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Windows 12 release date in 2026 possible, with AI features that may force CPU upgrades (www.notebookcheck.net)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[+] -9 points 7 months ago (9 children)

As long as you are not blasting away on random sites downloading every link you see then you are pretty safe. The old days of a hacker getting into your PC because you forgot to update your firewall are kind of gone.

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  • [–] 28 points 7 months ago* (7 children)

    Wrong on a ton of levels.

    You can get infected by drive-by malware. It's actually quite common. Zero interaction required on your part.

    Running an outdated operating system or software like a browser makes you even more susceptible to this

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  • [–] -2 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    You can, but that doesn't mean you will. Unless you're raw dogging your pc fully exposed on the internet there's no way for malware to go to you, you have to go to it.

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  • [–] 18 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

    You can pick up malware from a website or an advert on a website. You can pick it up by a friend bringing an infected device and attaching it to your home network. You can pick it up from a phishing link or attachment. You can run an IoT device that downloads malware and propagates it to other machines on your network. You can install a dodgy app on your phone. You can run an application that has a chain of dependencies down to some obscure backdoored library (xz). You can run software that downloads automatic updates and whose update server was compromised (Notepad++) or whose signing certificate was compromised. You can be the victim of a sophisticated supply chain attack (SolarWinds was corporate but it could happen to any complex software). Those are just the first few that spring to mind. And you can pick it up because someone else in your family did any one of these things or many others.

    Malware isn't just for people who do obviously dangerous things like downloading cracks and keygens. There are many vectors for it to get in.

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  • [+] -8 points 7 months ago* (4 children)

    I've had a Win 7 running for 12 years as a media server, never once been hacked.

    ISPs and even old school Win 7 to Win 10 OSs have the old ports blocked by default that prevent "drive-by malware".

    What you are talking about is the equivalent of a Boogeyman that only exists because people are stupid about what they open up or install or allow to control their firewalls. Your points even prove that.

    You can open a Netscape browser on Windows 95 and not get hacked. But of course you believe opening a browser opens you wide up so just ignore what I say.

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  • [–] 0 points 7 months ago

    You can open a Netscape browser on Windows 95 and not get hacked.

    Makes sense, you wouldn't be able to use 99% of today's sites anyway due to not supporting TLS.

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago

    Israel liked this comment.

    Modern day threats are not always visible like your computer flashing naughty stuff on your screen or overtaking your computer. Those exists but it's more about surveillance and control of information.

    Especially when companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft are in on it. US and Israel probably already get your files, but if you don't update, Russia, China, and North Korea will probably will set up shop inside your PC.

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