Microsoft just made Windows XP even less secure

Windows XP users hanging on for dear life are less safe than they've ever been after Microsoft made the already holey security safety net surrounding it even more porous.

First reported by Beta News, Microsoft has stopped providing the Malicious Software Removal Tool as well as updates to its Microsoft Security Essentials in the hope that users finally ditch it in favor of Windows 10.

There are, of course, plenty of other options open to people that want to carry on with Windows XP as third-party security software can keep it going for even longer and there are governments that have paid millions to keep support.

Google has even agreed to keep support for its Chrome browser within Windows XP until at least the end of 2015, despite originally claiming that they would shut down by April 2015.

Upgrade to Windows 10

Windows XP's official end-of-life date was back in April 2014 when most updates, except the small ones mentioned above, ceased and users were advised to upgrade their systems to a new version to stay secure.

The release of Windows 10 on July 29 could sway the last tranche of users that it's high time they upgraded to a new version of Windows and if that doesn't do so then the increasingly insecure nature of the OS will likely push them to do so.

• HP gives us a very good reason to move away from Windows XP