Use Windows XP Safely

Now that the deadline for Windows XP support has come and gone, can you use Windows XP safely? There are costly Enterprise solutions for ongoing support, but what about small businesses and individuals? There are steps you can take to use Windows XP safely in the short term. In the long term, you should begin making plans to upgrade the operating system.

Here are a several key steps to use Windows XP safely.

1. Strong firewall solution – One of the most important steps you can take for your small business is to make sure you have an effective 24/7 firewall solution that allows you to define and business rules for inbound and outbound filter.

2. Recovery solution – You need to make sure you have a backup and recovery plan in case of any problem. A simple way to do this is through a disk image software program. There are a variety of free and paid solutions such as Acronis True Image ($50), Driveimage XML (free), Clonezilla, and EaseUS Partition Master.

3. Switch Internet Browsers – If you are using Internet Explorer, you should switch immediately to Firefox or Google Chrome who both are planning to continue XP support (though Google Chrome support will stop in April 2015).

4. Update your antivirus solution – Make sure your current anti-virus software is up to date and that it is providing XP support.

5. Uninstall Java – Since the java browser plug-in is already known to have vulnerabilities, it is best to uninstall or disable it.

6. Update Adobe – Make sure your Adobe Flash and Adobe Reader are kept up-to-date. In fact, make sure you keep all browser plug ins up-to-date.

7. Update Drivers and All Software – Make sure all your drivers are up-to-date and all your software including Microsoft Office. If you are still using Microsoft 2003, please note that support for Office 2003 also ended on April 8, 2014.

The post Use Windows XP Safely appeared first on Integracon Technologies Blog – Computer Support in Knoxville, TN.