Re: Using Old OS for Security

From: Todd H. (comphelp_at_toddh.net)
Date: 02/23/04 

Date: 22 Feb 2004 20:25:35 -0600

Duane Arnold <notme@notme.com> writes:

> >
> > Is Win98, with whatever patches/fixes installed, a secure OS.
> > Especially from the newest virsuses/worms out there?
> >
> > M.G.
>
> Win 98 is not and never was a secure O/S. The O/S cannot be protected on
> the HD, the registry cannot be protected, the O/S is not protected as it
> shares memory space and process threads with other programs and or
> applications running, making it an O/S that can be attacked easily.
>
> Windows 9'x and the ME O/S are root based O/S(s) that were never meant to
> be on the Internet. The NT based O/S(s) are meant to be on the Internet and
> can be configured for security.
>
> It's as simple as that.

Pay heed to what Duane has said.

The notion of using an old OS in the name of security is crazy. The 16
bit windows "operating systems" are/were heinously insecure. If one
were to do so, they'd be wrapping themselves in an ill fated attempt
to achieve security through obscurity...and Win98 isn't even obscure
(it's still very widely deployed).

Win98 won't see security updates for new issues discovered in it.
Soon you'll have a lot of trouble getting virus checkers that will
support win98, and hence miss out on good malware protection for an
insecure OS. Same with personal firewalls.

If you want to react and choose an alternate OS to avoid the widely
reported Microsoft issues, a better choice would be Mac OS X, BSD,
OpenBSD. If you rely on Windows to get your work done though, your
best insurance is Win XP and keeping diligently on top of windows
update, application updates, virus updates, personal firewall updates.

Yes, unfortunately, owning a computer on the internet is an utter pain
in the ass these days. :-\

Best Regards, 

-- 
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

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