Windows XP: It's time to say good-bye

dogg57

dogg57

Piney
Jan 22, 2007
2,912
375
Southern NJ
southjerseyphotos.com
I've got to tell it to you straight. If you're still on an old computer running the Windows XP operating system, D-Day is at hand. And by "D" I mean "dump it."
I understand if you don't want to face this. You have a computer and the setup works for you. Sure it's a bit clunky, but you don't want to switch. Why waste money on a new computer? I feel your pain.
Here's the deal. Microsoft is abandoning Windows XP on April 8, 2014. When you hear that euphemistic phrase "end-of-life," it means a lot of things. The big ones are no operating system fixes and no defenses against viruses and other online dangers. For more about the other things it means, click here for a tip
external-link.png
that explains it all.
Since the end of Microsoft's security updates is big news, hackers and scammers are going to be targeting computers still using XP. You're going to be very, very vulnerable.By Kim Komando


http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/03/08/windows-xp-it-time-to-say-good-bye/
 
46er

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
The sky is falling! The sky is falling! XP has plenty of life left, just do computer stuff with it, not internet stuff. Will be using mine for all my photo stuff :D Time to start pickin' the recycle bins :dance:

Kim Komando? Is he/she serious :rolleyes:
 
46er

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
dogg57 said:
It is a Woman. Maybe you should write her:bang:
Click to expand...

No thanks, I'm already in 73 relationships. I don't need one with a 'digital goddess' :eek:

And as regards her 'sky is falling' article, if someone wishes to continue using XP for all their work, just install a different browser; a few to choose from, and keep your security software up to date. The world is not about to end. :smug:
 
  • Like
Reactions: dogg57
Boyd

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,529
2,788
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
I remember listening to Kim Kommando's radio show years ago. It was OK, but I haven't followed her in years.

As far as XP goes, I think we have a couple other threads on that here. I really don't get why people are so fond of it, I hated it. It's always seemed really awkward and it just looks bad on the screen, with ugly text rendering. I had my old MacBook Pro setup to dual-boot into either XP or MacOSX (needed to run Windows at work at the time). A couple months ago I wiped out the XP partition on that machine to free up some disk space. Good riddance.

But I do understand why some people need it for compatibility with their old business software. Windows 7 - even Windows Vista - was a huge improvement IMO.

In the end... use whatever you're comfortable with. No reason to change just for the sake of conformity.
 
46er

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Boyd said:
I really don't get why people are so fond of it, I hated it. It's always seemed really awkward and it just looks bad on the screen, with ugly text rendering. I had my old MacBook Pro setup to dual-boot into either XP or MacOSX (needed to run Windows at work at the time). A couple months ago I wiped out the XP partition on that machine to free up some disk space. Good riddance.

But I do understand why some people need it for compatibility with their old business software. Windows 7 - even Windows Vista - was a huge improvement IMO.

In the end... use whatever you're comfortable with. No reason to change just for the sake of conformity.
Click to expand...

Folks get caught up in the 'migrate' beat, but most times if you have something that is useful and do not need updates, why not keep it and spend the money and time that would be used for migrating on something you like? If you like to migrate, go for it. If you hate something, get rid of it.

I have been using some photo editing software, RawShooter, that came out over a decade back. It was always free, did a great job, was very simple to use and enabled many folks to begin to use RAW photo files. I still use it occasionally with cameras that are supported, but it hasn't been upgraded for quite a while as it was sold to Adobe, which then used it as the basis for LightRoom, and now charges fairly big bucks for it. If anyone would like info or a copy, PM me. It might also still be available for download somewhere.

What it looks like, everything you need on one screen;

rawshooter.jpg
 
Ben Ruset

Ben Ruset

Administrator
Site Administrator
Oct 12, 2004
7,617
1,868
Monmouth County
www.benruset.com
46er said:
And as regards her 'sky is falling' article, if someone wishes to continue using XP for all their work, just install a different browser; a few to choose from, and keep your security software up to date. The world is not about to end. :smug:
Click to expand...


Nowadays the browser itself isn't the biggest attack vector (although it's still important.) Most bad things (viruses, spyware, malware, etc.) are coming in via insecure versions of Java and Flash plugins. (This is how Macs and even some Linux machines are getting compromised now.) I definitely can see a day when Adobe and Oracle drop support for versions of their plugins that will work on XP.

It's not some nefarious Microsoft plot to extract money from you for a new OS. It takes considerable time/manpower/money/effort to continue maintaining a code base. That takes away resources that they could put behind Vista/7/8.

It's thirteen years old at this point. It's time to put XP out to pasture. And if you're not doing it already, keep your Flash and Java up to date.

You can check and see if all of your plugins are up to date by going here: https://browsercheck.qualys.com (You can do the scan without installing their plug-in if you so desire.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Boyd and dogg57
46er

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Ben Ruset said:
I definitely can see a day when Adobe and Oracle drop support for versions of their plugins that will work on XP.

It's not some nefarious Microsoft plot to extract money from you for a new OS. It takes considerable time/manpower/money/effort to continue maintaining a code base. That takes away resources that they could put behind Vista/7/8.

It's thirteen years old at this point. It's time to put XP out to pasture. And if you're not doing it already, keep your Flash and Java up to date.
Click to expand...

I am sure they will, and they should. Software marketers answer to the bottom line and their shareholders. Might not be nefarious, but it is part of their business plan, there is no doubt of that, and on 4/8 XP will be enjoying retirement in that software pasture :) But XP will probably continue to be one of the most heavily used OS's for some time to come.

As far as flash and java, I have had them disabled for quite some time with no ill effects.
 
Boyd

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,529
2,788
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
  • Like
Reactions: dogg57
Boyd

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,529
2,788
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/27/5...e-zero-day-security-flaw-affects-all-versions

If you're still using a 12-year-old operating system, a new security flaw discovered in Internet Explorer should cause you quite a bit of consternation. Microsoft published a security advisory today warning its customers that a vulnerability in all versions of Internet Explorer (6 through 11) could let hackers gain full user permissions over your computer, allowing them to install programs, view and delete data, and much more simply by visiting a website.

That's not good, but at least anyone using Internet Explorer on a modern version of Windows will likely see a patch within a couple weeks' time. Since Microsoft finally ended support for Windows XP on April 8th, it will not receive an update. This is the first known security flaw since that support deadline passed, and it bears true the warnings voiced by the tech community. Windows XP is no longer secure, and it's time to move on.
Click to expand...
 
46er

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
It appears it is an IE problem that exploits current systems, and not just XP.

All Internet Explorer users, regardless of operating system, have a few choices for avoiding this exploit. The easiest method is to use another browser, like Chrome or Firefox (both of which are currently still supported for Windows XP).
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top