XP's retirement will be hacker heaven

Discussion in 'malware problems & news' started by ronjor, Aug 13, 2013.

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  1. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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    http://www.infoworld.com/d/microsoft-windows/xps-retirement-will-be-hacker-heaven-224796
     
  2. TheKid7

    TheKid7 Registered Member

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    Before next April I may need to upgrade to Windows 7. I have already purchased the 3 PC Windows 7 Upgrade.
     
  3. safeguy

    safeguy Registered Member

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    Slightly less than 8 months to go. Heaven...here we come!
     
  4. noone_particular

    noone_particular Registered Member

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    The hackers will get you if you don't upgrade to our latest and greatest.
    Same old worn out scare tactics.
     
  5. Gullible Jones

    Gullible Jones Registered Member

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    Didn't someone here post about how, given "reasonable" security measures, the chance of a person's computer being compromised on any given day is lower than the chance of dying?

    That said, I wouldn't want to be using XP on a public wifi network after support ends. Heck, I wouldn't want to be using it on a public wifi network right now.
     
  6. noone_particular

    noone_particular Registered Member

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    For the average user, running an unsupported OS is risky. In the hands of a more knowledgeable user with a decent security package, any OS can be made safe against non-targeted attacks. If you are directly targeted, any OS can be exploited so it really won't matter either way.
     
  7. safeguy

    safeguy Registered Member

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    '

    Of course, you can stay relatively safe on systems that are no longer updated with the right tools and practices compared to the many others. However, that in itself is no comparison to security features like DEP/ASLR and Integrity Levels; both of which are rather important if one is serious about mitigating exploits (and not just about blocking payloads). Even then, none of those can replace getting kernel vulnerabilities fixed/patched.

    Exploit Mitigation Kill Chain

    PDF file

    It's true that they are meant to scare but it's for a good reason - there's a dose of realism in it. Only up to you whether you want to believe it or not.
     
  8. safeguy

    safeguy Registered Member

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    It matters. By that logic, none of us should even bother patching or deploying security tools/policies on our systems. Being directly targeted is no excuse for giving up. Of course, nothing is invincible or impenetrable but the core idea is to always make it harder.
     
  9. Hungry Man

    Hungry Man Registered Member

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    Not really. If an attacker wants into a system they have to spend time on it. You can increase the amount of time to the point where it stops being worth it.

    So if the NSA thinks you're hiding secrets about nuclear facilities on your laptop, yes, they will probably be able into it (though you can make it hard even for them).

    But if some typical hacker wouldn't bother if you secure your system enough.

    This topic will be just like every other topic though. Some people will get it, some people won't, and nothing will change.

    We'll see what happens in a year.
     
  10. guest

    guest Guest

    Here we go againo_O o_O o_O

    I bet Win 7 & 8 will be hacked to death before the XP system I'm running will be:D with that being said any system can be hacked:'(
     
  11. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    Security is not the only reason to switch from xp. it is an old OS and alot has changed since it has come out. it will only be a certain amount of time until other companies both hardware and software will stop supporting it.
    Microsoft already provide 10 year support which is a huge margin more than apple and other vendors.

    xp has never really been very safe anyway.
    Being an IT professional I now hate working on customers machines running xp.
    I was quite an early adopter for vista and once SP1 came out I didn't have any issues. I moved to windows 7 due to cheap pricing and learning it for my job and worked great from day one. Windows 8 has worked great from day one as well. People seem to forget that windows xp before SP2 was terrible.

    the other thing is that most windows xp installs are 32bit so most people will need to move to another os if they want more than 4gb of ram.

    I am lookng forward to an xp death clock website to see the usage of xp drop and drop. I do expect windows 7 to raise but only because people do not like change and are not willing to get used to windows 8.
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2013
  12. noone_particular

    noone_particular Registered Member

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    Yep, same old repeating story. Change a few terms and it's the same rhetoric from when 98 support ended, and Win 2K after that. I'm still waiting to see them get hacked to death like they claimed would happen.

    As for a death clock, until MS starts deliberately coding one into the OS, which I wouldn't put past them, there is no such thing.
     
  13. elapsed

    elapsed Registered Member

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    Windows 98 and 2K didn't even come close to the userbase of XP, and thus, were never really targeted. The PC itself didn't even become popular until late after XP. Lest we forget that exploits themselves were hardly even sought after in the 90s. Heck, 99.9% of the discussions were CoolWebSearch or some virus.

    We aren't living in the 90s anymore, and by the looks of it, support will end with a large chunk of market still on XP. An enticing target.

    You cannot compare them whatsoever.

    Quoted for truth.
     
  14. noone_particular

    noone_particular Registered Member

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    Win 2K didn't exist in the 90s. All but the first year of the supported life of 98SE was after 2000. The PC became popular because of XP, not after it. Your popularity argument can be made for most every type of consumer goods in existence. There's more of just about everything than there was 10 years ago.
    Some of us get the motives behind it too. We'll see what happens. Yes, XP units will be fewer in number. It obviously won't gain numbers when it's not sold any more. Popularity numbers mean nothing. They only reflect what's being sold at the time, whether the users want it or not. My XP unit will still be running fine next year. Bet my 98 unit will be too.
     
  15. guest

    guest Guest

    I'll stick to my first post, naysayers will be naysayers
    and life will go on

    and for hardware not supporting XP, I have a Windows 7 web cam and a few other pieces of hardware that were produced for Win 7 and up that are running just fine after a little work on the drivers, if there is a will there is a way, at least most of the time:D
     
  16. Hungry Man

    Hungry Man Registered Member

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    The Risk of Running Windows XP After Support Ends April 2014

    https://blogs.technet.com/b/securit...ws-xp-after-support-ends.aspx?Redirected=true

     
  17. biased

    biased Registered Member

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    I have a theoretical question.

    Suppose you had a second hdd with fresh install of XP on it, maybe any service pack, but closed down any services holding ports open.

    If you only booted this machine (behind NAT router) and only went to banking type websites (with any browser), what would you suppose the chances that you would get hacked or otherwise be unsafe for such using (like banking)?

    Is not there a difference between having your computer hacked, being an inconvenience, versus having it hacked and divulging critical information like account numbers or passwords?

    It might stand to reason then that if any computer OS, when used for only one purpose, could remain safe? That is providing a hacker doesn't make it through your NAT and you only visit sites that are not compromised (meaning only your few bank type websites).

    How would you be "hacked" if you don't visit a site or put removeable media in that might be compromised?
     
  18. Cruise

    Cruise Registered Member

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    Imho, Linux is a great (and free) alternative for those still running XP on legacy PCs to consider. Although I'll continue being a Windows user on my laptop (W7), my old XP desktop (which still runs very well) will be switching to Linux! ;)

    Cruise
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2013
  19. EASTER

    EASTER Registered Member

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    Since windows 98 i always planned for this and prepared for it by pulling in every single conceivable software that later on i could experiment with fashioning a super smart PC.

    Looks like XP is next. I use the latest windows version for internet but reserve all my XP units for strictly OFF-AIR educational and experimental purposes.
     
  20. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    I ditched XP long ago for Vista, and then Windows 7 and 8 - not due for security reasons - I just prefer using Windows 7 and 8 to XP. However, if I was still using XP, I would not feel particularly vulnerable after support has ended. I would have no qualms surfing the internet and download and installing software, using only antivirus software and Windows firewall to protect me.

    I do have an XP laptop which is currently sitting unused, but in the near future I plan to replace the hard drive in it with one with much larger capacity and use it as a backup computer in case my primary laptop decides to malfunction when I'm DJing. When I do upgrade the hard drive, I may upgrade to Windows 8, but there is a possibility I will stick with XP.
     
  21. siljaline

    siljaline Registered Member

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  22. CloneRanger

    CloneRanger Registered Member

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    Who's retiring XP ? not me :D

    Plus if all of the software i use would work on 98SE, i'd still be Very happy & secure using that, as i ALWAYS was, with some nice Apps of course :) And who writes nasties for 98 anymore :D

    Seems to me that, actually as time goes on the less OS % share, the safer you "could" be, due to baddies etc only coding for more recent OS's !
     
  23. theharlequin

    theharlequin Registered Member

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    Doesn't scare me in the least. In fact I haven't used Windows Updates in years. With tight firewall ruleset, sandboxed internet facing apps, and Shadow Defender I'm ready for the horde of hackers to try and get into my computer. They won't find much, anything of importance is transferred to an offline only desktop once it has been scanned with HitmanPro and Virus Total.
     
  24. lotuseclat79

    lotuseclat79 Registered Member

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  25. Nebulus

    Nebulus Registered Member

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    "Zero day forever" sounds like a B-movie title :D
     
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