Banks paid millions for continued Windows XP security updates, but a simple registry tweak enables those updates for free. Windows XP users might want to rejoice as there’s a registry hack that will let those machines continue to receive security updates until April 2019…all for low, low price of free.A week before Microsoft ended XP support, 95% of the world’s 2.2 million ATMs were still running XP; banks were willing to cough up millions upon millions to pay Microsoft for extended support. ATMs, cash registers and self-service checkouts use a different breed of stripped-down XP; it has a smaller footprint and is meant for point-of-sale devices, but this registry hack will also work for “regular” XP machines, according to ghacks.What makes this interesting is the fact that Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 is based on Windows XP Service Pack 3, and that the security updates released for that system are identical with the ones that Microsoft would have released for XP systems.The extended support for Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 systems ends on April 9th, 2019 which means that you can use the trick to get another five years of security patches for XP.For 32-bit versions of Windows XP SP3, tweak the registry by opening Notepad, and pasting in:Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMWPAPosReady]“Installed”=dword:00000001Then Save As xp.reg. Note, the “.reg” file extension, not the default .txt. Alternately, you can download the registry tweak.For 64-bit versions of XP, there is a workaround on Sebijk. The site is originally in German, but here’s the English translation. Users really should migrate away from XP, and continued security updates won’t change that fact. Microsoft harped on about that for the last six months, how Windows XP is less secure than more modern versions of Windows.After changing the registry, Betanews grabbed a screenshot showing security updates for WEPOS and POSReady 2009. But Microsoft will probably also issue a reminder that those updates are not meant for desktop systems. Still, it seems worth trying if you haven’t moved away from XP and haven’t paid the Redmond giant millions for continued support.Like this? Here’s more posts:Hacking hotels, shells, cellphones, cars and more mischief coming to Black HatMicrosoft knew about ‘new’ Internet Explorer zero-day for 7 months but won’t patchYikes, ICS-CERT reminds public utilities about dangers of remote access without firewallNew NSA Chief expects attacks attempting to damage, destroy critical infrastructureHuge demand for NSA-proof email: ProtonMail uses a month’s server capacity in 3 daysSmart toilet spying on health is a hoax, but is there privacy in a public potty?No reasonable expectation of privacy when third parties cross the creepy line?Over 70% of energy and financial firms say cyberattacks coming within 12 monthsMicrosoft shares 2 cybersecurity papers to protect infrastructure and supply chainFollow me on Twitter @PrivacyFanatic Related content news Dow Jones watchlist of high-risk businesses, people found on unsecured database A Dow Jones watchlist of 2.4 million at-risk businesses, politicians, and individuals was left unprotected on public cloud server. By Ms. Smith Feb 28, 2019 4 mins Data Breach Hacking Security news Ransomware attacks hit Florida ISP, Australian cardiology group Ransomware attacks might be on the decline, but that doesn't mean we don't have new victims. A Florida ISP and an Australian cardiology group were hit recently. By Ms. Smith Feb 27, 2019 4 mins Ransomware Security news Bare-metal cloud servers vulnerable to Cloudborne flaw Researchers warn that firmware backdoors planted on bare-metal cloud servers could later be exploited to brick a different customer’s server, to steal their data, or for ransomware attacks. By Ms. Smith Feb 26, 2019 3 mins Cloud Computing Security news Meet the man-in-the-room attack: Hackers can invisibly eavesdrop on Bigscreen VR users Flaws in Bigscreen could allow 'invisible Peeping Tom' hackers to eavesdrop on Bigscreen VR users, to discreetly deliver malware payloads, to completely control victims' computers and even to start a worm infection spreading through VR By Ms. Smith Feb 21, 2019 4 mins Hacking Vulnerabilities Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe