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Lamentations of a Windows XP and Server 2003 Lover
Woe unto us who try to hang on too dearly to the past for we shall experience the darkness that is to come. OK, so a great prophet I'm not, but my prophetic words ring true when we tarry too long in the complacence of our old, tired operating systems. But, know this: Even if you do hang onto your old operating systems for a bit too long, there's no impending apocalypse awaiting you – at least not in the short term.
Whether it's Y2K, Android security, or Windows XP's end of life, someone always predicts tragedy. When nothing happens, those end-of-timers are nowhere to be found. Don't get me wrong here though, there are dangers in tempting fate by using outdated software that can't be patched, but it's not all doom and gloom either.
For example, if you install and use a firewall application, a regularly updated antivirus program, and anti-malware software, your system is pretty well protected and will continue to be so. However, we all know from recent history that keeping your systems up to date with the latest patches might have little to no effect on preventing vulnerabilities. Think Heartbleed here.
If Heartbleed taught us anything, it's that we're fooling ourselves if we believe that just because an operating system still has that new operating system smell, it's more secure than an old one. Sometimes, the problem has nothing to do with the operating system at all.
You've heard the expression, "If it's not broke, don't fix it." My version is, "If it's not broke, don't break it." That goes for operating systems as well as it goes for anything else. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are excellent systems. They still work. They're still capable. They work great as virtual machines. There's very little reason to kick them to the curb, as far as I'm concerned – new security vulnerabilities aside, that is. But, as I mentioned, you can deter most of the vulnerabilities by taking preventative measures.
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