Older version of Windows is a softer target

They should stop mucking around with flashy, useless crap and tighten XP. Forget Vista, forget 7, XP is good enough to run Office, which is what most people and businesses use anyway.

Give us a solid, secure platform, not one full of dazzling, visual candy for the fruity crowd.

why not just use win 95.
most of the viruses and trojans will not run on it now.

saves money too !

^ Too bad half of the viruses would be too demanding to run :D

turn off aero.

you are wrong to assume that most people buy a computer just to run office. maybe you do, but please spare the others.

One Problem with Microsoft Is Terrible Experiences with Activation, Actually Private Group Hacking itself Into Microsoft for Your PocketBook, due to Public Law & Knowledge of NewNess of Your System.Its Merciless Scheme that Takes Plenty of UpKeep.

Hi Five, GimMe Fifie, bo.

Now What if US FED FCC Stated ALL OLD O/S Had to Be Allowed to Operate (FREE OF ANY REACTIVATION FEE), You Keep Libary of OLD O/s: 3.1, Cobol, 6.1, 98Se, to Use when Strangly Miscreant from Past showed Up, Unused for Some reason, Just Pentium MMX w/64 Mb & Oldie HDD, It'd be helpful if Microsoft in their Hugeness, Could still ALLOW that poor machine useage, just as courtesy to Public.

Instead You get: Your Activation Number is kaput. Or its' just Gone. Software Would Work, except You've been illegally stolen from entirely.

& merely bought Rental O/S?. NO, That In ItSelf Should Lose Microsoft Full Value Of ALL That Ruined O/s Software over decades, Thru Deciet of Activation, $Value In Court of LAW.

ionlyfeelbetter after iwashmyhands.

Anyway, Found 7 has better defragger than Vista, You Can Force defrag upon skipped oe it will skip automatically, better?, maybe not.(in Vista You need watch drive letter)

Partition with Ultimate now & Its MUCH Faster & Better Algorythim(snif) Is Used. Microsoft Found Public, Yet Public Was Shocked at Such Ruthless retailing, If It Was Legitimate Commerice at ALL. drashek

Activation Is Green Berets' of Phishing....Loss of License Is Illegal Pillfering.

I actually think sometimes that some of these threats come from Microsoft and some others who have a skunk works (secret development sites) that they intentionally develop and deploy these threats to make us upgrade all the time. I do believe there were and still are intentional back doors to Windows (All Versions since MS settled with the FEDS years ago (Part of the secret settlement) Why else did the FEDS drop the case, think about it.

MS marketing of W7 is a good example of how not to do it. Want to upgrade from XP? Only if you wipe your hard disc first. Then restricted use on small machines from the basic edition. Then further costs for businesses and consumers wishing to take it up in today's economic scene. Then they've already mentioned W8 development

This has got to stop…wake up its not the earlier 80's it doesn't cost $1000 for 2MB of RAM anymore! Similar things were said about XP's UI – how it looked like fisher-price how the hardware requirements are outrageous old timers across the web vowed to never leave Windows 2000 or 98! XPs days are numbered and with good reason...It has been the longest running MS OS and has the most security exploits. I would never expect a new OS not to take advantage of new hardware - good lord.

I'm all for progress though as the hardware needs software that will take advantage of its capabilities. I know there are more efficient ways it can be done; Windows 7 shows us just how inefficient Vista is.

Vista/Win7 is no more secure than XP. Do you have an example of an exploit that runs on a fully patched XP install and will not run on Vista/Win7?

If Microsoft did away with the WGA crap and allowed even "pirates" to lock down their machines, there would be fewer security issues overall.

Hell, if they removed WGA validation, perhaps i'd consider updating my LEGIT machines (but I don't trust M$ not to phuck them up at present)

Your right that people said all those things about XP. I was one of them.

There is one difference however, by the time the OS was on the market for 2 years no one was saying that anymore. In fact, like me, they were all saying it's the most stable version of Windows ever and a pretty good OS.

That's certainly not true for Vista. Fortunately for me I migrated everything to Linux before Vista so everything I know about Vista is hearsay.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/ms09-011.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS08-046.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/ms08-022.mspx

This does not include many vulnerabilities that are Critical in XP but less so in Vista.

Not impressed with the examples,
directx, VBscript and Image Color Management System.

Here are several Vista only exploits

MS07-032: Vulnerability in Windows Vista could allow information disclosure
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931213

MS07-038: Vulnerability in Windows Vista Firewall could allow information disclosure
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935807

MS07-048: Vulnerability in Windows Gadgets could allow remote code execution
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938123

MS07-053: Vulnerability in Windows Services for UNIX could allow elevation of privilege
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/939778

MS07-063: Vulnerability in Server Message Block volume 2 (SMBv2) could allow remote code execution
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942624

MS07-066: Vulnerability in the Windows kernel could allow elevation of privilege
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943078

MS08-075: Description of the security update for Windows Search: December 9, 2008
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958623

MS08-075: Description of the security update for Windows Explorer: December 9, 2008
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958624

MS08-075: Vulnerabilities in Windows Search could allow remote code Execution
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959349

MS08-047: Vulnerabilities in IPsec policy processing could allow information disclosure
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953733

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-075 – Critical
Vulnerabilities in Windows Search Could Allow Remote Code Execution (959349)
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-075.mspx

MS07-032 - Moderate
MS07-038 - Moderate
MS07-048 - Important
MS07-053 - Important
MS07-063 – Important
MS07-066 – Important
MS08-075 – Critical
MS08-047 – Important

Only one of your examples are Critical, the rest are Moderate or Important. At least all of my examples are Critical.

Let me tell you, if I were to include the vulnerabilities that are rated 'Important' and 'Moderate' that affects XP but not Vista, the list will be VERY LONG. Longer than your list that's it.

Now go find me more Critical Vista vulnerabilities that XP doesn't have.

A cursory glance of Microsoft security bulletins give me this list of XP-only vulnerabilties that are Moderate or Important:-

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-002.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-003.mspx and http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-035.mspx (these two are the same thing - patched twice with their own advisories, unlike your Windows Search example that still use the same bulletin number)

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-037.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-050.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-062.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-066.mspx

I don't even need to go to read 2007 security bulletins (unlike you) just to surpass your vulnerabilities count.