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Windows XP Advisory to the Caribbean Region

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Submitted by James Bynoe, Caribbean Cyber Security Centre
...Windows XP, which is no longer being supported by Microsoft as of April 8th 2014 ...
…Windows XP, which is no longer being supported by Microsoft as of April 8th 2014 …

The Caribbean Cyber Security Center would like to urge all Caribbean businesses, governments, and home users running the Microsoft Windows XP operating system (OS) to aggressively plan to upgrade from Windows XP, which is no longer being supported by Microsoft as of April 8th 2014.

So what exactly does that mean to you as a Windows XP business, government or home user?

It means that Microsoft will not be doing two key things needed to protect your Windows XP computer in today’s rapidly expanding cyber war being waged against the Caribbean by cyber criminals and hackers, (1) Microsoft will not be providing any XP system or security updates which means that hackers and cyber-criminals will be able to compromise systems running Windows XP with growing ease, and (2) if you have problems related to Windows XP, Microsoft will not be providing any free support as you will now have to pay Microsoft for extended support. It was recently reported that the U.S Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who missed their April 8th deadline to upgrade their systems running Windows XP had to pay Microsoft millions for extended XP support. Microsoft XP extended support is being reported at an estimated cost of $200.00US per system for the first year, which ironically is the approximate cost of upgrading to Windows 8.

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19 responses to “Windows XP Advisory to the Caribbean Region”

  1. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    When corporations control the world, like they do, these things will continue to happen. Remember the hoax of Y2K. These things will continue to be the order of the day. There is no way to prevent international corporations from exacting whatever quantum they want, under any pretext.

  2. David Avatar
    David

    @Pacha

    What do you offer instead, corporations or who?

  3. dompey Avatar
    dompey

    The struggle between people and corporations will be the defining battle of the twenty- first century. If the corporations win, liberal democracy will come to and end. The great social democratic institutions which have defended the WEAK against the STRONG- equality before the law, representative government, democratic accountability and the sovereignty of parliament – will be toppled.
    George Monbiot

  4. dompey Avatar
    dompey

    Corporations are more powerful than countries.

    In 2000, two critics of the global corporations, Sarah Anderson and John Cavenaugh of the left – of – centre Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC, published a short paper in which they argued that the fifty – one of the world’s’ hundred biggest economies are corporations.
    Martin Wolf

  5. Sid Boyce Avatar
    Sid Boyce

    @Pachamama
    There are alternatives so no one is forced to be a victim at the whims of Microsoft and the likes.
    I remember the Y2K hoax and enjoyed earning the extra £1000.00 for the night while I slept soundly in my bed supposedly on standby in case our customers had Y2K problems – knowing our customers were AOK.

  6. Green Monkey Avatar
    Green Monkey

    The Best Linux Distributions For Windows XP Refugees

    Are you a Windows XP user needing to upgrade your operating system? Do you dislike the idea of Windows 8, or are you hesitant to spend any money? For many people, installing a Linux operating system onto their computer is a sufficient and free way to keep your computer running and still get security updates.

    But there are a lot of Linux distributions, or “flavors”, out there. If you’re new to the Linux world, which distributions would be best for you?

    Installing (most) Linux distributions is free, and keeps you secure. You’ll continue to receive security updates, and it’s extremely difficult for a virus to affect a Linux system thanks to the multiple layers of permissions.

    Although Linux is a completely different system than Windows, and isn’t compatible with all the same software, switching can be relatively painless. For example: some Linux distributions try to emulate the desktop as closely as possible so you have a very small learning curve. If you’re not a power user, you’ll be able to find plenty of good alternatives to programs you currently use on Windows XP. You can also find a list of great Linux applications via our Best Linux Software page.

    http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-linux-distros-absolute-beginners-windows-xp-users/

  7. dompey Avatar
    dompey

    During the Y2K fiasco, I was stationed at 10th Mountain Light Infantry Division at Fort Drum NY . ( On locked down bro) I was deployed shortly there after to Fort Lee Virginia, where met a lot of the island brothers who were there for training.

  8. Sid Boyce Avatar
    Sid Boyce

    The applications that run under Windows will not just run under Linux – many do run under Linux using WINE which stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator.
    LinuxMint is the most often recommended – linuxmint.com
    Lots of help available at http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=152&t=73603, remember there is no such thing as a stupid question so don’t be afraid to ask.

    http://www.zdnet.com/why-linux-mint-is-a-worthwhile-windows-xp-replacement-7000027858/
    https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100724164255AAaFjNQ
    An excellent video tutorial and several more at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CYRymWximo
    After you have burnt the DVD from the downloaded iso file you can boot from DVD and explore Linux safely before you decide to install it to the hard drive.
    When installed there is the option to boot either XP or Linux.

    You can import your files from Windows so you can continue to work with them.

    Alternatives, many available for both Linux and Windows:-
    Libreoffice is a replacement for MS Office. It’s available for both Linux and Windows.
    Firefox (safer alternative to IE) – Linux and Windows.
    Thunderbird email client – Linux and Windows.
    Google-chrome browser – Linux and Windows.
    There are many more alternatives you can find by google searches with “Linux alternatives for XYZ”

    Watch the Youtube videos!

    Testimonials

    Linux is flexible and it’s entirely you own operating system. The internet backbone runs largely on Linux, Google, Facebook, Twitter, NASA, USPS, IBM, Wall Street, London, Germany and Tokyo Stock Exchanges, Disney, Boeing, City of Munich, City of Largo in Florida, most of the world’s largest supercomputers and countless others run their whole operations on Linux. Microsoft converted Skype to Linux after they acquired it.
    Your set top box, fridge, washing machine, modern cars, Airline infotainment systems, Google Glass, Android mobile phones and tablets, routers, etc. all run on Linux.

    Currently I run 8 PC and ARM boxes using Linux, not a red cent has been spent on software and that’s free as in beer and free as in freedom.

    In a recent video interview Linus Torvalds, the originator of Linux and the main man at the helm of Linux kernel development was asked if the NSA had asked him to put backdoors into the Linux kernel, he said “NO” while nodding his head in a gesture of “YES”. Those guys do their utmost to make Linux secure from the prying eyes of spy agencies.

    BTW, my Parallela-16 credit card size supercomputer has shipped and I am eagerly awaiting to do amazing stuff with it under Linux.

  9. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Linux rocks, Windows 8 is crap

  10. PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926 TO 2014 , MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS OF BARBADOS, BLPand DLP=Massive Fruad Avatar
    PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926 TO 2014 , MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS OF BARBADOS, BLPand DLP=Massive Fruad

    dompey | April 16, 2014 at 9:58 PM During the Y2K fiasco, I was stationed at@ I was with 6th Com Bn, Brooklyn NY, In 2000 the bug did not hit the base at Mitchell Filed Long Island until the End of February 2000 .
    People lie , word lie , Numbers dont lie.
    As we were told in school that December is the last month of the Year ,
    Well I learned that Feb is the last month Dec =10,Nov=9 Oct=8 Sept=7
    Jan=11 Feb=12. So the math word out when we were shopping at the Exchange , All the system went down at the same time.
    People were stuck on line, They Had checks ,, no good, some had visa and master card , no good,
    We were ready for had both and CASH, We paid as all others could not move for the SYSTEM WENT DOWN.
    We knew we have to diversify our wallet, Some may want CASH, CREDIT, GOLD OR SILVER,

  11. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @James Bynoe “In line with our Caribbean Cyber Security Predications for 2014 announced in January, Windows XP has been one of the most [vulnerable NOT vulnerabiliy] vulnerability operating systems for some time now…If having available funds to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 or 8 is a challenge at the very minimum as a short term measure you should update your Windows XP system or systems to the latest service pack (which is service pack 3), and ensure that all previously released system and security updates are [are applied NOT are applies] applies.

    Dear Jamsie: Pay somebody to read and edit your press releases ok? This first correction is free, but if I have do do any other corrections I will be charging $200.00 USD per word.

  12. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @Testimonials “In a recent video interview Linus Torvalds, the originator of Linux and the main man at the helm of Linux kernel development was asked if the NSA had asked him to put backdoors into the Linux kernel, he said “NO” while nodding his head in a gesture of “YES”.

    So you are asking to trust the product of a guy who according to your testimonial is deceitful.

    My question to you is

    WHY???

  13. Sid Boyce Avatar
    Sid Boyce

    One thing Linus is not, is deceitful, but he has a barbed wit and is no one’s poodle. Even the square heads at the NSA don’t scare such guys.
    Recently Sarah Sharp of Intel complained of his language and got a response couched in the same language she complained about. Since then I spotted one of her posts with a swear word in it. Seemingly she now understands how Linus deals with errant nonsense.
    I would have liked to have heard the choice words he used to the NSA.

    In a meeting with industry types who wanted to get insights into Linux development, when asked for the Linux roadmap, the kind of stuff usually trotted out by proprietary software companies, Linus replied “Linux is evolution not intelligent design”.

    Some months ago when AMD was keeping their code for embedded mobile GPU’s partially under wraps and making it difficult for the kernel developers to integrate, at a conference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVpOyKCNZYw‎ you can see the gesture and hear for yourself Linus saying -“AMD, F*CK YOU!”.
    Soon afterwards AMD became a good citizen.

    The other developers are no shrinking violets either and I recall one instance when there was a disagreement on a specific action other developers wanted to invoke and he was against. Linus was asked “Who the hell do you think you are?”.

    I also got into a tangle with one of the main developers, insisting that the kernel was indeed the cause of my problem. I stuck it out and on reviewing his code, another developer discovered he had made a typo which affected only me and Linus remarked that the code was the same for well over a year and amazingly I was the only one to run into it just at that time.

    Just as it was fixed one other guy reported that he had just had the same problem on his laptop.

    There is no substitute for straight talking when you know damn well you are right.

    Once said, everyone gets on with their job, no one disappears in a huff.

  14. Sid Boyce Avatar
    Sid Boyce

    Sorry, it was not AMD, it was NVidia.
    I use their chips but not their drivers since their original lead developer and I had a one to one relationship where we would work on getting their driver to fit the latest Linux kernels and I acted as the conduit to the rest of the Linux world rather than having him bogged down in answering a deluge of postings dealing with the same problems.
    Since he has left NVidia, they don’t react very speedily.

  15. Windows XP Advisory to the Caribbean Region | Black In Barbados

    […] David Submitted by James Bynoe, Caribbean Cyber Security Centre The Caribbean Cyber Security Center would […]

  16. The Watcher Avatar
    The Watcher

    I think what James is getting at in his submission is that as long as one is using a Windows XP based system, they are going to be more vulnerable going forward. He seems to be sounding a warning to the average user of the Windows platform, not just the corporate users who may have IT support either in-house or can afford to purchase a block of time from an IT based company.
    Either way, he’s certainly telling Barbadians who can be quite reactive, that they had better be careful with holding on to Windows XP as that can spell disaster.
    To the government of Barbados, that may be a stern warning to commence the migration to Windows 7 at minimum. All government offices that Ive gone into in the last four months are still on XP. Treasury to pay roadtax, CAIPO to deal with busines registration, LandTax to make an inquiry, Electoral for a new ID( that wa scary as the officer was having a load of trouble getting the computer and camera to work well) and at least two others. Dept of Commerce and one other un-named dept only because their computers were embarrassing for me to look at.
    But the interesting thing is that government has a department called the Data Processing Unit, or Department depending on who you speak to, that’s responsible for government IT policy and policy implementation. They may also be responsible for ensuring the safety of governments computer networks from what is rumored.
    Apparently however, that department is reportedly now under threat of dissolution as the two heads are continually fighting and squabbling about direction and spending. On speaking to a colleague there, its apparent that there is nothing going on that vaguely resembles policy direction or any sort of infrastructure which can assists government in migrating over to windows 7 as the department is under a Microsoft audit for mis-managing their Enterprise Agreement(EA) relating to software use. Seems like this group embarked on lots of wastage and no one is auditing their spending. Last heard, they spent over a million dollars on a Website for government which lots of other departments apparently rejected as “inadequate”. So, government systems may be vulnerable from many angles.
    This is a scary proposition as Barbados is now embarking on a new national ID card and no one seems to know who’s really behind this project, who is auditing it, who is signing off on policy as it relates to Data Security and Integrity and now we are hearing that XP is no more so hackers may be targeting more and more vulnerable systems with new attacks which Microsoft wont fix!
    Some one needs to wake up and deal with this.
    Maybe, we need a Minister of National Security and ICT.
    These guys seem to be warning us. Maybe they know something , have seen something, or have access to information that we don’t.
    Either way, they sound like they are making sense. But knowing Bajans, we will all wait till the place goes dark from some virus and then try to act.

  17. bk Avatar
    bk

    been running win 7 alongside linux mint cinnamon, works beautifully

  18. Sid Boyce Avatar
    Sid Boyce

    @bk
    Excellent. I left Windows behind when Windows 95 was the latest from Microsoft and our company’s laptops and x86 servers were all Windows – I have never looked back. Our main business was in Mainframes (Amdahl/IBM) with z/OS and some customers were running Linux on their Mainframes. We also sold and maintained our own and Sun’s SPARC systems running Solaris. Internally I did work on Linux on SPARC.

    Sun refused to support any of their SPARC systems if customers ran Linux on them. They tried to fight back against Linux in that way until it seriously dented their market and sent them hurriedly building x86 systems running Linux, hoping those customers would eventually need more power and upgrade to Solaris on SPARC. That ploy failed and eventually Sun was bought out by Oracle, once a huge Linux user internally but now following the same path and it’s hurting them though I wish them a measure of success as my pension depends on how many Fujitsu produced SPARC systems they can sell.

    Everything I needed for work and personal computing has been done solely on Linux since the days of Windows 95.

    No more needing anti-virus and the deluge of malware, viruses brought some of our Windows NT x86 servers to their knees not to mention the spread to laptops which also caused serious disruption.

    As has been said many times – First they ignored us, next they laughed at us, then they attacked us, then we won – Apologies to Gandhi.

  19. Sid Boyce Avatar
    Sid Boyce

    Here is a tutorial for using Linux from a bootable USB stick, handy for people wanting to easily check it out without having to install it on their hard drive.
    http://www.linux.com/learn/tutorials/770346-how-to-install-and-try-linux-the-absolutely-easiest-and-safest-way

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