XP bad external security environment
Since the release of Windows XP in 2001, this system has dominated the computer desktop for up to 13 years, until nearly two The situation has changed in the year. Although many users still have deep feelings for XP, even some people are XP systems at the beginning of their contact with the computer, but still do not make new considerations, at least in terms of security.
As an operating system with more than a decade of history, XP is inevitably becoming more and more insecure. For XP systems with high ages, malware developers spend more time building more viruses and malicious programs. Faced with a large amount of malware and virus concentration, the chances of user information being stolen are exponentially rising.
Old Windows XP
This is the impact from the external environment, after all, XP's more than ten years, "the enemy" interest. Although Microsoft has been providing security patches for this aging operating system, it is still difficult to solve all the problems.
XP system that is vulnerable to viruses
However, the most serious problem now is that Microsoft has decided to completely abandon XP. According to the established plan, Microsoft will completely stop technical support for XP system from April 8, 2014. To put it bluntly, it will no longer provide security patches. So after XP security is even more worrying.
In fact, if you do not consider the extended support of SP3, the main service of XP system has stopped technical support as early as April 2009, and SP2 also stopped supporting in 2010. So if anyone's system is still in the state before SP2, it is really riddled with holes.
XP system is coming to an end
In addition, the security vulnerability in IE6 is even more unbearable for Microsoft. Although the security patch has been released, it is still at a high risk. I have to say that even if Vista is criticized, it is far more secure than XP.
IE6 is full of loopholes
The external environment of Windows 8 is much better. Since it was released in less than a year, various targeted attacks have not appeared. More importantly, the Win8 system itself has undergone a lot of upgrades in terms of security, and the protection against viruses and malicious programs has been greatly improved.
And according to the life cycle of Win8, we can at least safely use this system until 2023.
Win8 Security Technology Wins XP
In fact, as a system, the most important thing about security is the performance of the system itself. At this point, Win8 has many new technologies that XP can't match. It comes down to security tools, virus protection, and underlying security mechanisms.
Although the SmartScreen mechanism has been formed on IE8, this tool has been further expanded in Win8. In addition to shielding and filtering all malicious websites and IE browser download files, SmartScreen in Win8 extends to other major browsers.
SmartScreen
This means that in the past, responsive network protection was only available on IE, and now it is equally available on mainstream browsers such as Chrome and Firefox. Simply put, SmartScreen extends to the system level, not just inside the browser.
SmartScreen Intercept Download
On the other hand, Microsoft built a set of anti-virus software directly in the Win8 system, that is Windows Defender. Windows Defender automatically opens and provides virus protection and anti-virus features when no anti-virus software exists on the system. At this level, there is no longer a so-called “streaking” situation since Win8, and the system is always in a protected state.
Windows Defender
In addition to the powerful protection of the extended SmartScreen and Windows Defender, Win8 also provides more security support at the bottom, including several new settings for security reasons.
First, when Win8 starts, it will give priority to launching Microsoft-certified anti-virus software, thus preventing the virus from being able to take advantage of the virus before it is turned on. If the virus gets larger permissions without protection, it will be difficult to remove in the future. This situation is common in both XP and Win7.
Boot-on priority anti-virus program
Second, when Win8 starts, it only loads the driver and hardware verified by Microsoft, which fundamentally prevents the random startup of the virus that is implanted or directly disguised as a driver.
Third, Win8 will use the Trusted Platform Module to record all components before the anti-virus software is started, and use the remote server to determine the security of the system.
So regardless of the external environment or its own security technology, Win8 must open XP at least 60% in terms of security. In fact, this is a fairly conservative number. For an XP system that is about to end its life, security is basically a joke. And this evening we will be welcoming the update of Windows 8.1, and the gap between them is further widened.