05-06-2017, 09:08 AM
13
Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop
Originally Posted by mart
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Deleted. I don't want to be causing problems for you. Maybe I'll express the worry by PM.
Let it be clear that I state only my opinions. I don't state them as facts, I have no proof of AV companies generating viruses or of anything else.
I merely state the situation as I envisage it to be. Lots of money is being made from the existing situation.
05-06-2017, 12:31 PM
14
Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop
Originally Posted by Realist
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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.
I used to pay a monthly subscription to Claranet too in the old dial-up days as well as line rental to BT. It was a total revelation when NTL set up their cable and TV system in our area in the early nineties - 512kb/s download speed and no being kicked off the internet when the phone was in use.
05-06-2017, 03:24 PM
15
Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop
Originally Posted by Realist
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.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.
Disagree with both of these statements.
1) Anti virus companies track, & write fixes for, any new virus which turns up out there. Much of the new feedback comes from their customers and some more comes from virus info travelling around on the web. They will be getting little or nothing from anyone not signed up. I would be surprised if many viruses are model specific. They are just code. (They are only programs in the main) and could even be written in DOS!! If I wrote a virus in basic/DOS which model would it not work on?
2) Everyone on any version of Windows is an equal target. You just have to invite the code onto your PC - usually from the web or via attachments in your email incoming.If you never update your antivirus you remain at risk from every virus ever written.... !
05-06-2017, 07:11 PM
16
Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop
Originally Posted by Tedc
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Disagree with both of these statements.1) Anti virus companies track, & write fixes for, any new virus which turns up out there. Much of the new feedback comes from their customers and some more comes from virus info travelling around on the web. They will be getting little or nothing from anyone not signed up. I would be surprised if many viruses are model specific. They are just code. (They are only programs in the main) and could even be written in DOS!! If I wrote a virus in basic/DOS which model would it not work on?
2) Everyone on any version of Windows is an equal target. You just have to invite the code onto your PC - usually from the web or via attachments in your email incoming.If you never update your antivirus you remain at risk from every virus ever written.... !
Virus writing is not as simple as you suggest imo. To be able to do anything, to be able to change a windows file on the C: drive for example will require you to acquire admin rights. You'll have to find a gap or hole in some piece of software to get around the basic OS controls not to mention getting around any anti-virus.
Those writing viruses will be concentrating on ways to break Windows 10. The newer operating systems are the ones with increased tracking and increased use of fancy programming languages like Javascripting.
Same for mobile phones. If you wanted to extort money or cause general havoc by spending weeks developing a virus, would you target old Nokia "dumb phones" on 2G networks or would you target all the iPhones and fancy Android smart phones on 3G/4G? The answer should be obvious.
Who now in their right mind would be expending effort writing new viruses to exploit Windows XP? No-one imo.
The more front line you are with technology, the more vulnerable you are to viruses and malware imo. But each to their own. Do what feels right.
05-06-2017, 08:48 PM
17
Re: anybody still using windows xp please stop
Originally Posted by Realist
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YVirus writing is not as simple as you suggest imo. To be able to do anything, to be able to change a windows file on the C: drive for example will require you to acquire admin rights. You'll have to find a gap or hole in some piece of software to get around the basic OS controls not to mention getting around any anti-virus.
If the baddie gets a simple keylogger onto your pc he can run it as if it was his!
Every key stroke - including passwords....!
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