Sorry old bud, going to have to disagree a bit on some of that.
digitalferret wrote:
On topic:
cheapest upgrade to W7 is to buy a COA key and d/l the appropriate iso from the list here
http://www.w7forums.com/threads/officia ... ads.12325/This rather than buying disk set from Amazon.
Not being able to find a version of Win7, or a version that is suitable is a load of baulderdash. Seemed to be able to come on here asking about more technical issues quite fine. Im thinking that is just crapola.
digitalferret wrote:
O/T
All this bleating about XP makes me want to cry.
apologies for hijack here but:
The highest risk posed to any PC is that of an inept operator.
Customer confidentiality prevents detail here but the things i see on a weekly basis are both mindblowing and frightening in equal measure.
Regardless of MS OS.
This ranges from machines so bloated with un-necessary s/w loaded by alleged reputable s/w vendors, fed by FUD, they are at snails pace - right the way thro to a complete disregard for any sort of backup procedure, zero risk awareness and ignorance of even the most fundamental hardware / software maintenance.
PC stores sell the unwitting customer solutions to problems that don't exist and allegedly trained staff sell gear that is incompatible with the system it is needed for.
100% agree. I do a lot of work on Edu networks and see many many ridiculous things. - but, you have to remember that it isn't one or the other..
analogy time:
you see someone driving an old crappy car and the steering is shot. They say they cant afford to upgrade, and that they should be ok, they are used to it. I say upgrade the car because it will just continue to cost more money. You might (in my analogy) say no use buying a new car because they cant drive anyway and they will still probably smash it up.
well in my analogy, they have both an old car that is dangerous AND bad driving habits. BUT a new car has a better safety rating and probably handles driver errors better. Kia's, unusually, are fine for this analogy!
With computers, yes user errors abound with newer OS's, but the mitigation is also more robust. Users cant shoot themselves in the foot as easy.
Also, what I see totally ignored is that a computer is NOT a stand-alone machine anymore. You can lose control of your PC quite easily, and more easily on XP, without knowing it. Some people actually know they are infected with malware and either think it is too hard, or don't care and don't remediate. Your computer can be used to harm other family members, collegues and peers, and the general internet. Some of you reading this are infected and your computer is being used right now as a tool to steal other peoples data.
digitalferret wrote:
Microsoft *need* to sell the latest and greatest OS and will bias the market so this happens.
Interesting take on it, in some ways true, but also I would say that no-one works harder on computer security than Microsoft. I heard only recently on the Risky Business podcast that a MS team wrestled with the decision to keep providing patches to OS's that were pirated, and opted to because the internet as a whole did benefit.
It takes a LOT of money to make good safe code and OS's and keep up with the hardware, and also takes a commitment to keep on keeping on 24/7.. so the price for 7, 8, 8.1 is not unreasonable.
[/quote]
digitalferret wrote:
Opting out of the rat race.
Basic (free) XP security if you want to proceed at your own risk (much the same for any MS system tbh)
1 good and likely free AV. (that doesn't load all sorts of ads adware etc) (try Panda - cloud version)
1 good and free companion AV/AM (MBAM - passive mode)
1 sandbox utility (try Sandboxie) and run browsers via this.
Turn off Hide Extensions of known file types (majority of malware i see here is via email using a disguised .exe file)
Use Ninite.com to update/grab s/w. it declines all the free offers of taskbars and apps by default.
Back up important files to off-machine device.
Decline all "click this/view this" offers via email.
Disable javascript if you can get by without it.
Unplug net cable when net not in use.
If you aren't tied to proprietary (business) software give Linux a try.
If you are really paranoid about going online, use a LiveCD to browse the net.
Did i mention BackUps ?
The users that are capable of this are probably not in the subset of users talked about before, that cock things up for themselves.
Most users don't understand things like https, certificates, what any of the warnings actually mean when browsing, difference between virii and other malware, botnets, what a drive by download means, the difference between a file extension and a file type (say..wmv labelled as an .mp4.. wmv can have code embedded), don't know what ASLR is or why it is better to have an OS that supports it, etc etc.. The talk about windows 8 NEVER includes any of the work done to increase security.. I am willing to bet that no person on this forum could write a working remote code execution attack for 8.1, but for winXP, or at least XPSP2 probably a few of us could given a few days.
Must piss of MS to no end that all the talk about win8 is about the stupid tile look and navigation, and not about all the code/security/support improvements(I hated 8 when I tried it too and haven't had the heart to try 8.1 yet).
If you have done a lot of group policy work and active directory, you might not have the love for XP after battling dual compatibility. I took out the last XP box from one school, and with them gone a swag of issues are now gone.
the last thing overlooked is the ratio of your total computer security model, AV, not clicking shit, and other practices...to the attackers skill at trying to compromise you. Many people forget or don't know that there are millions of people studying user behaviour at such a level that you wouldn't even believe it. There are people trawling through code with debuggers and disassembling the programs you run looking for the next way to exploit you. There are teams of people with millions of stolen dollars figuring out any possible way to infect your computer. there are probably thousands of exploits for the variety of devices out there. they can try them all, many times over. They can automate every known working attack as well, and they do. They can check what browser you have and throw thousands of exploits at it. How many times do they need to be successful?? ONCE.
Why would you not do everything you can to protect yourself.
digitalferret wrote:
/rant
Ditto!!

digitalferret wrote:
oh and btw, this XP box just ran an MS auto-update and prompted for reboot ...... >.<
Yes they wussed out and provided a patch, after the end of support, for a pretty nasty IE vuln. I expect they will release some from time to time, but no-one should expect it. Another recent bug however has not yet been patched for XP