No more security patches for Windows XP

[SAN FRANCISCO] People clinging to Microsoft's ageing Windows XP operating system will be left to fend off cyber criminals by themselves come tomorrow. On April 8, the US software colossus will stop patching newly found security holes in Windows XP code that hackers could exploit to slip into computers.

Despite Microsoft's long-heralded plan to stop "supporting" the nearly 13-year-old operating system, it still powers from 20 to 30 per cent of Windows machines around the world, according to industry estimates.

"I am sure you have everything from police departments to banks to legal offices to restaurants," Trustwave director Christopher Pogue said while discussing the extent to which Windows XP is still used.