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[NFMike]

Just been pointed to this:
9 must-do's if you must stick with Windows XP

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2014/030514-windows-xp-279403.html

[grendel]

I got round the printer problem (hp laserjet 4) by running an old xp box (with a parallel port) as a print and file server on the home network, run the printer as a shared resource and it still works even on win8 machines - that machine has 3 external hard drives plugged is as file storage, all shared resources and hard wired direct to the router.
Grendel

[RAAArtyGunner]

Just been pointed to this:
9 must-do's if you must stick with Windows XP

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2014/030514-windows-xp-279403.html

So what about these comments, to a certain extent negating the doom and gloom
 
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/software/1304965/when-windows-xp-support-ends-heres-how-to-keep-your-pc-secure

[NFMike]

Well, XP isn't going to fall over the day after support ends, but it will be harder and harder to keep it secure. When a vulnerability is found in almost any 'supported' software - whether that's an OS like XP or Java or an Adobe product - it will eventually be patched which closes the loophole for hackers thus giving them only a limited window of opportunity to crack your system.

Once a package is unsupported newly found holes will remain open and hackers then know they can use them for an attack pretty much forever, which is obviously an attractive target. So users of such systems will need to work much harder to prevent those attacks succeeding - which is essentially what both the articles above are saying.

[malcolmfrary]

For anti virusing etc after the cut-off, it would be sensible to use one of the non-MS offerings.  But whether paid or not, they will only carry on for so long, so the day of doom will approach anyway.  Buying a new OS with built in security might cost less than subscribing to a security outfit.
Another factor is the actual PCs hardware.  It is quite possible that something in or around there will pop its clogs, and it could well be that a backward compatible part is no longer available at a sensible price.  A new box with the current OS might be the economical answer.  Also, a lot of new software relies on features in Windows to work.  If its intended for the current system, it might well not work on an older one.