Safe Use of XP

Category: Geeks r Us

Post 1 by Eleni21 (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Sunday, 04-May-2014 19:02:47

I have to send my HP Elitebook 2540P (with Windows 7) to be repaired, along with the others. So for the next week or so, I will only have my XP desktop available. Naturally, I want to keep it as secure as possible. This article seems useful.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2014/apr/11/how-can-i-use-windows-xp-safely-now-its-no-longer-supported

Has anyone tried any of the programs and/or ad-ons mentioned in the article? If so, how accessible are they, and can you offer any other advice?

Speaking of accessibility, I heard that Knoppix comes with a program called Wine. I'm guessing that other versions of Linux contain it as well. It allows you to use Windows programs from Linux. How would this work with a screen reader? Finally, assuming that I can get Windows 7 professional, how safe is it to use the built-in XP virtual machine, and can it be set up without sighted assistance? Does it need to be set up every time I use it? That is, would I need to install programs and whatnot each time, or can I create some kind of permenant copy? I have never dealt with virtual software. Thanks.

Post 2 by Eleni21 (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Sunday, 04-May-2014 19:33:40

I actually just remembered that I still have my MacBook! I could kick myself for not upgrading it from Snow Leopard to Lion (it can't handle anything higher) but I never really use it anymore, so it didn't even cross my mind. Still, it might be a safer option for now, despite the annoyance of interacting and such. At least I can use it for internet access. I would try my Android, but I don't think there's any way of using Talkback or the internet without the touchscreen. If there is, please let me know.

Post 3 by Eleni21 (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Sunday, 04-May-2014 21:13:56

I just checked the requirements for Mavericks, the latest version of OS X. It said that 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard), 2gb of ram, and 8gb of free space is required. I have all of that (the ram is exactly 2gb). I am using a Macbook (not Air, Pro, or Aluminum) from about 2007 or so. In my information, it says "Macbook 3". It has a core 2 duo processor. I don't see it listed in the supported models, but can it still run Mavericks, or would upgrading cause problems?

http://www.zonebbs.com/

Post 4 by forereel (Just posting.) on Sunday, 04-May-2014 21:20:20

XP won't go piff in a few weeks of using it. Microsoft released patches for it just this past week.
You'll be fine doing as you always dod for a while.

Post 5 by Eleni21 (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Sunday, 04-May-2014 22:39:53

Thank The Gods! I am very very happy right now! So I don't need to worry about someone hacking into my machine and stealing my files? Still, it's probably best that I try to do some of those steps. Even though this is one of my slower machines, it willbe nice to get back to XP for awhile, so long as I don't have to worry abou it.

Post 6 by JH_Radio (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Tuesday, 13-May-2014 11:38:36

what I do is use MNMS SE, and I have Malware antiexploit and malwarebytes installed. its about as safe as I'm gonna bother with for now, since I plan to put 7 on this box anyway.

Post 7 by JH_Radio (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Tuesday, 13-May-2014 11:39:54

oops, damn you can not edit stuff on the boards.
I meant to say MS SE.