I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

[japlytic]

http://www.myce.com/news/windows-xp-...nfected-78405/

At the time of posting, a local dentist in my area had computers still running XP, and a local newsagency was still running Server 2003; both of which support from Microsoft has ended.
You may know this, but running an operating system which is no longer supported in certain situations (such as payment processing and healthcare) could be considered to be a violation of law and/or security policy.

[shovenose]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

Finally

[Topcat]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

Makes you wonder what hidden hand is really behind this "virus".....who stands to gain the most.

For what its worth, I upgraded from XP on all my mainstream stuff months before it went EoL. I still have an XP machine for old software, such as nero 6.xxx.....this machine is isolated from the internet.

[pfrcom]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

Lynch mob mentality in action

No details about whether machines were running anti-virus (and if used for Pathology, quite possibly nothing)

But an "old" operating system, must be the culprit

[TechGeek]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

Have a Win2K computer that's isolated from the Internet. Who still uses Win2K?

[kaboom]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

Lynch mob mentality in action

No details about whether machines were running anti-virus (and if used for Pathology, quite possibly nothing)

But an "old" operating system, must be the culprit

Exactly. It couldn't be anything else but that. Nor could it've been any surprises that may have been "deposited"- no, not those.

[Topcat]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

Exactly. It couldn't be anything else but that. Nor could it've been any surprises that may have been "deposited"- no, not those.

I also agree....but in order to keep OS's like that secure, it requires a very competent IT guy knowing what to lock down and how to do it. For an internet-live EoL OS machine that hasn't had a security update in well over a year, its a gamble for the inexperienced. Win2k was a malware wormhole when it went EoL, XP is following suit. If you know your craft when it comes to security, it will be fine.....otherwise, watch out!

[kaboom]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

Makes you wonder what hidden hand is really behind this "virus".....who stands to gain the most.

We all know who that is...
In case anyone's forgotten already, one of the M$ MOs is has been to get "normal" users to throw their hands up, "give up," and move to the latest- for good or bad. This has been true since 1996, in varying degrees.

It happened with shitsta, xbone, hate, and now ten. Like a rapist, they just don't understand no, and will attempt to "force" and "win" at any cost. If not for all the "exposure" and negative reviews of "xbone RT," that platform would be worse than it already is; "just taking it" in the case of winblows not only tells M$ "it's okay" to play these kind of games, it enables and furthers the brazen-ness. Everyone suffers.


M$ is not above sabotage to meet their I-H8-TEN quota.

[stj]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

and on that note, i'm going to try a Debian net-install this week.
never tried Debian before, but i saw some benchmarks yesterday that stood out!

[dmill89]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

The only things I still have XP on are my HTPC (occasionally connected to the internet, but there is nothing on it that I care about, just some music and movies/videos) and an old laptop I use for old software that doesn't work on newer OSs (and it is never connected to the internet).

I probably should upgrade the HTPC to win7 (especially since I have a few spare licenses), but the old Core2Duo E6550 and 4GB of ram really fly on XP, and there is some software on it I would need to replace with later versions for compatibility.

Everything else of mine is on Win7, Linux/FreeBSD, or Server 2008r2.


At work we migrated everything to Win7 and Server 2008r2 by Dec. 2013.

[diif]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

XP is still supported with patches if you are an enterprise paying Microsoft for the extra privilege.
The Microsoft volume license is paid every year and covers whichever OS you want to install (and other Microsoft software.)
(apart from install numbers the version of OS is irrelevant financially to Microsoft)

Yes, clearly this is Microsoft hacking in to force more users to upgrade rather than a user clicking on a link or visiting a well crafted web page or the old favourite, outdated Flash or Java.
I suppose it could have been a hospital patient inserting a USB and installing it, but the stations should be secure with USB disabled.

Antivirus or as it should be in enterprise, end point protection, counts for very little now a days.

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

wait, dont be a freakasaurus. it is not that easy to get infected by a virus. in this type of virus infection case, the weak link is between the keyboard and the chair. someone must have done something stupid like open an email attachment that said "open me! for the sake of opening" or run unsecured web content like flash. not even the latest os with the latest security updates will protect from this kind of "vacuous intellect" behaviour.

the conspiracy theory is relevant too. someone could have been paid off to infect a hospital pc while no one was looking ala in a mission impossible spy/saboteur style kind of thing.

if it were me, i'd be focking pissed off and flip this sheet back at m$' face for pulling a publicity stunt like this and putting people's lives at risk. there are other places for them to pull publicity stunts without putting ppl's lives at risk. there is nothing u can do if m$ decides to go by the backdoor therefore updating to the latest os is a moot point.

[Ascaris]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

XP is still supported with patches if you are an enterprise paying Microsoft for the extra privilege.

Which means, of course, that the patches to keep XP secure DO exist, but they won't let their ordinary customers have them. "We can't be expected to keep patching a 13-year-old product forever," they say, suggesting that the patches no longer exist. But they do, don't they?

[diif]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

Which means, of course, that the patches to keep XP secure DO exist, but they won't let their ordinary customers have them. "We can't be expected to keep patching a 13-year-old product forever," they say, suggesting that the patches no longer exist. But they do, don't they?

They give the patches to those that pay for the support which is not cheap.

The fact the network was XP is irrelevant if we are going for the secret spy infected the network conspiracy.
There is no financial incentive for Microsoft to do this and if a saboteur has direct access to a PC then it's game over regardless of the operating system.

[stj]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

you can forget patches, in places like hospitals and local govrnment you need to shoot the management with a shotgun.

a lot of those places use software wih a browser interface that only works (so they say) with old versions of IE like 5 & 6
even Honda's engineering system for dealership mechanics does it!

[diif]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

you can forget patches, in places like hospitals and local govrnment you need to shoot the management with a shotgun.

a lot of those places use software wih a browser interface that only works (so they say) with old versions of IE like 5 & 6
even Honda's engineering system for dealership mechanics does it!

Yes, it wasn't like XPs EOL was a secret, London Met as well as large chunks of the NHS were both paying a few million £ last year for the continued support of their XP machines.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

wait, dont be a freakasaurus. it is not that easy to get infected by a virus. in this type of virus infection case, the weak link is between the keyboard and the chair. someone must have done something stupid like open an email attachment that said "open me! for the sake of opening" or run unsecured web content like flash. not even the latest os with the latest security updates will protect from this kind of "vacuous intellect" behaviour.

this

And this:

http://www.zdnet.com/article/registr...or-windows-xp/

[Spitz]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

You may know this, but running an operating system which is no longer supported in certain situations (such as payment processing and healthcare) could be considered to be a violation of law and/or security policy.

Do you think that switching to a hacked system like windows 10 meets the hepa and privacy policies?

[stj]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

a fully updated 7 or 8 is as bad as 10, vista should have been spelt "STAZI",
only Linux and BSD are actually legal to use in places that handle secure data.

not that anybody will admit that!

[diif]

Re: I'm off Windows XP (and Server 2003) forever...

a fully updated 7 or 8 is as bad as 10, vista should have been spelt "STAZI",
only Linux and BSD are actually legal to use in places that handle secure data.

not that anybody will admit that!

Care to explain your "..as bad as 10.." comment ?

If the data is that important then it should be on an airgapped PC.
There is also the Enterprise version of Windows 10 that doesn't monitor the stuff the home version does by default (it can be disabled).

If you have some evidence where the DPA or other law/s in the UK is violated by Windows 10, I'm genuinely interested.