Ransom Attack. Microsoft Blames Everybody But Themselves.

Hi everybody.
In response to John Whellans posting at #52 of this thread, then Chromebooks and Chromebase desktops are similarly equipped to PC laptops and desktops in regard to users with disabilities finding enhanced features for their use incorporated into those devices.

In regard to my own company and others having somewhat “simplistic” requirements and therefore Google Chrome OS is easily found suitable to our needs, I can visualise how that perception can come about. However, all business requirements are different and in my company's circumstances we are what I would class at present as a medium size operation with 26 employees (both full and part-time​) based around fourteen workstations in the main open office and four workstations based in individual offices.

The above I would suggest would be pro-typical of many medium size company office setups along with the need for those workstations to share files and work collaboratively on documents. In the foregoing many of those documents are internally and externally security sensitive and therefore not open to view by all members of staff and no one outside the company with the exception of the company's clients on a need to know basis.


Bill

Trouble is with a simplistic set of requirements you eventually hit limits. Exchanging documents with an organisation that employs partially sighted people for example or even one that makes use of Microsoft Visual Basic in Word. You could go for ISO standard documents good heavens you mean Microsoft is one of the few companies whose wordprocessing meets an ISO standard rather than a propitiatory format.

and standards help on the interoperability side as well and I'd prefer not to get into a deep discussion about ISO standards or the work that goes into them having beet part of the process once.

Cheerio John
 
The part of this that I don't understand is that it is stated that Microsoft has been putting out lots of patches of late. Isn't that a good thing? Doesn't that mean they are trying to stay ahead of the latest or next threat to their customers computer systems? If a company chooses to not staff it's IT dept well enough to evaluate updates and get them integrated into the system how can that possibly be Microsoft's problem?
 
The part of this that I don't understand is that it is stated that Microsoft has been putting out lots of patches of late. Isn't that a good thing? Doesn't that mean they are trying to stay ahead of the latest or next threat to their customers computer systems? If a company chooses to not staff it's IT dept well enough to evaluate updates and get them integrated into the system how can that possibly be Microsoft's problem?


It's just easier for some to say its Microsoft's fault than to try to understand the problem.

Cheerio John
 
I agree with John Whelan on this.

Using a common automobile manufacturer as an example which has more than it's share of recalls, recalls are dispatched to various owners with details and instructions to bring their automobiles in for the retrofitting. The manufacturer did the part they were supposed to do, whether the automobile was still in warranty or not, and now it's up to the car owner to do his or her part. If the car owner doesn't follow up on the recall, we'll the onus is now on them; not the car manufacturer. Sure we can blame the automaker for the initial problem, just as we can say it's Microsoft's problem initially, but Microsoft just like the automaker in my example, has done their part. They can't hold everyone's hand to ensure things are updated. People complain enough about Microsoft, or some other software company intruding in on their computers. Imagine Microsoft forcing an update even when people have updates turned off. That ain't gonna happen anytime soon!

Unfortunately there are people such as my sister who said this to me. "Oh I never do the Windows updates because they take too long". Her machine was more than a year behind the updates, which took about 8 hours to install with reboots!

It's people such as her, which are ripe for attack, and I'm sure there are many of them out there. Their unpatched machines, which are usually full of malware to begin with, are open and ready for compromise if they haven't been already. With her machine, I had to remove nearly 5,000 malware items first, and no this wasn't cookies, before I could do any kind of updates. Given the slow nature of this cheap laptop to begin with, I was quite surprised it even boot up which it did. The updating process plus the malware removal took over 14 hours. I know for sure it would have been easier to refresh the machine, but without the discs, and no way to make image discs because the software would barely load, I felt it was easier to clean the machine manually.
 
@Bill, you seem like a fairly tech savvy guy, what are your (or anyone elses) opinions to only using the builtin windows 10 defence and antivirus. I've been told is as good as anything else and touch wood havn't had any issues thus far.
 
@Bill, you seem like a fairly tech savvy guy, what are your (or anyone elses) opinions to only using the builtin windows 10 defence and antivirus. I've been told is as good as anything else and touch wood havn't had any issues thus far.

I've had excellent luck with it as well, Scratchy. I've run other programs separately, just in case, and they found nothing so in my opinion it seems to work fine.
 
@Bill, you seem like a fairly tech savvy guy, what are your (or anyone elses) opinions to only using the builtin windows 10 defence and antivirus. I've been told is as good as anything else and touch wood havn't had any issues thus far.

So long as you use "Brain" with Windows defender you should be fine.
 
@Bill, you seem like a fairly tech savvy guy, what are your (or anyone elses) opinions to only using the builtin windows 10 defence and antivirus. I've been told is as good as anything else and touch wood havn't had any issues thus far.

The most important part is making sure windows does its updates. I use the windows built in tools and have for some years. Protect yourself by backing up the hard drive win 7 back up included in win 10 works fine, you'll need a system image and a recovery DVD as well that protects against encryption malware. It's probably worthwhile putting a decent firewall between your devices and the Internet. Recently a machine was compromised by the printer and router being taken over, after that everything was channelled through a virtual network not fun. An Asus RT-N66U or something similar would be ideal protection.

Cheerio John
 
Hi scratchy and everybody.
@Bill, you seem like a fairly tech savvy guy, what are your (or anyone elses) opinions to only using the builtin windows 10 defence and antivirus. I've been told is as good as anything else and touch wood havn't had any issues thus far.

Scratchy, I would very much go along with the recommendation's​ in regard to the various antivirus programmes​ and security measures that forum members have put forward in the above posts. I can also well understand that when any person pays a very substantial sum of money for a PC gaming system, then keeping that system safe from attack becomes a very high priority. However it has to be recognised, even with the very best security programs there is always the chance that an attack will overcome that program and infect your system. The forgoing is based on the fact that any PC security system is reactive rather than proactive, meaning that a threat has to appear before it can be protected against.

In the above, a user can rely on the recommended antivirus protection put forward in the above posts or use an alternative operating system for everyday computer use such as emails, casual surfing of the web or watching videos etc while keeping that expensive PC system exclusively for it's gaming purpose.

In the earlier pages of this thread it can be seen that my company and myself have since two thousand and thirteen put great faith in the one hundred percent cloud based system known as Google OS (not to be confused with Google Android). The foregoing system was brought forward in two thousand and eleven and since that time no one has managed to hack the OS in any way. The above is not to say that that a successful attack will never be carried out on Google OS but at this point in time and without doubt it is certainly the most secure system on the market.

Google OS operates in the main for personal users by way of laptops known as Chromebooks which link into Google cloud servers which monitor and continually security check all files passing to and from devices linked into the system. Chromebooks are relatively low cost to purchase with between one hundred and fifty and two hundred dollars enabling anyone to take ownership of a basic Chromebook.

The above I realise is not the cheapest means of protecting a gaming PC. However, with the total cost of a top of the range gaming PC system perhaps running well beyond two thousand dollars at present, the cost of a Chromebook can be viewed as insurance on the the high cost PC system. I have been reading that since the "Wanna Cry" attack that done such damage a few weeks ago many retailers are reporting that Chromebook and Chromebase desktop sales have increased by over 65% worldwide.

Just my thoughts,but hope this helps
Bill
Posted by way of voice dictation on Acer R13 Chromebook.
 
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Voice dictation, hey?

Will the day ever come when we operate locomotives in Trainz using voice dictation? You know, something like this:

Orright, Alastair, hit the injector five times, turn the blower on, spin the reverser to 75% and give yourself 20% steam on the throttle

:eek:
 
Hi everybody.
I do not post on this forum very often these days, but I am aware that a considerable number of forum members have windows smartphones. In the foregoing, I felt those members should be aware (if they are not aware already) that Microsoft with imeadiate affect have brought to an end support for the company's Windows phone Operating system in regards to those devices running on windows 7,8 and 8.1. The range of devises affected represents 80% of the Windows smartphones currently registered as operating on the system.

In the above, no statement has been made by Microsoft in regard to smartphones operating on windows 10, but it is believed support for that version may cease as early as the end of this year (2017). A full summery of all that is involved can be viewed by following this link:-
https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/11/15952654/microsoft-windows-phone-end-of-support

The above is without doubt linked to the continued development of the Windows10S operating system which the Redmond corporation seems to be determined will be made far more secure than the current full windows ten version(s) for both PC and mobile. In that Windows 10S will become a full cloud based system in the same mode as the Google Chrome Operating System which it is obviously intended to rival. However, Windows 10S has many restrictions in the same manner as Google OS. In that, all downloads have to be made through the Windows app store which ends user being able to use Steam or (dare I say it) N3V for the downloading of programs/apps.

That stated, users of the full Windows ten version will at present be able to use that version without restriction. However, Satya Nadella present CEO of Microsoft has stated that " Microsoft and the Windows operating system are very much restricted by legacy problems that have to be resolved". The foregoing has raised much speculation in regard to the future of the current full Windows ten version if all concentration is to be on the Windows 10 cloud OS. Satya Nadella also stated that Microsoft are committed to making Apple IOS and Google OS along with Google Android better (strange?)

It would seem that the ramifications of the "wanna cry" attack may well have changed the whole thinking of the IT industry and in that the way we all use our PCs and associated devices into the future.

Bill
 
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This is an interesting comment since most of us who run *any* version of Trainz do so on a desktop system.

I actually have Windows 10 ready to install, but I am not moved to go ahead and do so. I'm staying on Win8 for the time being.

I am not sure I want my data on someone else's server, although Bill Gate's idea of the Net PC is coming into reality. My sense is that these cloud services will only be free for so long.
(I found I had one gig of mail in one of my google mail accounts, so I am emptying that out. Once it gets to 15 gig, you have to pay for the service?) Yea, I think so.

Remember, XP ran for 12 years before it was obsoleted.
 
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I actually have Windows 10 ready to install, but I am not moved to go ahead and do so. I'm staying on Win8 for the time being.

I think Win10 is way better than Win8 which was a disaster as far I am concerned. I'll put Win8 in the Vista trash can. Win 7 was ok as was XP. Actually, XP was very good.
 
This is an interesting comment since most of us who run *any* version of Trainz do so on a desktop system.

I actually have Windows 10 ready to install, but I am not moved to go ahead and do so. I'm staying on Win8 for the time being.

I am not sure I want my data on someone else's server, although Bill Gate's idea of the Net PC is coming into reality. My sense is that these cloud services will only be free for so long.
(I found I had one gig of mail in one of my google mail accounts, so I am emptying that out. Once it gets to 15 gig, you have to pay for the service?) Yea, I think so.

Remember, XP ran for 12 years before it was obsoleted.

But remember the drivers for your hardware are a very important part of performance. The Win 10 ones get updated the win 8 ones don't. Win 10 does give better frame rates and the guy behind win 8 was terminated by Microsoft. I'm not sure I agree about XP being obsolete, most ATMs still run on it but then they don't get emails sent to them or go browsing on web sites.

I'd recommend you move to win 10 for performance and security reasons. As far as I am aware there is still a free upgrade path available.

Cheerio John
 
Hi Everybody.
This is an interesting comment since most of us who run *any* version of Trainz do so on a desktop system. I actually have Windows 10 ready to install, but I am not moved to go ahead and do so. I'm staying on Win8 for the time being.

I am not sure I want my data on someone else's server, although Bill Gate's idea of the Net PC is coming into reality. My sense is that these cloud services will only be free for so long. (I found I had one gig of mail in one of my google mail accounts, so I am emptying that out. Once it gets to 15 gig, you have to pay for the service?) Yea, I think so.

Remember, XP ran for 12 years before it was obsoleted.

Saieditor, I would very much concur with the above posts advising that you install your already owned full Windows 10 on your gaming system in order to obtain improved security. If you are "holding off" of doing so while you evaluate the Windows 10S operating system then In my humble opinion high end gamers will find that system has nothing to offer them at the present time.

Windows 10S comes with security that is much above anything which can be achieved with any present windows version. However, that security has a trade off by way of severe restrictions placed on what users can carryout with the operating system. A brief description of those restrictions can be viewed by following this link:-
https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/3/15530588/microsoft-windows-10s-features

The above review was written in May of this year (2017) and since that time additional restrictions have been added in the wake of the Wanna Cry virus attacks. In bringing forward Windows 10S Microsoft have also set aside their decades long tradition of using Intel chipsets in their PCs, laptops and more recently the Surface Pro Tablet range. In the foregoing devices running Windows 10S in the main incorporate Arm technology based in the Qualcomm 600 and 800 series processors. However, as good as those processors are (especially the Qualcomm 835 processor) I have no doubt that at this point in time they will not run T:ane in any form.

In the forgoing, high end gamers will have no other choice at present but to soldier on with the full desktop version of Windows 10 and on occasion have to pay Microsoft's extortionate fees for use of that system, while all other operating systems are provided free of cost to there users including Windows 10S in the near future. The 10S system is now being targeted at Microsoft's core userbase of small and medium size businesses worldwide and also the education market where Google have been so successful with their Chrome OS platform. That has brought many to ask questions in regard the long term future of the Windows 10 full desktop version to which Microsoft are yet to make any statement on.

Bill
 
Okay, just thought i need to chime in. I have 2 Win 8 or 8.1 systems with SSD that are now 'Bricked' aka 'Junk' after trying to go to Win 10. I am told it's the SSD and a USB drive that was plugged in. Something about the backup program included with Windows. I was able to write a program with .NET to get all the data off the USB sticks that was backed up, but I now have 2 'Laptop Coasters' under my newest laptop. LOL... I am also being told it was one of the updates after the Win10 rollout that caused it, and it was specific to the USB backups.

Since I have reloaded and put everything on the new Win10 machines and have the latest and greatest, all Trainz with SP2 work perfect now.

IMO Win 8 and 8.1 is / was Windows Vista, and Win 10 is the new Windows XP of the next decade. If you were waiting, I now recommend to get some new hardware made for Win10 and start over. If you have Win8, don't upgrade anything..... Be warned.
 
Like i've stated before, i ran windows 10 nativly for a year and a half, and have now decided to use Windows 7 as my main OS. I felt that with windows 10, I just wasn't getting what I needed out of it, and to be honest, it felt too different at the same time it felt familier. For me, Windows 8 or 8.1 i can't stand. I've trusted Windows 7 since 2010, and it always gets the job done that windows 10 fails to in many aspects, especially if i'm trying to run compatible games from the Windows 98 days that do work with windows 7.
 
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