New life for old XP

[Altern]

New life for old XP

[1492]

wintersun wrote:


New operating system that is more secure - you mean buying a Mac to use the secure Mac OS and bootcamp to run XP?

You cannot use Windows and secure in the same sentence and be serious.

With my Apple computers I run an update from Apple for the OS a couple times a year. That is it.

Personally, I think the user needs to take responsibility for their own security, and not necessarily rely on any OS developer to do so? Part of the problem is that the vast majority of Windows users run default Admin accounts on their personal systems, when it's not necessary except in a few cases.

Many appear to concur that MAC OS X doesn't represent as lucrative a target for hackers as Windows, considering its relatively low user base at around 6%? That's not the case for Apple's mobile iOS which hackers and security experts have uncovered numerous exploits requiring continued patching. Not surprising, as iOS being among the most popular mobile operating systems.

At the end of the day, OS security updates are only as good as they are made available in a timely manner. Case in point from this former Apple whitehat hacker, who just disclosed the delays in patching critical vulnerabilities Apple users left exposed to serious threats for weeks, former employee says. When exploits are known by black hat hackers, patches need to be issued in days not weeks. Especially, those that require little or no intervention to execute on the part of the user.

One can believe all the marketing hype of how secure an OS is supposed to be. But, in the the end, its up to the user to insure that it in fact is.

[fj12ryder]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just installed a new video card to play the latest games and they look fantastic. How's that work on the Apple?

If you have to do all that stuff why do you even bother with any Windows products? Could it be that there are various programs that aren't available for an Apple? Hmm, wonder why that is. How does Basecamp run on an Apple?

And don't look now, but the Mac's aren't totally bulletproof anymore either. 🙂

[wintersun]

fj12ryder wrote:
Yeah, I see that, but why would you use XP to connect to the internet if you're running a new OS that is more secure? The only reason I use XP is for legacy software. Obviously there are not going to be any updates, so no real reason to connect.

New operating system that is more secure - you mean buying a Mac to use the secure Mac OS and bootcamp to run XP?

You cannot use Windows and secure in the same sentence and be serious.

With our Windows 7 computers we are all running on a NT 3.51 kernal that dates back to the late 1980's. All my Windows computers have an anti-virus add on software, add on firewall software, rootkit software, spyware software (two packages), and a registry cleaning program. I run them all daily to clean up the computers and minimize the problems. I am running Windows security patches every week of the year.

With my Apple computers I run an update from Apple for the OS a couple times a year. That is it.

[mikegt4]

Horizon170 wrote:

cleo43 wrote:
Or you can buy an external DVD burner for around 30$.

Thanks, I just want to try LINUX on that computer since I'm almost ready to junk it.

Another Linux alternative is Puppy Linux. I have been using it for about 10 years and am very happy with it. Puppy was designed to be used on very old computers, works well on my 20th century E-machine tower. My computing needs are such that I don't require a full featured version such as Ubuntu although Puppy can be built with as many features as you want. It is an easy linux version to play around with on an old computer. You can run it from a thumb drive or DVD/cd if you want. I have a dual boot Win7/puppy set up on my laptop. As mentioned before, any linux version will have support forums filled with people who are thrilled to help you on your way to kicking the Windoze habit.

http://www.puppylinux.com/
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/

[Chris_Bryant]

Horizon170 wrote:

cleo43 wrote:
Or you can buy an external DVD burner for around 30$.

Thanks, I just want to try LINUX on that computer since I'm almost ready to junk it.

I would really try Lubuntu, which is a lightweight version that will actually run on a Pentium II, and should be fast on any modern box. If you poke around, there are instructions on installing it on a USB drive.

[Horizon170]

cleo43 wrote:
Or you can buy an external DVD burner for around 30$.

Thanks, I just want to try LINUX on that computer since I'm almost ready to junk it.

[cleo43]

Or you can buy an external DVD burner for around 30$.

[powderman426]

Horizon170 wrote:

thgoodman wrote:

powderman426 wrote:
Or you could load Linux for free and enjoy real computing.

First, let me state my bias. I have one PC running Windows XP and one PC running Linux. I love the Linux OS, mainly because it is so much faster than Windows. That said, I do not recommend a Linux install for the technically faint-of-heart.

You need to understand that Linux is almost like a religion to those who support it. Ask a question of a Linux guru and it will be answered fully and with fervor. Ask if its difficult to install and they will tell you "no problem", "piece of cake", etc. Mine took about 15min to install the operation system and all day to install all the drivers and other support apps. Also, some hardware is not supported, the existing wifi card in my case.


I am very happy with my Linux install. It runs very fast on a very old laptop and doesn't get viruses or other mal-ware. I installed mine by attending a Linux user group "install fest" here in Phoenix. If you can find a user group near you, you may want to explore Linux. If there is no user group near by, I'd recommend giving it a pass. Some people are just meant to be Windows users.

I will eventually migrate to a newer version of windows but there will be drag marks in the sand behind me.

Nice read-------------I would like to try Linux on an old laptop that has a faulty CD /DVR drive. Where do I get information as to how this is done?

No problem with the dead cd drive as long as you have a usb port. You can download the latest Ubuntu image from their site and install it on a flash drive. You need to make it bootable when installing it on the flash drive. This link will show you how to do it. If you have any problems, just PM me.

[mlslcan]

Horizon170 wrote:

thgoodman wrote:

powderman426 wrote:
Or you could load Linux for free and enjoy real computing.

First, let me state my bias. I have one PC running Windows XP and one PC running Linux. I love the Linux OS, mainly because it is so much faster than Windows. That said, I do not recommend a Linux install for the technically faint-of-heart.

You need to understand that Linux is almost like a religion to those who support it. Ask a question of a Linux guru and it will be answered fully and with fervor. Ask if its difficult to install and they will tell you "no problem", "piece of cake", etc. Mine took about 15min to install the operation system and all day to install all the drivers and other support apps. Also, some hardware is not supported, the existing wifi card in my case.

I am very happy with my Linux install. It runs very fast on a very old laptop and doesn't get viruses or other mal-ware. I installed mine by attending a Linux user group "install fest" here in Phoenix. If you can find a user group near you, you may want to explore Linux. If there is no user group near by, I'd recommend giving it a pass. Some people are just meant to be Windows users.

I will eventually migrate to a newer version of windows but there will be drag marks in the sand behind me.

Nice read-------------I would like to try Linux on an old laptop that has a faulty CD /DVR drive. Where do I get information as to how this is done?

If your old laptop can boot from a usb drive then you can download linux (I recommend Ubuntu) to the usb drive and boot from that.

If the laptop can not boot from a usb drive the you will want to try the Ubuntu windows installer from the url below. Note that this will install in a dual boot mode and only an older version of Ubuntu. Chose the 12.04 LTS (Long Term Support) version and you will be able to update to the new LTS version due to be released later this month.

http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/windows-installer

[EsoxLucius]

Many of the computers that ran XP will struggle with Windows 8, especially trying to run XP in a virtual machine.

[thgoodman]

Horizon170 wrote:


Nice read-------------I would like to try Linux on an old laptop that has a faulty CD /DVR drive. Where do I get information as to how this is done?

I got hooked up with the local Phoenix user group through a Windows PC club. I went to some of their "install fests". A very welcoming and helpful group. They had all the software you could ever want and helped me install a simplified version on my lap top.

I'm sure there are many other groups like them around the country. Give Google a try.

[1492]

Another alternative for those who want or need to use an existing WIN XP PC in the meantime, is to consider running a sandboxed environment that isolates your system from the Net.





A easy way of doing so is installing the Free Comodo Firewall, which includes a full sandboxed mode option called Virtual Desktop(VD) with just one click. You can surf the Net, download files, and install/run unfamiliar programs in an isolated environment that does not make any permanent changes to WIN XP. Once you determine that a program is safe, you can transfer the file to a folder called "Shared Space" that acts as a buffer between the Virtual Desktop and your system. Then reinstall the program. You can easily switch back and forth between sandboxed Virtual Mode and your WIN XP desktop with one click.

Though still protected by your AV software, if your system is ever compromised by malware or unwanted adaware or hijacks, just reset the Sandbox which clears all existing data with one click, and start fresh.

In fact, current WIN XP users may want to consider using a combo of Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition, which offers much better protection than MSE while lighter on resources(source), Comodo Firewall w/Virtual Mode, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free, Zemana AntiLogger Free, and either Firefox or Chrome browsers. All available at no cost.

[Horizon170]

thgoodman wrote:

powderman426 wrote:
Or you could load Linux for free and enjoy real computing.

First, let me state my bias. I have one PC running Windows XP and one PC running Linux. I love the Linux OS, mainly because it is so much faster than Windows. That said, I do not recommend a Linux install for the technically faint-of-heart.

You need to understand that Linux is almost like a religion to those who support it. Ask a question of a Linux guru and it will be answered fully and with fervor. Ask if its difficult to install and they will tell you "no problem", "piece of cake", etc. Mine took about 15min to install the operation system and all day to install all the drivers and other support apps. Also, some hardware is not supported, the existing wifi card in my case.

I am very happy with my Linux install. It runs very fast on a very old laptop and doesn't get viruses or other mal-ware. I installed mine by attending a Linux user group "install fest" here in Phoenix. If you can find a user group near you, you may want to explore Linux. If there is no user group near by, I'd recommend giving it a pass. Some people are just meant to be Windows users.

I will eventually migrate to a newer version of windows but there will be drag marks in the sand behind me.

Nice read-------------I would like to try Linux on an old laptop that has a faulty CD /DVR drive. Where do I get information as to how this is done?

[1492]

Chris Bryant wrote:
The coolest thing, IMHO, is taking the hard drive out of the XP computer and running it as a virtual machine- not really easy, but possible. ( note the disclaimer). Easy to take a snapshot of the whole thing for backup, no need for installation, activation, etc.

Actually, this is what I did when upgrading to WIN 7 from WIN XP. I created a full image backup of WIN XP, saved in a format compatible with existing VM software. So can run my old WIN XP, with all programs in tact, in WIN 7 using VM.