t growing, and just as significantly, Windows XP isn’t going away." What will happen after 8 April is  that lot of users might not feel the need to upgrade and continue to relying on an unsupporting operating system which is thus more vulnerable to cyber-attacks, hacks, etc.