XP still running on one in six PCs

Ancient operating system still more popular than Windows 8

More than one in six PCs are still running Windows XP, according to new data, which shows the 12-year-old OS is still more popular than Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 combined.

Microsoft ended support for XP in April – leaving it open to a range of security threats – but according to Netmarketshare's figures, it remains popular.

In October, XP's share of the global PC market fell 6.69 points on the month before to 17.18 per cent. The combined share of Windows 8 and its successor Windows 8.1 rose 4.54 points to 16.8 per cent over the same period, leaving it marginally behind XP.

Windows 7 remained the most popular OS, taking 53.05 per cent of the market, up 0.34 points compared with the month before.

On the vendor's most recent earnings call, Microsoft's chief executive Satya Nadella said Windows 10 – the successor to Windows 8.1 – would be the "best Windows release for businesses".

"With hundreds of thousands of pieces of feedback flowing into the team already, Windows 10 will be the most collaborative version of Windows we have ever shipped," he added.