I am reading a recent post from ZDNet where a Microsoft Exec was mentioning how unsafe the security was on a windows xp machine with SP1 installed. First of all it is XP and that operating system is over 5 years old now and SP2 has been out for at least 3 years. The fact is, now that Windows Vista is here, why are there even stories about Windows XP and its security flaws when it is obvious these are being addressed by the fact that there is a new operating system.
And why is it that those people that "hate Vista" seem to be complaining about things within their operating system which really don't have anything to do with the problems they are faced with. Yes, Vista requires a lot more memory to run, but memory is cheap and your motherboard and all newer hardware have the capabilities of even more upgrades with regards to more memory and hard drive space. So it seems when I am told home much someone hates Vista and when I ask them why, the answers are typically related to security measures and the (lack of) routine maintenance such as antivirus scans and spyware/malware scans. Yes, most people that are asking me these questions have software that I have always recommended installed, but rarely are they up to date. When a new version of the software program comes out, it is not always that you will get a notice of the new release. Quite often you will get this message once, when you first run the program after an update has been released, but if you choose not to perform this update, quite often you will not be told about this ever again. So it is no wonder then, when I do connect to so many peoples computers to check on things, do I find the basic scanning instruments are way behind?
It is all about education. The more computers I work on and the more I relate with those using Windows XP and Vista, the complaining is pretty much the same whenever there is a new operating system release and how some will love it and others hate it. There is no in-between here, and in most cases, people will always reflect back on what they 'used to do' when there are new shortcuts made with most new products, you can typically change things back to the way it used to be, but before you do, shouldn't you seriously give the new way a try? Yes, I understand you don't always have time to learn something new and want to just carry on with the way things used to be, but in most cases, when you do take that extra few minutes to learn the new way, you will find some neat shortcut that you were not aware of which just may actually save you some time in the end.
So why are these tech writers even mentioning some security problems with such an old operating system in the first place and why, at some tech conference are they showing what is quite obvious.. a computer when no antivirus, no firewall protection, running an old operating system.
The way I see Vista is you shouldn't be upgrading it to your existing system unless you are prepared to add a lot more memory and depending on your processor speed (anything under 1Ghz forget it!) Fact is having Vista on a machine with 2GB of memory (minimum) will run quite nicely. That is, once you have managed to optimize the system. That is why I have the TIPS and the SOFTWARE/SUPPORT pages, so that the same tools that I use to fix a very sick computer on my bench, can be used by you to prevent it from getting to my bench in the first place! Now with remote capabilities, if you aren't sure of what to do, contact me and get me to connect to your computer and see what the problem is! It is just like making a house call but without your computer needing to be unplugged and brought to the bench where only the sick computers that can't get connected to the internet or are simply operating far too slowly while on the internet should end up on my bench. It is all about preventative maintenance and a little education will go a long way!
