-
Attention: The forums are in read-only mode
Guide Internet Security: Explained
- Thread starter John Foulroberts
- Start date
Ember Heartless
Wanted Pirate
@John Foulroberts Thank you for that info. Very helpful!
Mark Scurvyfox
Moderator
Sorry for going overboard but the article you mentioned could not convince at all to consider that it is really of that importance to perform an upgrade. While I can see to your point and I can agree that since WinXP is over a decade old, it is definitely the main targeted OS for the malicious people out there, do you not think that it is still all right for those people who wish to do basic stuff such as viewing the news and/or writing texts?
Yes, Google decided to pull the trigger to those who thought that XP would last for an eternity but there is still Mozilla Firefox as an alternative. On the other side, I know for a fact that since the end of support for XP some people even replaced specific windows applications with third-party ones in order to remain protected. Even me myself, have replaced Windows Media Player with foobar2000 (I am currently running Win10) which is an enhanced music player from what WMP will ever been. Foobar2000 still supports the dated OS as the same applies to MPC-HC, an alternative to VLC media player. So to put an end to this conversation, are operating systems like Windows XP or Windows 8 with all microsoft update fixes installed safe to use for as long as third-parties are still supporting them? According to your opinion of course.
Again, sorry for taking this too far, I guess that my friends are either too stubborn or too lazy to upgrade; Who knows. They might be better off to Linux Mint instead.
John Foulroberts
Admin
In my opinion, the only practical usage of Windows XP at this point in time is on a PC that does not access the Internet at all (which just doesn't happen anymore - everyone has everything connected to the Internet). Any time you surf the web you expose yourself to malicious activity. Usually those still running XP are of a lesser degree of tech "awareness" and may not realize that their old OS is becoming Swiss cheese in terms of security resilience - and have equal amounts of knowledge regarding malware practices.Sorry for going overboard but the article you mentioned could not convince at all to consider that it is really of that importance to perform an upgrade. While I can see to your point and I can agree that since WinXP is over a decade old, it is definitely the main targeted OS for the malicious people out there, do you not think that it is still all right for those people who wish to do basic stuff such as viewing the news and/or writing texts?
Yes, Google decided to pull the trigger to those who thought that XP would last for an eternity but there is still Mozilla Firefox as an alternative. On the other side, I know for a fact that since the end of support for XP some people even replaced specific windows applications with third-party ones in order to remain protected. Even me myself, have replaced Windows Media Player with foobar2000 (I am currently running Win10) which is an enhanced music player from what WMP will ever been. Foobar2000 still supports the dated OS as the same applies to MPC-HC, an alternative to VLC media player. So to put an end to this conversation, are operating systems like Windows XP or Windows 8 with all microsoft update fixes installed safe to use for as long as third-parties are still supporting them? According to your opinion of course.
Again, sorry for taking this too far, I guess that my friends are either too stubborn or too lazy to upgrade; Who knows. They might be better off to Linux Mint instead.
Even though some applications may specifically support XP at this point in time, it's not a surefire alternative. It's like placing a small bandaid on the hull of a damaged ship (pirate analogy, woot). Sure, you might be protected from specific program-exclusive exploits when using that alternative program, but the system is still years behind others in terms of patches and security fixes.
It should be a no-brainer to take an upgrade if it is offered. Staying on legacy hardware and an operating system that is deteriorating more and more as each day passes isn't logical to me.
Mark Scurvyfox
Moderator
I would like to thank you once more for making things simple. That being said, it's up to them to as if they prefer to remain protected or not!
Rich Fireskull
Notorious Pirate
You've got some interesting points there, John. My reason for keeping and maintaining legacy software and hardware is out of the need for compatibility. I have netburst computers with XP should i need them. I generally don't upgrade as soon as a new OS comes out due to its problems. I still run win7 Pro on my main computers. Again for compatibility. I had 8.1 pro which is now win 10, but that pc is in storage and needs a GPU and better PSU.
It all depends on the need. I would love to have an old slot CPU style computer like I had when I was younger. Something about that hardware is special
. That and its always fun to run games on hardware from its time.And that brings me to my final thought.
Certain applications just don't work well on newer/faster hardware.
Ever hear about playing the original Tetris on an overclock system? It wouldn't work because the speed of the falling blocks was tied directly to the clock speed.
I think you've got a great guide here mate
I'm all for keeping systems safe. In fact, when I am using an XP device, I don't go online for very long without antivirus. Even then, I am careful to go to known safe websites unless I am testing something that i can't risk having to reinstall the OS on my main computer if it goes wrong.
Sparky Wonderwolf
Site Founder
First of all, this is a great guide to have. I probably couldn't have made it any simpler than it is (obviously because I don't work in IT for a living 
)
I am curious about one thing, though. Something I have been taught is never to ever use the administrator account for most anything unless utterly necessary. Instead to just memorize the Administrator acct password. Is following that much bigger preventative step than it may seem? I have made it so that the computers in my home (whether I access them or not) are this way for the safety of those close to me. But for home users, many may not feel all the hassle of setting up accounts that seem redundant to them is it worth it? Would they be mistaken?
(This probably gets mostly into least privilege)
I feel like this could be a helpful point to at least consider if not something to be too concerned of.
) I am curious about one thing, though. Something I have been taught is never to ever use the administrator account for most anything unless utterly necessary. Instead to just memorize the Administrator acct password. Is following that much bigger preventative step than it may seem? I have made it so that the computers in my home (whether I access them or not) are this way for the safety of those close to me. But for home users, many may not feel all the hassle of setting up accounts that seem redundant to them is it worth it? Would they be mistaken?
(This probably gets mostly into least privilege)
I feel like this could be a helpful point to at least consider if not something to be too concerned of.
John Foulroberts
Admin
This is actually not a bad habit to get into. If your system somehow gets infected with malware that tries to perform higher-level tasks that require elevation and you're on an administrative user, it basically gets a VIP pass to do so. If you use a standard account and use the administrative password to fulfill UAC prompts, you're guarded against this as you'll be prompted of the change and asked to confirm with the password.
jamesc1997
Honorable Pirate
do not click pop up adds 1password is awful due to its dropbox sync easy for hackers to crack i used to use it use malwarebytes if you get virus or avast nortons good but it costs money do not download lots freeware of random site people can add virus to them in code of program a lot of cracks for games or inject put virus on your computer and if you want to keep passwords safe in pass manger use lastpass over all be careful when downloads tons of free stuff onlines chances are it might have a virus
Jim Hexskull
Wiki Staff
Very well put together Guide Johnneh, as always! Interesting side note, it would take 1 Trillion years to crack my password. I say I'm good.
Jim Hexskull
Wiki Staff
I personally use McAfee and I've never once had a problem with it. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone.
jamesc1997
Honorable Pirate
noticed
John Foulroberts
Admin
Going to bump this thread in accordance with recent cybersecurity events (WannaCry) as well as for general community purposes.
prattmatt
Buccaneer
Great advice. 2fa is great, and I personally use it everywhere. It's still somewhat annoying running it with TLoPO, since you can crash often and have to enter it every time. If you're wanting the extra later of security, but are willing to compromise a bit of security from the 2FA, I use something called "Authy". It allows you to have your 2FA on multiple devices, including in your Chrome web browser.
If you want to pay for anti-virus, then I suggest something like Bitdefender.
...
I'd just like to clarify, if anyone is confused here, or thinking that he contradicts himself. While Malwarebytes does have a paid firewall, their free virus scan is just that, a virus scan. It does not conflict with Windows Defender.
I'd just like to say, I'd NOT recommend Norton or McAfee, as both seem to take an abnormal amount of system resources to run. I'd also not recommend Avast, but it does rank higher in my opinion than Norton and McAfee. I'd have to agree with John's recommendation. Windows defender and Malwarebytes is the way to go, If you're looking for good, and free. I would recommend this combination over any paid consumer-grade antivirus.
If you want to pay for anti-virus, then I suggest something like Bitdefender.
...
I'd just like to clarify, if anyone is confused here, or thinking that he contradicts himself. While Malwarebytes does have a paid firewall, their free virus scan is just that, a virus scan. It does not conflict with Windows Defender.
Christopher Cannonskull
Site Founder
I agree with this entire post up until this point.(and past it, seriously this is a good post with shoot of great information)
Having a password that contains a purely random string of numbers letters and symbols is absolutely the best option to prevent someone from gaining access to your accounts.
That being said it is possible to create very strong passwords using random words/objects that have no connections that you can remember to make a long password string. (Also it has the benefit of being memorizable)
This is explained Very well in this comic by Xkcd
After all of that I 100% agree with the usage of a password manager. It's some much needed security to be able to have a 40 character password with a random assortment of letters and symbols without having to remember it