Microsoft releases new Windows XP security patches

Microsoft yesterday started issuing new securioty patches. Microsoft issued a 'highly unusual' patch for Windows XP last month to help prevent the spread of the massive WannaCry malware. At least 75,000 computers in 99 countries were affected by the malware which encrypts a computer and demands a $300 ransom before unlocking it.

Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP in April 2014, but the software giant is now taking the unprecedented move of including it in the company's Patch Tuesday round of security updates today. 

Microsoft says it is releasing updates for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and all other more recent unsupported and supported versions of Windows due to an 'elevated risk' of attacks that are similar to the WannaCry malware. The patches will be made available on Microsoft's Download Center or Windows Update. Microsoft says this move to release security updates for platforms not in extended support 'should not be viewed as a departure from our standard servicing policies,' and that this is an exception based on intelligence that led it to believe government organizations may use these new vulnerabilities to attack Windows systems.