As of Tuesday, the venerable Windows XP operating system is going kaput. Microsoft has announced that it is pulling update support for the OS which will leave it vulnerable to various cyber threats.

You must make sure that your computer isn’t left to the wilds of the Internet and there is very little time left to act. Here are the things you need to keep in mind:

If you prefer not to roll the dice and ride the Internet bareback aboard XP, there are a number of alternatives to consider:

Upgrade to Windows 8.1
A major reason why Windows is killing off support for XP is the hope that all those OS orphans will migrate to the latest and greatest OS: Windows 8.1. If your computer has at least a 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of hard drive storage, and can run display resolutions of at least 1024 x 768, you definitely can upgrade.

Windows 7 –
Windows 8.1 may be the newest OS build from Microsoft, but it’s far from the only active one. Both the intermediary Windows 7 and Windows Vista OS are semi-viable options, but there are a couple of reasons why you’re better off skipping them.

Vista is perhaps the worst build Microsoft has ever released and should therefore be avoided like the plague. Windows 7 is a better option-if you can find an install disc.

However, now that MS has announced that Windows will be getting its Start Menu back on April 8th, the primary reason for using Windows 7 will soon be nullified.

Jump ship entirely –
If you do not mind learning a new operating system, Apple’s Mac OS is a powerful and popular alternative to Windows. If you’d like something lighter on your wallet, Google’s affordable line of Chromebooks is a great alternative.