A surprisingly large number of people are still using Windows XP; and why not? It’s proven to be a reliable operating system without the bloat of the newer Microsoft operating systems.
After April 8, 2014, Microsoft will no longer support Windows XP. So what does that mean to you?
As an unsupported version of Windows, it will no longer receive software updates from Windows Update. These include security updates that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.
Windows XP will continue to run
Even if you have an unsupported version of Windows XP, it will continue to start and run as usual, however, businesses need to insure a level of security on their computer systems to avoid liability. Minimizing the number of systems running unsupported operating systems is helpful in achieving that.
For full details about the support policy, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ.