Approximately one in five Greek (18.21%) PC users still use the Windows XP operating system, based on Kaspersky Security Network statistics.
The data announced by Kaspersky refers to June 2014. As for the Kaspersky Security Network, it is a global service to which users agree to provide voluntary data.
According to what was announced, worldwide the percentage of Windows XP users reached 16.37%.
This fact is likely to have consequences in the field of information security. The above data is included in the findings of the “Windows Usage and Vulnerabilities” survey, conducted by Kaspersky Lab experts.
More specifically, computer users who use an old operating system or outdated versions of installed software are at risk of falling victim to an attack by malware that exploits vulnerabilities in programs.
The research revealed the proportion of Windows XP users out of the total number of those using Kaspersky Lab products for Windows systems in each country.
Vietnam topped the list, with 38.79% of users still preferring Windows XP, followed by China with 27.35%, India with 26.88% and Algeria with 24.25%.
Almost one in five computers with a Kaspersky Lab product in Italy (20.31%) and Spain (19.26%) still run Windows XP. The percentage is lower in the US (4.52%).
Although technical support for Windows XP ended in April 2014, the operating system had been discontinued since 2010. However, this fact did not affect its popularity.
According to Kaspersky Lab data, Windows XP usage was only decreasing by about 10 percentage points per year.
This decrease, in fact, was not significantly affected by external events that could have accelerated it, such as the release of Windows 8.1 (October 2013) or the end of support for Windows XP.
In November 2013, the percentage of Windows XP users worldwide was 21.42%, while in June this percentage had fallen to 16.37%.
This is a decrease of 5.05 percentage points, which corresponds to half of the average annual decrease in XP usage.
In contrast, the market share of Windows 8.1, the newest Windows operating system, was 7.22% in June 2014.
This result is an improvement of 1 percentage point compared to Windows 8, at the corresponding stage of market release.
More specifically, during the period October 2012 – June 2013, Windows 8 was installed on 6.22% of computers using Kaspersky Lab products.
“Kaspersky Security Network statistics show that the XP era is coming to an end. However, a fairly large percentage of users still use this outdated operating system. Microsoft has discontinued support for XP, which means that they will no longer release security updates or patches for vulnerabilities that may still exist in the system. In case cybercriminals discover vulnerabilities, XP users will be at risk,” said Vyacheslav Zakorevsky, head of the Vulnerability Research Team at Kaspersky Lab.
To reduce the risks they face, Kaspersky Lab experts recommend that users regularly update the software they use and use a reliable security solution, which will have technologies to counter attacks aimed at exploiting vulnerabilities.
Source: planet-greece.blogspot.com
