Google to prop up Windows XP with Chrome support until 2016

Google has extended support for its Chrome browser on Windows XP until at least the end of 2015 after reneging on a plan to shut down updates in April.

Any systems still running the lumbering zombie that is XP, which Microsoft ended support for in April 2014, will continue to snag regular security patches and updates to prevent their systems falling prey to malware or browser-based attacks.

"Millions of people are still working on XP computers every day. We want those people to have the option to use a browser that's up-to-date and as safe as possible on an unsupported operating system," explained Mark Larson, director of engineering for Google Chrome, in a company blog post.

Google originally planed to turn off the update tap at some point in April, but could even extend support for Chrome on Windows XP beyond 2015 should it have another change of heart.

Firefox and Opera like XP too

If Google makes good on its plan to end support by 2016, XP stalwarts will still be able to get their secure online fix through the latest versions of both Firefox and Opera, which continue to list XP as a supported OS.

Microsoft is hoping that many Windows XP users (which accounted fo 16.4% of PC owners in March according to NetMarketShare), will transition to Windows 10 when it's released later this year.

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