Yes, it's time for XP apocalypse - on Tuesday Microsoft stopped offering support for its 2001 operating system. But before you start freaking out, take a deep breath. Here are five things you need to know about what's really going on.
1. Your computer will still work. Computers running XP are not going to burst into flames, become inoperable or become sentient and punish you for all the times you've cursed at them over the years. Nothing about how your computer runs is changing. All this deadline means is that Microsoft will no longer be sending out official updates to XP.
In fact, even Microsoft Security Essentials updates will continue to roll out until July 2015, giving you plenty of time to either upgrade or find a third-party security product that you like. But don't wait too long.
2. Your ATM will (probably) be fine. Only about 38 percent of the ATMs that were running XP are believed to have migrated off the system. And 95 percent of all ATMs were thought to be on the 12-year-old system, though some may be on a version of the OS that has official support through 2016.
The problem is, to borrow a phrase, the "unknown unknowns" of the situation. Banks and other financial institutions don't know what attacks may come up once official support for XP stops. It's going to become harder to deal with vulnerabilities over time, but it's not as if your corner ATM is going to start spitting out money or broadcasting your account number to the world.