Microsoft washes hands of Windows 98

July 11, 2006

As of Tuesday, Microsoft will no longer offer any help for users of its Windows 98 office software system.

The company will not only refuse to provide support over the phone, but it will not be providing any security updates for the system, either. Products that will be affected are Windows 98, Windows 98 second edition, and Windows Millennium edition. It is estimated that about 70 million users worldwide will be affected by the change.

Since 2003 the software giant had been providing support for the three systems at a cost to users, but even that service will no longer available. In a statement, Microsoft said that it would be "ending support for these products because they are outdated and these older operating systems can expose customers to security risks."

Some industry analysts are concerned that the Windows 98 system could become more vulnerable to cyberspace attacks as a result.

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