The End For Windows 98 Will Leave It Open to Attack

As I mentioned earlier, Windows 98 and ME will have all support stopped by Microsoft. After July 11th, there will not be anymore updates for both of those operating systems. If any flaws are discovered that could allow hackers to attack either of those operating systems, then it isn't likely that they will be patched (fixed). What I missed is there is already a flaw that hasn't been patched by Microsoft. It does not appear that it will be fixed either.

In April, one of the patches released did not include Windows 98 or ME, even though they were vulnerable. The vulnerbility is a critical one that can allow a hacker to take over the computer and install programs and steal data. In the release notes from Microsoft ( You have to scroll down to General Information and then click the FAQ) the following is said:

If Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), and Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (ME) are listed as an affected product, why is Microsoft not issuing security updates for them?

During the development of Windows 2000, significant enhancements were made to the underlying architecture of Windows Explorer. The Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), and Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (ME) Windows Explorer architecture is much less robust than the more recent Windows architectures. Due to these fundamental differences, after extensive investigation, Microsoft has found that it is not feasible to make the extensive changes necessary to Windows Explorer on Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), and Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (ME) to eliminate the vulnerability. To do so would require reengineer a significant amount of a critical core component of the operating system. After such a reengineering effort, there would be no assurance that applications designed to run on these platforms would continue to operate on the updated system.

If a security problem this bad is not going to be fixed, then there is no doubt Microsoft will really stop supporting 98 this time. Windows 98 has been scheduled to have support stopped two times before, but had an extension to add time to it's support.

If you are one of the few who still uses either of these operating systems, then you really need to look at getting an upgrade to XP Home or getting a new computer.