Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Confirms Windows XP is Not -- and Never Will be -- Secure

Is XP EOL?

Windows XP wallpaper style



Summary: With Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2000 near the dumpster, Microsoft takes a huge risk by not patching the most ubiquitous desktop operating system

MICROSOFT HAS stopped issuing patches for security flaws in Windows XP, which makes XP unsuitable (and maybe illegal) for use on the Internet.



This very bizarre stance (if not illegal because Microsoft advertised XP as supported for years to come) is more or less being ratified now that Microsoft offers radical advice for 'removing' the security risk:

Microsoft says turn off Windows feature to protect Windows



[...]

There's no real reason for SMB2, (Server Message Block 2), a Microsoft network file and print-sharing protocol that ships with Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7, to exist. All it does is duplicate the basic network file and print functionality that Windows has provided for over a decade. But, SMB2 is in there, it is broken, and, now it can be used to take over PCs.

Microsoft admits that the problem is real. Mark Wodrich and Jonathan Ness, part of the MSRC (Microsoft Security Response Center) engineering team wrote that an experimental exploit is already out and that it can gain "complete control of the targeted system and can be launched by an unauthenticated user." Just what you didn't need.

There is a way to fix it. Well, sort of. You have to turn SMB2 off.


This stuff cannot be made up. Microsoft is also neglecting Windows Server 2003 and is officially ending support for Server 2000 at the moment. This is a huge strategic risk for the company. Now is the time to advance GNU/Linux for domestic and commercial use.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM: Many Thousands of Layoffs in 2025
If 2025 is expected to be the same, then perhaps about 20,000 IBM workers will no longer be there
Google: Your Only Option is Google YouTube (Coming Soon: Mandatory DRM and Attestation?)
Digital Restrictions (DRM) to follow? Only for "approved" (attestation) browsers?
The Munich-Based EPO is Still Using a Platform That Promotes the Far Right and Rehabilitates Nazism
Active Twitter account
How the EPO Pressures Staff Into Minting More Monopolies (Patents), Even Illegal Ones That Harm Europe and Ultimately Dismantle the Rule of Law
insights into the pressure examiners are under
LLM Slop Machines Are Not a Win for "Open Source" and If They Get Cheaper, It's Even Worse
If some program that claims to be "Open Source" pollutes the Web with fake articles (Microsoft SPAM and fake "Linux" articles), whose win is it?
Richard Stallman Speech in Bengaluru, "Silicon Valley of India"
62 years have passed since his "young nerd" days and he's still at it
More Illegal Patents at the EPO, Legality of Granted European Patents No Longer Matters to the Office
breaking the law for profit
 
Jack M. Germain (LinuxInsider) Seems to Have Turned to LLM Slop, Graphics Slop, and B2B SPAM
LinuxInsider is barely active anymore
Links 30/01/2025: Amazon Layoffs and DeepSeek Panic
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/01/2025: Chaos Reigns, E-mail, Searching
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 29, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Mastodon Was Always Biased (Just Like Twitter After Abandoning Chronological and Neutral Timelines in Order to Become More Like Facebook)
So bury-brigading and click-farming control what people see
Certificate Authority Let's Encrypt Falls to Only 0.4% of the Total in Geminispace
Geminispace does not need to outsource trust
Links 29/01/2025: Dismantling Public Health in the US, Air Busan Plane Up in Flames (South Korea's Air Disasters Streak)
Links for the day
Announcements and Administrivia
This week we're going out for two days in a row to celebrate an achievement that's very respectable
Gemini Links 29/01/2025: Japan, GTD, and More
Links for the day
Sir, Yes, Sir. The Life of EPO Patent Examiners.
If working for the EPO makes it harder to sleep at night, take action
Links 29/01/2025: Data Privacy Day and Growing Tensions in Europe
Links for the day
Nazi Twitter (aka "X") Became a Troll Site That Lets People Buy a Blue Tick While Its Boss Actively Promotes Neonazi Politicians
the intellectual level of people who infest the Web through "Twitter" or "X"
This is Why They're So Afraid of Richard Stallman (He Tells People the Correct History)
Then they post about it to Microsoft's LinkedIn
Claim: Facebook Deletes Posts of IBM Red Hat Critics
As always, follow the money (advertisers)
Links 29/01/2025: Climate Crisis and "It’s time for the Xbox to fade away" (Microsoft Lose)
Links for the day
Links 29/01/2025: Buying Groceries During a Trade War, Political 'Retro'
Links for the day
Network Improvements Tomorrow
"Network maintenance" down in London
Sharing is Caring (But Advocating Copyleft Makes You a "Target")
GPLv3 does not close all the loopholes which the "Affero" helps close
Articles About Free Speech at Facebook
'Facebook vs Linux' story is now receiving a lot more media coverage
We Were Right About stallmansupport.org Making an Error by Joining Social Control Media. mastodon.social Suspends stallmansupport.org.
From what we can guess, accounts can be banned by some oversensitive admin or a mob of users ("bury brigades")
"Latest Technology News" in BetaNews Still LLM Slop and SPAM Composed by LLMs (It's Basically a Spamfarm Disguised as a News Site)
Only a fool would visit BetaNews in search of actual news
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, January 28, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, January 28, 2025
The EPO's Corruption, If It Remains Untackled, Helps the Far Right and Enemies of European Unity/Solidarity
Do not negotiate with evil
The Web, Including Wikipedia, Gets Filled With Lies About Bill Gates, Added by Bill Gates and His PR Team
Of course Wikipedia is funded by Gates
Facebook Banning Linux Sites (or People Who Link to Linux Sites) is Another Symptom of the Web's Demise
The state of media on the Web is really bad; Social Control Media amplifies the badness, as Facebook serves to show
Gemini Links 29/01/2025: Neovim Telescope and Writing Less
Links for the day
Links 28/01/2025: Chaffbot as Commodity Fad, New Import Restrictions in Thailand
Links for the day
Links 28/01/2025: "Against Social [Control] Media", "Smart" Buses' Ticketing System Cracked
Links for the day
[Video] Richard Matthew Stallman (RMS) in India, Talking About Proprietary Software's Dangers Only Yesterday
WebM file
Gemini Links 28/01/2025: Thinking About Not Much, Computing Fatigue, the Curse of JavaScript
Links for the day
"SuccessFactors" (SAP) Stunts at the EPO Used to Break Laws and Constitutions, Staff Tricked Into Harming Themselves
Ongoing corruption and lawlessness became the norm; Europe's second-largest institution (EPO) along with the largest institution (EU) has its very own Minsk
The GNU Manifesto Turns 40 in a Few Weeks
The FSF turns 40 later this year, too
Continued Support and Momentum at the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
"This helps protect our community."
Another Talk by Richard Stallman Tomorrow, This Time in Bengaluru
This means that in January 2025 he is giving at least 5 public talks
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, January 27, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, January 27, 2025