R.I.P. Windows XP SP2

Microsoft on Tuesday officially retired Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), the company’s most significant service pack, several security experts said.

“Windows XP SP2 was a game changer,” said Wolfgang Kandek, chief technology officer of Qualys, a California-based security risk and compliance management provider.

“SP2 was a major, major course correction by Microsoft,” added John Pescatore, an analyst who covers security for Gartner Research. “It was the first time that Microsoft could tout Windows as being secure.”

Microsoft set Tuesday as the end of support for Windows XP SP2 , and used the day to deliver its final security patch . To receive any further fixes, security or otherwise, users must run XP SP3 or upgrade to a newer operating system, such as Vista or Windows 7 .

“Customers who have not migrated from [SP2] are encouraged to upgrade immediately, either to Service Pack 3 or to Windows 7,” said Jerry Bryant, a general manager with the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), in an e-mail today.

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