Microsoft is not fixing TCP/IP issues in XP

Microsoft officials have stated that they are not going to fix bugs in their TCP/IP network communications stack in the venerable Windows XP.  They say it is because the operating system is eight years old and it is not feasible to add patches for these bugs.  At face value, this seems reasonable.  They are not fixing Windows2000 either.  These operating systems are not where the Microsoft focus lies.  They are much more interested in maintaining the embarrassingly unsuccessful Vista operating system and preparing the much-awaited Vista-successor, Windows 7.

Some people who are staying with XP have said they are going to attempt to deploy the Vista patches there.  This may or may not be successful, as there have been some changes to Windows that may make the Vista patches fail.  Our suggestion at Network Security News is to end-run this end-of-life issue by installing Ubuntu on your XP machine, or using an Ubuntu Live Disc to surf and do email.  Probably 90% of the core users of Windows XP could start using the live disk with no appreciable change in their surfing behavior or accessability.

XP users who have owned their machines for four or more years probably don’t have enough video ram to run Vista or Windows 7 anyway.  Perhaps the refusal to patch XP is Microsoft’s way of preparing users of older machinery for its fast-approaching obsolescence.