I've said it before, Win 10 security is better than older versions.
https://theintercept.com/2017/04/14/leaked-nsa-malware-threatens-windows-users-around-the-world/Note paragraph 2:
..capable of breaking into — and in some cases seizing control of — computers running version of the Windows operating system earlier than the most recent Windows 10Bob
Good information Bob!
I was surprised to read that over 65% of the on-line computer are running the vulnerable Windows versions! That's a lot of computer just asking to be infected. I keep all of our Internet computers updated; they all run Win 10 Pro.
I understand Microsoft has a security update for Win7. Is this true?
Regards,
Bob
Most of this was patched in March with MS updates (Win 7 and 8).
Personally. I think they (MS) used the term 'most' just as a CYA thing.
MS delayed a February patch/update because of 'significant security concerns'. I'm pretty sure this is what they were talking about. I give them credit for doing their best to nip it in the bud.
/I really expected some Linux/Mac users to post in this by now <grin>
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msrc/2017/04/14/protecting-customers-and-evaluating-risk/
The point of the article I posted, plus other articles, plus what our IT guy told me at the office is patching Win 7 doesn't help with stuff like this.
That's what a whole new OS is all about. And it's not just the OS it's new hardware. Some security is part of the CPU that a new OS is able to coordinate with. Patching an old OS in no way brings it up to the same level as the latest OS.
Bob
The point of my link was these referenced hacks were patched long ago, and according to MS, if you run W7 or above (and use updates) these were patched for all 'supported OS', most of them a long time ago. It states that pretty clearly. One of them was addressed prior to Vista. I trust Tech Net; many many people in the security field do.
This particular trending news item didn't concern me too much once I learned that it was handled.
Now, if I was still running an unsupported OS like XP, I'd be a bit more concerned. MS did say three of the hacks simply don't work on 'supported OS' so I think they may really be saying 'those three work on OS prior to W7. We don't support those OS anymore, so no fix'..
Yes newer is always more secure (I agree with your main point); this is usually the root reason there is always a 'newer' in the first place. But these particular items shouldn't cause a panic upgrade to W10.
/hope we're still friends, I'm not trying to be combative. FWIW I'm a 'sysadmin' on servers that lots of people rely on for a living, so when I saw this originally I naturally checked it out. Thought I should share my findings.
I totally appreciate your input, I'm hardly the expert in this. But, I think you saw my other thread asking for suggestions about setting up my own security for my side business and what the IT company we use at the office told me about Win 10. And their advice about using Edge instead of IE or other browsers. I was told Edge is different than IE and more secure. Anyway they are adamant, if you're concerned about security you need to upgrade to 10 and Edge. I can't say how true that is, just passing it along.
Bob
I've been out of it with some medical issues but I'm back now. We've all heard of this recent ransomware attack a couple of weeks ago. That was bad enough especially when it was announced that MS had patched this back in mid March. Everybody who was on automatic updates was already protected. This hack caught the people who thought they were too smart to keep on top of it.
Again guys, trying to outsmart yourself by somehow insisting that you must control when Win10 updates happen is looking for trouble imho. Now this:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a26611/new-malware-worse-than-wannacry/I knew that NSA leak was going to bite us all and according to this article it has. As a former intel analyst somebody needs to go to jail over stuff like this but hey, what do I know?
Bob
I'm still waiting for a good update to DOS 3.1
Good information Bob! I was surprised to read that over 65% of the on-line computer are running the vulnerable Windows versions! That's a lot of computer just asking to be infected. I keep all of our Internet computers updated; they all run Win 10 Pro.
So far so good for Windows 10 LoL; just had this nice one, don't fall for it, it can be that serious malware is involved, locking your computer. PS you'll need adwcleaner_7.0.1.0.exe from malwarebytes to remove it running in safe mode. -F
Time to resurrect this almost two year old thread because of this:
https://www.howtogeek.com/fyi/change-your-passwords-617-million-accounts-were-stolen-across-16-different-sites/Reading this reminded me of this thread so I did a search asking the question "Is Win 10 more secure than Win 7?" and found this:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-vs-windows-7-microsofts-newer-os-is-almost-twice-as-secure/All I can say is wow, it's even better than I thought. 50% better. Now, some will look at the numbers .04 infected with Win 10 vs .08 for Win 7 and think that's so small, I won't worry about it. Ok, that's a choice. Keep reading this article and it validates virtually everything I was told by our IT company.
Just FYI.
Bob