Windows 7 almost 5 times more secure than Windows XP

[Medico]

I am not sure if this CNet article has been reported previously, but it does state what many of us have said right along. The more secure a PC is, the less chance that PC can infect other PC's. The statistics seem very compeling.

[bbearren]

All statistics aside, on my Dell Latitude D800 laptop I still dual boot Windows XP, and as an anectdotal observation, my XP is not more vulnerable than my Windows 7. In all the years I've run Windows XP Pro on numerous machines in various configurations, I have never had any malware issues of any kind.

In my opinion, the so-called "security" of an operating system depends more on the person sitting at the keyboard than on any part of the OS itself in whole or in part. The most secure of operating systems can be very easily compromised by someone clicking on a "Scan Now!" popup or a "Click here for more information" web link, particularly so if that person sitting behind the keyboard thinks that running routinely as a member of the Adminstators Group is "a good thing".

Just as TANSTAAFL, there ain't no such thing as a "Secure" operating system. The most secure systems are those where the operator and the OS are working in harmony using best practices.

[Medico]

I do agree to a certain extent. I believe this article is referring more to "the masses" that do not know what PC security is and are not proactive with their security. You obviously, as are many in these forums, are much more proactive with your security than most of those "masses" that Win 7 is designed for. Yes, our PC's for the most part are only as secure as the person with fingers on the keyboard. All things equal, Win 7 is shown to be more secure than XP for "the masses" that aren't proactive. Win 7 makes PC security easier to come by.

[rmonroe36]

Ted,
Thanks for sharing the article which just confirms our experiences in our club. XP infected machines far outweigh those that have Windows 7 installed. Then again, it just might be a NEW YORK thing

[Medico]

No, I do not feel it's a New York thing. There is a lot we can blame on NY, but not this. I think this is very appropriate knowledge for the average user, not necessarily the power users that frequent these forums. Power users are the ones that are proactive with their security. Average users are not, and these are the users who benefit most from Win 7'a security enhancements.

[icebox]

True there are many many ways a lunkhead can allow malware to thrash a system, but there are some pieces of malware that spread by themselves. I consider myself a careful, proactive power user, but nonetheless I did once fall victim to a malware attack without any intervention on my part. That was the nasty destructive "witty" worm that ironically exploited a flaw in a software firewall program I used at the time. Witty caused severe mayhem to my hard drives. XP didn't help at all. Win 7, with a better ability to run with reduced privileges and with UAC, might have kept that worm at bay. So we all benefit from an OS that's more secure.

[ul7r05]

Of course Windows 7 has "better" security, with newer stuff and less people running 7 than XP, the statistics are going to be in favor of 7. The same goes for Macs vs. PC's. If less majority use Mac, then probability of viruses are nil. Plus, Unix is more secure, but analogy wise the comparison is the same.


Moderator Note: This post has been edited for profanity and flaming, which are a violation of Forum Rules.
Deadeye81, Forum Moderator Staff

[Medico]

Actually the statistics are less nasties per 1000 of PC's using each OS, not just a total number. So the statistics are very appropriate for XP versus Win 7.

Gerald, thanks for editing. We do not need all the profantity and flaming in our forum.

[ul7r05]

Oops sorry guys for the profanity. Well anyway, I think one thing for sure, and that is Vista being terrible compared to both 7 and XP. Thanks for the facts, btw. I just thought XP would be used more because it has been out longer.

[Medico]

XP still does have a larger market share, but that is quickly changing as more corp users are switching. Because of the overall numbers of each OS, comparissons have to be done in failures per thousand or million or whatever to be considered as good numbers.

The following is an excerpt from the May 2011 Microsoft Security Newsletter I subscribe to:

Now for a preview of what you'll find in SIRv10. The graph below shows the infection rate by operating system.

sirv10.png

As you can see, newer is better across the board. For example, for every 1,000 systems running Windows XP Service Pack 2 that the Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) scanned, it found 19.3 were infected with malware. In the same time period, only 2.5 of every 1,000 Windows 7 64-bit systems scanned by the MSRT were found infected with malware. Moving to a newer operating system, or even a newer service pack, clearly has security benefits.

To download the full report, and watch related videos, visit www.microsoft.com/sir. For additional resources and guidance on how to better secure your desktop infrastructure, check out the articles and events featured in this month's newsletter.

There have also been many articles recently about more numerous attacks on Macs.