Just one month left for Office 2000 users

by Steve Ragan - Jun 8 2009, 14:00

Microsoft has presented music to the fat lady, and on July 14 she will sing the final notes for Office 2000. On that date, Microsoft will halt support its long-serving software suite, meaning there will be no patches of any kind, security or otherwise, as Office 2000 moves into extended support mode.

One forward-looking company, Fortify Software, is urging businesses to act early and prepare for Microsoft’s withdrawal of its security updates.

"That date is, of course, Patch Tuesday, so Office 2000 users can expect their last security patches for this still-popular version of Office to be issued on that date," said Richard Kirk, Fortify's European director.

"From that date onwards, however, if any security threats are discovered with this version of Office, no patches or updates will be issued," he added. 

Launched in June of 1999, the discontinuance of Office 2000 should come as no surprise. Microsoft maintains a policy to support business software for only 10 years, with half of that period considered to be mainstream support while the other half is in a limited capacity.

During the entire product support lifecycle, Microsoft issues security patches to every product. In May, for example, Microsoft patched 15 issues in PowerPoint 2000, and over the past year there have been over a dozen patches pushed for Office 2000 related issues.

Although companies should now start preparing to upgrade to later versions of the software, Kirk says users of customised applications - typically operating as a macro extensions of Office 2000 - should start reworking their specialist software as soon as practicable.

This, he explains, is because the development process will take time, especially since firms should also include program code auditing in their software's development. Organizations using custom Office extension applications should also avoid the temptation to carry on using Office 2000.

"As soon as we reach July 14, the Malware clock will start ticking on this version of Office," Kirk said, adding that criminals are likely looking to exploit the lack of patching for Office 2000.
 
"This is no reflection on the efficacy of Microsoft's software, merely the fact that [criminals] and Malware developers will now be gunning for Office 2000. Companies need to be aware of this possibility and prepare accordingly."

In addition to Office 2000 support, the Office Update Inventory Tool will also be decommissioned. The tool will be available for download, but will no longer be updated as of July 14, 2009. Instead, businesses should use Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).

Moreover, Microsoft will discontinue support for the Office Update Web site.

Customers can access the equivalent functionality of the Office Update site via Microsoft Update. This change takes effect on August 01, 2009.

Microsoft has said it is currently working on Office 2010, with limited testing expected to start in July.

More information can be found by clicking here.

Want regular updates from The Tech Herald? Follow us on Twitter.

Interested in a more interactive TTH? Join our Facebook Group.

Around the Web