First launched in 2001, Microsoft's Windows XP operating system is known to have been inactive for a long time.
However, according to data from NetMarketShare, this OS is still used by millions of users.
Quoted oxibox from Techradar, in August 2020 alone, there were 1.26 percent of all laptops and desktop computers around the world, still using the 19-year-old OS.
That percentage figure is much higher than that of younger operating systems such as Windows 8 (0.57%), ChromeOS (0.42%), and Windows Vista (0.12%).
Windows XP officially reached end of life on April 14, 2014, this means Microsoft hasn't provided critical technical, and security updates to the OS for over 6 years.
It is estimated that there are more than 2 billion computers circulating around the world that run unsafely, including about 25.2 million PCs with Windows XP.
Windows 10 market share
Meanwhile, Windows 10 is now used by more than 60 percent of computer users worldwide, up from more than 50 percent from two a year ago.
The figures highlight Microsoft's perennial market dominance, although Apple Mac computers are also notable.
The closest non-Microsoft rival by market share is Mac OS X 10.15 with 3.49 percent, followed by Mac OS X 10.14 (2.96 percent) and 10.13 (1.44 percent).
The rapid increase in Windows 10 users reflects an equivalent decline in the percentage of machines running Windows 7, which fell from 31.53 percent to 22.31% over the past year.
Windows 7 is known to have reached end of life in January 2020, it is important for users to upgrade to Microsoft's latest OS to be protected against unpatched vulnerabilities
Microsoft will no longer provide security patches for outdated operating systems, cybercriminals can dedicate resources to developing malware specifically designed to exploit vulnerabilities of legacy devices.
Given the large number of computers that are still running on unsupported operating systems, various potential attacks can occur to users.
Users are advised to update to the latest Windows, Mac or Linux OS and protect their devices with antivirus.***