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Can businesses stick with Windows XP and still avoid a hacking disaster?
TechRadar ^ | February 15, 2015 | Rene Millman

Posted on 04/08/2015 5:05:37 PM PDT by Utilizer

Even though the deadline for any type of support for Windows XP was up last April, many organisations are still using the venerable operating system to power their PCs and the applications that run on them.

But XP was never a truly secure OS to begin with and despite numerous patches over the years, new vulnerabilities have been found. Of course, since April 2014, no more updates have been provided by Microsoft on general release and this has left anyone still running XP very much exposed to hacking and security breaches.

According to figures from IT security firm Secunia taken from scans by its Personal Software Inspector, around 15.17% of computers around the world are still using Windows XP. Nearly 18% of users are still running with an old version of Internet Explorer.

(Excerpt) Read more at techradar.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: microsoft; pos; windows; windowsxp; xp
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To: Utilizer

THANK YOU,


61 posted on 04/08/2015 8:35:18 PM PDT by tommix2
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To: Up Yours Marxists

Go Carthage!!!


62 posted on 04/08/2015 8:42:32 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi - Revolution is a'brewin!!!)
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To: tommix2

Most welcome, mate. :)


63 posted on 04/08/2015 8:42:35 PM PDT by Utilizer (Bacon A'kbar! - In world today are only peaceful people, and the muzlims trying to kill them)
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To: Utilizer

Okay. I have an Asus Netbook with XP and 1 MB of Ram, and a Dell laptop with XP and 2 NB of Ram.

The Asus can be upgrade to 2 MB of Ram, but the Dell is maxed out.

Can I install Win 7, on these computers and expect reasonable performance, mainly on the Internet?


64 posted on 04/08/2015 9:11:18 PM PDT by truth_seeker
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To: Utilizer

Thank you to all et al, 52the neanderthal,47Norms revenge
I really appreciate all I’ve learned on this thread.I spent many nights at key punch machines in th 60s before we had PCs Several of you composed very complete replies Well done


65 posted on 04/08/2015 9:19:15 PM PDT by tommix2
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To: truth_seeker

I have a recent model ASUS notebook with Win 7 Works fine


66 posted on 04/08/2015 9:24:35 PM PDT by tommix2
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To: truth_seeker

I understand that Win7 requires a minimum of 1GB of RAM, whereas XP runs well with 512MB. For simple browsing and youtube viewing your machines should have no major problems assuming you have sufficient download speeds to view any streaming video.

Some people do not like the Win7 layout so be prepared for that, but simple web browsing is not demanding at all. Stay away from MS Explorer, however, just to be on the safe side. Firefox, Chrome, and Opera work much better but your preferences may differ.

Consider switching to a Linux distro, or alternatively you can remain with XP and boot from a Kiosk Distro (Linux) for simple browsing and emailing so nothing can corrupt your machine. This is especially helpful when you do not want any unnecessary downloads to occur. The Kiosk Distro will not allow anything to be saved to the computer -which bypasses all malware and rootkit potential hazards.

More memory is always helpful, but it varies depending upon the OS. Mepis Linux v8.0, for example, runs just fine with 512MB of memory. I have it installed on a Compaq laptop with a 1.6GHz Celeron CPU and it responds quite well.

Hope that helps.


67 posted on 04/08/2015 9:26:21 PM PDT by Utilizer (Bacon A'kbar! - In world today are only peaceful people, and the muzlims trying to kill them)
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To: sjm_888
It should tell you that Win 8/8.1 is a piece of crap, and possibly that I might be a trifle busy with real life.

BTW - I have 6 machines running that do various things for me, with various OSes.

I tend to stick to the older operating systems because I don't feel the need to splash out on the new crap Win OSes that the children are producing. The Microsofties rightly "relieved" the weenie responsible for Win 8 of command.

Mostly shifting to Linux, for the ease of maintenance. It's hard to convince my Windows users to give up their MS security blanket, though...

68 posted on 04/08/2015 9:45:56 PM PDT by kiryandil (Egging the battleship USS Sarah Palin from their little Progressive rowboats...)
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To: Up Yours Marxists
Just jumped into the deep end of the pool with tablets.

Fascinating, as Spock would say.

69 posted on 04/08/2015 9:47:06 PM PDT by kiryandil (Egging the battleship USS Sarah Palin from their little Progressive rowboats...)
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To: Up Yours Marxists; theneanderthal
Windows 7 is just a newer better XP. Pony up the measly $299 and get yourself a newer faster computer.

Trouble is, the MS bastiches don't want to sell you Win 7 any more. They want you to buy the Giant Suck Win 8.

Putting XP on a new machine is like putting a 6 grand paint job on a rusty bucket Lincoln.

Aye, you have the right of that. He could go with Ubuntu & a dual boot.

70 posted on 04/08/2015 9:51:28 PM PDT by kiryandil (Egging the battleship USS Sarah Palin from their little Progressive rowboats...)
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To: cynwoody
Also, avoid Adobe Reader. Use Foxit instead.

Foxit - if you don't like RAM-sucking pigs like A-dopey RAMsucker...

71 posted on 04/08/2015 9:53:30 PM PDT by kiryandil (Egging the battleship USS Sarah Palin from their little Progressive rowboats...)
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To: Up Yours Marxists
Fortran. I hated that during my masters program. Was an engineer who started with a slide rule in the late 50’s. Then management want me to learn punched tape to program milling machines in the mid 60’s. G code? No thanks. Then onto VAX. Etc.

LOL! I watched the line around the corner into the punchcard room for a while, and decided programming wasn't for me.

Later, they dispensed with that & brought in the first IBM PCs. I gave it the green light then.

We also had a VAX to play with - can't understand why it wasn't more heavily used. Got my first taste of Unix there.

72 posted on 04/08/2015 10:00:16 PM PDT by kiryandil (Egging the battleship USS Sarah Palin from their little Progressive rowboats...)
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To: truth_seeker; Utilizer
Can I install Win 7, on these computers and expect reasonable performance, mainly on the Internet?

Nah. Stay on XP. Practice Safe Hex (good AV, don't go to stupid places), stay behind a router, and don't use Internet Explorer or Windows Media Player online... You'll be fine.

Start looking for used Vista or Win7 based machines - You can probably replace what you have pretty cheaply and move up a couple generations. I have a later model Vista era machine running my TV that my kid found for 50 bucks. Runs like a champ, and would be way better technically than anything you can do with your present hardware. Older Vista/win7 boxes are all over the place under $150...

73 posted on 04/08/2015 10:09:58 PM PDT by roamer_1 (Globalism is just socialism in a business suit.)
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To: Utilizer

Okay, I see — it’s more of a case-by-case type of thing once you’ve identified a problem.


74 posted on 04/08/2015 11:52:31 PM PDT by Yardstick
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To: Yardstick

Yes, and generally as soon as a problem was detected the net became filled with pointers to the fix so as to solve the problem ASAP.

If it is a well-known/historical problem, the fix has been posted and archived, so a bit of searching will get you where you need to be.

If it is indeed a new problem, it needs to be posted about and then the various coders will have a look and get to work on the problem -and you will have identified a problem that can possibly affect many other users so you have then begun the correction process.


75 posted on 04/09/2015 12:25:43 AM PDT by Utilizer (Bacon A'kbar! - In world today are only peaceful people, and the muzlims trying to kill them)
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To: Utilizer

This is embarrassing to say, but I believe in simplicity. Version two or TCW 2 from about 1995 suits all of my needs perfectly and does work on Windows 7, perfectly on XP and earlier and will print drawings.

I did buy vsn 3 and maybe 6. Both will convert TCW 2 to those versions, and those versions will convert to vsn 10, which I also tried out.

The dxf file converter for TCW 2 does not work with later versions of TurboCad or AutoCad.

The computer I just bought is 64 bit with the Intel i7 quadcore & 8 GB of memory. I bought it to run a video editing program called Cyberlink which is very resource demanding. If TC2 works on this, it will be like running a Model T along side a new Rolls Royce.

I’m actually animating TCW 2 files to make a movie.


76 posted on 04/09/2015 5:22:54 AM PDT by redfreedom (All it takes for evil to win is for good people to do nothing - that's how the left took over.)
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To: redfreedom

I did the majority of My work in TCW v4 and some of the finish work in v5, primarily for its 3D capability. I purchased the occasional newer versions as they came along when I felt they added more functions or better 3D modeling that I could use on various project. I believe I got v4 to work in XP, and v7.1 works natively. Haven’t yet tried OrCAD or AutoCAD in XP.

The .dxf and .dcw converters in v4 and v5 were upgraded and worked much better than previous versions, although sometimes it was simply a matter of adding some CAD fonts for a successful conversion.

TCW v4 works well in Linux running under WINE, and prints as long as you already have the cups and lpt files configured to print already. If linux can print to your particular model, TurboCAD will print. At the most, I have had to convert a drawing to something like a pic file and print it that way using gimp or in OpenOffice, usually when I have not yet configured the printer.


77 posted on 04/09/2015 8:36:13 AM PDT by Utilizer (Bacon A'kbar! - In world today are only peaceful people, and the muzlims trying to kill them)
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To: plain talk

I do too. I’ve added Avast and Online Armor along with The Proxomitron. No worries here.


78 posted on 04/09/2015 12:59:46 PM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Those too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.)
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To: NormsRevenge
What the heck is that anyway?

"Safe? This is obviously a usage of the word 'safe' that I have previously been unaware of."
- - Arthur Dent.

79 posted on 04/09/2015 1:12:22 PM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Those too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

thanks. I never even heard of those things and probably could not figure out how to use them but will investigate


80 posted on 04/09/2015 2:03:17 PM PDT by plain talk
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