Army bans use of Chinese-made drones
According to CNBC, the Army has banned the use of Chinese-made drones, citing “increased awareness of cyber vulnerabilities.”
“Cease all use, uninstall all DJI applications, remove all batteries/storage media from devices, and secure equipment for follow on direction,” reads the memo from Lt. Gen. Joseph H. Anderson, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for plans and operations. The memo was obtained by the publication Defense One, which said it was also confirmed by two Army officials.
According to the publication, the Army document cites “increased awareness of cyber vulnerabilities associated with DJI products.”
Defense One also quoted Brett Velicovich, whom it described as a former Army intelligence soldier, as indicating the Army’s comments “could have a huge impact on DJI.” Velicovich now runs a Virginia-based consumer drone firm, Expert Drones.
“There are U.S. special operators in Syria using DJI products,” Velicovich told the publication.
Who would have thought that using Chinese-made technology would cause cyber vulnerability? Well, besides anyone.
Adam Lisberg, a New York-based spokesman for DJI Technology, told CNBC in an emailed statement: “We are surprised and disappointed to read reports of the U.S. Army’s unprompted restriction on DJI drones as we were not consulted during their decision. We are happy to work directly with any organization, including the U.S. Army, that has concerns about our management of cyber issues.”
Thanks to Chief Tango for the link.
Category: Army News
Just who the shittyassed pisspants barrel of monkey fuck decided to have the USG use Chinee-made drones in the first mudda-fuckin’ place? I’m sure that decision was made by someone in the previous administration who didn’t give a flying flaming fuck about security or common sense.
Who decided?
The same barrel of monkey fucks who contracted with the Chinese for the initial issue of Shinseki berets.
Lowest bidder and all that.
That was an emergency. Those berets were critical items for the successful celebration of the Army’s birthday, and there was no time to find American suppliers.
As we all know, Shinseki went on to another triumphant tour as head of the VA., once again exhibiting his amazing competence and good judgement.
It is not the previous administration. Or any administration.
The Special Operations community has a few channels for rapid acquisition of equipment and it does not require anyone in the administration being involved. I doubt that these took more than a 2 star to sign off on.
Oooo! Lookie here! COMMISSAR POODLEDICK KNOWSNAUGHT dropped in and jumped to a conclusion again! Such consistency!
Okay, here’s a conclusion:_________________
Now, jump to it, Poodledick!
My conclusion is no worse that the conclusion to which I was responding.
You just prefer the other conclusion.
These are not military grade drones. If they had been procured through the normal military procurement process they would have had to meet higher MILSPEC standard developed during the acquisition process for the drones.
The fact is the special operations community does have several rapid acquisition channels and they are SPECIFICALLY designed to be used to field more cutting edge technology that improves substantially year by year like small enthusiast grade drones.
I am positive these were acquired through one of those rapid acquisition channels. It makes zero sense to try to use any other channel given the current operating environment and the differences in technology and capabilities of each generation of small drones being released annually.
Check out the DJI store, these are not military grade products. https://store.dji.com
You can get them off amazon if you prefer https://www.amazon.com/DJI/pages/6360633011
Anecdotally, I live the bay area and travel to Silicon Valley several times a month. When I do I stop in at the thrift stores there because the community’s fascination with technology and the abundance of wealth results in technology ending up in thrift stores fairly quickly. The store in Palo Alto always has a half dozen drones for sale, new and still in their packages because they are obsolete in the retail marketplace so quickly.
“Check out the DJI store, these are not military grade products.”
True! And they are less “military grade” when they have crappy cameras onboard that might have been taken out of a box of crackerjacks, which many appear to me, to be. Like a GoPro.
But…for me, the salient point is not a question of military-grade or not military-grade…it is a question of whether the drone/camera combinations in use can perform tactical objectives that endanger, either our military forces or civilian targets. This can be done with drones that are not military grade.
To counter the threat, DHS has been actively soliciting solutions from commercial companies in counter sUAS (small UAS systems)and while such companies have not been part of the official military development process, DHS is fast-tracking high performing companies with the intent of utilizing commercial industry technology at a rapid pace: https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/hsip
Again, my point: It’s not military-grade or non-military-grade that matters…it’s the ability of a drone/camera system to achieve a specific objective. I think components within our government recognize this fact.
It actually astonishes me how little you know about the military.
Ordinarily I would not expect an E-5 navy photographer that served a single term of service nearly a half a century ago to know much, but I would expect more from one that spent nearly every day for almost a decade on a veteran board that discussed military topics on a daily basis.
Hey Babbles McButthead, is there ANYTHING that you aren’t an instant expert on?
I talk about Political economics. Because I studied it formerly and worked in the fired of analyzing it professionally.
I talk about the financial collapse because I have spent hundreds of hours researching it and took a college courses in it. I also did an entire college course on the function and structure of banking in the US.
I talk about the intelligence and special operations community because I served in them for decades.
I talk about North Korea because I was a trained analyst that the US military sent to DLI for BOTH Mandarin Chinese and Korean, spent months training me to collect and analyze intelligence related to them, and I spent a decade monitoring, analyzing, and briefing on Korea and still pay close attention to the security situation on the peninsula on a near daily basis.
I talk about AMD and Intel because I build computers for myself, friends, and family as a hobby so keep up with the current generation of processors and video cards. And at one time I had $220,000 invested in AMD so I keep up on the processor and video card market out of habit.
I talk about political philosophy because I love it and have pretty much read every major author that ever published on the topic.
I talk about the military because I served for decades in it.
I don’t remember anything else I spend much time discussing. But if I did it is likely because I invested the time to know something about it.
I don’t listen to music. I spend nearly half my day every single day with a set of headphones in my ears playing audio books on politics, economics, history, and current events. Or listening to lecture series or Great Courses on those topics or similar (such as economic psychology and cognitive science).
Sad. So much study and reading, so little understanding and wisdom.
Political Economics? That sounds like a course of study about as useful as a PhD in Chinese Politics!
You talk. Incessantly. And yet, you say so little.
Ah, but which dialect of Mandarin was he speaking? And what accent was he using? These things matter when communicating with native speakers. It isn’t just the dialect that’s important. It’s also the accent that matters enormously if one wishes to be understood.
With that kind of background and experience, it is truly baffling how you can be so clueless on so much of life… One would think you’d truly have a grasp on many aspects of life, but when your comments so clearly demonstrate a lack of such, it leads to two possible conclusions… 1, you suffer from a severe mental deficiency, or 2, you are part of the problem, and distort facts and reality to further your own agenda, like those in power who do the same… and it’s nearly impossible for the rest of us to determine which of those is the truth…
Commissar: We are in agreement on a few items: listening to/reading about history and much of what is on Great Courses.
Please go back to wetting your bed and leave the adults alone, nobody cares about your self delusional opinions or your fantastic BeJerkley education or self abuse! Now shut the fuck up and go away!
Commisar, why are you such an arrogant prick all the time? I really want to know.
I tend to act more arrogant when I lose respect for the people I am dealing with.
I think I became a prick around age 32.
Yeah, betting you got out of the Army just ahead of one of those people you lost respect for fragging your arrogant, ignorant ass.
IMHO it’s far more likely his fellow Officers made sure HE was among the very first to go as soon as a RIF went into effect.
^^^^ This ^^^^
” I think I became a prick around age 32.”
Which would be in 2003 right about the time you graduated from the Intel Officers Course.
So tell us, did you have to give an acceptance speech after being named the Honor Graduate/Top Prick of your class? Or were you just given honorable mention in the program for being in the top five percent of the class and only making the Commandants List for Achievement?
But before you implode and demand once more to know what my Facebook page is so you can call me out and private message me to set up a date/time/place for you to give me an ass whuppin, I’ll remind you again, what’s Facebook?
Yeah, Yeah, I know I’m stirring the shit pot, but sometimes it just feels good to grip a spoon.
That’s when you first became aware of it. You were a prick pretty much from the moment Mrs. Lars calved your useless ass.
no, not a prick, just a real asshat….
Well, gee whiz, I wasn’t in the ARMY, y’see, so what the ARMY gets and does is not within my purview at all.
But since you don’t seem to know much about the NAVY, and obviously hold both women and the Navy in contempt – becuase we’re aren’t military at all, not at all – the drones that the NAVY uses are self-directed critters launched from aircraft carriers, a lot more complicated than some off-the-shelf toys like these pieces of junk.
Anything else you want to say, you commie twit?
And my term of service was full-time AD, twice, two different decades, in fact, completely voluntary. Never in the reserves.
AS TO the rest of your idiotic response – almost decade on This Aint Hell? Again, SFB, you screwed your own pooch with pointless attempts at insults.
Only four years here, sport, and most of the conversations revolve around non-military, non-tech gear, etc.
At same time, you have not the slightest idea what I’ve picked up while in the company of these people. The difference between them and YOU, you obnoxious drell, is that we at least have a modicum of manners and respect for each other, whereas YOU have NO respect for anyone, period.
I have respect for a few members of this board.
You are definitely not one of them.
I put you bottom three.
Your lack of knowledge about the Army did not stop you from obnoxiously ridiculing and attacking my explanation about what a “Ranger” is. Nor did you seem to learn much from the discussion since you never admitted that you had no clue what the fuck you were talking about and argued for an entire day despite being wrong ON EVERY SINGLE POST YOU MADE on the topic.
You criticize me for not admitting when I am wrong, despite the fact that I have done it at least a dozen times on here.
Yet, you do not admit when you were wrong.
And you disagree with me about topics you know nothing about. I don’t argue with you about photography (despite how terrible and grainy that picture of your Christmas tree was) because I know your expertise is greater on the subject.
Yet you constantly attack my positions on Korea. Not just disagree but name call and ridicule them. I actually do know a great deal more about the security situation on the peninsula and the capabilities of the North Korean military than the majority of people. I know more than I can even disclose. But somehow you are the expert?
You still haven’t done what I said yesterday, y’know, and it annoys me to have to repeat myself, but I will.
Jammit, asswipe.
The only thing you’re good for is….
Uh-oh.
The only thing you’ve truly applied yourself to studying, Commissar Cockbreath, is the lustful gazing at your communist professor’s browneye. Do you think any of us gives a flying monkeyfuck where you place us in your rotbrained levels of respect, you meatgazing spunkstain? All those audiobooks, all those classes, are due to a RAGING inferiority complex! Shut the fuck UP, I smell vaseline every fucking time you open your cumbubble-blowing cock holster!
Want to thank Ex-PH2 for expanding my vocabulary and introducing me to a alien species I didn’t know existed.
The Drells.
I have added them to my list of outworldly entities that I plan to eliminate if I ever get my hands on another Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.
It’s only a guess, but I’m assuming that Archie Bell already knew about the Drells when he formed up his band in 1966.
Tighten Up, Baby!!
This is the drell I was thinking of, Claw.
https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/396473-the-drell
Yep, that’s them.
Have added them to my hit list and they are moving up in priority with every comment that He Who Shall Not Be Named makes here on TAH./smile
SNERRKKK!
‘Tis true that HWSNBN would stumble over his own shoes if someone were to glue them tight to the flooring.
“Drell are omnivorous reptile-like humanoids with an average lifespan of 85 galactic standard years. Drell appearance is very similar to asari and humans, but their muscle tissue is slightly denser, giving them a wiry strength.” In other words, a snake with trousers. Very astute. And properly descriptive.
So it takes a three star or above to realize that using China as a source for vulnerable equipment is a bad idea?
Good guess, but the article mentioned use by the Corps of Engineers and the USAF, not just SOCOM. That tells me that they came through the JUONS process, not SOCOM funding. So, there were folks higher than at the 2 star level who approved the requirement, and another GO at the service level approved the sourcing.
I know that you were an Intel analyst, but that doesn’t mean that you know anything about the acquisition process that’s typically managed at the joint and service staff level. In that instance, you’re kind of like a single enlistment Navy E5 who served half a century ago.
perhaps, but we have had a prohibition on all Chinese supply chain IT components for more than 20 years now (ITMRA, 1996; NDAA, 1996; and numerous Acquisition regulations and policies since, not to mention the various PPDs published since 1996).
So even if you bought the lift platform from a Chinese supply chain, there should not have been any IT components involved…even if you are part of the Special communities.
I have found that the most grievous violations are done by the SOCOM and IC folks…..
Yes, yes and YES! I have been waiting for this! I’ve been studying drones for several years and it is well known that DJI is –by FAR– the world’s largest manufacturer of -commercial- drones. DJI are everywhere! That Phantom (model name) with camera attached is an iconic image within the drone community. The issue is potentially far more serious than cyber security alone. Personally, if I were the enemy, I would be working on…well I can’t really say it.
People race these things on ESPN.
They actually have leagues.
First it was dragons, then Pokemon and now this nonsense.
When I grew it up it was about drinking beer, shoot pool and chasing shirts.
Times change.
I wondered what the opposing gender term for “chasing skirts” was.
I guess if you are going to “chase shirts” a pool hall is a place to do it. They do require men to wear shirts.
-You-, of all people here, have little room to be throwing stones in the typo department, eh?
Granted, I may be runner up…..
It was snark. Because this typo was funnier than most.
Oh, you finessed it well, but you just voided any complaints about poo-flinging at yours.
I must admit, it was a good one. Poor GT probably Hulk smashed his keyboard into the monitor as his rage-o-meter red lined over the inability to edit that post. I certainly would have…
Chasing SHIRTS? (snerrkk!) Sorry, could not resist that, GT.
Yeah, looks like someone made a rather unfortunate typo. Or got “autocorrected” in a particularly unfortunate way. (smile)
Autocorrect can sometimes be a real Mother Forklift.
My bad.
Skirts.
Yeah. I am a little slow today.
Not that there is anything wrong with chasing shirts, as we have all been made aware. A long overdue update of a classic figure of speech.
“O tempora, o mores”.
I have occasionally chased a shirt or two myself, but only because they were sweaty and clung to the wearer.
So, you were hitting on the Grape, or was it an Ordie……
Hmm… probably EOD, but that wasn’t what they were called back then.
Wow, I can actually say that Lars made a funny…. that being said I refer sweaters to shirts.. ie: sweater puppies…. but anyway….
An -intentional- funny, and successful!
Folks laugh at all sorts of things he says, but I suspect he is not laughing with them most of the time.
Lenovo has had a history of installing spyware on it’s laptops – the Pentagon issued a warning about it almost 2 yers ago:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjWx6Sl9sLVAhVhl1QKHR4PA-wQFgg0MAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthehackernews.com%2F2015%2F09%2Flenovo-laptop-virus.html&usg=AFQjCNGsYNICR5-lzm_Qtdd1V90fzDUkiw
Other instances of Lenovo and spyware problems:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjWx6Sl9sLVAhVhl1QKHR4PA-wQFgg0MAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthehackernews.com%2F2015%2F09%2Flenovo-laptop-virus.html&usg=AFQjCNGsYNICR5-lzm_Qtdd1V90fzDUkiw
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjWx6Sl9sLVAhVhl1QKHR4PA-wQFghIMAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnet.com%2Fnews%2Fsuperfish-torments-lenovo-owners-with-more-than-adware%2F&usg=AFQjCNEFxHwrMceyrD–WueSoHYhUVupuQ
Lenovo quality is complete crap now as well.
I was dumb enough to buy a Lenovo in 2011. Based on its former reputation unaware that it had decline rapidly in the previous two few years.
The laptop I bought had great out of the box reviews but it turned out to have several obnoxious quality control issues.
I now primarily use a Mac and the quality difference is night and day.
Ordinarily I would expect Lenovo to go under in a few years since their brand reputation was why they were able to charge a small premium. However, though they are now just selling budget laptops and seem to be able to sustain that indefinitely. The days of capturing higher profits from their price premiums are gone now though.
They hevaily go after the corporate market. This of course has … interesting … implications.
Your opinion, and reasons, on Dell?
Annnnd. There’s is -my- typo faceplant for the hour…..
Well, bother! Does this mean I should hold off trying to find a replacement for my antique 2003 Presario? Or should I just get an upgraded hard drive and forget a new browser? I don’t like any of these bits of news about tech gear, and that includes the much-vaunted keyless ignition cars that Toyota is manufacturing.
This is discouraging.
IF you are making due with a 14 year old Presario then anything you buy would be fine and a huge improvement.
About 8 years ago AMD had slipped to the point where it no longer was competitive with Intel.
The result is that between 2010 and 2017 processor chips stagnated and each generation was not much better than the previous. For instance 2010 Intel 2700K chip is still adequately competitive to current Intel 2017 models such that it is hard to justify the cost of replacing a computer. You are much better served replacing the video card or upgrading to an SSD.
However, if your laptop is older than 6-7 years then it falls into the era when computers essentially nearly doubled in power every 2-3 years.
I do not know what chip is in your old Presario but by my math it is at least 10X slower than current models.
My recommendation is you buy a new computer and not spend a dime “upgrading” a 14 year old computer.
The good new is that if you are making do with a computer that old and underpowered then ANY current generation of computer would be a massive upgrade.
In fact if you are doing any manipulation of digital photography then you really SHOULD get a computer much more capable of rendering and running newer software.
I wasn’t addressing you, POODLEDICK.
Then by all means. Buy a brand new hard drive for your shitty computer.
Since you ancient PC has an IDE hard drive interface you should be able to pick up a new old stock outdated hard drive for $25 on Amazon.
It will do nothing to speed up your computer and your lack the expertise will require you pay a shop $100 to install it.
For $125 you could get a faster used PC off Craigslist.
But whatever. You be you.
He did, however, offer reasonable advice, however unsolicited it might be.
My comment would be I hope you have upgraded to an operating system that is currently supported, and thus receives security updates, etc.
A Win2000 or WinXP system, for example, is unsupported and thus a sitting duck for malware. No, that is insufficient. The duck hands a shell to Elmer and sticks his head in the muzzle of the gun.
I bought a system for my father, who did pro digital photo work as a writer. I bought as much CPU, RAM, and image capability as that system would deliver. It made his life -much- easier. That one went on the desk next to his photo booth for the gear pics. He no longer had to walk up two flights of stairs to his main PC to review and process.
If you go digital in any serious way, go big on the PC. It is as much a part of the photography process as a good darkroom setup is for film.
The problem, 11BMailclerk, is that HWSNBNmd assumes that he is being addressed when he is not. He interrupts people and inserts himself into discussions, not because he has anything useful to offer, but because he is a social moron and has no manners at all. But that aside, in regard to your suggestion, I have excellent malware protection at a very reasonable cost. It is constantly updated on an as-needed basis by the company that developed it. I also take my unit in for a tuneup each year, also very much worth the money. The reliability of this computer is what has kept me from replacing it, and I doubt that I’ll ditch it, even if I buy a new one. The boondoggle for me is less about the system or platform than it is about the growing volume size of files. I have to split documents into parts in order to be able to work with them on a single-document basis. Size matters a lot, as does a completely reliable system. I view the computer as a glorified typewriter: I want to turn it on and pick up where I left off last night. Therefore, a 1500-page draft manuscript is something I don’t want to split into pieces, just because the DDRAM is inadequate for the task. I’ll solve this problem, but since AI and systems engineering is making progress in nearly astronomical leaps and bounds, instead of creeping along on little cat feet, I feel kind of stymied about the whole business. I think I know what brand I want, because the hard drive can be expanded if wanted. Simplicity and reliability are paramount for me. I don’t do games or videos, and as long as I can get the local news online, I will stand pat until I see what I would term a ‘millenial pause’, meaning ‘engineers are stymied about what to do next.’ The example is digital cameras: development has reached a point where all the breakthroughs have taken place. Now it’s just about memory capacity and whether or not anyone wants to do videos.… Read more »
“Size matters a lot”.. Ex, you make humor WAYYY too easy!!! hehe
Sometimes, Fyrfighter, I just can’t resist the double entendres.
I said it. I own it. It is mine.
Oh, and while I”m at it, I can get considerably better advice from the tech geeks at Staples or Best Buy than I can from you.
Unless you are a programmer or a microchip designer or a computer engineer, which you are not, keep your advice for someone you can impress.
I absolutely guarantee I am giving you better advice than you would get at Staples or Best Buy.
And if you are buying a laptop from Staples you deserve the advice you get.
I doubt seriously that COMMISSAR Commissar has even a clue about anything in the real world.
Too predictable for words. Didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would for the Big Mouth Asian Carp to hit the hook and sinker.
Lost cause dude. Whatever the merits of the case you may make, that particular relationship is poisoned. Walk away.
Neither of you will bend in any meaningful way that will allow a useful exchange of information.
A – I don’t use laptops. I never will, not if Stalin put a gun to my head.
B – You are NOT a tech geek, NOT any kind of systems engineer, and NOT even vaguely a programmer of any sort. Your advice is therefore useless. You are farting right into the wind when you insist on sticking your oar in.
I SAID VERY CLEARLY THAT I WAS NOT ADDRESSING YOU, COMMISSAR POODLEDICK Commissar, YOU INCREDIBLE MORON.
I WAS ADDRESSING SOMEONE ELSE. YOU ARE NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE, NOT GOD, AND DEFINITELY NOT REAL BRIGHT.
Hopefully, something I said above might be useful? I am in “the business”.
Oh, yes, be assured that you did, 11B.
Actually, oh educated one, it’s “making do”. Surprised you didn’t know that, what with all of your superior education and experience.
AMD is competitive again now. So I expect computers to increase in processing power at a better rate over the next few years.
AMD is competitive now because they have introduced a CPU (Ryzen) that is beating Intel’s top line CPU… at a cheaper price!
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11244/the-amd-ryzen-5-1600x-vs-core-i5-review-twelve-threads-vs-four/5
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/which-ryzen-cpu-should-you-buy/
Yep, I suspect Intel has developed a generation (or two) of chips that they kept from releasing since they felt no competitive threat in the market.
So this will force them to release their next generation on a quicker timeline and we should return to a period where AMD and Intel force the other to release more advanced chips at a quicker pace.
Intel milked their previous generation for three times longer than a processor generation ordinarily would expect to dominate the marketplace.
AMD stock prices over the last year show that the market recognizes AMD has re-emerfed as a competitor to Intel.
https://www.google.com/search?site=&source=hp&q=AMD+stock+prices&oq=AMD+stock+prices&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l2j0i22i30k1l2.596.2414.0.2524.17.16.0.0.0.0.116.1304.14j2.16.0….0…1.1.64.psy-ab..1.16.1302.0..35i39k1j0i67k1j0i20k1.po71s-Nw4N0
“Re-emerfed”
Typo. Not as unfortunately funny as “shirts” or fun as “Covfefe” but I really want to make up a definition for “emerfed”.
Emerfed – When an entrance is made by a Smurf.
I was thinking it was when a Smurf went emo…
“Immmmm so BLUUUUUUUE! No one understands my blue world!!!!! WAAAAHHH!”
Emerfed. Emo Smurf.
You win.
Ex-PH2… you can ask Jonn to give you my e-mail and I can give you some suggestions on a replacement. Are you looking for a Windows or Mac laptop… and do you do anything special with it (video editing, gaming, etc)?
One of my hobbies is building desktops (been doing it since the early 90’s)… run a home built desktop with dual monitors right now.
I share the hobby. I to have a dual monitor desktop and 2X SLI GTX 780s.
Thanks, Senior Chief. I have a bit of time ahead of me before I take this major step. I am interested in what Microsoft thinks it’s doing with software since they are not going to create any Windows platforms after Windows 10. They seem to be heading off into outer space in some respects.
However, I will take your suggestion. Thank you.
I’d trust Lars’ advice on computers about as much as I would trust Lars’ advice on how to make new friends.
My own view is that what machine you choose should be based on real needs. If you spend a lot of time on the road, a laptop is a good choice but not so much for day-to-day in a home office. I happen to like big-ass monitors, and the kind of keyboard that gives tactile feedback, for example.
Lenovo still makes good laptops, but there’s a trick to selection. Back in the day, Thinkpad product lines were split between consumer grade and business/commercial. I’ve had good luck in the past with Thinkpads just coming off, say, a two or three year corporate lease.
The reason I mention the prospect of used equipment is because the best operating system as of right-now, today, is probably Windows 7. Picking up a machine on Ebay with a fresh, clean, minimalist install of Win 7 is not a bad option. This might offend those hipster acolytes of St. Steve of Cupertino, but so what unless you see your computer as a fashion statement.
Something else to keep in mind is that software that was current in 2003 is probably not going to work with a newer operating system. Adobe Photoshop seems to have a longer shelf life than Microsoft Office but that’s just a general impression. If you do a lot of photo or video editing, an upgrade from a 32-bit to 64-bit operating system is also a consideration.
Personally, I wouldn’t pay too much attention to what the tech press is saying about a post-Windows 10 scenario.
Thanks, Perry. I was not impressed at all with Windows 8. Bad Idea. Nobody liked it at all, so why buy it? Then 8.1 was supposed to correct the mistakes in 8, and again, why bother? Then MSFT promptly announced, after the release of Windows 10 that they would no longer do Windows platforms, and were working something else.
The issue for me is the browser in Windows XP, which can be slow at times, but conflicts with more updated software like the bank’s demands. Since the bank is about 1.25 miles away, I can take a walk over there and have returned (gasp!) paper statements.
Otherwise, my old computer is just fine.
Whatever I end up with will get the Adobe Suite, not just one or two applications, and whatever tricks MSFT has in Microsoft Office now, I only need Word and Excel, so it’s all a moot point. The issue is room on the hard drive, reliability, and compatibility with wherever the internet is going.
I fully expect the petabyte drive to be the next cheap add-on portable storage. It’s not peripherals that concern me. It’s where the system itself is going.
I woudl strongly recommend that you run something more recent that XP. No security patches are released for it (except in extraordinary circumstances) so any flaws are 1) unpatched and 2) well known and easily exploited. (Thus, why banks don’t like the old XP-vintage browsers.)
Nothing older than Win7 should be used, ever, for anything “secure” like online banking.
I could go on for hours about how the opposition exploits legitimate sites to infect unpatched systems.
Getting your bank account, cards, identity , etc compromised can be -expensive-, and take -years- to fix. Don’t risk using that fossil OS with net-zero security.
And really, even 7 is in “extended” support now, ending in just a few more years, so for you I recommend getting a system that runs something current (Win10), since you seldom replace PCs.
A good IT support rule in a business environment is to not adopt a version of Windows until Microsoft has released the first service pack for it. Something that hasn’t happened yet for Win 8, 8.1, or 10.
Microsoft is also fairly notorious for making sweeping pronouncements about stuff that turns out to not be true. IMHO, Win 7 probably has at least another 10 years because that’s what the corporate community is going to want. This is because it tends to be painful for a company to swap out, say, 10,000 point-of-sale systems on a whim.
An interesting sidebar to this is that one of the nasty attack vectors for browsers has been Adobe Flash, which apparently Adobe is now seriously dumping in favor of HTML 5.
M$ can and will kill off a popular OS, for example XP. They did extend it greatly, but it is now the psychotic ally sitting duck I described above.
Clever chimps can now hack XP based on readily available scripts. One low-taqllent ding-aling corrupts an ad-stream on your favorite low end news site, and your system is pnwd by the folks who will now finance their vacation in Romania with your life savings.
No anti-malware can prevent that exploit of unpatched code. it just tells you if a -known- malware is doing it. Any decent zero-day will infest and hide.
Pro-tip: most anti-malware software is a week to two behind state of the art exploits, at best. Your -first- line of defense, the very most important thing, is to keep your system fully, 100% patched. -That- closes the holes that the malware exploits. No hole, no breach of security.
Or, if you have software you like to run on XP, never ever let the computer on-line. No on-line access even for updates of any kind.
No, I am NOT without protection. My security is updated daily and sometimes hourly. It is the best I’ve ever seen.
I know I will have to make this transition eventually, but it’s hard. And I certainly won’t ditch the computer I’ve used for so long. There’s no reason to do anything but take it offline permanently, once I get over my reluctance to buy new equipment.
We are talking about two different things. The anti-malware may be updated, but it is 1-2 weeks behind the state-of-teh art malware, because it has to be found and a cure invented, then the signatures published.
The holes in XP are never updated of patched. (With a very rare exception)
I do this stuff for a living. XP systems are -prohibited- on our network, because they are presumably infected, because they are impossible to protect, because they cannot be patched.
We have machine tools that still use a variant of XP. They are offline and “air-gapped”, and their output scrubbed before being moved on net by special means.
If your course of action is comfortable, make sure you are backing up essential data elsewhere, in at least two copies. If/when your system eats a zero-day ransomware, for example, you will have exactly zero chance to recover your on-board data, absent paying crooks for a key, and even maybe not getting one despite paying.
Write-once CDs and DVDs have the advantage that they cannot be subsequently maliciously encrypted or deleted by malware.
Pairs of big cheap USB disks work well for copies, as You can easily move your data around (slowly on old USB1 hardware), and the pair covers the inevitable disk failure.
One more alternative – use a current but inexpensive Win10 system for banking, etc, and the old system for recreation. if the old one gets compromised, your financial world is secure. (Don’t move stuff between them – malware vector)
Look how much trouble that little Chinese drone in North Korea has caused!
Try buying a technological item that does not use at least some Chinese components.
I have worked in the circuit board industry, and the chip industry. Chinese stuff is now in just about -everything-. If it -isn’t- made in China, the country that did make it probably did so with some Chinese parts.
And I would bet serious chips that China is quietly investing in non-China firms that are the alternative suppliers to China.
This has to be driving the security folks absolutely batshirt.
“This has to be driving the security folks absolutely batshirt.”
It also probably does the same to procurement and logistics folks.
Heavy Chevy had a DJI Phantom drone. Life is so cruel. This will set back criminal serial rapist profiling 10 years, minimum. What’s next, Chevy’s imaginary chain of command puts a halt to Chinese mail order brides? Oh the humanity!