Windows Xp nears End Of Life (THANK GOD!) Zero Day Forever April 8 2014

[vdeane]

Eventually they'll probably pull the plug on activation too, as well as downloading updates already out.

I hope this doesn't happen. I hope they leave a dummy activation server that always passes, or make a patch available, kind of like Adobe did with CS2.

There will always be a small number of legitimate reasons for running an old OS. I still have VMs running DOS/Win 3.11 (for old games) and Windows 98 (for a couple of old games and dev tools).

There's rumors that they'll release a patch for activation, but I've already seen the windows update removal with 98.

[NJRoadfan]

That's actually a common problem.  Fresh installs of XP/SP3 have a problem with SVCHOST.EXE gobbling up between 50 and 100% CPU while Windows Update is running.  Unless you fix that first, you can wait hours for Windows Update to show what updates are available...but it will eventually show them.

The "fix" is to install IE8 and then install the latest security rollup. Personally I'd just make an offline update disc/USB drive and install all the updates from that.

http://download.wsusoffline.net/

Works for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8.x (plus their server counterparts) and Office 2003-2013.

[Alps]

I wasn't talking about drivers, but just getting security updates.  Windows Update goes into an infinite loop unless you know whatever unique trick you need these days to get it working.  I had that problem the last time I tried to set up a copy of XP, a couple months ago in a VM.

Muh? I had Windows Update turned off completely on my old XP machine.

[vdeane]

I've been having to do that ever since MS published that "the automatic update service now prevent manual updates from installing" thing.

[SidS1045]

I've been having to do that ever since MS published that "the automatic update service now prevent manual updates from installing" thing.

Easily fixed with a registry key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate

Set or create the DWORD key DisableWindowsUpdateAccess and set its value to 0.

[vdeane]

I'll have to remember that the next time I need to set up Windows.

[SidS1045]

Microsoft announced today that they're extending Security Essentials for XP until July 2015.

[JREwing78]

Not that it makes any difference - they're not fixing the flaws in XP allowing malware authors to bypass the antivirus.

[hotdogPi]

Maybe it's all just a delayed April Fools joke.

[vdeane]

Not that it makes any difference - they're not fixing the flaws in XP allowing malware authors to bypass the antivirus.

You can't really do that unless the AV is so fully integrated to the OS that it makes IE look like a stand-alone browser.  No amount of patches can change the fact that the AV runs on top of the OS, and if you get the OS, you can fool the programs into believing anything.  Plus XP was architected in an era where security was an afterthought at best.  There are just some ways that it can't be fixed because you'd have to re-write the code from scratch.

[ZLoth]

65 days to go.

[ZLoth]

Thirty days to go.

[mjb2002]

http://www.paritynews.com/2013/08/16/2358/hackers-stockpiling-windows-xp-zero-days-as-eol-nears/

Well, Xp will begin to wind down, once APril 8 2014 comes around, bugs will not be fixed, security flaws won't be addressed

I read an article about that on WGXA's web page. They are a Fox/ABC affiliate in Macon, Ga. That is exactly 31 days from now.

[hbelkins]

I still don't get all this apparent joy over the sunsetting of XP.

[sammi]

I still don't get all this apparent joy over the sunsetting of XP.

I'm a PC technician. It's one less operating system to have to support.

[bugo]

I still don't get all this apparent joy over the sunsetting of XP.

Me either.  I think Steve Gum posted the title of this thread in an attempt to get a reaction from me.  XP is a great OS and Windows 7 isn't much better.  8 is inferior.

[vdeane]

7 has start menu search, greater security (mostly under the hood), and the addition of UAC means that limited user accounts are actually usable (which is good since 93% of Windows vulnerabilities only apply to administrator accounts, and it means that software developers no longer assume all users are an admin, which is where a lot of the Vista complaints resulted from), and Aero just plain looks better than XP's interface.  The breadcrumb bar is explorer is very nice too (it's the main Windows feature I miss in Linux).  Desktop gadgets are a godsend (why oh why were they removed in 8?).

[sammi]

Desktop gadgets are a godsend (why oh why were they removed in 8?).

the Windows Sidebar platform in Windows 7 and Windows Vista has serious vulnerabilities. Microsoft has retired the feature in newer releases of Windows. Gadgets could be exploited to harm your computer, access your computer's files, show you objectionable content, or change their behavior at any time. An attacker could even use a gadget to take complete control of your PC.

Source

[JREwing78]

I still don't get all this apparent joy over the sunsetting of XP.

I'm a PC technician. It's one less operating system to have to support.

This. A million times this. It's also a very helpful tool to get cheapskate clients to replace computers that are old and proving troublesome. It's astounding what a difference new hardware and a fresh installation of Windows makes.

[vdeane]

Desktop gadgets are a godsend (why oh why were they removed in 8?).

the Windows Sidebar platform in Windows 7 and Windows Vista has serious vulnerabilities. Microsoft has retired the feature in newer releases of Windows. Gadgets could be exploited to harm your computer, access your computer's files, show you objectionable content, or change their behavior at any time. An attacker could even use a gadget to take complete control of your PC.

Source

But why not fix the vulnerabilities or disable the ability to install third party gadgets?  Why remove the feature entirely?  Now it's no longer possible to check the current temperature at a glance.  You either need to call up the start screen and hope the weather "live tile" is actually live or navigate to a weather website.  It's a step backwards.

[hotdogPi]

Desktop gadgets are a godsend (why oh why were they removed in 8?).

the Windows Sidebar platform in Windows 7 and Windows Vista has serious vulnerabilities. Microsoft has retired the feature in newer releases of Windows. Gadgets could be exploited to harm your computer, access your computer's files, show you objectionable content, or change their behavior at any time. An attacker could even use a gadget to take complete control of your PC.

Source

But why not fix the vulnerabilities or disable the ability to install third party gadgets?  Why remove the feature entirely?  Now it's no longer possible to check the current temperature at a glance.  You either need to call up the start screen and hope the weather "live tile" is actually live or navigate to a weather website.  It's a step backwards.

Macintosh has a dashboard. Is that what "live tile" is on Windows?

[bugo]

I still don't get all this apparent joy over the sunsetting of XP.

I'm a PC technician. It's one less operating system to have to support.

This. A million times this. It's also a very helpful tool to get cheapskate clients to replace computers that are old and proving troublesome. It's astounding what a difference new hardware and a fresh installation of Windows makes.

It's not hard to support XP.  It's also something that sticks with you like riding a bicycle.  I haven't used XP in a few years and I can still remember how do do everything in it.

[Android]

Well, I, for one, am not terribly happy about it.  I have 3 desktops and two laptops... and three of them are XP units.  I like XP.   The two other desktops, one is W7 and the other is dual boot with W7 and W8 - the W8 machine is my main computer, but I've gone in with add on programs like Classic Shell to make it act more like XP did. 

I'm using my main XP laptop to write this...  I've had this computer for like 7 years now and with all the heavy use I've put it through, I'm surprised the thing still works. I'm on the 3rd monitor and 2nd keyboard and 2nd touchpad...  But never had any XP software issues. 

-Andy

[JREwing78]

I still don't get all this apparent joy over the sunsetting of XP.

I'm a PC technician. It's one less operating system to have to support.

This. A million times this. It's also a very helpful tool to get cheapskate clients to replace computers that are old and proving troublesome. It's astounding what a difference new hardware and a fresh installation of Windows makes.

It's not hard to support XP.  It's also something that sticks with you like riding a bicycle.  I haven't used XP in a few years and I can still remember how do do everything in it.

Do you do IT support for a living? It's all well and good if you want to keep running your old Windows XP computer. But when you're charged with making business IT work, XP is simply a pain in the ass.

Increasingly, modern software won't run on it (at least without difficulty). The 3GB RAM memory limit means it won't run multiple programs smoothly. XP also doesn't have the support for modern hardware (multi-core processors, solid-state hard drives, modern graphics cards), and lacks the intelligent memory management that improves performance in Windows 7 or 8.

"Forcing" people off of XP means they buy new hardware that can run modern software, and a fresh installation of Windows. That dramatically cuts down on the support calls.

Windows XP is more likely to be infected with malware by end users (many important security changes were implemented in Vista, 7, and 8). Want to run as a user without administrator privileges (a crucial step to preventing malware)? It's much more difficult in XP - lots of software simply won't run at all.

Modern versions of Windows make running as a Standard user easy, both for the user, and for the technician supporting them. Standard user rights means they're far less likely to unwittingly infect their computer with malware, which cuts down on the support calls.

One of the most important factors in supporting end users is standardizing the equipment and software that's being run within the organization. Having different operating systems makes management more complex, and therefore more expensive. The longer Microsoft keeps supporting XP, the longer I have to deal with clients who insist on using it, and the harder it is to get said clients to replace old, worn out hardware.

XP had a good run. It became an excellent operating system (once Microsoft started paying attention to security), and demonstrated surprising longevity. But it's now become a pain in the ass. Good riddance.

[hbelkins]

I have XP on my little Acer netbook. I also have XP installed on my Parallels partition on my Mac. I have no plans to change.