Fight the Free Sh☭t Nation 
Posted on 04/07/2014 8:16:48 PM PDT by smokingfrog
ping
Some high end products in service need a few more days. 32vs64 and that kinda stuff. We are mostly ready.
EV codes and such are behind but sometimes it is a bit complicated. No need to yell or get excited.
RR
Most computers here are not used daily. Some are not even connected to the web.
Some not even connected to a net at all.
I got two (identical) hand-me-down "smart" phones (w/o a phone hookup). I tried them for a day, but found the small screens, my large fingers/thumbs and the limited capability mobile app/interfaces to be sub optimal to a desktop setup (old laptop running a external monitor and keyboard). The smart phones do have some advantages (Ski Tracker).
Otherwise Linux and Android going forward.
People forget automatic teller machines (ATM's) and point-of-sale terminals do NOT run standard Windows XP, but a special version called Windows XP Embedded. Microsoft has publicly stated they will continue to offer security updates for Windows XP Embedded until at least 2016 and possibly as late as 2019.
We put Zorin8 on one of the old XP machines that the kids use...so far it’s pretty nice, so much so that I’m thinking of dual booting it on my Windows7 PC. I wonder how many folks are going to explore an alternate OS because of this?
If it wasn’t for the end of XP support, I’d have never given Linux much thought.
I am fastidious about updating and security, although I don’t know the technical details of it all, I have been like that during all my years of computing and it keeps me trouble free.
Here are some ways to harden your XP if you choose to.
Here are some links for “hardening” XP.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=41138
http://www.thewindowsclub.com/secure-windows-xp-after-end-of-support-april-2014
http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/securing-xp-pcs-after-microsoft-drops-support/
http://www.foxguardsolutions.com/resources/details/xp-mitigation-techniques
There's also this.
"Will Microsoft Security Essentials be supported after April 8, 2014?
"Microsoft Security Essentials will not be available for download on Windows XP after April 8, 2014. If you already have Microsoft Security Essentials installed, you will continue to receive anti-malware signature updates through July 14, 2015. However, please note that PCs running Windows XP after April 8, 2014 should not be considered protected.
"Will Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool be supported after April 8, 2014?
"Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool is aligned with the company's anti-malware engines and signatures, and as such the removal tool will continue to be provided for Windows XP through July 14, 2015. However, any PC running Windows XP after April 8, 2014 should not be considered protected as there will be no security updates for the Windows XP operating system."
Just regular virus, etc. protection for another year? No patches to the operating system to prevent just find it and delete as necessary?
I cannot find it but I think I read on a MS site that continued support for XP business apps can be had for a price.
So, games, text, music/audio, test equipment (frequency analyzers, O-Scope apps, etc), still pics, programming and much video can be processed offline.
Yes, it’s unlikely a virus could get into any ATM’s network.
I believe Microsoft is still offering private paid support for XP which would help those installations limp along. Maybe enterprising Linux systems engineers could produce ports for that same hardware.
Private antiviruses would continue to be able to do the job.
To switch one computer to Windows 7 would cost me over $10,000.00 over the next two years. Win 7 will not run the version of proprietary software I use in my work, and the new version requires quarterly fees on top of the upgrade costs. The version I am running was paid for when I paid for it. No quarterly ransom.
A third of the computers in the world use XP. Right now I’m on an 11 year old laptop. I believe this is simply a way to sell more computers.
“Here’s an idea:
RUN WINDOWS 7 INSTEAD!!!
So endeth the lesson, cheapskates.
Even if Microsoft won’t issue anti-malware, won’t the major anti-virus applications still keep up?
True enough. Some systems might be able to migrate to Windows 7. But not all.
This sounds like a terrific opportunity for Linux, again not a panacea because even Wine can’t run all Windows applications, but many can use it and it will run on older boxen.
I would think so. When I finally made the move from 98SE to XP, it was because a window leaked on a site shack and the computer woke up in a puddle of water, but I seem to recall that the anti-virus still updated. My win 3.11 box was too slow for the web then, and I’d bet the next step will be to make the web (already based on sensory overstimulation) so bloated with video ads the old architecture just won’t handle the load gracefully. That’s why I quit Win95—the internet got so garbaged up with graphics the machine wouldn’t handle it. Seems I still got AV updates until I couldn’t download them.
The Windows XP support cut off should have no effect on ATMs and Kiosk deployments of Windows XP. They are all using Windows XP Embedded and support for Windows XP Embedded will continue until 2016.
Fight the Free Sh☭t Nation
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