Mark1978
Veteran
- Location
- Shouldham, West Norfolk
Maybe it's about time companies started charging for web browsers. At least then we would have the right to be miffed by an annoying line that keeps popping up. 
Chrome advice please
- Thread starter swee'pea99
- Start date
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OP
OP
swee'pea99
Squire
Beyond fascinating, what's your take on it? I'm genuinely curious. Is XP as inherently vulnerable as that?
Mark1978
Veteran
- Location
- Shouldham, West Norfolk
It's as secure as you make it. Wrap it in firewalls, antivirus and malware protection and it's just as safe as any OS Assuming you aren't doing anything stupid with it.
OP
OP
swee'pea99
Squire
Thanks. That's interesting. That's what I always assumed. Good to have it confirmed.
PhilDawson8270
Veteran
The major problem is that exploits that affect new operating systems, often also affect older ones such as XP.
The new ones will get patched, but old operating systems will remain vulnerable. And to be fair to Microsoft, they have supported a product for nearly 15 years.
Jimmy Doug
If you know what's good for you ...
XP isn't (wasn't) inherently vulnerable. It was a damn good operating system in many ways. But any system that isn't up to date is more likely to be attacked than an up to date one (and, yes, that includes Linux and Mac!).
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
Wot he said.
Exercise vigilence. Don't use an unsupported browser. Put layers of protection in place. Be aware.
Chris S
Legendary Member
- Location
- Birmingham
The message has suddenly appeared on my PC now. Perhaps it's a CycleChat virus? 
OP
OP
swee'pea99
Squire
Eat your greens.
martint235
Dog on a bike
- Location
- Welling
They wouldn't have direct access to the internet though as a general rule would they? There'll be a patched server and numerous firewalls in the mix.
OP
OP
swee'pea99
Squire
Speaking of which, I'd always assumed that so long as my firewall was on and sound, no bad guys could get in & steal my passwords. Is this the case, or just a sign of my naivety?
martint235
Dog on a bike
- Location
- Welling
A very scary possibly OTT POV I think though. Any computer is at risk from the stuff lurking in the deepest darkest depths of the internet regardless of what operating system it is running. However the biggest risk, and the one that can't be mitigated against, is the one sat in front of the keyboard.
I've run fairly limited antivirus on my PC for years but I think I've only had one virus on the current PC. To a large extent, it depends on what you ask the PC to do and if you ask it to do some risky things no level of patching or security software will save you.
martint235
Dog on a bike
- Location
- Welling
Depends what you're doing and how strong your router passwords and security policies are. I've got a strong password on my router and only stated MAC addresses are allowed to connect. I sleep fairly soundly.
Also so long as you're not opening dodgy attachments that could include such nasties as keylogging, you should* be ok.
* I accept no responsibility for your system however.
OP
OP
swee'pea99
Squire
Thanks. I have a very strong router password, never open any attachments from unknown sources, keep my firewall and avast up to date and permenantly on, and use Spybot periodically to check for nasties (+ Malwarebytes if anything strikes me as suspicious).
And the fact is, I like XP. It runs everything I need, it's rock-solid dependable, it has a much better search facility than Win7 (which I have on my laptop) and it's happy with all my antique peripherals - printer, scanner, me. I am thinking of trying some kind of linux, at the behest of a friend who's yer standard issue Linux-bore, but the impulse is facing stiff resistance from my hard-core 'if it ain't broke...' general philosophy.
And the fact is, I like XP. It runs everything I need, it's rock-solid dependable, it has a much better search facility than Win7 (which I have on my laptop) and it's happy with all my antique peripherals - printer, scanner, me. I am thinking of trying some kind of linux, at the behest of a friend who's yer standard issue Linux-bore, but the impulse is facing stiff resistance from my hard-core 'if it ain't broke...' general philosophy.
PhilDawson8270
Veteran
The operator is nearly always the weakest link in the system. Most "hacks" are done by getting a user to open or run something they really shouldn't. Don't click on an attachment from a bike shop called "bicyclephoto.exe"
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