How virus-proof is Service Pack 1?

my mother has an old Dell Laptop that she just turned on last night.....the first time in about a year.

Thing is, she has no virus protection, uses Internet Explorer 6, and has only Windows XP Service Pack 1.

I was just hoping that you people can tell me if that if she surfs the net, is she at a LARGE risk of getting a virus?

Im only asking because my mother is very uptight about her computer. she doesnt know as much as she likes to think she does, lol, and she doesnt want to update anything.

I had recently installed some drivers for her screen and mouse pad, and she had my uncle unstall them....so now she had no sound and her screen coloring is messed up. 'Least it aint my computer! She can do whatever she likes. Doesnt bother me!........wait.........yes it does . Because if anything goes wrong with her computer, right away its my fault, because im the only one smart about these things. (oh wonderful, right?!)

so anyway, just wondering.

PS, dont even bother mentioning installed Windows Defender, because she dont want it....

#446328

that depends.

If you have Windows Firewall turned on, then it greatly reduces the risk of getting viruses. Be aware, though, that MalWare had proven to be able to slip passed the firewall. Convince your mother to get Service Pack 2 and download Windows Defender. Its the safest thing to do.

Trust me, I work at the infamous Microsoft.

#446340

well there is kind of a big chance that she'll get infected...unprotected, and SP1:O

#446341

meh. not entirelly true. If you have a router, and if that is firewalled, then there is a slim chance of being infected. if not, then you need to rely on the Windows Firewall and Windows Defender. Like I have said before, USE THEM!

Also, please, for the love of god, tell her to use her common sense. Dont click on Pop-ups, and dont go to suspecious sites.

#446342

No offense to you, but is she a complete moron?

Tell ya what... give it to her as-is.... when it becomes a virus infected, spam sending mindless bot overrun with spyware and adware, maybe she'll think about a reformat and upgrade to SP2 with some protection.

Then hit her with a solid "I told you so".

Some people need to be smacked in the face with reality before they wake up.

#446343

lol

like i said in the first place....it will automatically become my fault that she has a virus.....thats what really sucks

#446346

WIndows Defender, Firefox 2, SP2, and the free ewido and=ti sypware/ativirus are her prescuription.

#446353

hmm. thanks for the tip

#446355

MSEMPLOYEE, nice signature

I work at Microsoft. Please, no riots...

#446356

why, its not funny. its serious!

lol. thank you applethink!

#446405

...

Then hit her with a solid "I told you so".

Some people need to be smacked in the face with reality before they wake up.

It's tough to adopt that attitude with one's mother . As long as your mother is careful with what sites she visits, there really shouldn't be a problem. I was on SP1 for a while and had anti-virus software, which didn't even seem necessary (you should still get some, though).

-NC

#446413

what an idiot, just borrow the laptop for a day and return it with all the things mentioned above on it. If anyone questions it say it updated on its own.

#446450

It's tough to adopt that attitude with one's mother .

-NC

Nah... I have a solid relationship with mine.

She can take criticism with the best of them. She can sure dish it out too.

#446482

what an idiot, just borrow the laptop for a day and return it with all the things mentioned above on it. If anyone questions it say it updated on its own.

i actually did this once, when my mom though IE7 would be too hard to adjust to. Just update it and say NOTHING. That way, her computer will be less likely to be attacked, and she can't blame it on you. Everybody happy.

-a2z

#446485

i updated to ie7 then switched my mum to firefox, she barely noticed the difference

#446489

When you say that it's an "old" Dell, just how old is it? Come on, be a sport. Buy mom a new machine that has everything ready to go.

#446498

here I am, the black sheep, using XP with SP1 on a dsl connection. No firewall, no anti-virus, and not getting infected since 2002. Seems like I'm really lucky

#446505

@Slewed....yeah i tried "borrowing" it for a day....hells knew that didnt work!

funny thing is, she notices things like me installing IE7 and SP2 but she dont notice when i install FAK on it. pssht!

btw congrats on ur 1000th post my friend!

what i think i might do is just tell her to get Windows Defender. Its better than having nothing. I'll just tell her that her computer needs it to not get attacked by a virus. (which is true)......but i dont know why she dont let me freaking touch the damn thing! i guess cuz she spent a sh!tload of cash on it (about 2 freaking years ago).........meh. i dont know what to do with her. she didnt learn the first time.

meh im just so frustrated i dont know what to say. ill come back and edit this post when i collect my thoughts lol

edit 1 (out of many to come):

pssht she wont even let me install drivers for her sound! so now she has none!

she let my uncle look at it ONE time (he likes to think he knows soo much about computers, even more than me, which he doesnt know anything he thinks he does!) and he saw the sigmatel driver and hes like- "what the hell is this? meh, delete! it must be a virus! well, might as well go tell Kate that her son installed another virus intentionally on her machine....(which she got infected O N C E because she clicked on a popup, which eventually led the blame back to me in some which way....so yeah.................but you gotta luv your mom!

#446512

lol "meh" i guess that your stuck right there.

#446513

@metallicamaster3, you have to understand that people older than you (*cough* your uncle and mother), think they have better knowledge than you in everything. It seems like they don't trust you with the computer (sounds like my relatives with me, honestly). Which is why I would suggest slapping them silly until they realize what they're doing (no protection??)...but that would resort to violence. Is there any way you can, oh, secretly get ahold of your mother's computer and install it with substantial protection from viruses? I know it's been asked, but just think. There must be a way to convince your mother to install at least some spyware or virus protection. If you can't think of anything more, then go with rjohnstone's suggestion and let her get the viruses. Hopefully she won't blame you for it.

#446527

hmmm....this may be possible. Depends. I probably have...oh i dont know...maybe...20-45 minutes before she gets home after i get home from school. Minus about 5 minutes so i can actually find her "clever" hiding spot.

lol it is for her own good, right? i just want to keep that dreadful thing safe.

#446537

i updated to ie7 then switched my mum to firefox, she barely noticed the difference

I got a IE (6) theme for Firefox, replaced all shortcuts pointing to IE with those pointing to Firefox, imported all the settings, changed the icons.

And my dad didn't even notice.. Until he tried to access www.windowsupdate.com...

#446632

#Ertai88:

add the IETab extension, it will "internally" run IE in Firefox only for specified websites, such as windowsupdate

#446678

gonna do it now. wish me luck!

#446776

do what? the FF thing?

well i guess im going to try to update the ol' dusty tramp! bbs with the results!

EDIT:

never got the chance guys will try again!

(meh what is this peacefire now? ) lol

#446777