By Gene Barlow
User Group Relations
Copyrighted May 2014
A major change happened to the Windows Operating System family on April 8, 2014 – Windows XP was retired and will no longer be supported by Microsoft. Since many computer users (20% plus) are still using WinXP, this is a major concern for them. This article will point out what this announcement means to WinXP users and what steps they need to take to better protect themselves from these added risks.
What Does this Change Mean?
You can breathe a sigh of relief; this change does NOT mean that on April 9th, your WinXP computer will stop working. It may continue to work just fine for the next several months or years, especially if you follow my suggestions in this article.
In the short term (a few weeks or months), your computer’s safe-guards will probably be compromised and your computer will become the target of Internet attacks by Hackers. Once Microsoft discontinues its effort to correct any weak point in WinXP that Hackers use to gain access to your computer, your computer will become open to all hackers to enter your computer and cause mischief or damage. This is sort of like requiring that any home over 12 years old must no longer lock their doors at night. Now any thief can easily enter your house and steal what they want. Hackers will publish exact descriptions on how to break into WinXP computers and put these guidelines on secret hacker websites. By running crawler bots, the hackers can quickly find all computers still using WinXP and go after them in a mass attack. It will take hackers a few weeks or months to get this attack organized and running. If they miss your computer in this attack, you will be very lucky.
In the long term (many months or a couple of years), you will find that new computer hardware devices and new versions of the computer software that you use will not be supported on your WinXP computer. Making a decision to remain with WinXP means that you have decided to lock yourself in the past and you will not be able to move forward in your hardware or software. Just don’t be disappointed when you cannot run that new printer you want or install a new favorite software version on your old WinXP computer.
How to Protect your Computer?
There are several steps you can take to better prevent bad things from happening to your WinXP computer. Here are the most common steps you should consider taking.
Move to a New Computer: Microsoft will continue to support Windows Win7 and Win8 computer Operating Systems for several more years. So, if you still are running an old WinXP computer, now would be a good time to consider upgrading to something newer. Powerful new computers with the latest operating systems are widely available at great prices today. So, bite the bullet and move to a newer computer. While it may take a while to get use to the new computer, once you do, you will really enjoy the new system.
Picking which new computer system to move to requires a choice on your part. Let me offer you some suggestions. Windows 7 computers are stable and very reliable. You can still find companies offering new Win7 computers at great discounts. I would strongly recommend looking at a Window 7 computer to move to. Windows 8/8.1 computers are what you will find mostly in your local computer store. While this is the latest Windows interface available, it is dramatically different than WinXP, Vista, or Win7 computers. This major difference is why many users of Win8/8.1 computers are not happy. I would suggest you avoid the new Win8/8.1 computers for now and find a solid Win7 computer to replace your WinXP.
Making the move to a new computer system involves a lot of steps. Just getting to the new computer will take you some time. Moving the application programs that you use to the new computer can be a lot of work. And, having all of your important personal data files on your new computer is critical to continue using your computer. I wrote a technical paper a couple of years ago that identifies the many ways to move to a new computer system and it points out the pitfalls and weaknesses of these ways. I end up recommending how best to move from WinXP to Win7 in the article, but this paper applies to moving to any new computer from any old computer. You can find this article at http://www.ugr.com/nl0511.html. Make sure you print out this article and follow it as you move to your new computer system.
Disconnect your WinXP Computer from Internet: I have heard many users say they plan on staying with their old WinXP computer, but will disconnect it from the Internet to avoid hacker attacks. Since many of the advantages of using a computer today are to stay in touch with email, Facebook, etc., and browsing the wealth of information available on the Internet. I find those pulling the Internet plug are a bit drastic. There are less dynamic changes you should consider instead of totally disconnecting from the Internet. A few years ago, we connected to the internet with a dial-up connection. The speed of dial-up was very slow and you always had to connect before you could use the Internet. Today, you are constantly connected to the Internet and that means your WinXP computer will be open to hackers 24 hours a day. To reduce this risk, you may be able to plug into the internet only when you need to. Then download your email messages and disconnect. You can compose your replies off-line, and then reconnect to the internet to upload your replies. If you use one of the web email clients, like gmail or hotmail, then this approach will not work. Also, greatly limit the amount of time you browse the internet. Staying under 15 minutes a day connected to the internet is much safer than staying connected 24 hours a day.
Strengthen your Other Internet Security Tools: If you are now going to live with open security doors in your WinXP computer, make sure you have the best other protection in place to protect your computer. Make sure your hardware router is strong and if you use a wireless router, make sure you password protect against those that can access it. You also need a strong bi-directional software firewall to keep hackers out and make sure this firewall is turned on at all times to protect you. Get rid of the limited free anti-virus software you might be using and invest in the best protection software available. Personally, I have used Vipre security software for the past several years and it is a strong product to protect you. If you chose to remain on WinXP, at least get the most powerful Internet protection you can. The free stuff is not nearly as good.
The most important security software that all users should use on a regular basis is a good backup utility. With unprotected holes in your WinXP operating system and even with strong internet security software, hackers can still break into your computer. You will end up with a crashed computer and all of your important files lost. If you do regular backups of your computer to an external hard drive, at least when the attack comes, you will be able to quickly get your system back up and working again. Since you are using a security weakened system in WinXP, you should backup more frequently than normal. A daily backup of your entire hard drive would not be unreasonable to do. This should be an image backup that will backup not just your data files, but your WinXP system and all installed application programs and settings. Disconnect your external backup hard drive between backups so that hackers won’t have access to it and destroy your backups. A good backup is the ultimate line of defense against hackers. I highly recommend Acronis True Image 2014 as the best backup utility available today.
To order Acronis True Image Home 2014 from us, go to www.ugr7.com and select the product you wish to purchase. Once you are on that product’s page, click on the appropriate Buy Now button to place your order. We charge only $25 for a single license or $60 for a three license Family Pack. You can order a download copy or we can mail you a CD with the software on it. (There is a $5 shipping fee per order if you order the CD.) When checking out of the shopping cart, enter in the special order code of UGNL0514. Not only do we provide the best prices for this excellent backup utility, we also give our customers much better support than they will get from Acronis or other distributers.
If you have questions about this article or the True Image 2014 product, send an email to support@ugr7.com and I will try to help you with your questions.
User Group Relations
Copyrighted May 2014
A major change happened to the Windows Operating System family on April 8, 2014 – Windows XP was retired and will no longer be supported by Microsoft. Since many computer users (20% plus) are still using WinXP, this is a major concern for them. This article will point out what this announcement means to WinXP users and what steps they need to take to better protect themselves from these added risks.
What Does this Change Mean?
You can breathe a sigh of relief; this change does NOT mean that on April 9th, your WinXP computer will stop working. It may continue to work just fine for the next several months or years, especially if you follow my suggestions in this article.
In the short term (a few weeks or months), your computer’s safe-guards will probably be compromised and your computer will become the target of Internet attacks by Hackers. Once Microsoft discontinues its effort to correct any weak point in WinXP that Hackers use to gain access to your computer, your computer will become open to all hackers to enter your computer and cause mischief or damage. This is sort of like requiring that any home over 12 years old must no longer lock their doors at night. Now any thief can easily enter your house and steal what they want. Hackers will publish exact descriptions on how to break into WinXP computers and put these guidelines on secret hacker websites. By running crawler bots, the hackers can quickly find all computers still using WinXP and go after them in a mass attack. It will take hackers a few weeks or months to get this attack organized and running. If they miss your computer in this attack, you will be very lucky.
In the long term (many months or a couple of years), you will find that new computer hardware devices and new versions of the computer software that you use will not be supported on your WinXP computer. Making a decision to remain with WinXP means that you have decided to lock yourself in the past and you will not be able to move forward in your hardware or software. Just don’t be disappointed when you cannot run that new printer you want or install a new favorite software version on your old WinXP computer.
How to Protect your Computer?
There are several steps you can take to better prevent bad things from happening to your WinXP computer. Here are the most common steps you should consider taking.
Move to a New Computer: Microsoft will continue to support Windows Win7 and Win8 computer Operating Systems for several more years. So, if you still are running an old WinXP computer, now would be a good time to consider upgrading to something newer. Powerful new computers with the latest operating systems are widely available at great prices today. So, bite the bullet and move to a newer computer. While it may take a while to get use to the new computer, once you do, you will really enjoy the new system.
Picking which new computer system to move to requires a choice on your part. Let me offer you some suggestions. Windows 7 computers are stable and very reliable. You can still find companies offering new Win7 computers at great discounts. I would strongly recommend looking at a Window 7 computer to move to. Windows 8/8.1 computers are what you will find mostly in your local computer store. While this is the latest Windows interface available, it is dramatically different than WinXP, Vista, or Win7 computers. This major difference is why many users of Win8/8.1 computers are not happy. I would suggest you avoid the new Win8/8.1 computers for now and find a solid Win7 computer to replace your WinXP.
Making the move to a new computer system involves a lot of steps. Just getting to the new computer will take you some time. Moving the application programs that you use to the new computer can be a lot of work. And, having all of your important personal data files on your new computer is critical to continue using your computer. I wrote a technical paper a couple of years ago that identifies the many ways to move to a new computer system and it points out the pitfalls and weaknesses of these ways. I end up recommending how best to move from WinXP to Win7 in the article, but this paper applies to moving to any new computer from any old computer. You can find this article at http://www.ugr.com/nl0511.html. Make sure you print out this article and follow it as you move to your new computer system.
Disconnect your WinXP Computer from Internet: I have heard many users say they plan on staying with their old WinXP computer, but will disconnect it from the Internet to avoid hacker attacks. Since many of the advantages of using a computer today are to stay in touch with email, Facebook, etc., and browsing the wealth of information available on the Internet. I find those pulling the Internet plug are a bit drastic. There are less dynamic changes you should consider instead of totally disconnecting from the Internet. A few years ago, we connected to the internet with a dial-up connection. The speed of dial-up was very slow and you always had to connect before you could use the Internet. Today, you are constantly connected to the Internet and that means your WinXP computer will be open to hackers 24 hours a day. To reduce this risk, you may be able to plug into the internet only when you need to. Then download your email messages and disconnect. You can compose your replies off-line, and then reconnect to the internet to upload your replies. If you use one of the web email clients, like gmail or hotmail, then this approach will not work. Also, greatly limit the amount of time you browse the internet. Staying under 15 minutes a day connected to the internet is much safer than staying connected 24 hours a day.
Strengthen your Other Internet Security Tools: If you are now going to live with open security doors in your WinXP computer, make sure you have the best other protection in place to protect your computer. Make sure your hardware router is strong and if you use a wireless router, make sure you password protect against those that can access it. You also need a strong bi-directional software firewall to keep hackers out and make sure this firewall is turned on at all times to protect you. Get rid of the limited free anti-virus software you might be using and invest in the best protection software available. Personally, I have used Vipre security software for the past several years and it is a strong product to protect you. If you chose to remain on WinXP, at least get the most powerful Internet protection you can. The free stuff is not nearly as good.
The most important security software that all users should use on a regular basis is a good backup utility. With unprotected holes in your WinXP operating system and even with strong internet security software, hackers can still break into your computer. You will end up with a crashed computer and all of your important files lost. If you do regular backups of your computer to an external hard drive, at least when the attack comes, you will be able to quickly get your system back up and working again. Since you are using a security weakened system in WinXP, you should backup more frequently than normal. A daily backup of your entire hard drive would not be unreasonable to do. This should be an image backup that will backup not just your data files, but your WinXP system and all installed application programs and settings. Disconnect your external backup hard drive between backups so that hackers won’t have access to it and destroy your backups. A good backup is the ultimate line of defense against hackers. I highly recommend Acronis True Image 2014 as the best backup utility available today.
To order Acronis True Image Home 2014 from us, go to www.ugr7.com and select the product you wish to purchase. Once you are on that product’s page, click on the appropriate Buy Now button to place your order. We charge only $25 for a single license or $60 for a three license Family Pack. You can order a download copy or we can mail you a CD with the software on it. (There is a $5 shipping fee per order if you order the CD.) When checking out of the shopping cart, enter in the special order code of UGNL0514. Not only do we provide the best prices for this excellent backup utility, we also give our customers much better support than they will get from Acronis or other distributers.
If you have questions about this article or the True Image 2014 product, send an email to support@ugr7.com and I will try to help you with your questions.