The ATM products further harden the systems by controlling the the USB subsystem, network interfaces, and the installation and configuration of software. According to Stewart, the large majority of Windows ATMs run the regular Pro edition (although heavily modified and run with the embedded restrictions). Unfortunately, there isn't much good news here. With Windows 7, Microsoft has added an embedded flavor called " Windows 7 Embedded POSReady," but this is targeted at point of sale systems, not ATMs. This means minimizing the number of places the device can be compromised.Īnother point worth clarifying: Some recent stories have pointed out that, while Windows XP may reach end of life this April, Windows XP Embedded will continue to receive security updates till January 2016. Some of the rules are concerned with making the device look less like a PC to the user (for instance, not showing the Windows banner screen on boot), but many of them are about minimizing the attack surface, as security analysts put it.
#Windows xp embedded end of life how to#
First, ATMs may run x86 processors and have a basic PC architecture, but they aren't actual PCs and they don't run a plain, standard install of Windows.Īs a general rule, ATMs run Windows "with embedded restrictions." What is that? Here are Microsoft's instructions for running How to Implement Windows XP Professional with Embedded Restrictions and How to Implement Windows 7 with Embedded Restrictions. This is definitely a bad thing, but when you think about ATMs and how they work, it's less of a bad thing than it might at first seem. In spite of this, the clear majority of systems, perhaps 80 percent, still run Windows XP, both abroad and in the US.
#Windows xp embedded end of life upgrade#
Diebold has been selling ATMs based on current versions of Windows 7 Professional since 2011 and there are many upgrade projects in process. Like any one with an appreciation for the potential problems, Stewart wishes that all customers would upgrade to a more current and better-supporter platform. I spoke with Dean Stewart, Senior Director, Self-Service Product Management at Diebold, one of the leading manufacturers of ATMs and supporting products and services.