Windows XP service pack 2 support ends

Microsoft is warning computer users that their equipment should have the service pack 3 installed, because it is ending its support for the service pack 2.

Yesterday was the last set of security patches sent out for service pack 2, therefore any user that fails to change up to service pack 3 could be putting their security at risk from a number of different angles.

The problem is that the cybercriminals also know this and are free to exploit any vulnerability that the unprotected computer has.

Of course, this does not just mean that XP is affected; this issue will also affect Internet Explorer, Outlook and Windows Media Player too.

It turns out that most home user are already using service pack 3, but for businesses this is a different matter with around 50 per cent of the computers running service pack 2.