A major tech transition is looming. On April 8th, Microsoft will put to bed its long running and very popular ‘Windows XP’ operating system.

Almost 13 years after it’s introduction the company will no longer offer security updates and patches for XP.

Tech experts say without that extra layer of safety even XP users who have anti-virus protection will be increasingly vulnerable to viruses and hackers.

So what now? Dan Ackerman, Senior Editor at CNET.com, says “Either you’re going to learn to live with the risk or upgrade to something else. If you have something that’s maybe 5 or 6 years old, you could probably get a more modern operating system on it, but it might be time for an update anyway.”

The news comes as an estimated 25 to 30 percent of the world’s computers still use Windows XP.

computers, Microsoft, operating system, system updates, technology, Windows XP