Posted on 01/21/2015 2:36:29 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Ok.
It still doesn’t make what I said invalid. If you ran MS, are you going to keep supporting desktop XP forever because some people thought that technological advancement was going to stop at 2001? That’s costing them money to keep having to patch that stuff.
That’s why people arent still sitting on Windows 3.11 or System 7. Eventually stuff needs to move on.
I am a consumer and have been a MS customer. I buy what is useful and functional for my needs. I avoid what isn't and what is simply not worth having because of poor design.
IF MS had simply left the W/8 interface meaning Files, Commands, Command Boxes, Configuration Options etc in the same place as XP then W/8 may have actually not ticked off most of those who bought it and the disaster it became from day one. That part didn't have to be changed for security reasons now did it? No indeed it didn't. User Simplicity and Dependability was XP's strong points and the lack thereof the reason people hated W/8. When the Idiots at MiStake can't even remember to design a click out X that is a sloppy design and poor QC on their part. It means they were in a huge hurry to put out a crappy product for the I gotta have a new OS every two years Geeks and Nerds. Millions of customers use desktops. Offices use them, people over forty prefer them, lots of places use desk tops for many reasons including a screen which they can see. I'm using a 20" LED with fairly large font. A Tablet or especially a phone for Internet is not practical for me not many, many, others.
I'm not saying MS should focus on those groups. What I am saying abandoning the desktop/laptop market and trying instead to go on the cheap to make a Tablet/Phone layout work on Laptop and Desktop is the most stupid idea MS has came up with yet. That is not defendable.
I am considering an upgrade to Win 7. A fresh install of Win 7 would certainly be more stable than my years-old XP. But if I do upgrade to 7 it will be primarily to install XP in a virtual machine so I can still run XP.
I like XP. Does more than I have ever wanted. As a friend once said, “If you like your operating system, you can keep your operating system.”
I have often wondered why MSFT doesn't offer a ‘bare bones’ OS and then sell customizing packages so the user can get exactly what he wants. Sorta like cars used to be 20 years ago.
I can say this for the Linux Community. They build a much better more reliable and simpler to use Browser. Pale Moon is far better than IE. Far more stable. It's nice not having my work disappear when I correct a mistake and type a new sentence only to see all my other work being typed over. A bug MS has never fixed. It showed up on several machines so no it isn't me.
Because they have Morons running Marketing. Like I said before. They could have pulled W/8 off if they had simply left the layout configurations alone. Playing hide and go seek to find files or move them is annoying. I Loathe what they call “The PC” box and the Task Command Layout in the boxes it opens. They are hard to even see. XP was simple a right Click or File, Edit, Tools, tab covered it all.
Report: NSA can hack offline computers via radio waves
To Spy On Offline Computers, Flame Malware Was Designed To Turn Humans Into 'Data Mules'
Your computer does not have to be connected to the Internet to be compromised. Whether it is the unlikely use of RF spying or your grandkids coming over with a USB key full of "pictures they want to show you," you're vulnerable.
I still contend that your rants are those of someone who didn't actually use Windows 8 or immediately said, "Nope" the second you saw it without even a moment's attempt at trying to navigate. If you had, you'd know that you can very easily configure the desktop exactly like XP with a couple of minor configuration changes.
No matter. My job here is to inform, not to scare. If you wish to be blind to the truth, you may continue to do so at your peril.
Honestly, Microsoft's been lambasted by corporate customers, myself included, for their ridiculous licensing schemes. Only recently with Win8.1 did they finally streamline the versioning to real basic "Professional" and "Enterprise" for corporate customers or "Home Premium" and "Ultimate" for home users. If you're not interested in BitLocker (encryption) or Hyper-V (virtualization), Home Premium can be had for less than $100.
I never once said you had to give up XP. I simply warned you and everyone else who read it that XP is no longer supported by Microsoft and WILL eventually become unusable. The best example I can give you is with Win98:
Win98, prior to Second Edition, had two services that ran out of the box: Alerter and Browser. Alerter would allow network messages to pop windows on your desktop and was a favorite attack vector for early script kiddies since it was so ubiquitous. Browser turned your computer into a server and was used as an attack vector for years before Microsoft finally disabled it in XP. If you didn't immediately turn off these two services within 2 minutes of your Win98 machine being attached to the Internet, your computer would be infected with some manner of Trojan horse. The operating system was so popular and so widespread at the time that the Trojan horses were everywhere and would infect any unpatched Win98 machine that multicasted its MAC across a network.
Also, I'd like to point out that WinXP was HEAVILY criticized when it first hit the market. People everywhere were screaming about how monumental the changes were and how hard it was going to be to learn a new OS, etc. etc. It's same stuff I'm hearing out of others in this thread. It wasn't until SP2 and then SP3 that the OS was "stable" enough that people could rely on it.
The fact is if you want to continue to use XP, I'm not telling you to stop. At some point, however, you're putting your personal data at risk.
...
I haven't used IE in years. I'm a Firefox adherent myself. Not sure why you think you're locked into IE on a Windows machine.
NOTHING IS SECURE. My dad was a 45 year Ma Bell Tech. He told me years ago not to say certain things on the phone. The simple truth is a person again is at further risk tossing out non shredded bills, bank statements, or using an EBT requiring a keyed in PIN than likely their computer.
The damaging Hacks are usually aimed at high reward targets such as banks, credit card corps, Government data bases, health care facilities, etc where mass amounts of info can be obtained fast.
If you want to warn about security fine. Just don't pretend W/8 is Ft Knox either.
Look up "ransomware." You're SORELY mistaken if you think that criminals only seek out large targets. Millions of people have lost their data due to ransomware.
Just don't pretend W/8 is Ft Knox either.
Never said it was, but compared to XP, it's a lead-lined safe, even if you aren't using BitLocker.
I downloaded Pale Moon and it works great. Now you've just made my point for me. MS doesn't listen to complaints nor fix age old bugs. Whats a matter? MS Browser not good enough for a MS Expert? LOL.
You’ve digressed into childish insults, and I don’t really see a point in continuing this palaver. An Internet browser does not an OS make.
And My Grandsons Smart Phone just got a hit with a lock up the other day demanding $300 to unlock it because the FBI said he downloaded porn. Yeap that’s security all right.
I just don't believe in pushing a hysteria that is not likely or probable. If a person has not used their XP machine for purchases where financial info could possibly be pulled up then I see no risk that can come from it except possibly eventually a bricked HD. If off line? Why don't they just wait till you leave home and break in instead? Or steal out of your mailbox.
I could tell you IT security stories that would make you doubt your premise completely.
BTW I read your links and you are being somewhat deceptive. Even if you were the federal government with top notched IT’s those computers are vulnerable as well not just Joe Citizen with an old XP Box. It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the age of OS being used. IOW W/8 would be just as vulnerable and will be so for quite a spell.
I could tell you every communication in the USA is randomly or fully monitored. It doesn't mean I'm going to not use my telephone. It means simply like Dad told me thirty years ago I watch what I say on it.
Wanna talk about analog Baby Monitors too? The old cordless analog house phones also broadcasted to the world. You didn't need thousands of dollars bugging gear. $90 at radio shack got you a radio scanner. Remember I posted I could park across a street and tell you what you ordered in the drive through? LOL
Wasn’t being deceptive, I was refuting your claim that you’re any more safe “offline” than you are online. You contention is that you are safe from vulnerabilities if you aren’t connected to a network, and I’m providing links to demonstrate that assertion is false.
I saw a pic of the audience attending. The number of tech writers sporting MacBooks was humorous.
Not slamming Windows OS X mind you, just an observation. ;-).
I might actually download the tech preview and run it in a virtual machine on the Mac. The little crazy woman (tm) has Win 7 and I guess it’s a free update for her in the first year. Since I’m tasked with tech support, I should get a preview look see.
Pfft, I had a shortwave radio in high school that used to pick up conversations from cordless telephones in houses surrounding the school. We had some fun with that.
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