You might be a Windows XP user if...

[moonbat]

(and so far the only reasonably proper way in which it should still be used )

Wouldn't it be safer to run it in a VM, assuming there isn't some specialized obsolete hardware that won't work with one?

[Moonchild]

Wouldn't it be safer to run it in a VM, assuming there isn't some specialized obsolete hardware that won't work with one?

Not always possible. Specifically if the whole point of having XP is because of archaic hardware!
By the way, a VM generally isn't any safer than bare metal; it's still a live computing environment, after all -- the only obvious advantage is that you can usually keep snapshots and instantly roll back to a previous state with no traces.

[moonbat]

Yeah I meant from the POV of snapshots. One thing about security vulnerabilities though, as time passes and the installed base of XP shrinks, doesn't it cease to be a lucrative target for exploits? Or put another way, now that it is almost a decade out of all types of support, would anyone still be digging around trying to find exploitable vulnerabilities for it now?

[Moonchild]

would anyone still be digging around trying to find exploitable vulnerabilities for it now?

Absolutely! As long as people still use it, it's still lucrative -- and in fact if you find a new exploit, you're also guaranteed every installation of it will be exploitable as it simply will not be patched. So it is worth the time to target the shrinking user base since when you do find an exploit it will be 100% applicable, forever.

[Pause]

Plus there's also the fact that it's entirely possible that an exploit that works on XP may also work on later (and current) versions of Windows.

[Pentium4User]

Plus there's also the fact that it's entirely possible that an exploit that works on XP may also work on later (and current) versions of Windows.

True, but there most computers will be updated, with 7 and older that isn't the case (I am aware of ESU for 7).

[Pause]

True, but there most computers will be updated, with 7 and older that isn't the case (I am aware of ESU for 7).

Absolutely. I just wanted to point out that it's still a possibility - though obviously not in any way a guarantee - that there are undiscovered exploits that would not only work in XP, but would still have the affected code (and thus exploit) present in more modern versions.

So due to that it would be another reason for people to continue probing XP.

I'm still not in any way suggesting that anyone should actually continue to use it as anything other than a purely air-gapped installation if they are going to use it at all.

[Moonchild]

that there are undiscovered exploits that would not only work in XP, but would still have the affected code (and thus exploit) present in more modern versions.

So due to that it would be another reason for people to continue probing XP.

I'd say that is very unlikely. If people want to find vulnerabilities in an OS it would make sense that they probe that OS they want to target directly -- not like any of the Windows versions is hard to come by or what not

[Pause]

I'd say that is very unlikely. If people want to find vulnerabilities in an OS it would make sense that they probe that OS they want to target directly -- not like any of the Windows versions is hard to come by or what not

True, it is unlikely that someone would probe it on that basis, as it's more likely that people will look for exploits in newer versions of Windows and then check the older ones afterwards to see if any newly discovered exploits are applicable to those too, but it still wouldn't surprise me if there are people who actually do probe XP on that basis.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

The machine in question has software switches on the desktop that disable all currently connected comms, wifi or ethernet, with nice red/green lamps that give a status as to the connectivity. Done in my usual steampunk style. The machine is generally disconnected from the internet unless specifically connected for testing connectivity.

Each drive has a hardware switch on the power circuit so I can switch drives on and off at will, preventing corruption. This is not due to fear of external vulnerability but more due to having an Alpha grade o/s that might eat your drives. I have my very own data destroying beast in ReactOS implementation of various alpha grade file systems.

I have an o/s image that I can restore at will for the XP drive and the ReactOS drive.

The machine is not connected to an internal network.

re: VMs, the point of testing on hardware is much the same as testing it in a VM. One tests the o/s in hardware, the other in a VM. If I know a version of ReactOS is good in a VM then testing it in real hardware exposes the hardware issues. The utility of having XP on the same system on another drive allows me to install drivers and compare the results.

VMs can be limited and also have characteristics/faults/bugs that make them unsuitable/different for some types of testing.

As a test suite, for me this is a perfect set up. Real hardware, no playing about with VMs, current experience with VM software is pushing me toward real hardware.

It is worth saying that this re-aquaintance with XP is like pairing up with an old girlfriend, she may be a few years older now but strangely her tits are still pert.

[mr tribute]

You might be a Windows XP user if you are XPerienced.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

I'd agree with that sentiment in both respects.

Also, I hasten to add that XP was an o/s used by a lot of people in the 'old' computer sense, that being a processing and storage system for doing local work without any internet access at all. I know a few oldies who still use their 'computer' for doing tax returns and the like, printing documents &c. They never connect to the internet as they still have no modem or attach to the internet using another more mainstream device. As a 'mere' personal computer operating system with no need for internet connection then it could still be considered a suitable o/s for these limited needs. In my opinion it is as good as any other operating system for this sort of limited usage. Of course it won't run the latest game but the remaining user base is unlikely to want those. This obviously does run counter to the opinions of a typical user of Pale Moon who is likely to be online all the time but having said that I do run a few older systems with alternative oses with no network connectivity of any sort and XP is still eminently usable - in comparison.

I know that does not amount to a glowing recommendation - but as well as airports, holes-in-the-wall, machinery and production control systems and Windows for Warships, that is another 'acceptable' use.

[Moonchild]

This obviously does run counter to the opinions of a typical user of Pale Moon who is likely to be online all the time

I'm sorry but the use case you sketch doesn't even have use for a web browser. So it's really not a consideration for Pale Moon

[athenian200]

It is worth saying that this re-aquaintance with XP is like pairing up with an old girlfriend,

Ah, I knew I was leaving something off the list...

• If you have a serious crush on XP-tan, you might be a Windows XP user.

No judgment if that's someone's reason, though. It's something I genuinely didn't think of that would explain the lasting appeal of Windows XP.

[andyprough]

If you still think that the Windows XP version of Freecell is the greatest solitaire game ever made ... (which it is by the way) ... you might just be a Windows XP user. (I'm not but if there's one thing that would get me to drag out my 2007 mini-tower and my XP disk it's Freecell).

[yereverluvinuncleber]

Battleground Ardennes, from 1995 but a good simulation wargame. Simple and effective. 16bit installer will not install on any 64 bit o/s.

[Blacklab]

Ahhh... Solitaire on MS Windows... memory lane...
Once had a very lazy, disinterested, incompetent, and perpetually grumpy boss way-back-when.
He couldn't be bothered to do much or any actual work... so he used to play Solitaire on his desktop PC all day.
How did we know?
If you walked past his office pretty much anytime... and looked through his open door or through the glass window in top half of his door... you could clearly see the reflection of what was on his PC's VGA monitor screen reflected in the glass of the outside window behind his desk and chair.
99% of the time it was Solitaire. Busy man.
What a prat.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

We've all had a very lazy, disinterested, incompetent, and perpetually grumpy boss way-back-when. Some of us still have one now. Look around, yup, there's mine. She's my wife.

[mr tribute]

You might be a Windows XP user if you are using a Pentium 4 CPU as space heater.

[Eduardo Lucas]

Battleground Ardennes, from 1995 but a good simulation wargame. Simple and effective. 16bit installer will not install on any 64 bit o/s.

It will be able to install with otvdm