Has the XP Avalanche of Doom struck yet?

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by aztony, Apr 14, 2014.

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  1. aztony

    aztony Registered Member

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    Well tomorrow will be a week since Windows XP officially met its End of Service life. With all the prognostications, and prophecies of doom, that pervaded the internet in the months leading up to that momentous day, this forum included, I am just wondering how my fellow XP compatriots who chose to soldier on with their venerable OS in the face of adversity are faring. I am doing good, no issues so far. How about you?
     
  2. TomAZ

    TomAZ Registered Member

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    No problem here - strong as ever!!
     
  3. CloneRanger

    CloneRanger Registered Member

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    It's the end of the world :D NOT :)
     
  4. guest

    guest Guest

    You know if I still had my XP I'll disconnect it from the internet and turn it into a gaming console. Many XP/2k era games won't work since Vista. All I need are only a VGA cable and a USB fan. :argh:
     
  5. Hungry Man

    Hungry Man Registered Member

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    I wouldn't expect an avalanche. I don't think anyone knows what to expect - it's hard to predict, XP is the most widely used operating system to lose support. We have never had this before, this is nothing like previous versions of Windows, which never scratched XP's market share.

    What we do know is a system without patches and support is easier to attack. Denial of this is nonsensical and not worth a conversation about, you either get this or you don't.

    Given that, you can continue using XP and potentially stay safe, but you are plating a game of chance, and not a game of skill. Maybe you'll get lucky and no one will attack you, but nothing is stopping them from reusing the same vulnerability on every person over and over again, because XP will not get patched.
     
  6. J_L

    J_L Registered Member

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    The chances of infection are no less than winning the lottery for Wilders members I'd say. For average users, they should be on something like Chrome OS to stay safe LOL. As for patching, that will be up to third-parties, but it's more than likely something like KernelEX will be made.
     
  7. Nebulus

    Nebulus Registered Member

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    I think that the avalanche of doom missed me :D
     
  8. Pliskin

    Pliskin Registered Member

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  9. NGRhodes

    NGRhodes Registered Member

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  10. Pliskin

    Pliskin Registered Member

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    Yes, but same updates and sooner or later they are gonna leak.

    Anyway, I'm using XP SP2 fully unpatched, no malware for years (after I ditched IE6). I guess if you are not a target than you are safe. Some common sense is a requirement too, like no IE6, no javascript, etc.
     
  11. wtsinnc

    wtsinnc Registered Member

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    My install is also XP SP-2 and like Pliskin, no known problem with malware following replacement of IE with Firefox.
    Sandboxie, MBAE, and MBAM real-time help the cause !

    As for the lack of MS updates; I have to ask (as I've done previously in other threads) how valuable they really are/were.
    After 200+ or so updates, patches, hotfixes, etc., XP was still being compromised. Whatever and whichever vulnerabilities Microsoft patches, the bad guys will always find another. Concerning those vulnerabilities, it seems that very often the patches were reactionary- after the fact band-aids which did little to nothing to mitigate the damage done.
    The very same is true for every Microsoft operating system.
    Better than nothing I suppose, but I opted out from the update routine about three years ago and don't regret it.

    Now, if you are a user who downloads everything you see from Juarez and other types of chancy websites, then nothing will protect you.
    It's like being a bad driver or unfaithful spouse; if you hunt for trouble you will find it.
    Going there is akin to flipping off a biker gang.
     
  12. moontan

    moontan Registered Member

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  13. Sampei Nihira

    Sampei Nihira Registered Member

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    Until May 13 there will be protection.
    After.......:rolleyes:
     
  14. FreddyFreeloader

    FreddyFreeloader Registered Member

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    Great headline, aztony! Started the day right with a smile.
     
  15. Gullible Jones

    Gullible Jones Registered Member

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    Argh!

    Folks, seriously, please at least use XP SP3 with patches for the known vulnerabilities. There is no reason not to. If installing the updates is too slow, use WSUS Offline Updater or such to create an update CD.
     
  16. aztony

    aztony Registered Member

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    Yeah, but many of the seers of the doom scenario seemed to infer that 'the day after' the XP apocalypse would be unleashed with unstoppable fury as hackers everywhere descended with their black bags of amassed exploits to wreak havoc with the unsupported XP.
     
  17. trott3r

    trott3r Registered Member

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    Yeah exactly,
    too early for exploits based on reverse engineered windows patches until the next patch Tuesday
     
  18. allizomeniz

    allizomeniz Registered Member

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    I would imagine banks, and other sensitive entities who still use XP, rely on more than just MS patches for security. If not, they deserve to get hacked.
     
  19. mattdocs12345

    mattdocs12345 Registered Member

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    You are giving them too much credit
     
  20. safeguy

    safeguy Registered Member

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    Why wait for EOL for avalanche of doom?

    XP users are already "doomed"; at least in terms of OS architecture. It's just that most users don't realize it or refuse to believe it.

    "Scan" + "no malware detected" doesn't mean "secure".

    "No updates" + "I see nothing" doesn't mean "everything is fine".

    Do a search on "in-memory malware". Do a search on "XP and ASLR". Do a search on "kernel flaws". Get the picture? There you go.
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2014
  21. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    So I should throw away a perfectly good machine that has never been infected, so because XP is "doomed" I am afraid this kind of rhetoric stikes me as FUD
     
  22. safeguy

    safeguy Registered Member

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    No one is asking you to throw your machine. At least not me. People are telling that it is not as secure as you think and it's wise to do something about it. If that is FUD to you, I think it's time to look up the meaning.
     
  23. Nebulus

    Nebulus Registered Member

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    I said it before and I will say it again: XP after EOF is no less secure that it was between two Patch Tuesdays (before patches for the new vulnerabilities were published). The only thing that will happen is that no more patches for the new vulnerabilities will be issued. That might look like there won't be a solution for the vulnerabilities that arises after the EOL, but that doesn't mean that there are no alternative ways to protect your XP system.

    Let me give you an example: In the early days of XP, attacks were found that used opened ports as an infection vector. That could be countered by applying the corresponding patching, but it could also be countered by using an inbound firewall. And the firewall protected the system even if no patch was applied.

    I know there are people that rely exclusively on Windows Updates to provide their security, and for them XP EOL is a real problem. They can either learn how to improve their security in other ways (less likely) or switch to another OS and solve their problem (more likely). That doesn't mean though that everyone rely solely on Windows Updates to keep the system secure.
     
  24. aztony

    aztony Registered Member

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    Persistent fear mongering, which at least for M$, hasn't exactly paid off .
     
  25. noone_particular

    noone_particular Registered Member

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    The same movie can be remade just so many times before people get tired of it. They should write a new plot or at the very least, get some new lines for the script.
     
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