NT 4.0 Custom Support Gets Minor Changes

When Windows NT 4.0 Workstation left Extended support in June 2004, Microsoft introduced a custom support package to provide fixes for critical security vulnerabilities that were found while customers migrated to a supported version of Windows. With Windows NT 4.0 Server due to leave Extended support on Dec. 31, 2004, Microsoft is making several small changes to the custom support offering. The custom support program will now do the following:

• Cover both NT 4.0 Workstation and Server; the initial program only covered Workstation
• Expire on Dec. 31, 2006 (instead of Dec. 31, 2005), with contracts available in quarterly (versus six month) increments
• Cover both critical and important vulnerabilities (previously, only critical vulnerabilities were covered).

The program does not provide unlimited support for NT 4.0, but makes available fixes for any security vulnerabilities that may arise while the customer is migrating from NT 4.0 to the latest supported editions of Windows. Due to the age of NT 4.0, Microsoft also does not guarantee that it can fix any security vulnerability; instead, Microsoft may help the customer deploy a workaround.