"Let me know Should I stay or should I go"
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blackbird71 last edited by
Today just got a security update again - a malware deletion tool.
If you're referring to the monthly KB890830 MSRT tool, Microsoft sometime ago said they'll continue offering it as an update for XP until, well, until they won't. In other words, the MSRT program they're presently using doesn't itself change much, other than where it looks and what for. So until that evolves too greatly with the arrival of their newer operating systems, they'll keep on providing it to XP as well as other later operating systems. As much as MSRT helps clean users's systems of certain malware, it also informs MS about the degree and distribution of occurrance of a variety of especially problematic malware, so they have something of a vested interest in keeping it going for XP. What they are NOT going to do is provide any further effort into plugging vulnerability holes in XP, even if they plug those same holes in their other software.
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blackbird71 last edited by
While I agree that XP is becoming a relic from an online perspective, if a user for whatever reason wants to keep an XP system alive and running, that's up to him. From a file system and debugged code standpoint, the OS has become quite solid. For online usage, of course, the XP user must recognize and accept the eventual security risks and the ever-widening circle of incompatibility issues he will soon encounter. If XP works fine for what the user wants, there's nothing wrong in continuing to use it (keeping in mind the preceding caveats). I still run Win98 and WinXP systems for various computational reasons, but I won't ever take the Win98 system online any more since almost no current antimalware software will work with it, either to protect it or to clean it. The XP system will not be far behind it over the next couple of years, as compatible anti-malware starts evaporating.
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A Former User last edited by
Black, you say one can even go online for the nearest year or two? Or it implies special skills/attention?
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blackbird71 last edited by
Black, you say one can even go online for the nearest year or two? Or it implies special skills/attention?
A lot depends on your tolerance of risk. What I've adopted in the past with an old operating system is a method of keeping my eyes continually open at some security forums for reports of new vulnerabilities in the old operating system. If nothing shows up and as long as you can keep getting updates for your antimalware, you really face nothing more dangerous than what you're already facing online. If you start seeing reports of new vulnerabilities affecting XP (which of course won't be patched), then you'll need to explore how those impact you in what you do online, whether there seem to be any workarounds outside of XP or any protective settings or disabling you can adopt to keep you safe. What finally killed Win98 online for me was the eventual inability to obtain any decent Win98-compatible antimalware updates or software after around 2009 or so. The last year I ran the system online, I had every thing web-facing locked down to the point of utter inconvenience to avoid the risks of getting whacked, since I couldn't keep the antimalware up to date any more - it all finally just became too much of a hassle, and I took the system offline in 2010.
If I had to guess at a point where XP users will start to feel a measurable pinch, I'd probably say by about 2 to 3 years from now. After that, things will likely start going downhill fast, at least in terms of finding much compatible new software. Once antimalware makers stop making new product versions for XP, their updates for their older XP-compatible versions will begin to cease not long thereafter (a year or two more, max). No guarantees, of course, but this is what has previously been rather typical for an expiring software.
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A Former User last edited by
IIRC, Microsoft announced they would maintain MSE updated till July this summer...
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blackbird71 last edited by
The thing is, July will be upon us before you know it. It's only a guess, but I suspect Microsoft will dump MSE for XP users well before some of the other free AV houses (who will likely keep XP support going for a couple of more years), simply because Microsoft has a vested interest in herding folks toward their newer OS product lines. I'd seriously be checking into reviews and user comments regarding other free AV's compatible with XP in the meantime, before July arrives.
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A Former User last edited by
If you're going to continue using XP and want to avoid an infected system, you must now make it a practice to frequently and routinely check for security-alarm reports out on the net regarding new XP exploits that can penetrate your system. New exploits pop up literally overnight, and many of them are designed to affect even an old operating system. If you discover a legitimate report, you will need to take your own remedial action (if any is even possible) to protect your system. Microsoft is no longer informing you or protecting you against risks to your old operating system. Don't count on antivirus necessarily blocking them, especially for older systems and especially right after the exploits first appear. This is particularly true for those threats that can be delivered as drive-by exploits from ads embedded in otherwise innocent websites. Anything brought onboard your system in the future will represent a possible risk of containing a new exploit, and that risk will only grow as time goes by and your system obsolescence grows. It's unpleasant, but it's reality in the modern digital world.
To keep your risks low, you will have to more than ever practice "safe hex" in where you browse, what (if anything) you download, and what you enable in your browser. If you can, you should disable JavaScript in your browser for your casual browsing, even though it will break a number of sites; enable it only for sites you absolutely trust that have few if any ads. Adspace is normally rented out to other sites that may not have been fully vetted by the hosting website, and are the most common portal for drive-by infections. JavaScript is a scripting language that allows websites to do things on your system, and it can be and is essential to a lot of infection methods.
What you decide to do, is of course up to you and your reasons for doing so. Just recognize the risks involved going forward if you elect to continue with an obsolete system. To reiterate, from here on, preserving system security will be your greatest challenge, unless you simply keep it offline. If system security will be much harder to maintain, then act accordingly in terms of what you do with the system.@blackbird71
What about SP3? -
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A Former User last edited by
Hello, boyoz!
Today is the 4th day my MSE won't update -
Connection Failed.
I wonder if I'm gonna need another antimalware application in place of this, current one: MicroSoft 'pledged' to maintain the Essentials till July this year, so I guess I should move anyway - apart that they may have forgotten their 'pledge', huh? -
blackbird71 last edited by
... Today is the 4th day my MSE won't update - Connection Failed. I wonder if I'm gonna need another antimalware application in place of this, current one: MicroSoft 'pledged' to maintain the Essentials till July this year, so I guess I should move anyway - apart that they may have forgotten their 'pledge', huh?
I've not seen similar problem reports yet from XP/MSE users on other forums where I'd expect to see such reports if those users were running into this. However, given that July is only 6 weeks or so away now, it would probably be wisest to spend your effort seeking alternatives to MSE rather than expending too much time and effort trying to track down the source of any MSE problems. Unless, of course, other software is having similar issues.
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A Former User last edited by
Called our MS hotline today.
They said, first, there'd been no other reports like that, and second, they didn't do tech. support for MSE like that. Suggested I went to someanswers.microsoft.comor like that. Haven't been yet, but it's a week now, and the system says "Ahoy, we're in trouble!" and the MSE obtained a "Out of date" button. Nothing helps - as before.
Well, found some "Microsoft Security Scanner" or something (see the new thread), planning to use it a couple of times till I get some...
The system started getting slowish at times... I wonder if I have a week or something till I'm really in trouble.Shall I uninstall the MSE before installing the replacement?
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blackbird71 last edited by
The general rule of thumb is that you only want one antivirus product running on a system at a time. Many of them have a habit of hooking the OS kernel, demanding certain privileged accesses, and employing anti-tamper techniques that can interfere with one another if more than one AV is wired in. Not all AVs create equal amounts of trouble if others are running (and I don't know about MSE), but my personal practice is always to install a new one only after uninstalling the old one first (and using CCleaner to carefully clean out any registry residue left from uninstalling the old one). I do the uninstall and cleanup fully offline, but because I'm back of a hardware firewall, I do the installation of the new AV online simply because most of the time, it will immediately want to go out for updates or signature files.
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