Advice Request Windows XP Has More Users than Windows Vista and Windows 8 Combined, Avast Says

[Exterminator]

Windows XP Has More Users than Windows Vista and Windows 8 Combined, Avast Says

Security company Avast has published global Windows usage data as part of the PC Trends Report (PDF document) for the first quarter of 2017, revealing that Windows 7 continues to lead the market with a share that’s close to 50 percent.

While it’s important to note that these figures come from computers running Avast, they do align with the statistics provided by research firms whose main activity is monitoring operating system usage, so there’s a good chance these are accurate.

First and foremost, there’s leader Windows 7. According to Avast, the operating system launched in 2009 is currently powering more than 56 million computers where its antivirus product is installed, and this means a share of no less than 48.35 percent.

Windows 10 is growing, the security firm says, and it managed to reach a share of 30.46 percent, which accounts for a little over 35 million devices running Avast security software.

Windows XP still a super-popular choice
But what’s a little more worrying for everyone, including here Microsoft, users, and Avast itself, is that Windows XP, which was launched in 2001 and no longer receives security updates since April 2014, is still running on more than 6.5 million computers. This means that it has a share of 5.64 percent, more than Windows 8 (2.51 percent) and Windows Vista (2.08 percent) combined.

Windows 8 was launched in 2012 as Microsoft’s new revolution, but its small market share is mostly the result of most people choosing the free upgrade to Windows 8.1. The OS launched one year later has a share of 10.96 percent, which represents 12.7 million PCs running Avast.

For what it’s worth, Windows Vista is also reaching end of support next month, so users who are still running this OS, and there are at least 2 million according to Avast, should already start planning the upgrade. Windows 10 is the safest bet right now, as Windows 7 itself is also projected to reach EOL in January 2020.

 

[jamescv7]

You cannot blame users why they stick to obsolete OS/software.

Sometimes it deals on sales talk and better idea, to encourage a person to switch a must reliable product.

That mentioned in the article is also same on sticking in handy phones rather on touch screen smartphones.

 

[WinXPert]

Can't blame me for sticking with XP than using Win 8.

 

[Arequire]

Doesn't surprise me. I'm sure a lot of those people don't even realise XP is past its end of life date. Doesn't help that Vista was a pathetic joke of an OS and Windows 8 was such an uncomfortable departure from their previous versions and ended up getting a lot of negative press.

 

[Sr. Normal 2.0]

In fact, if I can not install W10 or W7, my doubts will always go towards XP or Linux. I never contemplate the possibility of 8.1 and Vista ... well, as a joke it has been fun, but it is more dangerous than a monkey with Parkinson playing with a bombs box

 

[Winter Soldier]

Yeah, knowing Windows Vista and Windows 8...I'm not really surprised

 

[monkeylove]

In my case, I found Win 8.1 much better than XP (I had to reinstall it every two years or so because of various problems) and even Win 7 (slower on the same system). I also made it look like the latter by using Classic Shell.

 

[Deletedmessiah]

In my case, I found Win 8.1 much better than XP (I had to reinstall it every two years or so because of various problems) and even Win 7 (slower on the same system). I also made it look like the latter by using Classic Shell.

Agreed. Windows 8.1 with classic shell and gestures disabled is better than Windows 7 for me.

 

[Ink]

It should be no surprise.. Windows Vista and 8 are the skipped editions. A lot of people's computer hardware running XP weren't able to handle the requirements of Windows Vista. Users downgraded. Windows 8 was a huge leap from 7 in terms of everything they know and love. Users downgraded.

Currently, Windows 10 Pro users can Defer major updates for a limited time, before they never to upgrade builds.

@Dhruv2193 Windows XP is not supported and therefore no longer reliable or safe to use. It's also 16 it ears behind with current tech.