Microsoft announced:
As of April 8, 2014, support and updates for Windows XP are no longer available. Don’t let your PC go unprotected.
Please be careful with Windows XP.
Because Microsoft are no longer officially supporting XP, it will be unpatched or not fully patched against any new security vulnerabilities that appear.
Make sure you have the latest Service Pack of updates for your version of XP:
- Service Pack 3 for 32-bit XP Windows XP support has ended - Microsoft Support
- Service Pack 2 for 64-bit XP http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17791.
Audacity 2.1.0 and later will require the above Service Packs or it won’t launch.
Also ensure you have a good third-party anti-virus application. Be aware though that this will not give you complete protection against a previously unknown attack.
For some extra protection you can install EMET ( http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/jj653751 ). EMET is very easy to use and strongly recommended.
If it is not practicable for you to update to the much more secure Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10, you can consider installing a Linux operating system instead. Most versions are free and all are very secure.