Posted on 10/21/2018 8:03:02 PM PDT by dayglored
Still Windows 7 Pro 64-bit here, and I plan to for a long time to come. Heck, I got my computers dual-booted with XP and 7.
That you know of. FWIW, most corporate hacks were in the works for months before the actual attack. Just because your virus scanner says you're safe doesn't make it so. The bad guys don't use viruses anymore.
My VISTA machine is still chugging along.
What’s your opinion of MalwareBytes, in combination w/ Norton 365?
“Win 7 Pro 64 user here.”
Ditto. I felt forced into getting a Win 10 laptop more than a year ago. After two months of the insanity I gave it to DH. I went to Amazon and got a refurbished Win 7 system. I am thrilled. My girlfriend’s husband got a new system and I’ve got dibs on his XP.
Dell and HP sell new Win 7 systems — at least they did six months ago. They are super expensive, and are only sold in the “Business” department online.
I gave my Vista laptop to my nephew about four years ago. It, too, is still chugging along. I know people hated it, but I thought it was fine, althought it took a long time to start up each time.
We use Malwarebytes on most of our systems, and have been happy with it. It isn’t used with Norton, though. On my Win 7, I use MS Security Essentials and have had no trouble.
Why exclude Ubuntu from the Linux numbers?
Win10 still lags Win7 because of Enterprise environments. To really get the most out of Win10, you need to be installing Server 2016 on your back-end systems, and upgrading a server environment is more of a hassle. Win7 ran fine with both Server 2008 and 2012.
Also, the government is a big install base, and they’re only now being pushed to Win10; expect the numbers to change fairly rapidly over the next 6-12 months as that changeover happens.
Get a Mac.
Wiki claims there are the following safeguards:
Microsoft Security Essentials is an antivirus software that provides protection against different types of malicious software, such as computer viruses, spyware, rootkits, and trojan horses. Wikipedia
MS says no rootkit protection:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14210/security-essentials-download
What do you use to protect against rootkit intrusion?
VISTA - Oh it has problems but I have my scanner connected to it and as long as the two work together I will keep them.
We bought laptops a year ago with Win10 on them. My wife uses hers and I use mine as a paperweight.
AND, Windows XP, which has the old 5.1 Kernel, would be inherently unsecure, and a huge security risk.
Due to ever-evolving circumstances, the whole 5.X kernel had become almost impossible to patch to prevent the most exploits. (Windows 2000 server and Workstation + 5.0; Windows XP = 5.1, and Server 2003 = 5.2.).
These are the simple realities of the modern computer age. Older exploits never really go away and can still get the older systems, and new ones are added daily. It is a constant struggle.
Vista, 7, 2008, 8, 2008, 8.1 and 2012 all use the 6.X kernel.
Windows 10 and Server 2016 use the 10.X kernel.
I recently reinstalled Windows XP on a older Dell PC that came with it. I was surprised to see that Windows Update still works with it.
Excellent point.
Windows 10 is not allowed on my corporate network.
Windows 10 sends to Microsoft filenames and file contents.
Install WireShark and watch Windows 10 send megabytes to Microsoft every day, and watch those filenames go across the network.
Recently purchased a Dell Optiplex 760 with Win XP Pro-32 SP3 pre-installed. Refurbished, it has Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @3.00GHz, 4.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 399MHz (6-6-6-18) on a Dell motherboard
It replaced a system I built in 2003(?) using an Intel PERL motherboard as a dual-boot XP & Linux machine. It finally became unstable.
Happy so far. Applied all available MS updates. Still use serial interface for my external modem (lightning fuse!). I have custom DOS-based software that will not run in XP mode under Win7, or other emulators, despite months of work and I’m getting too old to dis-assemble code.
Replying - while traveling - from Win 7 Pro-64 laptop so can’t provide source. A web search will find it for you.
Add-on software isn’t going to save you. MalwareBytes isn’t what it used to be. Stacking “security” software isn’t a good idea, because they often conflict with each other and false positives can become problematic.
Good computing practices and regular backups are critical to keeping you safe. Keeping your operating system up-to-date with patches and updates is the simplest form of security to prevent attacks from back channel sources.
I run both, Win XP and Win 7 64. My favorite is Win 7, more features. IMO XP is just as stable as Win 7. The problem with XP is it’s lack of support by others such as antivirus and software.
Good advice, and worth repeating.
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