Will Opera continue to support Windows (32-bit) beyond version 36.0?

canadagoose4ever

canadagoose4ever

The use of an OS as old as Windows XP is foolishness, plain and simple. If you cannot afford to upgrade to Windows 7 then you should seriously consider pulling the plug on your computer. With the price of Chrome books and entry-level computers today, there is no real need to operate with such an antiquated system. You put yourself at risk and others by extension.

jito463

jito463

athlonite

I can't believe people are still on XP good god either Upgrade or get of the Internet you're just asking to be hit with cryptoware or worse become part of a botnet stop running an EOL and out of date OS or get used to programs no longer supporting your OS with the like of updates for security and features

You think that's bad, I work at a computer store, and had a guy in the other day that still runs his entire business off of DOS. Yes, his entire business (and it's a fairly successful local business, so it's not like he couldn't upgrade). Some people just refuse to upgrade. I admit to doing some of that myself (I'm still running Opera v12), but even I recognize that at some point, you just have to give in and move on.

suntana

I am more of a believer of that saying that: The weakest link in any computer system is the OPERATOR rather than what Anti-Virus or other Security Apps they might have or not have.

In this, I concur wholeheartedly, though a good AV (such as a properly configured Eset NOD32) can help secure even incompetent users from their bad habits.

blackbird71

blackbird71

...
You think that's bad, I work at a computer store, and had a guy in the other day that still runs his entire business off of DOS. Yes, his entire business (and it's a fairly successful local business, so it's not like he couldn't upgrade). Some people just refuse to upgrade. I admit to doing some of that myself (I'm still running Opera v12), but even I recognize that at some point, you just have to give in and move on. ...

Not to be too argumentative, but if it's a business and his software is adequate to the tasks needed to be done and if it's not online-facing, there's absolutely nothing wrong in his still running DOS. Computers in a work environment are simply tools, not unlike hammers and pliers - just because one can buy air-driven nailing machines or hydraulic benders doesn't mean the original hand tools suddenly don't work anymore. Replacement decisions in business are (or ought to be) based on ruthless economic analysis of life-cycle costs and suitability to task. I've noted elsewhere that I still operate a system offline running Windows 98FE, mainly for its DOS capability in running Lotus Symphony (ca. 1985). That's simply because I need to run some extremely complex spreadsheets whose self-modifying Symphony macro code would be difficult beyond words to replicate in a newer macro/scripting language - and certainly not worth the great development/test costs of doing so.

Having said all that, if the system faces online, it's another story entirely... and unless one has some solid, bullet-proof protective measures in place, a computer with an ancient OS (and any personal user/customer data thereon) risks being 'pwned' very quickly online. Old exploits often don't just go away, they get absorbed into new ones that sniff the visiting user-agent ID and respond with an exploit tailored to the OS. Exploit code is cheap once written, so it persists; and OS obsolescence is no real assurance of online security.

A Former User

It may also mean that those users may need to adopt more protection tools than in the past (installing extensions like browser ad-blockers or script-blockers while they can still be found for XP-compatible browser versions, installing and maintaining a robust host file, and so on).

What's the host file?

A Former User

It's a plain text file simply called "HOSTS" (no extension) that should be in your C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\ETC folder.
IP addresses can be blocked by adding them to it, although IIRC it's largely depreciated in later versions of Windows.

blackbird71

blackbird71

...
What's the host file?

Textual Internet URL addresses entered into a browser or supplied by some link must first be converted to an IP address (all numbers and decimal points) to actually route data on the Internet. Your computer contains an internal address list (called the hosts file) for cross-referencing URLs to IPs and which can be auto-used for that conversion purpose (though it's rarely used that way any more); if an entry is not present in the hosts file for a given URL address, the computer then auto-requests the IP address be supplied from your ISP or some other DNS listing site that you've specified.

However, the hosts file, by cross-referencing a URL address to an internal 'nul' IP address on the computer, can also block that URL from communicating with its correct IP on the Internet by instead converting it to a non-functional system internal IP address. This capability allows the hosts file to be used to block adware, malware, etc URLs from communicating with their associated IP addresses if the hosts file is first populated with a lengthy list of known malicious URL addresses. Consequently, there are in existence a variety of free hosts file updating services that can provide such host file lists for users, such as hpHosts or MVPS Hosts (my own favorite), and these are periodically updated for changes in the known-malicious URL address universe.

Some critics argue that a really massive hosts file can actually slow down a system in accessing a legitimate site. However, that's never been my own experience with a free hosts file like MVPS, which contains typically 14,000-15,000 blocked URL entries. I look at it like these are 14,000+ malicious URL's that can never be contacted by my system, which really puts a major dent in the possibilities for getting infected by malware or adware from those addresses, particularly those URLs referenced in website or ad-server scripts (a prime source of drive-by infections). Naturally, there will be a few omissions of malicious URLS (especially new ones), since hosts file updates are released typically about every 6 weeks or so. However, such a file still cuts back the possibilities for harm in a very big way. I've used a robust hosts file for over 17 years, and have never looked back with any regret nor any problems; I feel it's a key integral part of 'layered security'.

A Former User

Let's not forget to discuss these HOST files when I start a topic on "the security of your system", right?

blackbird71

blackbird71

Ok. A really significant thing about a good hosts file is that it can help greatly to protect a system running an older OS when conventional anti-malware tools start to drop their legacy support for those older OS's. Certainly, a hosts file is just one layer of security, but as other protective layers drop away due to support deprecation (eg: AV, OS updates, etc), the remaining layers take on much greater importance. For XP users going forward, if they're not already using it, I strongly recommend adopting a good hosts file to help fill the gap, since Microsoft is no longer issuing security updates for XP (unless one has installed the XP POS registry mods, and even those 'versions' still receive only kiosk-related security updates).

A Former User

Black, as Dave mentioned, and myself too: sec. ups are still sent here, roughly 1 a month. Well, in Russian they're called like "tools for malware deletion", no idea.

A Former User

I assume you're talking about the Microsoft "Malicious Software Removal Tool".
If you're still on XP you can get a lot more than that still from Windows Update if you put the POSReady hack in your registry (Google for it).
This should last until 2019.
(We're getting off topic here of course, this is nothing to do with Opera!)

A Former User

(We're getting off topic here of course, this is nothing to do with Opera!)

Of course.
Let's sing then: :sing: :sing: