Under Normal Circumstances, Windows XP Isnt Safe Today

Lets be honest for a second.

Main XP support was dropped in 2009, with extended support for various embedded systems ending throughout the 2010s.

If you use XP now, thats a security risk.

Be Quiet CPU cooler with RGB RAM and PC fan inside a gaming computer.

It took around 10 minutes for malware to be installed.

That doesnt mean it isnt still in usethe 0.38% proves that.

XP shouldnt be your daily driver, because the risk is too great.

Tiny PC Hero

At any point, your XP installation could fail.

Malware infections, data loss, or old hardware just kicking the bucket.

What does make sense is keeping Windows XP for fun.

The Razer Blade 16 2025 gaming laptop sitting open on a desk.

Sorting out your taxes or storing your most precious photos on an XP machine is another.

If You Want To Use XP, Keep It Isolated

Think about the risk factors.

As Eric Parkers XP experiment proved, running an insecure operating system and giving it internet access is dangerous.

A laptop running Windows XP with a shield surrounding it.

The risk factor should be significantly reduced as a result.

If you have a internet firewall, double-check your controls and check that that its configured properly.

Unfortunately, it’s pretty difficult to get a modern antivirus to install on XP.

Windows Update in Windows XP now leads to a missing page on the Microsoft website with a 404 error.

Malwarebytes scanning a Windows XP machine

Avast, for instance, no longer supports XP.

Use a Modern Web web client on XP

Dont use Internet Explorer on Windows XP.

It was bad in 2001 and its unusable today because the modern internet has long since moved on.

Playing Pinball on a Windows XP machine

Thankfully, there are alternatives to IE that give you a much better, modern-style browsing experience.

You could start withSupermium.

One added benefit of both Supermium and MyPal is the support for add-ons and extensions.

A disabled ethernet adapter shown on a Windows XP machine

Thats extremely important for XP users.

you might still safely use Windows XP in 2024, but only for very specific reasons like retro gaming.

Everything else is on you.

Malwarebytes running on a Windows XP machine

Malwarebytes scanning a Windows XP machine

The How-To Geek website running in the Supermium browser on a Windows XP machine