Microsoft officially discontinued support for Windows XP on the 8th of April, and we may now be seeing the first deleterious effects of that change. The company today announced a security advisory for all versions of Internet Explorer, dating back to IE 6, and Windows XP users could be at more risk than others.
According to the advisory, a potential hacker could direct unwitting users to a specially crafted website where the exploit would be utilized to gain access to user permissions. This would then allow the hacker to install any programs or access any data on the machine, all without the knowledge of the PC owner.
Although Microsoft has promised to study the exploit and release a security patch as soon as possible, this won't apply to Windows XP now that support has been discontinued. Of course, all Windows users are currently at risk and should take caution with suspicious links or even switch to another browser, but Windows XP users would do well to look for a more permanent resolution in case of future mishaps just like this.