anybody still using windows xp please stop

with this recent pc ransomware attack i understand it seems to be people with older versions of windows are affected .if anyone is still using unsupported versions of windows. ie windows xp/vista /windows 8 please stop using and migrate to something more secure like windows 7 [for the moment] windows 8.1 or windows 10 .if your pc/laptop is old then you might consider a version of linux .have used zorin ,linux mint and found them to be exellent [AND FREE] ps with linux you dont need any antivirus

Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop

My computer - currently languishing in the repair shop - runs on Windows XP Professional, which was the best thing microsoft ever produced.

My laptop - currently sulking in a corner somewhere - runs on Windows 8 - which is such total dross I hardly ever use the thing.

This PC is a borrowed one - runs on Vista.

I don't like what I hear about Windows 10 - everyone I know who updated has regretted it so I am wary. I do not like the way it is connected to "The Cloud" or any other outside influence. I need a PC that will do what I want when I want it to - without interference.

How come 'Linux' does not need an antivirus protection?
Will any documents/photos I have already created be compatible with it?
If I tried it and did not like it - is it easy to switch back again or would I lose everything?

Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop

Linux does need antivirus protection. Windows normally comes included with all purchased PC/laptop so it is 1st on the target list for virus makers.

Documents/Photos are all compatible, the specific tool/software which opens the documents/photos is the important part. (e.g. a MS Word doc can be opened/edited on Linux's free LIBRE OFFICE suite)

Switch back again... not so easy, but here is the 1 method;

1. back up your laptop/pc to a portable 1TB drive (cost under £50)
2. get an additional laptop/pc (it can be 2nd hand)
3. put Linux on it (there are many types of LIinux available)
4. start using it.

Importantly a computer not connected to the net (internet) will not suffer any virus.

I advise my retired parents to use their mobile phones to open/reply emails.

Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop

Dual boot is pretty easy to setup these days. The computer pauses on power on and you can choose which operating system you want to use. No selection and it will boot into your first installation. I have this on one of my computers so I can switch between Windows 7 and Ubuntu (Linux). Must admit I very rarely use Ubuntu but it is there if I want to mess around for some reason.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=du...l+boot+windows

Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop

Was is the point of having a computer which is not connected to the internet? That's a bit like having electrical wall sockets not connected to the grid

Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop

I do a lot of work not connected to the Internet, I only connect when I need to find some information.
In reply to the OP Windows XP is no problem to anyone it is too old to interest the hackers.

Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop

Linux can have its difficulties but it is free (unless caring to donate). For home users dissatisfied with Microsoft systems, it would make a very good alternative OS in my opinion. It may take a bit of persistence to learn some aspects of it but it does mostly work straight out of the box.

Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop

Actually I don't subscribe to this philosophy.

Since there are so few Windows XP/Vista machines still around it really isn't in hacker's interests to invest much time and effort on them. Their efforts are better exploited on the more current versions inc Windows 10 of course. That will be their primary target now.

The "ransomware" virus/attack is only a threat to dotards who don't manage their PCs properly. That is entirely regardless of any Windows OS version.

If your PC goes down today, you should be able to simply restore it totally from the ground up and restore a backup onto it. That's just common sense and good practice.

Ransomware no different. If they encrypt your machine then simply boot up into BIOS, format the hard drive, re-install windows and restore from a backup.

In the end, it doesn't take much rational thinking to realise that the people generating all these viruses and malware are not spotty little teenagers sitting in their bedrooms, but rather the anti-virus companies themselves. Without viruses they have no market for their products and hence no subscriptions. It's basically a protection racket. Pay us money or we will infect your machine.

By all means believe it's spotty teenagers in their pyjamas if that makes you feel better about being blackmailed.

Anti-virus companies concentrate on the latest versions of Windows. They aren't interested in past versions and will simply advise you to upgrade.

Thus by staying on older versions of Windows you actually protect yourself better because those are not the target environments for the people writing the viruses imo.

Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop

I agree that people ought to learn to become familiar and comfortable with recovering from infections by way of:

* Reinstalling the operating system and programs. Then restoring files from a back-up.

* Using the factory reset option that most computers bought from major stores come with. Then restoring files from a back-up.

* Restoring the OS, programs and files from a previously made disk image.

These are the ABC of owning a computer but unfortunately, not many learn how to do them. I think this has to be accepted by anyone who might offer help in a computer forum. It's not good to look down on people (the 'dotard' reference) who might be in the middle of a virus/ransomware disaster but not know how to get out of it by using one of the methods above.

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It might be thought part of a conspiracy I suppose but a graph compiled by Kaspersky has shown that Windows 7 was most affected by the WannaCry ransomware worm:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/new...ing-windows-7/

Since it has been said that a patched OS wasn't vulnerable to WannaCry, if the graph is believed, it leads to thinking that the patch issued to stop the exploit was not applied to these Windows 7 64-bit operating systems. Windows 7 updates are voluntary of course and the download/installation needs to be initiated by the user. Perhaps this hasn't been done either because of a conscious decision not to do updates, or because of a lack of interest in computer maintenance.

Also interesting is that Windows 10 64-bit has a showing in the graph. No explanation has been given why. Perhaps it's because some Windows 10 users object to automatic updates and have made the effort to disable them. The necessary patch therefore wouldn't have been applied.

I don't use an AV program myself but not because I think they are a scam. I don't believe AV companies write the mass of malware that abounds these days. The reason I don't use an AV program is because I think there are better protections to be found these days.

Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop

Of course they are scams. They are a protection racket plain and simple. Windows, leaving exploitable gaps in the O/S are equally culpable imo. It's one big money making machine.

I remember vividly when, before the advent of broadband, MS put out it's O/S absolutely chock full of holes and exploitable gaps. It then released "Service Pack 2" which was a whopping pack many many MBs in size which made it totally impossible at the time to download over the old 56K modems we were all using.

So everyone started migrating to broadband, started paying the monthly subscriptions. Very neat !

The populous is constantly being exploited like this. We have BT running a protection racket with all the nuisance telesales calls that no-one wants. They could block all those numbers for us automatically but instead they charge us for the "Caller ID" service which we need to be able to block numbers. A shocking state of affairs really.