Skip to main content

Windows XP lives again? Registry hack grants security updates until 2019

By now, you’re probably well aware of the fact that Microsoft decided to end support for Windows XP on April 8. But what if there was a secret way to get around Microsoft’s refusal to continue providing support, and receive Windows XP security updates anyway?

It appears that such a workaround may indeed exist.

Recommended Videos

Though the consumer oriented versions of Windows XP are no longer officially supported, there are still many systems running on a version of the OS dubbed Windows Embedded Industry, which continues to receive updates. Windows Embedded Industry is made for devices like retail kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, and similar devices. If you’ve ever run into a frozen train ticket vending machine and wondered why the on-screen image looks like Windows XP, it might have been running Windows Embedded Industry, which is based on Windows XP Service Pack 3.

Using a fairly simple registry tweak, you can allegedly pull the updates meant for use with Windows Embedded Industry to your Windows XP PC. These updates are more or less the same ones that you’d receive if Microsoft were still supporting the consumer-focused flavors of XP, so with these updates, your PC may be pretty well guarded on the Web.

By using such methods, you could provide your Windows XP PC with a form of support until April 9, 2019, according to this Microsoft life cycle fact sheet (here, the OS whose updates you would be pulling is officially called Windows Embedded POSReady 2009).There are two versions of this hack available: one for the 32-bit versions of Windows XP, and another for the 64-bit variants.

Keep in mind that using such trickery always comes with risks, so we can’t by any means say that this is a fool-proof measure, which will allow your system to run free through the Internet while going unscathed by malware and other cyber-ickyness. Therefore, you should use these hacks, and these updates, all at your own risk. 

Could Microsoft simply plug this hole and make it impossible to use these hacks? Perhaps, and only time will tell whether Redmond will choose to take such actions.

However, by doing so, they’d only upset consumers. Then, you might begin to find cheaper Chromebooks a bit more appealing.

We’ll follow up shortly with how-tos that will tell you how to get your hands on these updates.

Konrad Krawczyk
Former Computing Editor
Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…
This optional Windows 11 update is totally worth installing
Windows Update running on a laptop.

Your Windows 11 computer is about to get even better, thanks to the latest KB5041587 update. As Microsoft mentioned in a support page post, this update makes Android file sharing easier, fixes bugs in File Explorer, and adds performance tweaks to Windows Narrator and the voice access feature.

The new update allows you to share files more quickly with your Android device using the Microsoft Phone Link app. You'll need to install the app on your Android device and your Windows 11 computer and go through the setup process, which includes giving quite a few permissions. When sharing from your PC, choose the Phone Link as the destination app, and when sharing from your Android device, select the link for the Windows app as your sharing option.

Read more
I really hope this potential change to Windows updates is true
Windows 11 updates are moving to once a year.

Windows updates have always required a restart to your PC, which is a hassle. However, Microsoft may use hot-patching to make it easier for PCs with Windows 11 24H2 to apply updates without having to reboot their computers.

A support page mentioning the change was first spotted by PhantomOcean 3 in a post on X (formerly Twitter) before the software giant took down the page.

Read more
This Windows Update exploit is downright terrifying
Windows Update running on a laptop.

Windows Update may occasionally backfire with faulty patches, but for the most part, it's meant to keep us safe from the latest threats. Microsoft regularly pushes new patches that address potential vulnerabilities. But what if there were a tool that could undo every Windows Update and leave your PC exposed to all the threats Microsoft thought it had already fixed? Bad news: Such a tool now exists, and it's called Windows Downdate.

Don't worry, though. You're safe from Windows Downdate -- at least for now. The tool was developed as a proof-of-concept by SafeBreach researcher Alon Leviev, and although its potential is nothing short of terrifying, it was made in good faith as an example of something called "white-hat hacking," where researchers try to find vulnerabilities before malicious threat actors can do it first.

Read more