January 8, 2016
Anxiety was high around April 8, 2014 when Microsoft officially closed the door on security support for Windows XP. Many envisioned black hats worldwide stockpiling exploits waiting for the day when XP machines would be left permanently exposed.
The anticipated malware apocalypse, however, never really came for the remaining XP machines in circulation.
And now here we are again with another important Microsoft-imposed deadline at hand, and again anxiety is bubbling—but perhaps with good reason this time.
Next Tuesday will bring the first batch of Microsoft security bulletins for 2016 and it will also herald the end of security support for Internet Explorer versions 8, 9 and 10. Microsoft made the call almost 18 months ago, giving businesses ample time to prepare for the day when those versions of IE, battered by zero-days, exploit kits and targeted attacks, should be retired.