Under Normal Circumstances, Windows XP Isnt Safe Today
Lets be honest for a second.
Main XP support was dropped in 2009, with extended support for various embedded systems ending throughout the 2010s.
If you use XP now, thats a security risk.
It took around 10 minutes for malware to be installed.
That doesnt mean it isnt still in usethe 0.38% proves that.
XP shouldnt be your daily driver, because the risk is too great.
At any point, your XP installation could fail.
Malware infections, data loss, or old hardware just kicking the bucket.
What does make sense is keeping Windows XP for fun.
Sorting out your taxes or storing your most precious photos on an XP machine is another.
If You Want To Use XP, Keep It Isolated
Think about the risk factors.
As Eric Parkers XP experiment proved, running an insecure operating system and giving it internet access is dangerous.
The risk factor should be significantly reduced as a result.
If you have a internet firewall, double-check your controls and check that that its configured properly.
Unfortunately, it’s pretty difficult to get a modern antivirus to install on XP.
Malwarebytes scanning a Windows XP machine
Avast, for instance, no longer supports XP.
Use a Modern Web web client on XP
Dont use Internet Explorer on Windows XP.
It was bad in 2001 and its unusable today because the modern internet has long since moved on.
Thankfully, there are alternatives to IE that give you a much better, modern-style browsing experience.
You could start withSupermium.
One added benefit of both Supermium and MyPal is the support for add-ons and extensions.
Thats extremely important for XP users.
you might still safely use Windows XP in 2024, but only for very specific reasons like retro gaming.
Everything else is on you.
Malwarebytes scanning a Windows XP machine