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Still safe, still no viruses on XP - am I just lucky?

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by OneXP2Go, 2017/12/19.

  1. 2017/12/19
    OneXP2Go

    OneXP2Go New Member Thread Starter

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    Hi all

    I am still currently on XP. I hate change! But I'm having problems with my OS and I think rather than re-install XP, it's finally time for me to jump to 7/10. Apart from joining the modern era, I also want to make use of more than 4GB RAM.... Anyhow, putting all that aside for the moment...

    Up until now I have never had any viruses or internet related problems that I'm aware of with my PC. I run Panda AV Free, but I do not have any software firewall installed. Even when XP WAS still supported, I NEVER ran any of the MS updates, so I must be WELL out of date as I built my PC in 2008! I am on SP3. I use Chrome as my browser, and I use the internet a lot.

    So - have I just been lucky or is there more to it? From what I've read, the fact that I use XP alone should have me riddled with viruses, etc. Add to this that I've not run updates since 2008... and... well... So I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts.

    Many thanks

    Max
     
    Last edited: 2017/12/19
    OneXP2Go,
    #1
  2. 2017/12/19
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Hi Max,
    welcome to WindowsBBS ... :) ... !

    Like a famous Swedish athlete once said to a reporter: "the more I train, the more lucky I get" but in the world of virii and other malware, "luck" plays a minor part. It's more a question of surfing habits (knowing when to continue and when not to - maybe that's training), networking or not networking and finally, protective measures. Keeping the system updated falls in the latter category and failing to do so in eight years is not the smartest thing to do. Maybe your safe surfing habits made you lucky?

    Reinstalling Windows XP is not an option and neither should installing Windows 7 be, simply because it's no longer on the market and support will end in the not distant future. Windows 10 is the only way forward and I recommend the 64-bit version of Windows 10 Professional. That would require new hardware but since you build your own systems, you have an interesting "journey" ahead of you. It's time to start googling and learning what has happened in the past decade!
     
    Christer,
    #2


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  4. 2017/12/19
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    Probably a little luck and a LOT of common sense. As for riddled: scare tactics and media hype. But consider a new system with a new os.
     
    TonyT,
    #3
  5. 2017/12/20
    OneXP2Go

    OneXP2Go New Member Thread Starter

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    I think perhaps you are both right on the surfing habits/common sense. I don't do cracked software, music/movie downloads, etc (aside form reputable sites such as Bandcamp). I've got a pretty good sense when it comes to clicking links, and when downloading freeware I can tell the proper download buttons apart from the "download with all this other junk" buttons. The only thing I do do sometimes is.... ahem... well, you know... But I found a site years ago that never gave me problems so I just stick to that one site with the view that if I've been safe for years, it is likely fine. All that will change here in the UK as from April 2018 in any case.

    Christer - I admit to being a fossil! But as I said above, I really struggle with change and when I have seen how drastically different W10 is (and heard other criticisms) it really puts me off. Heck, even changing to Win7 is a major stress for me! But I do know I need to change at some point, and now seems the right time. I'm still deciding between 7 and 10. Finances also play a big part as I am a very low earner. And I hate throwing things away prematurely. My PC still serves me very well, and it feels like a friend :) I don't really want to "put it down" until I have to.

    What I am becoming increasingly interested in is the idea of running W7 for the next couple of years, then - if MS pull support completely - looking into taking my DAW offline and continuing to run W7, whilst having a dual boot with Linux or something which I then use for the internet. It was whilst having those thoughts though that I reflected on the last ten years of my non-updated XP surfing without any problems, and started to wonder whether it even matters that support for W7 might end in 2020 (especially seeing as browser support etc should hopefully continue passed that date).

    Many thanks for the replies and input - I really appreciate it.
     
    OneXP2Go,
    #4
  6. 2017/12/20
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I don't know your age but maybe you're a young fossil?

    On my first build (2002), I went from Win ME to Win XP when Win XP was a few years old. In 2011 it was time for the next build, a dual boot with Win XP and Win 7. I'm still on that one but also have a LapTop with Win 10. The third build is due for 2019 since end of support for Win 7 is in early 2020.

    Ten years (more or less) is a long life time for a computer and I noticed a leap forward going from 1 GHz single core Athlon to 3 GHz quad core Phenom but it was the old spinners (HDDs) in both. Today, CPU frequencies have not gone much higher but more cores are crammed into the chips. The biggest difference is that HDDs have been replaced by SSDs that are faster than any HDD. Depending on which SSD you choose, it ranges from "noticeably faster" to "really, seriously faster" and a SSD also communicates with RAM as a buffer which makes it even faster. So, don't save money on the RAM, it will be put to good use.

    Now, will you (the user) actually put that performance to good use? I think you will since the operating systems and programs put higher and higher demands on the hardware. One example is that a fresh installation of Win 7 was ~1 GB in size but Win 10 is ~15 GB. MS Excel today is a different creature than 10 years ago and working with complex spreadsheets will benefit from a SSD. Are you mostly surfing and mailing? Then you don't need the "hottest on the market". (Notice that I have not mentioned "gaming" ... :D ... but I have heard of it.)

    Going from Win ME to Win XP was a releiving experience. Going from Win XP to Win 7 was not as big a step as the previous one and I used them in parallel. I had to fight a bit with Win 10 on the LapTop but now, I have come to terms with it and actually like it.

    ... :confused: ... what's a DAW ... o_O ...
     
    Christer,
    #5

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