If you are running Chrome on a Windows XP or Vista machine, you will have received a notification by now on the browser's new tab page that informs you that support for that browser will end soon.
The message reads "This computer will soon stop receiving Google Chrome updates because Windows XP and Windows vista will no longer be supported".
Google announced back in November 2015[1] that it would end support for XP and Vista, and several other operating systems in April 2016.
The announcement may have come as a surprise for users running Windows Vista, as the operating system is still supported by Microsoft until April 2017.
Windows is not the only operating system that is affected by this, as supports ends for some Linux and Mac versions as well.
The following systems are no longer supported by Google Chrome as of April 1, 2016.
- Windows XP and Windows Vista.
- Windows Server 2003 and 2008.
- Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8.
- Any 32-bit version of Linux.
- Ubuntu 12.04.
- Debian 7.
What does it mean?
Google Chrome continues to run on those systems, but the browser won't receive updates anymore including security patches. Basically, Chrome 49 will be the last version of the browser provided for these systems.
Yes, Chrome will continue to function as normal on these platforms. However, you will no longer receive updates and security fixes.
What is Google's suggestion?
A FAQ[2] on the Google Chrome Help forum is rather blunt when it comes to suggestions. Google recommends that Windows users upgrade to Windows 10, Mac OS X users to OS X El Capitain, and Linux users to 64-bit versions of Linux.
And if the computers cannot run those operating system versions, Google recommends investing in a modern computer, Mac or Chromebook.
If your computer is not able to support these newer operating systems, you may want to consider investing in a modern computer, Mac or Chromebook.
What can you do?
You have a couple of options if you don't want to upgrade to a newer operating system or buy a new computer.
- Switch to a Chromium-based web browser that is not Google Chrome. Both Vivaldi[3] and Opera[4] are based on Chromium and will continue to support the dropped operating systems. The advantage of running a Chromium-based browser is that extensions will work for the most part, and that the technology behind the browser and its functionality is similar to Chrome.
- Switch to a non-Chromium-based browser. Firefox[5] or Pale Moon[6] support these unsupported operating systems. Switching to those browsers is a bigger change however than switching to a Chromium-based version as the interface differs more and most extensions are likely also not available as ports.
- Keep on running Chrome 49. This is not bad advise from a security point of view, but you could use sandboxing or virtualization software to improve security. If at all, this is only a temporary solution.
Now You: Are you affected by the change?
Summary
Article Name
This computer will soon stop receiving Google Chrome updates
Description
Google ended support for Chrome on Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003, 2008, Mac OS X 10.8 and older, Linux 32-bit, Ubuntu 12.04 and Debian 7 on April 1, 2016.
Author
Martin Brinkmann
Publisher
Ghacks Technology News
Logo
References
- ^ back in November 2015 (www.ghacks.net)
- ^ A FAQ (productforums.google.com)
- ^ Vivaldi (vivaldi.net)
- ^ Opera (www.opera.com)
- ^ Firefox (www.mozilla.org)
- ^ Pale Moon (www.palemoon.org)
- ^ Facebook (www.facebook.com)
- ^ Twitter (twitter.com)
- ^ Google+ (plus.google.com)
- ^ Home (www.ghacks.net)
- ^ Google Chrome (www.ghacks.net)
Source → This computer will soon stop receiving Google Chrome updates
