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Topic: Win XP |
Harold Dye
From:
Cullman, Alabama, USA
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Posted 26 May 2018 12:52 pm |
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| Since Windows dropped support for XP What is the likely outcome to use it if a good virus/malware protection is used. I would like to fire up my Win XP again but not sure of the outcome. |
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Randy Schneider
From:
SW New Mexico, USA
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Posted 26 May 2018 1:07 pm
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Not really worth the hassle if you want to use it online, since nearly all software vendors have dropped support for XP. Even if you could find virus/malware support, the current browsers are no longer updating their products to support XP, and haven't been for some time.
At this point, XP is fine for running old apps, but pretty much offline only. My opinion, of course. |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 26 May 2018 6:10 pm
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Harold;
If you really must fire up an XP machine and place it online, at least do so from a "Limited User" account, rather than an Administrator account. Doing just this can reduce the likelihood of unassisted system takeover by up to 90%. Make sure your computer is on a local area network that is protected by a router containing a firewall and that it is properly secured against intruders.
Since you cannot update Internet Explorer to a secure version, do not browse the Internet with it beyond going to a download portal for a more secure browser. I recommend and use Firefox. I also use Google Chrome. Neither of these browsers is being updated for XP machines any more. But, either is more secure than Internet Exploder.
The latest and final version download link for 32 bit Firefox is here. Your computer is most likely 32 bit, unless it is a special version, like Media Center 64 bit. In that rare event, this is the link for 64 bit of Firefox 52. You must download the version for your computer's bittedness (32 or 64).
Once you have downloaded and installed Firefox for XP, make it your default browser. The version in the above links are being updated until June, 2018.
Recap:
If your account was Computer Administrator, create a new Limited User account for browsing the dangerous Interwebs. If you have too much to lose by creating a new limited account, follow this path:
- From within your existing Admin account, use Control Panel > Accounts to create another "Computer Administrator" account.
- Assign it a unique name and password (write it down)
- Log out of your existing account to the Welcome Login Screen.
- Click on the new Admin level account, type your new password and log into it.
- After the desktop stabilizes, open Control Panel > Accounts, locate your old account and click to load it to Change the Account Type.
- Demote your old account to "Limited User" - clock apply and ok.
- Log off the new Administrator account. Log into your old account and do stuff with reduced user privileges.
- Do not lose the password to the new administrator account. You will need it to log into that account to install or update many programs. Wherever possible use the right click option to "Run As" (Administrator) on setup files to avoid having to log off the limited account.
More: You can learn more about limited user accounts on my blog.
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 26 May 2018 7:56 pm
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Given the changes in the modern web, most popular web sites won't work right under Windows XP. If I had an XP machine, I'd just use it for legacy applications and avoid connecting to the internet. Like, if the machine has Band-in-a-Box on it, no problem. But don't open Internet Explorer and expect it to work with Facebook.
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Harold Dye
From:
Cullman, Alabama, USA
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Posted 27 May 2018 3:50 am
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| Wiz and BoB thanks for the info. I have not used the XP since the support was dropped and it has been disconnected from the internet. If I were to reconnect it I would only use it for email and the forum. I feel like I would be potentially opening a can of worms to even bother with it since I am not computer savy and I have Win 7 on my laptop. I know Windows is going to drop 7 in the future but until that happens I will just leave things as they are. Thanks |
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Les Cargill
From:
Oklahoma City, Ok, USA
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Posted 9 Jun 2018 12:49 pm
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One option for keeping XP is to run a virtual machine of it. Most of the virtual machine software packages have a mechanism for converting a hard drive over.
Whether or not you can connect PCI or USB ( or, I suppose Firewire ) devices to the virtual machine depends. |
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