The bad news is that Firefox will stop supporting Windows XP and Vista in June. I assume that the one browser you can use effectively is Firefox.

You will also run into more problems with browsers.

Whatever you have already installed should be OK as long as the supplier keeps updating the virus signatures. You should therefore install antivirus software that still supports Vista, though I’m not sure which still do, apart from Malwarebytes and Comodo. Microsoft no longer provides Vista security patches, and has stopped updating Microsoft Security Essentials. You are also at a greater risk from malware. It’s no longer worth software providers and websites spending money testing and adapting their code to make sure it works with Vista, so you’re likely to face increasing problems using it online. Microsoft has since launched Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and several versions of Windows 10. Vista was a pretty good operating system, at least after Microsoft released the Service Pack 1 update, but very few people still use it. In particular, hard drives are increasingly prone to fail after about five years, or 50,000 hours use, so it’s important to keep good backups. Any PCs still running Vista are therefore likely to be eight to 10 years old, and showing their age. Microsoft launched Windows Vista in January 2007 and stopped supporting it in April last year. I am not stupid or illiterate, just a little on the broke side, and a bit (OK, a lot) of a procrastinator. But I do need to do something because there is only one web browser I can use effectively, and some websites have begun to shun us unfortunate Vista folks. I use it for writing, blogging, internet access, simple games, nothing intense. It is an HP Model m8530f with an AMD Phenom 9550 quad-core processor and 5GB of memory. I bought my computer with a disability settlement, and I simply don’t have the money for upgrades. I read your article about Windows 10 updates and that most PCs with Vista should be tossed in the trash bin.

Hp windows vista laptop