MetaQuotes is cutting support for one of the most popular operating systems out there. The company’s two trading platforms, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, will no longer be supported under Windows XP.

The changes will come into effect on the 1st of October 2017, when support will also be cut for Windows Vista and Windows 2003. Unlike these last two versions of Microsoft’s operating system, which are not used by many, Windows XP’s market share of operating systems is still rather impressive.

Join the iFX EXPO Asia and discover your gateway to the Asian Markets

The London Summit 2017 is coming, get involved!

According to NetMarketShare, a company which is providing market share statistics for IT infrastructure, Windows XP is the third most popular operating system worldwide. With an almost 7 percent market share, the legacy operating system from Microsoft surpasses the number of computers running Apple’s macOS X suite.

The decision by MetaQuotes has been made in order to protect clients from dangerous vulnerabilities which might arise from using legacy software. Microsoft ended support for Windows XP in 2014 after over 12 years of providing updates.

The market share of Windows XP iOS particularly high in Africa and parts of Asia. The market share of the operating system in China is a remarkable one third of all computers.

The minimum operating system requirement for the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading platforms will now become Windows 7. MetaQuotes strongly recommends that users install the 64-bit version of Windows 10, in order to fully benefit from the latest updates and support.

The only viable alternative for users that cannot make the switch to Windows XP after October 2017 will be web-based versions of the trading platform. Both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 have online and mobile software suites, however these are limited in terms of functionality. Clients that are using expert advisors will have a particularly hard time using web and mobile for their trading.