Microsoft Withdraws Windows Support

July 11th, 2006: Microsoft has abandoned it’s older Windows applications due to their “architectural obsolescence” as the company describes it.

Microsoft will no longer provide technical support for Windows 98 or ME. Microsoft has been warning users for some time that the support for older systems, including delivery of security updates, would be cut off after today.

The final support stage for Windows 98 and Millennium has previously been extended from January 2004 to June 2006. This was later moved to today to allow for one final security release to be made before support was cut off. A spokeswoman for Microsoft Australia told IDM “Microsoft is retiring support for these products because they are outdated and can expose customers to security risks. However, existing support documents and content will continue to be available through the through the Microsoft Support Product Solution Centre Websites”.

Users of the obsolete operating systems have been urged by Microsoft to upgrade to Windows XP. Windows XP SP2, the last major update of the operating system was released in August 2004.