IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Action Required: End Coming for Windows 2000

Microsoft is warning that the extended support phase is ending for Windows 2000 (server and client), on July 13, 2010 .  In addition, other products with lapsing service ...

Microsoft is warning that the extended support phase is ending for Windows 2000 (server and client), on July 13, 2010 .  In addition, other products with lapsing service include: Windows XP Service Pack 2, Vista RTM, and Windows Server 2003.

Here's what GCN was reporting : " On Wednesday, a Microsoft lifecycle support blog post hinted at grim prospects for those who don't upgrade before that time. Simply put, the end of extended support for those products means that no more security updates will be delivered to patch vulnerabilities in those operating systems. Support articles will remain online, but just for a year.

Microsoft customers who can't upgrade when extended support ends have another option: They can request "custom support" from Microsoft, which will cost extra."

Yes, this is a big deal for many state and local governments. As anyone who suffered through the migration off of Windows NT will tell you, upgrading operating systems can become quite challenging for a long list of reasons. Applications need to be tested in the new environment, and there never seems to be enough time to get systems migrated. These projects required time, resources and priority.    

So what if you stay put? The cost is very expensive to buy continued support on Windows 2000 after July 13, according to my sources. However, if you do nothing with your Windows 2000 servers, you will open up your enterprise to numerous malware threats and other problems.

Within the state of Michigan, we still have dozens of servers on Windows 2000, and we have kicked off a project to virtualize and upgrade these boxes. No doubt, the simpler thing to do is to just get off of older hardware; however, we are utilizing a variety of tools to help upgrade the OS at the same time. This project is sure to cause some unexpected challenges.

What are your plans for Windows 2000 servers? (Feel free to go ahead and brag if you're totally off of this OS.)

 

Daniel J. Lohrmann is an internationally recognized cybersecurity leader, technologist, keynote speaker and author.