Australia ditching Windows XP faster than rest of world

Desktop users in Australia are abandoning Windows XP at a faster rate than the US and UK, according to analytics company StatCounter.

While the 12 year old OS is still used on three out of ten computers globally according to previous reports, it is now used by less than 10 percent of desktop users in Australia according to StatCounter.

That makes XP the fourth most popular OS on Australian desktops, according to StatCounter's numbers. It is the third most popular in the US and UK and in many other countries the OS is still the second most popular on desktops.

Windows XP is now far behind Windows 7 in terms of popularity, with the newer OS claiming just over 50 percent of local desktop usage according to StatCounter. By contrast, Windows XP has 7.7 percent share, while Windows 8 accounts for 8.6 percent of desktops.

Despite this, there are continued warnings about XP. "Its continued presence has serious implications for users, especially businesses, as lack of support may leave their data and systems at risk of exposure to security and virus issues," said Aodhan Cullen, CEO of StatCounter in a statement.

CRN recently ran a poll asking our readers if Microsoft should extend the deadline for supporting Windows XP. 50 percent of readers voted yes.