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Google says it will continue offering security fixes for people running the Chrome browser on Windows XP until April 2015. That's a year after Microsoft's termination date for the aging operating system (OS). For its part, Microsoft has warned users ... not to rely on the Chrome protection and says that even with Google's efforts, users of Windows XP will still face a serious risk of malicious software infection. After launching Windows XP in 2001, Microsoft stopped selling the operating system in 2008. The firm no longer offers Windows XP users technical support, but it has continued to offer ... (view more)

Microsoft has rolled out Service Pack 1 (SP1) for its Windows 7 operating system (OS) as an automatic update. The firm is also encouraging those with automatic updates turned off to manually download SP1 as soon as possible. A 'Service Pack' is a ... collection of important security and functionality updates for a particular operating system. Microsoft first rolled out Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 just over two years ago, in February 2011. SP1 Automatically Downloaded and Installed However, since that time Microsoft has only made SP1 available via manual installation, meaning Windows 7 users were ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed that its newly-released Surface Pro tablet computer will receive hardware support for roughly four-and-a-half years. However, the firm says it will support the Windows 8 Pro software for much longer. Microsoft's announcement ... that it will support Surface Pro hardware until July 2017 is in line with a similar announcement made about the Surface RT tablet last year. The Surface RT will be supported until April 2017. Hardware Repairs to End in 2017 Microsoft says that it will offer hardware repairs for the Surface Pro during that 4.5-year window. Those repairs won't cost ... (view more)

Windows XP End Of Support Countdown Gadget 1.0 Time is running out on Microsoft's decade-old operating system, Windows XP. This handy little gadget will display a clock that counts down to the final moment when Microsoft support for Windows XP ... finally expires in the year 2014. http://www.microsoft.com CurrPorts 2.05 CurrPorts is a software utility designed to help you keep tabs on your Windows computer's open TCP/IP and UDP ports. This program will also allow you to close unwanted connections and kill those processes responsible for opening unwanted ports. Information related to your ports' ... (view more)

PC manufacturer Hewlett-Packard (HP) is advising its customers not to downgrade its computers delivered with the new Windows 8 operating system (OS) already installed. The company says that if customers install Windows 7 on HP computers originally ... equipped with Windows 8, HP will not provide them with support, drivers, or applications. Downgrading was a relatively common practice after the release of the unpopular Windows Vista in 2007, and some say it's being practiced again now that Windows 8 has received more than its fair share of criticism . Downgrading a new computer is especially ... (view more)

To our Valued Readers, In our quest to improve upon Infopackets.com and overall visitor satisfaction to our site, we've rolled out some major changes this past week and will continue to make improvements in the weeks ahead. Some of the changes we've ... rolled out this past week include: additional content: 5 more articles per week added: payment link for donations by PayPal, card, and by mail inclusion of "How To" articles to the site removal of Vibrant Media ads (blue double-underscore links / pop up ads) removal / change of Google ads added: 'Help Support Infopackets' tab at top of page ... (view more)

Microsoft now promises it will support its new Windows RT operating system (OS) with security patches and updates for at least four-and-a-half years. While that may seem like a long time, it's only half as long as Microsoft generally provides ... support for many of its other software products. Windows RT is designed to power a number of portable devices, including Microsoft's own Surface tablet computer . RT is a trimmed-down version of Windows 8 that requires fewer, cheaper resources from a portable device. "Mainstream" Support Phase to Last Until April 2017 Microsoft says it will ... (view more)