XP its not safe – Upgrade Now.

 

If you don’t want to turn your PC into a malware magnet, you have to stop using Windows XP. It’s just not safe anymore.

Short of buying a new computer, your only real options are to replace XP with Windows 7, Windows 8, or Linux.

 

Chances are you’ll have to use the 32-bit version of Windows 7, because most XP PCs didn’t come with 64-bit processors.

The first thing you need to do is make sure that your hardware can support Windows 7. To find out, install and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor (available from the Microsoft web site).

 

Once you know your hardware is up to it, you need to buy it (yes buy, not copy, download or steal). A Google search for windows 7 will produce plenty of choices, Amazon UK are usually quite good.

And yes, you can buy the upgrade version, which will probably be cheaper. You are doing an upgrade, after all.

 

You’ll need to do some preparation before running the actual installation.

 

After you’ve installed Windows, you’ll have to reinstall all of your programs. So gather them up and make sure you have the product codes necessary to prove you legally bought them.

When you’re ready, put the Windows 7 DVD into the drive, boot your PC, and follow the prompts. It should all be clear from there.

 

When it’s done, you’ll find your old files in a folder called C:\Windows.old. You should drag and drop your documents, pictures, music, and other data files to the appropriate folders in Windows 7.

This is not a small thing you are trying to do, it requires a lot of work and a certain amount of knowledge about the computer, its setup and the configuration of the software. Take your time, plan out what and when you are going to do it and don’t give up.

 

The Web is becoming a very dangerous place again, you need to be extremely careful and watchful of what is downloading its self onto your computer, this is not just on Windows XP but 7 and 8 as well. XP is more of a risk than 7 or 8 and now that the updates have finished the chances of security problems and infections grow with every passing day – its time to upgrade.