Hacking In A World Without Windows Xp

snoopy · Feb 14, 2012

Hacking in a World Without Windows XP

To malicious hackers, the deeply flawed, sporadically patched security of Windows XP is the gift that keeps on giving, more than 10 years after the operating system was first released. But the user base for Windows XP is shrinking quickly as newer machines ship with Windows 7, and Microsoft plans to withdraw support for XP in 2014.

Will cybercriminals be able to keep up their lucrative activities by exploiting the tougher-to-crack Windows 7? Or will they move to another platform — possibly Android?

No operating system is impregnable

To be clear: Windows 7 is an excellent operating system. On its release, reviewers were mostly impressed. MaximumPC called it a "massive leap forward in usability, security, and support," and specifically called out security improvements as a major selling point for XP users trading up.

While specialists can argue back and forth over interface design and underlying functionality, few deny that Windows 7 is technologically superior to its predecessors.

However, when any software purveyor touts the airtight security of its latest product, experts know the other shoe will soon drop. It didn't take long after Windows 7's October 2009 release for key security holes to show up.

The weak spot is you

The brunt of responsibility falls on those most invested in the security and, in many cases, least prepared to take it on. "More often than not, the greatest weakness in a system isn't the security flaws, but the user," said Chet Wisniewski, senior security advisor in the Vancouver, B.C. office of British security firm Sophos. "Attackers are using social engineering more and more as their ticket to entry”.

No single operating system will ever put the final nail in cybercrime's coffin, and cybercriminals have no reason to change horses until they've ridden the Microsoft stallion into the ground. Windows 7 remains a vulnerable and, more importantly, tempting target. That puts users in the line of fire, and demands more responsible and cautious behavior from them. Infection resulting from negligent habits "can happen on [Mac] OS X, Linux, Android, iOS or nearly any other platform you can imagine," Wisniewski reminded users.

Santorelli invokes the Golden Rules of computer use: Keep your anti-virus software updated, your firewall maintained and your passwords strong and secure, and be careful what you click on. Those are guidelines we sometimes take as gospel, but which many users rarely follow completely.
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Full article here - http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/1491-hacking-world-windows-xp.html

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