Re: [Bitcoin-development] Bitcoin-development Digest, Vol 35, Issue 61

[Ron <rdwnj@yahoo.com>]

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Message: 4
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2014 21:43:10 +0200
From: Adam Back <adam@cypherspace.org>
Subject: Re: [Bitcoin-development] Warning message when running wallet
    in Windows XP (or drop support?)
To: Wladimir <laanwj@gmail.com>
Cc: Bitcoin Dev <bitcoin-development@lists.sourceforge.net>
Message-ID: <20140416194310.GA11552@netbook.cypherspace.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed

Not to get snarky or OS elitist but as I understand it windows security,
even during its support period has been measured in low digit number of days
in the year when is NOT an outstanding known remote root compromise or
combination of remote user compromise + priviledge escalation.  Add in
phishing, watering holes, malware and the average windows computer is
probably compromised a dozen times over.  Apparently for sometime it was not
easily possible to secure it install boot - install OS, connect to network
to download security updates, IP range scanned and compromised faster than
you can patch it.

Adam
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Right.

The trick was to install off line, add your own (free or commercial s/w firewall) then 
connect, behind a router that had no port forwarding, etc.  Hell before cheap 
routers I ran one Win95B as I remember, using ICS to a hub that feed my LAN and in front 
was a dialup and a cable modem.  Atguard was the S/W firewall, worked great and 
never was penetrated.

And if one used IE for anything, or any form of Outlook one was and still is a fool. 
There are still fools who think that their Windows Vista, 7, 8 or 8.1 is safe because 
MS updates it days, weeks or longer after an exploit is found/exposed/known... And
they feel that they can install and run anything anyone says is OK?  No firewall can protect 
against shall we say digital naivety. 

Ah what fools these mortals be.  Then there are others that have never used IE, 
never installed/enabled Outlook, never enabled UPNP &/or, DCOM; never executed 
"unknown" s/w, and always had their own s/w firewall on, long before MS even 
thought of "Windows Firewall".  Does anyone (other than zone alarm) check for 
data leaving one's computer "unexpectedely"?  Those machines could run Win95B, 
Win98SE, NT4, Win2K, XP pro long past MS's "cut off date" and barely notice
anything. The show stopper is usually the browser (FF) or Adobe flash or pdf 
demanding more OS functions, usually so that they can perform more functions 
more poorly, I'm sorry to say.

Check the live desktop OSs connected to the internet, by version at 
Market share for mobile, browsers, operating systems and search engines | NetMarketShare 


 
 Market share for mobile, browsers, operating systems and search engines | NetMarketShare
Market share for mobile, browsers, operating systems, search engines and social media. Mobile market share and desktop market share data.  
View on www.netmarketshare.com Preview by Yahoo  
  last I checked, XP was still ~29% and all Windows versions, ~90%

Computer safety, like driver safety, has more to do with the knowledge and skill 
of the operator/driver, than the "newness" of the car/computer.  A good driver/computer 
user, never gets into a situation that he/she can't repair/reverse/prevent/recover from
etc.  Drive/run a motorcycle/computer and you will learn defensive driving/computing 

really fast or be roadkill on the highway/digital highway.

Ron

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