How I prevented bad stuff on my XP machine
Bad a couple of yrs ago, I still has XP. I would document the number of processes going on. Check occasionally to see if there was something there that shouldn't be. Worst case was having to reload OS...
Forum Discussion
If you want to keep XP alive, there is always "XP Mode" which is available in 7 easily, but might take some gymnastics in 8.
I always keep up with the latest Windows. The bad guys never stay still, so if I want effective protection from attacks in 2013, I need an OS made near that vintage designed from the ground up (as opposed to having security added on) to handle the items.
For example, Windows 8 (plus Secure boot) deals well with malware that writes to the first boot sector of the hard disk. Windows 7 doesn't have this protection.
When I want to run XP, I just fire up Hyper-V, run it in a virtual machine. If/when it gets infected, I roll back to an earlier snapshot, and the bad stuff is gone (assuming I know when the machine got nailed.)
I always keep up with the latest Windows. The bad guys never stay still, so if I want effective protection from attacks in 2013, I need an OS made near that vintage designed from the ground up (as opposed to having security added on) to handle the items.
For example, Windows 8 (plus Secure boot) deals well with malware that writes to the first boot sector of the hard disk. Windows 7 doesn't have this protection.
When I want to run XP, I just fire up Hyper-V, run it in a virtual machine. If/when it gets infected, I roll back to an earlier snapshot, and the bad stuff is gone (assuming I know when the machine got nailed.)
