Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Support

  • 12 December 2019
  • 4 replies
  • 604 views

Userlevel 7
Badge +28

I need to know how much longer Webroot is going to support Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. I’ve heard rumors of a version split, one to control legacy OSs like these and one that would continue to receive updates. However, I don’t have a confirmation on this, nor how long it will be supported. I received my 60 day notice right before Thanksgiving. There was an email address in the email to contact if you had questions, CustomerSuccess@webroot.com. I emailed them on 12/4/2019 and 8 days later I still haven’t received a response to the question I’m posting here. I also have been working with support on another issue and brought this up to see if they knew anything. The support rep was extremely nice, but he was unable to give me any info on this question.

 

We’re a business customer and need to be able to make a decision, which requires input. If we stick with Webroot we need to know that Webroot is going to support these OSs for the following year because Webroot doesn’t offer a refund for unused licenses. If Webroot isn’t going to support these OSs, I need time to find another solution. This is no disrespect to Webroot, it’s just a matter of doing business with a vendor who is selling us a product that we need to work on these Endpoints for the next year.

 

I realize these versions of Windows are no longer supported by Microsoft and that we should upgrade these Endpoints. However, please don’t respond to this post telling me this because unless you understand our business, you can’t understand the need for them. Some insight on how this affects manufacturers. Manufacturing equipment tends to cost a lot to replace, but doesn’t need to be. We’re a printing company and replacing a printing press that is controlled by a Windows XP PC costs easily around $1.5+ mil. We have two of these that are only around 12 years old. We have older printing presses from before PCs and one is older than 50 years old and still used. I have additional examples of costs for the other PCs and Servers, but I won’t bore you.

 

FYI, I’ve posted this question for the last two years. If you want to see the responses and how many times they’ve been viewed, here’s the links. It’s interesting that old threads like these still have activity and so many views. This tells me that we aren’t the only ones still using these OSs. I can also tell you that my local IT networking group has a number of businesses that are in the same boat, including other manufacturers, schools, and even healthcare companies.

November 1, 2017: https://community.webroot.com/got-a-question-10/windows-xp-and-windows-server-2003-support-305480

October 1, 2018: https://community.webroot.com/got-a-question-10/windows-xp-and-windows-server-2003-support-330132

 

Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

Sincerely,

NicCrockett


This topic has been closed for comments

4 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +28

@khumphrey, any news on these OSs. Our subscription is coming up soon and I need to make a decision.

 

Thanks,

NicCrockett

Userlevel 7
Badge +20

Hey @NicCrockett ,

Let me track down a product manager and see what I can find out. 

Userlevel 7
Badge +28

Thanks @khumphrey, I hope to hear from you soon. So far no one has been able to give me an answer. The support rep I’ve been working with is trying to keep me informed, but he hasn’t had any info to provide on this issue. The only thing he’s found out is that they were discussing the future of supporting these. Unfortunately, as a business, I need a better answer than maybe. Right after I last posted, I noticed @psullivan’s thread on installing Webroot. It mentions Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 specifically and he just posted it within the last hour. Maybe he can offer some insight on this.

 

Thanks,

NicCrockett

Userlevel 7
Badge +28

@psullivan,

 

I realize you might not be in development. So if you aren’t the correct person to tell this to, please just pass it on. In your Install article you posted a link to a version specifically for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Endpoints. I downloaded and saw that it was version 9.0.27.49, which is the latest release. I know for a fact this version and every version that has been released since the Script Shield doesn’t work properly with these OSs. In fact I had support look at my logs for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 7, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows 10 1903 when they were on Webroot version 9.0.26.61. Support said that the Script Shield was displaying problems in every log I sent them. Since then I’ve been able to narrow the Windows XP issue down to when a user logs into an Endpoint. The Script Shield or something else in Webroot blocks the explorer.exe process from starting after the user enters their credentials. This happened again, the day after an Endpoint got the upgrade to 9.0.27.49 last week.

 

Sorry for the bad news, but I thought you’d want to know that there are still issues and I’ve traced it to a specific process in Windows XP. FYI, I’m working with support on the issue and they’ve given me the next version to test, but I haven’t had a chance to install it yet. Unfortunately, since the Command function isn’t working in the GSM Console, I have to manually uninstall Endpoints to do any testing. We are also a business, so I can’t take servers down for that length of time or run untested software on them. There needs to be a policy to turn off the Script Shield. This would make it a lot easier to test and use the software. Legacy Endpoints could continue moving forward with it turned off and newer Endpoints could use it once the kinks have been worked out.

 

Sincerely,

NicCrockett