Google has announced that it will only extend support for the Windows XP version of its Chrome browser up to the end of the year.
The announcement means that Google will only release regular updates and security fixes for the Windows XP version of Chrome for eight more months.
Google has previously said in October 2013 that it will be ceasing Windows XP support for Chrome in April of this year. However, the company's recent announcement reveals that support will continue until the end of December 2015.
Microsoft retired mainstream support for the Windows XP operating system on April 14, 2009 then also pulled out extended support for Windows XP on April 8 of last year.
Google posted the announcement on the official blog for Chrome made by the browser's director of engineering Mark Larson.
Larson explained that, due to the absence of security updates for Windows XP computers for over a year, these computers are at higher risks of critical issues. While Chrome always looks to provide its users with secure Internet browsing environments, computers that are still running on the outdated operating system are always in danger of being attacked by viruses and malware.
Larson said that Google always recommends users to update to operating systems that are more recent and more secure, but the company understands that switching to newer operating systems is not easy.
"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," Larson wrote, explaining why Chrome is going through all the trouble of extending support for an operating system that is now severely outdated.
The fact is that despite the latest version of Chrome, users on Windows XP are still prone to security breaches and should definitely think about upgrading their operating system.
According to data gathered by Net Applications, Windows XP still held a market share of over 16 percent last month, which is a very high number for an operating system that was released in 2001. Users of Windows XP computers can only install up to Internet Explorer 8, when Internet Explorer 11 is the one now used for Windows 8 computers.
As such, many users of Windows XP turn to using third-party browsers such as Chrome, and with Google's announcement, it seems that the trend will continue until at least the end of the year.
Photo: Stephen Shankland | Flickr
