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I.T. Question: is XP EOL a big deal
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Author:  Aegnor [ Thu Nov 14, 2013 7:30 pm ]
Post subject:  I.T. Question: is XP EOL a big deal
How critical is it for individuals, small businesses, churches, etc, to migrate off XP now that it reaches EOL in April? How risky is staying on XP?
Author:  Kaffis Mark V [ Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:08 pm ]
Post subject: 
Let's put it this way.

Technet lists 1137 security bulletins (which then correspond to a security update that was published) for Windows XP.

So Windows XP averages around 100 security vulnerabilities found and fixed a year since Oct. 2001... and will no longer be fixing them.

Hackers love targeting systems that don't get updated, because they're the ones the vulnerabilities work on. With stuff that's not EOL, hackers have to work on the assumption that only a portion of the systems out there will be vulnerable to a non-zero-day exploit, and the efficacy of a newly found zero-day exploit has a limited window of utility. Come April, 100% of systems will be unpatched for known exploits, and zero-days will last against XP systems forever. So EOL OS's that are still in widespread use get lots of hacker attention, because they're the ideal targets.
Author:  Sam [ Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: I.T. Question: is XP EOL a big deal
As someone with an older machine using XP, I am already preparing myself to budget for a new machine and OS. I really don't want, since I have many other things I need to use the moneys for, but 5 or 6 years is probably more than I should have expected out of this machine anyways. I only upgraded small stuff like ram, video, and my PS along the way. My old coreduo from cyberpower has served me really well. With my 4770hd upgrade, it runs WoW (not maxed out) very well still.

Now, gotta explain to my wifey that I need to spend 800ish dollars in a few month on a new rig =)
Author:  Hopwin [ Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:18 pm ]
Post subject: 
The biggest risk is if you have to reformat.
Author:  Lenas [ Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: I.T. Question: is XP EOL a big deal
The biggest risk is probably more like having confidential information stolen or exploited resulting in the destruction of your organization because the decision makers are cheap ****.

You know, worst case.
Author:  Kaffis Mark V [ Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: I.T. Question: is XP EOL a big deal
Lenas wrote:
The biggest risk is probably more like having confidential information stolen or exploited resulting in the destruction of your organization because the decision makers are cheap ****.

You know, worst case.

This.

Even if you're an individual.. do you keep any tax records on your computer? Access any email from it -- and receive e-bills? Access electronic banking? Etc.
Author:  Midgen [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 12:30 am ]
Post subject: 
And don't forget online banking,shopping, your personal contact information for family and friends, etc...
Author:  Amanar [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 11:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: I.T. Question: is XP EOL a big deal
Sam wrote:
As someone with an older machine using XP, I am already preparing myself to budget for a new machine and OS. I really don't want, since I have many other things I need to use the moneys for, but 5 or 6 years is probably more than I should have expected out of this machine anyways. I only upgraded small stuff like ram, video, and my PS along the way. My old coreduo from cyberpower has served me really well. With my 4770hd upgrade, it runs WoW (not maxed out) very well still.

Now, gotta explain to my wifey that I need to spend 800ish dollars in a few month on a new rig =)


You know, just buying Windows 7 or 8 is an option, you don't have to upgrade your computer. I'm running Windows 7 on a computer that's 8 years old and it's actually quite a bit faster than Windows XP. I can understand if you want to get a new computer anyway, and take advantage of Windows being bundled with it, but I just wanted to make sure you're aware of your options.
Author:  Aegnor [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 12:02 pm ]
Post subject: 
See, that is kind of what I thought. My question was kind of general sense I didn't want to bias it. But this is specific to the church I go to. There are several machines running XP.

Their I.T. guy is insistent that it isn't an issue and not to bother. He owns his own I.T. company that "manages 1500 systems" and has been in business for years. Someone else on the board at the church has quite a bit of experience and also says not to do it, that it's a waste and not a big deal.

Every bit of research I've done indicates THIS IS A BIG DEAL. So now I'm left baffled. I'm convinced, but people with much more experience in I.T. than me (I'm a software developer, not I.T.) say it's no big deal.
Author:  Kaffis Mark V [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 12:10 pm ]
Post subject: 
Does the guy who manages the systems for the church get paid to do it, or not?
Author:  shuyung [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 12:11 pm ]
Post subject: 
That's because you have to understand that most IT people have zilch in the way of security consciousness.
Author:  Lenas [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 12:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re:
Aegnor wrote:
He owns his own I.T. company that "manages 1500 systems" and has been in business for years.


Owning a company doesn't make you a master of its operations. My boss doesn't know **** about day to day web development work but he's great at marketing. Just because this guy walks past a server farm or something when he goes to work doesn't mean he could run any of it without his staff. Anyone that says any software is not worth updating shouldn't be allowed to make security decisions. We run niche websites on a platform that gets updated monthly and I still need to deal with the occasional SQL injection or whatever. If you have vulnerabilities then someone is going to exploit them, and if the security hole is big enough you may never even realize that anything is wrong.
Author:  Aegnor [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 12:34 pm ]
Post subject: 
Yes, he does get paid. He's not a member of the church or anything, he is just the owner of the I.T. company that they hired.
Author:  Midgen [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 1:08 pm ]
Post subject: 
He needs to be dismissed with prejudice
Author:  Hopwin [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 1:50 pm ]
Post subject: 
Seriously this goes beyond security, if you have to reformat how do you get from clean install to SP3 + updated drivers for all your sheez? It is hard enough with Microsoft providing updates for XP today, let alone when they shut that off.
Author:  Micheal [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 2:19 pm ]
Post subject: 
Upgrade to Windows 7. My Department finally did because of the EOL coming around and the security issues involved. They are seriously cheap about this stuff. Heck, they even upgraded to IE9, which wasn't as good as I had hoped but better than I expected.
Author:  Taskiss [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 2:26 pm ]
Post subject: 
I'd say it depends on the role these systems play.

"Not connected to the internet, used for a proprietary app, re-imaged from ghost regularly" isn't as serious an issue as "mission critical".

That doesn't mean it's not serious, just means it's less serious.

I don't plan, for instance, to upgrade the XP image on my personal VMs. They're stand alone systems, basically just set up to serve as a backup container for the docs/apps I have in whatever ancient file format they were created in, like Illustrator or PageMaker. 10 year old crap, but recently I went back in to get data from it, so I can't say its useless.
Author:  Aegnor [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 2:52 pm ]
Post subject: 
They are used for various purposes. Email, web, MS Office, etc. In other words, ripe for infection. And of course they have access to the shared drive on the server.
Author:  Lenas [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 3:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: I.T. Question: is XP EOL a big deal
Well if they can't shell out a few hundred dollars for some Windows licenses, maybe the pastor can just pray to keep the malware away.
Author:  Aegnor [ Fri Nov 15, 2013 3:36 pm ]
Post subject: 
It is more than a few hundred dollars. All told it will cost in the neighborhood of $8k. That includes the licenses, some HW updates needed to run 7 (mostly video cards), and then there are some that are so old they have no hope of running 7 and would need to be replaced.

So that's not chump change. And they've got their I.T. guy saying don't bother, while I'm over here saying they're wrong, and this is a big deal.
Author:  Corolinth [ Sat Nov 16, 2013 12:10 am ]
Post subject: 
Is this guy the same person who is hired to fix your church's computers is they get infected with malware?

It sounds to me like he's trying to take a group of underinformed churchgoers for a ride. Right now it looks like he's saving you a ton of money. You'll be so pleased with all the money he just saved you that you'll be happy to hire him to clean up your computers when they get infected.
Author:  Midgen [ Sat Nov 16, 2013 4:54 am ]
Post subject: 
What is the integrity of the overall computer environment? Is data being backed up? Stored securely?

I also wonder if he is accountable/responsible in any way for costs associated with data loss, compromise, etc...
Author:  Taskiss [ Sat Nov 16, 2013 8:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: I.T. Question: is XP EOL a big deal
If cash is an issue, go Linux, but don't stay on an unsupported OS.
Author:  Hopwin [ Sat Nov 16, 2013 12:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: I.T. Question: is XP EOL a big deal
Taskiss wrote:
If cash is an issue, go Linux, but don't stay on an unsupported OS.

Image
Author:  Aegnor [ Sat Nov 16, 2013 4:11 pm ]
Post subject: 
Scheduled backup with onsite and offsite backup. There's a firewall AVHIDS, etc.
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