Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Geek Speak => Topic started by: Atomic-S on 26/03/2014 05:12:39
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It has been widely reported that when Microsoft pulls the support plug for Windows XP, computers that use it will become at serious risk for viruses etc., even though anti-virus software presumably will continue to be used (although it is not completely clearc whether this is assumed). This, despite the fact that Windows XP has been updated numerous times to fix security holes. You would think by now that they would have found them all, especially in view of the allegation that certain other operating systems don't seem to have these holes in the first place. Does this make any sense?
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Windows has largest market-share [ around 90% (http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/windows-market-share-dips-90-percent-mac-os-x-climbs) ]
So hackers are going to concentrate on Windows and pervasive cross-platform software,
[ e.g. Adobe Flash allegedly on 95-98% of home computers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Flash) ].
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I think the anti-virus makers will continue to provide updates for Windows XP for as long as there is a sizeable population of machines still in use.
New features in applications and operating systems require more CPU power, which is not available on the older machines.
So if you are happy with your current computer & applications, by all means keep using it until you find that many people are sending you files that you can't read (because they were created in the latest version of the application), you find that you can't view the latest web content because your old browser doesn't support it, or the increasing number of viruses causes the virus scanner to consume more and more of your CPU power.
And then you can be happy that in the meantime, the price of the new machines has almost halved... (until you get frustrated because they moved your favourite menu in your favourite application...)
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Ah, yes; the one property of things digital that has proved to be enduring is impermanence. That is why if I want to do a document that has to last, I do not use .DOCX or .DOC or .SAM but instead .RTF . The less sophisticated formats tend to be spoken everywhere and always. If it is especially significant for the ages, I will print it out on archive quality paper. (Maybe someday with a 3-D printer I could do it on clay tablets). ;D
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Ah, yes; the one property of things digital that has proved to be enduring is impermanence. That is why if I want to do a document that has to last, I do not use .DOCX or .DOC or .SAM but instead .RTF
RTF is also a proprietary Microsoft file format.
If you have an old version of Office XP, then there are converters available for newer file formats. If there is an End of Use coming up, it may not be bad to download the latest converter packs.
Most of my personal files get saved in ODT format, although I may convert to DOC or PDF for file transfer to other people.
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Here's a guide to uninstall windows spying updates: https://www.hackread.com/microsoft-updates-spy-on-windows7-8-users/
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Windows differs from Apple in that Windows, when installing software, merges the software with the operating system. Apple leaves the software as a stand alone program, where access to the operating system has to be approved by the installer.
An analogy is you are planning a party and the caterer arrives at your front door. With Windows the door is open and catering staff is allowed to set up and have access to the house. With Apple, they can't go past the front door unless accompanied by one of you staff, which has to call you before they can enter.
Windows is like big government with its fingers in every pie, allowing access to the top from anywhere. Apple is like power to the states, so vulnerability of the whole, is not jeopardized if one aspect fails.
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I recommend using Linux where possible. Exorbitant prices for Windows, and the vulnerability to hacks, spyware and snooping, make the decision easy. That said, I'm using Windows on some machines where I have no option because I require third party software built exclusively for Windows...
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First post, hi everyone!
This was mentioned above, but I thought I would expand a bit. Microsoft's former dominance of the IT market has been waning for some time now, but Windows remains very widely used and historically was used almost universally. This means that for a long time, Windows and related systems were the obvious target for people trying to identify vulnerabilities and develop exploit code as developing a functional exploit for Windows meant having a tool which was effective against a much larger number of machines than an exploit for a vulnerability in Linux or Macintosh. This is obviously only one factor and isn't related to security issues built in to Windows systems, but it has definitely had a pretty major impact.