In article , Mayayana
wrote:


The chatter about older versions being unsafe is
also, for the most part, only chatter.

nonsense.

Malware rarely
attacks through Windows.

where 'rarely' is all the time.

It attacks through software
like browsers, Java, Flash, etc. Or it attacks via
unsafe network functionality like DCOM, RPC, etc.

that's in addition to, not instead of.

however, malware only needs to trick the user into downloading
something and running it. game over. the payload will almost always be
windows code.

Someone allowing filesharing or remote desktop, or
allowing script, ads and Flash, in the very latest
version of Win10, is far more vulnerable than a cautious
person running Vista, XP, or 98.

nonsense. the very latest version of win10 is the *most* secure, with
known exploits patched and includes up to date malware definitions.

And of course, no one's
targetting those systems anymore, anyway.

oh yes they are.

from this past june:
https://arstechnica.com/information-...n-xp-patched-t
o-avert-new-outbreaks-spawned-by-nsa-leaking-shadow-brokers/
On Tuesday, Microsoft took the highly unusual step of issuing
security patches for XP and other unsupported versions of Windows.
The company did this in a bid to protect the OSes against a series of
"destructive" exploits developed by, and later stolen from, the
National Security Agency.

By Ars' count, Tuesday is only the third time in Microsoft history
that the company has issued free security updates for a
decommissioned product. One of those came one day after last month's
outbreak of the highly virulent "WCry" ransom worm, which repurposed
NSA-developed exploits. The exploits were leaked by the Shadow
Brokers, a mysterious group that somehow got hold of weaponized NSA
hacking tools. (WCry is also known as "WannaCry" and "WannaCrypt.")
....
The only other time in recent memory Microsoft has patched an
unsupported version of Windows was in 2014, when it issued a critical
update for Windows XP during the same week it decommissioned the
version. Tuesday's move suggests Microsoft may have good reason to
believe attackers are planning to use EsteemAudit, ExplodingCan, and
EnglishmanDentist in attacks against older systems. Company officials
are showing that, as much as they don't want to set a precedent for
patching unsupported Windows versions, they vastly prefer that option
to a potential replay of the WCry outbreak.

that's *two* updates for unsupported versions of windows in the past
six months alone.

those older systems are absolutely being targeted.

But the
lapdog media never fails to market for Microsoft by
trying to scare everyone into thinking that the last
Windows version became dangerous on the day the
new version came out.

it didn't become dangerous. it's that the latest version patches known
exploits, making the latest version safer than the previous versions.

fall creators update now includes a very useful anti-ransomware tool.

since you're still using xp, be sure you save up enough bitcoins, just
in case you need it.