End of Windows XP support spells trouble for some (I got my Win 8 PC 10 days ago)

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140407/DAD1HPQ81.html

By BREE FOWLER

NEW YORK (AP) - Microsoft will end support for the persistently popular Windows XP on Tuesday, and the move could put everything from the operations of heavy industry to the identities of everyday people in danger.

An estimated 30 percent of computers being used by businesses and consumers around the world are still running the 12-year-old operating system.


In this Oct. 25, 2001 file photo, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stands in New York's Times Square to promote the new Windows XP operating system. On Tuesday, April 8, 2014, Microsoft will end support for its still popular Windows XP. With an estimated 30 percent of businesses and consumers still using the 12-year-old operating system, the move could put everything from the data of major financial institutions to the identities of everyday people in danger if they don’t find a way to upgrade soon. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)


"What once was considered low-hanging fruit by hackers now has a big neon bull's eye on it," says Patrick Thomas, a security consultant at the San Jose, Calif.-based firm Neohapsis.

Microsoft has released a handful of Windows operating systems since 2001, but XP's popularity and the durability of the computers it was installed on kept it around longer than expected. Analysts say that if a PC is more than five years old, chances are it's running XP.

FULL story at link.

[Enthusiast]

1. I know nothing about computers.

But I do know that I have XP.

What does that mean in simple terms? Am I doomed?

I have many computer problems anyway but continue to limp along. I have many questions that I will not bother you with.

[Omaha Steve]

2. XP will be a BIG target for hackers with the end of support

Here is the perfect place to ask each and every question: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1095

OS

[Enthusiast]

5. Thanks, Steve. I will be reading up on this stuff.

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. How do you like it? I am going to get one.....

probably next week. for my business. Time to upgrade, problem is I have to also upgrade my quickbooks and probably other programs. Ugh.

[longship]

4. Fool me once...

Yup! People just do not get what an absolutely poor platform Microsoft sells. It is... by far!... the least secure platform on which to run a computer. No other comes remotely close.

Plus, Windows has two things which absolutely damn it.

1. It is proprietary. That means Microsoft can put shit in that nobody but Microsoft knows. It also means that they can make it difficult for the user to unbuckle the bundled products, which they do.

2. It has a flawed and inherently insecure design from day one. When one builds an operating system the best and most secure thing one can do is to separate the user interface API (application programming interface) from the operating system kernel API. The former interacts with the user; the latter interacts with the hardware.

By bundling both together in the operating platform, Microsoft has utterly bungled what an operating system is. And they have been doing this for decades.

Microsoft has no idea of how to construct a computer operating system. The extent to which an OS has a user interface is the extent to which it leaves itself insecure.

That's why I use Linux. A real operating system. Not a toy. Not insecure. Not a platform to market other products. And not marketed by a monopolist.

It just fucking works.

[Skidmore]

9. I have stuck with Microsoft because I do not have

the grasp of computer programming it takes to run Linux. Now if you have the knowledge, more power to you but not everyone does nor is everyone a power user. I use my computer to read articles on the internet, store recipes and patterns, and exchange messages and pictures with friends and relatives. Once every year I file taxes. I categorically refuse to bank on the computer. I no longer need one to crunch numbers or put together extensive written projects. A pre packaged system works fine for me.

[longship]

10. More power to you, then.

I wish you success.

But it no longer takes a computer geek to run Linux. That day is gladly long gone. I have two Linux boxes. One is a computer geek dream, where every piece of software is compiled from source code, including the Linux kernel and all the compilers, languages, user interfaces, and applications. Installation can take a day or two, but it runs like a fucking race horse. The other is a laptop which came pre-installed with Ubuntu Linux. It's a quad core and it also runs like a race horse with zero problems and zero virus protection applications needed. Out of the box!

So one does not need to be a computer geek to run Linux.

[Mrdrboi]

6. XP was a great OS.

I downloaded Windows 8 from a torrent site and it sucked. So I went back to Windows 7. I like Windows 7 almost as good as XP.

[Omaha Steve]

7. Yes it was

I use 7 at work. I just don't see the Win 8 version being a big deal yet.

Our first windows was 3.1. We used CP/M, Adam, and others before that.

[Egnever]

12. Windows 8 wont be a big deal for a year or two yet

it is the transition OS. It is the first step from Microsoft in its attempt to unify the mobile and desktop platforms. It is not a big deal yet but it will be. Of course it will be called win 9 before it really comes together but it is a great start and there is an update being released this week I believe that will have some very nice changes in it.

Once all is said and done if they pull it off as intended Microsoft will rule again. It will be hard to beat an ecosystem that will allow you to move seamlessly from desktop to phone to tablet to...

Meanwhile 7 is the new xp, rock solid and fairly similar in appearance.

[KamaAina]

8. Mine is four and a half years old and runs XP

in fact, my email sig line is "Sent from my four-and-a-half-year-old netbook."

[Throd]

11. Should I worry? I can't think of anything on my computer of value to a hacker.

My wife handles all of our finances on her system (windows 8)

[Spider Jerusalem]

13. Nothing of value?

If your computer is always on and is permanently connected to an always-on internet connection? It's of value to a hacker as part of a botnet.

[dionysus]

14. "the data of major financial institutions"

they aren't running XP...

never heard of XP servers either.

[Omaha Steve]

15. Over in LBN

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014774878