[NLRS] Still running XP AND You had an auto update?

[Doug Reed]

So far I'm resisting updating to Win7 or Win 8. I'll probably switch
all the way to Linux first, but I am still using Win XP SP3 on a
number of computers. And a friend is still using it on over 40 remote
computers. But they are fairly safe since they are never used for
browsing.

A report issued about 2 months ago said that 95% of the usual threat
vectors is solved by changing your standard user login to be a Limited
User rather than an Administrator. This fix is supposed to fix 100% of
the threats to IE8. I've done this and my only problem is needing to
reboot and login as Admin if I want to install something. And
remembering the new Admin password.  :-(

Other recommendations have been to install Firefox or Chrome as your
main browsers and NEVER use IE8 if possible. Other recommendations
have been to uninstall the JAVA compiler if you don't need it,
especially any old versions that might have been installed. Java
Script is built into your browsers and is so heavily relied on for web
sites that it is almost impossible to browse with Java script
disabled. But I do run both NoScript and RequestPolicy in my browsers.
It is cumbersome and annoying, but does eliminate pop-ups on just
about every web site I use.

It has been recommended to remove Flash if you don't use it and
especially to remove Adobe Reader and use something else since too
many Adobe products have security holes or excess features that are
not required. I haven't managed to get rid of Flash, but I do keep it
updated. I did stop using Adobe Reader two years ago. I was using
Foxit Reader until they recently started installing extra junk. I now
am using the free and open source SumatraPDF reader instead. There are
many others. I use PDFcreator to print documents and web pages to PDF
format.

There have been many exploits against MS Word and Office products and
it has been suggested that it might be safer to start using Libre
Office instead, assuming it will work for your needs. Else keep your
MS Office support programs as up to date as possible. It sounds like
the exploits are even present in support programs like MS document
viewers and converter programs because they tend to use the same code
base in each of them.

Another security podcast said that just because the last official
update was two weeks ago, that doesn't make Win XP automatically a bad
OS since MS never patched every problem and only patched once a month
anyway. So after you start using Limited User accounts, you can start
switching from MS programs and utilities to alternate vendors and
programs. Just because MS stopped updating their programs doesn't mean
that Adobe, Mozilla, Google and others have stopped updating their
software for Win XP....

The main Internet threat I'm worried about getting is still the Crypto
Locker malware that encrypts all your hard drives. I usually have 6-8
TB of data online at any time and I'd hate to loose it. I'm seriously
considering changing to a different computer for my browsing, one with
limited local storage, so that if I do get infected, I can't be
seriously hurt. I might be able to do the same by switching to a
Virtual Machine for browsing, but that is a longer learning curve than
just using a separate computer for my browsing....

That's my twenty-five cents worth.... Just remember, free advise is
worth what you
paid for it....

73, Doug Reed, N0NAS.