Microsoft stopped offering security updates for Windows XP on April 8, and since then millions of systems have been vulnerable to attacks.
But it seems there is a way to get updates to Windows XP, despite support ending.
A trick posted on a German forum claims that a few tweaks can make Windows XP identify itself to Windows Update as Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 and receive the much-needed updates.
The differences between Windows XP and Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 are not too big, so you can continue to receive updates for the latter even if you're running the former, and you'll be perfectly safe.
Best of all, while Windows XP support officially ended on April 8, 2014, support for Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 will continue until April 9, 2019!
Let's look at the tweak that will make Windows XP appear as Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 on Windows Update servers:
Right-click anywhere on your computer and create a new text document. Give it a name and change the extension from .txt to .Reg. Right-click on the new file and click “Edit.”.
In the window that opens, paste the following code and then save it:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
“Installed”=dword:00000001
Alternatively, you can also download the Reg file containing the code. Simply extract it from the .zip and double-click on it to apply the changes. It will require a restart of your computer and you can check for updates immediately afterwards.
Keep in mind that Microsoft could block this trick in various ways, so try it before it's too late.
Warning! Try the tweak at your own risk.
