After 17 years, support for the last Windows XP variant comes to an end. Because of changes coming to Windows Update, users have until July to apply final patches.
Extended support for Windows Embedded POSReady 2009—the last supported version of Windows based on Windows XP—ended on April 9, 2019, marking the final end of the Windows NT 5.1 product line after 17 years, 7 months, and 16 days. Counting this edition, Windows XP is the longest-lived version of Windows ever—a record which is unlikely to be beaten.
Other enterprise-targeted variants of Windows XP have reached end-of-life recently, with Windows Embedded Standard 2009 reaching end-of-life on January 8, 2019. Windows Embedded for Point of Service SP3 and XP Embedded SP3 reached end-of-life in 2016, while support for Windows XP Home and Professional SP3 ended five years ago, on April 8, 2014.
Despite the nominal end of support for Windows XP five years ago, the existence of POSReady 2009 allowed users to receive security updates on Windows XP Home and Professional SP3 through the use of a registry hack. Microsoft dissuaded users from doing this, stating that they “do not fully protect Windows XP customers,” though no attempt was apparently made to prevent users from using this hack. With POSReady reaching the end of support, the flow of these security updates will likewise come to an end.
Via TechRepublic