Both security experts and Microsoft itself have warned that the impending end-of-life date for Windows XP could spark a hacker holiday, as the still-popular operating system will stop receiving security patches to plug vulnerability holes. Microsoft went so far as to warn that people who continue to run Windows XP beyond April will forever suffer from zero day exploits that could harm both your PC and spread to infect your friends.
Microsoft’s solution, naturally, entails upgrading to a new version of Windows or picking up a newer PC. Munich’s solution is much less costly: The city plans to distribute 2,000 Ubuntu Linux installation discs via the Gasteig library, giving its citizens a no-cost solution to the Windows XP conundrum.