14 DAY TRIAL // Back in 2014, when Microsoft decided to pull the plug on Windows XP, Google was one of the companies that decided to lend a hand to users who were yet to upgrade, keeping its Chrome browser updated on the discontinued platform.
The time has come, however, for Google Chrome too, so starting April 2016, the browser will no longer be updated on older platforms, including here not only Windows XP but also Windows Vista, which is somewhat surprising, given the fact that this OS is still supported by Microsoft.
Additionally, some Mac OS X versions are also impacted, so it’s pretty clear that Google wants to switch focus to newer OS versions, such as Windows 7 and Windows 10.
No more browser updates
Basically, the browser will continue to run on all these operating systems, but the application will no longer be updated after April 2016, so the version released that month will also be the last one you’ll ever get if you’re still running Windows XP or Windows Vista.
“Such older platforms are missing critical security updates and have a greater potential to be infected by viruses and malware. If you are still on one of these unsupported platforms, we encourage you to move to a newer operating system to ensure that you continue to receive the latest Chrome versions and features,” Marc Pawliger, Director of Engineering and Early Notifier, said in a post.
Microsoft itself wants to move users off Windows XP, so seeing Google supporting its efforts is clearly good news, although we all know that the Mountain View-based company isn't necessarily interested in Redmond's new platforms. While Chrome will continue to work on Windows 7 and Windows 10, this doesn't quite mean that Google is ready to go all-in on them, as apps such as Gmail and Maps are still missing from the Windows Store, for instance.
There are rumors that Google might be launching universal Windows 10 apps at some point in the future, but that's clearly not happening anytime soon, and neither company wants to say anything about such a plan for the time being.
Generally, without security updates for Windows XP and Internet Explorer, a computer still running this software can easily get hacked should an exploit be found, so using third-party apps that still get updates was the only workaround. But without updates for Chrome, XP users are now forced to go somewhere else. Again.
Fortunately for those who are still on Windows XP and Windows Vista, a bunch of alternatives are still available. While Internet Explorer can’t be considered a secure option, given the fact that patches and updates are no longer released, browsers such as Opera and Firefox continue to work on Windows XP and Vista.
But obviously, it’s only a matter of time until these two pull the plug on older Windows versions too, so this is probably the right time to start planning the upgrade if you haven’t already done it.