Windows XP was released in 2001, and although Microsoft stopped supporting it 10 years ago in April 2014, it is still used by a relatively large number of people.
In the 2000s, it was normal to connect a computer directly to the Internet without a router. It is true that Windows XP had a built-in firewall, and antivirus software was used even at that time. However, it was much easier to run this operating system in a completely unprotected state (intentionally or unintentionally) than later systems. Additionally, in 2024, running Windows XP, which is already insecure, is even riskier, as the operating system will no longer receive security updates, making it easier for hackers to get into the system.
Eric Parker made a video showing how dangerous it is to connect an old operating system without a firewall.
After two minutes of connecting Windows XP to the Internet, it already found some viruses on it, including a version named “conhoz.exe.” These items are installed randomly on the device. Soon, another virus automatically created a new Windows XP account called “admina” that appeared to be hosting an FTP file server on the machine.
It did not take long for a Trojan, virus, and other malware to appear on the system. Finally, Parker installed Malwarebytes on the XP machine to see how many viruses he would see. He detected eight viruses, Trojans, backdoor viruses, DNA mutators, and adware. There was more malware on the device, but the free version of Malwarebytes was only able to detect eight of them.
Windows 2000 suffers the same fate
I did the same experiment on Windows 2000 I got worse results. After connecting the operating system to the Internet, a virus was installed on the computer within minutes, causing the virtual machine to automatically shut down. After rebooting the device, new viruses appeared, which eventually led to the appearance of the well-known blue screen of the operating system.
