General Chat

This could be very important for those who are still hanging on to XP by their fingernails.

Microsoft has announced a flaw in Internet Explorer (IE) which can give hackers access to affected/infected computers.

It applies to all version of IE from 6 right up to the current version (11).

Now, although this affects all IE users, it is particularly important for XP dinosaurs, oops systems.

Why?

Because they will not be covered when Microsoft release a patch for the problem as support for XP has ceased and there will therefore be no more official security updates for it.

Computers/systems affected by this latest flaw could give the hacker total control over the computer because it could give them the same rights as the user thus allowing them to view data, change settings, install software, delete files etc etc

XP systems will not be protected but there is a simple (if somewhat rudimentary) work around.

It will not stop/patch the vulnerability but it will put up a "barrier" so that computers cannot be "taken over".

If you are an XP user (although this is good practice for all users anyway) make sure you are not logged on with administrator's rights.

It may be that your usual login (computer user name) has full administrator's rights, in which case, create a new profile without administrative user rights and use that to log in.

If this sounds like gobbledygook or you need a hand doing the above just give me a shout.

It may be worth saying that in the case of most of the reported "security flaws" they depend on local admin access to your computer and will not work from the internet using most modern browsers. For that reason the usual vector of attack is e-mail attachments. Therefore allow yr AV program to deal with all e-mail.

The major exception of course is IE. Back in the year zero of the internet Microsoft decided that they wanted IE and the windows OS totally integrated shutting out the competition. This of course created a big row and Microsoft had to pay > $ 1bn in fines. Although the lock out went (more or less) the fatal design flaws in IE/ANY Windows OS install remain. That is to say it has always been a poor idea to run IE. Ask the Iranians... If you really must have high level security don't run Windows at all.

As Errol says people should not run their accounts in the admin role by default. That applies to any version of Windows not just XP. It also applies to Linux.

As regards ongoing use of XP the latest lab created theoretical IE flaw is irrelevant. That is because XP has been unable to run the latest version of IE for years. Anybody still choosing to run IE on XP is extremely ill advised to do so. Any of Chrome, Firefox, Opera will do just fine. All are free.

There are several excellent antivirus / firewall alternatives for XP of which the best by far is AVAST. With AVAST the extras are worth shelling out for. If you don't mind shelling out the latest version of NAV is ok having overcome its bloatware problems. Yes, it supports XP.

It is also worth making sure yr router is correctly set up. Some are susceptible to the bleeding heart SSL bug. Many have the auto connect feature on, and have all kinds of poor security setup as a consequence of keeping things ez....

A popular reason for running XP is that some hardware / programs won't run in Windows 7 and 8. With Windows 7 the fix is easy - run XP in a "virtual machine" . If you google for this there are lots of step by step guides. It is a little bit more of a hassle with Windows 8 but this works:
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/3411230/how-migrate-windows-xp-mode-windows-8/

Despite the hoop la against XP it is perfectly viable to go on running the OS. BTW if you install it on a modern machine under a VM and give it 3 GB of RAM it really flies!

enjoy :-)

I've still got XP...... tried ages ago to update it, but it didn't work.

I used to use the Microsoft Security, but had to get rid of that last month.

Using Firefox & McAfee.

Any advice (in plain English) will be most welcome.

:-)

Cheeky git lol ,dinosaur i aint quite ,but i did have to decommision my old Xp notebook for the reasons you gave,mainly because the notebooks capacity was so small i couldn't even do an upgrade to windows 7 lol.
Just as well i have a new windows 8 laptop .
I only hope it serves me as well as the notebook i have just shut down for good.
Thanks Errol ,for warning anyone still using the xp system ,hopefully most will be on a laptop with enough space on the hard drive to upgrade to windows 7 or 8.,i wasn't as lucky .Fred. :-)

Oh there you are Fred :-D I was about to put up a 'where's Fred' fred.


:-D

Fred if you get stuck with 8, there are a few things you can do to give it a more familiar look.
If people wish to upgrade to 7 or 8 it isn't so much the hard drive space that is important (although it is clearly to a certain extent because you obviously need enough space for the operating system to sit in) but the processor and memory (RAM). Many older machines may well struggle with newer systems.

Lucky i am Errol i have a windows 7 ultimate H P Pavilion ,very fast and easy to use.and i keep going back onto that as i come to grips with windows 8, not to bad but i get a bit peed off with all the buffering while it all boots up and settles in ,but the one advantage with it is the terrabite harddrive ,ooooodles of space.
Still around Island ,but i am rather tied up with the veggie garden at the mo' ,but ,i am just about done thank goodness ,Fred. :-D

Fred - glad you are getting to grips with it.

LadyScozz - do you mean you haven't been able to perform Windows Updates for quite a long time?

What is an AV program?

Errol.........when I tried to update, it seemed to get to a certain point and then give up..... can't remember the message, something along the lines of "we cannot continue". The last time I tried was soooooo long ago, I can't remember exactly.

:-(

I'll plod along with my dinosaur computer until it gives up

Himself got a new computer just over a year ago (his old one went to heaven/hell)......... he should have got THIS one, cos I use the computer more than he does now). He uses his to play "shooting aliens" games, and checking the weather :-|

AV = Anti Virus

This morning I noticed a little orange icon at the bottom of my screen... clicked on it........ Windows Update.

I'm confused........ I use XP, and thought I wouldn't get any more updates!

:-S :-S :-S :-S

Or......do they mean I won't get automatic updates??

Microsoft has said users of its Windows XP operating system will also get the security update it has issued to fix a flaw in the Internet Explorer browser.

It issued the update on Thursday to fix a bug that let hackers gain access and user rights to computers.

Microsoft ended support for Windows XP earlier this month, ceasing to issue bug fixes or security updates for it.

But the firm said it decided to make an exception as the flaw was discovered just days after the support ended.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27249695

isn't that nice of them :-(

Thanks, IGP.

I rejected Google Chrome in the past because I installed it previously and all my Favourites had disappeared so I uninstalled it again.

Earlier in the week I was so panicked by the emails from my family about bugs in IE (Internet Explorer) and Errol's OP (original post) that I haven't been using IE. I have had to do any browsing on my fancy new Android mobile phone.

That just left my internet banking high & dry. (Don't use my mobile for money stuff in case the phone gets stolen).

RtR said use Chrome, but how to download Google Chrome without opening IE to find it? This morning a younger family member said I would be okay to open IE to do this, just don't open sites that want personal details. (She also said they still use XP at work!! Where I work we have Windows 8).

This afternoon I installed Google Chrome. I haven't uninstalled IE, just removed it from the Start Menu with a right click. Once Google Chrome had installed I just clicked on a few buttons to see what they did and found I could import my favourites from IE - I have shed loads of them so really didn't want to lose them. Piece of cake, even for me.

Guess what? Everything is really quick now. Amazing. Just off to find hubby cos I think he is doing the same on his computer . . .

So glad to have family and friends on here with time to explain (and the knowledge).

Thanks Mr Sheep and Mr Red :-D :-D :-D

My computer (I run Windows Vista) has just carried out a Windows update - does anyone know if that is likely to be the patch for IE as it didn't say what it was an update for?

Nudge

Check my post on this thread on 2 May 2014 @ 07:02 and have a look at this link:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27249695

Thanks, OFITG :-) Good information in that link.
Can anyone answer Pammy51's question?
Errol? Rollo? ;-)