Microsoft Windows XP is still the most popular operating system. (Image: SFSD Technology Help Desk, via Flickr / CC)

Microsoft Windows XP still reigns supreme and massively popular even after a decade from its launch, says the latest data from web analytics firm Net Applications.

Despite dropping a number of users during the course of last year, Windows XP continues to dominate the market, with Net Applications MarketShare report bearing witness to a very small drop in percentage points of users from 46.86 in March to 46.08 in April.

The catch about the trend in data showed a strange fluctuation in Windows XP users with each passing month since November last year.

Among Windows operating systems covered by the study, Windows 7 placed second and garnered the largest increase in number of users, recording a 38.67 percent market share in April as opposed to 37.54 percent in March.

While Windows XP still has the largest number of users, Microsoft kept firm on its decision to drop support for the outdated version and is urging users and enterprises to abandon the old for the new operating system.

The Redmond-based American company, however, needs to ramp up efforts for users to be aware that it will shutter support for Windows XP in two years’ time, a message it announced last month in a post on the Windows Team Blog, which freaked out enterprises that must now force their thousands of users to make the switch.

Apart from the time and expenses that will come alongside the switch in operating systems, companies also need to meet the minimum hardware requirements for the latest version of Windows, which means additional costs for upgrade.

Users and enterprises must be aware that once Microsoft officially drops support for Windows XP, it will no longer receive regular software patches, security fixes and related updates, endangering computers and the personal data inside them to malware.

About Francis Rey Balolong

A coffee junkie who spends most of his time writing about the latest news on social media and mobile technology. I would definitely consider myself a nerd (in the coolest most hipster way possible). That being said, I love technology, music, writing, and all things mobile. Follow me: Google+ Twitter

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