Everyone loved the search dog from XP, right?
Most users buried Windows XP more than 5 years ago. However, dedicated fans and those trapped in its ecosystem continued to use this operating system, resorting to various tricks to keep it alive. But time passed, and Windows XP finally reached the end of the road, as its last supported variant—POSReady 2009—is no longer officially supported.
The point of no return has been crossed.
Screenshot .
Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, which as its name suggests, is primarily intended to run applications that attract the attention of shoppers with exclamations like 'Free Checkout!' finally completely lost its official support in April 2019, marking the absolute end of an impressive operational period for such a widely used family of operating systems.
British retailer Boots showcases the old Windows XP login screen on a self-service terminal in its Islington store:
Photo of a retail space with Windows POSready 2009
A reader discovered the terminal happily displaying the old XP login page, although staff placed an overturned basket in front of the machine to prevent customers from touching it.
Windows XP has long been unsupported. Nevertheless, some versions lingered for years after the official end of life. The Embedded Standard 2009 version was finally shut down in January, and the extended support for Embedded POSReady 2009 ended on April 9.
A few days prior, on April 5, 2019, Microsoft released the last update for 'the last of the Mohicans' numbered KB4487990, which fixed time zones for São Tomé and Príncipe and Kazakhstan's Kyzylorda.
After that, there was dead silence. The corporation shut down all systems supporting its operation. The patient is dead and will never come out of the coma.
Global support for most versions of Windows XP unfortunately ended back in 2014, amidst loud cries and gnashing of teeth, as enterprises realized that they had to migrate away from their familiar platform. XP was available for installation since 2001, but due to many skipping the disastrous Vista and setting a trend of avoiding updates, a significant number of workstations with XP have remained active to this day.
Some large users, such as the British government, kept the flame of life alive in the dying OS by paying significant sums in pounds sterling to Microsoft for custom updates, while others discovered that 'masking' their computers' operating system as 'POSReady' through certain changes in the registry Despite the fact that outdated (in terms of security) computers running Windows XP remained a fertile ground for virus spread, in some cases machines running this OS actually thwarted the plans of attackers. At least this was the case during one of the recent outbreaks of the WannaCry malware in 2017, when it was noted that they crashed too often into BSOD and 'pretended to be dead,' hindering the spread of the virus whose exploit did not work 'as intended.'
"Unpatched" computers running Windows 7 became the main target for hackers, particularly confused by
Marcus Hutchins, who found the global 'kill switch' for the WannaCry epidemic. While Microsoft is eager to offer an upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 10 Pro for POSReady 2009 computers, the existing hardware is unlikely to benefit from this, as increased system requirements will necessitate replacement.
Well, it’s time to gather around the campfire with burning license agreements, hold hands, and sing memorial songs while gazing at wallpapers of serene green fields.
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Source: habr.com
