MX Linux Forum

17 years late, but still. Of interest is that the code dump apparently might affect security in later versions of Windows. A bit of a blow against "security by obscurity".

Windows XP Source Code Has Just Been Leaked on 4chan
https://interestingengineering.com/bewa ... een-leaked

Those still using Windows XP may have cause for worry as the source code for the operating system was recently posted on 4chan, reported Gizmodo. It was posted on the site with the caption: ‘sooooo Windows XP Source code leaked’.

Independent researchers then began looking into the code and found it to be legitimate. This is very worrisome for the 1.26% of computer users that still have Windows XP worldwide (including Vladimir Putin) and the trouble may extend to other operating systems.... 

That looks like one way for Microsoft to go open source.

Windows XP was a pretty good system. Especially Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 with EWF configured. But Linux is still better. It's like a sip of pure water.

LiD wrote: Sat Sep 26, 2020 6:45 pm Windows XP was a pretty good system. Especially Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 with EWF configured. But Linux is still better. It's like a sip of pure water.

I loved XP. Made a lot of money fixing it.

LiD wrote: Sat Sep 26, 2020 6:45 pm Windows XP was a pretty good system. Especially Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 with EWF configured. But Linux is still better. It's like a sip of pure water.

Windows 2000 was even better than that. It was the last version of Windows that you didn't have to activate and was the last one that wasn't required to phone home periodically. Customizing Windows 2000 was also easier than XP since it wasn't obscured with unprecedented amounts of "webbyness" in the GUI.

Article report wrote:However, finding out a source code may also be compared to knowing for instance how a house operates. Let's say someone wanted to rob you, it would help if they knew what time you would leave the house unattended. A source code provides the equivalent of that information.

This seems a bit of a flawed analogy to me. It would be like saying that source code provides information about when someone will turn their computer on and off. Not all security issues arise from software bugs. A lot of security issues are the result of bad configurations and compromises, and bad habits of operators.

AK-47 wrote: Sat Sep 26, 2020 9:46 pm

LiD wrote: Sat Sep 26, 2020 6:45 pm Windows XP was a pretty good system. Especially Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 with EWF configured. But Linux is still better. It's like a sip of pure water.

Windows 2000 was even better than that. It was the last version of Windows that you didn't have to activate and was the last one that wasn't required to phone home periodically. Customizing Windows 2000 was also easier than XP since it wasn't obscured with unprecedented amounts of "webbyness" in the GUI.

Windows 2000 was the first good Windows. Windows XP was good too but the theming was a bit outlandish. Windows 8 / 8.1 had the worst G.U.I. that looked like it was strictly made for touch screens. I had to install Classic Shell to make it usable. Windows 10 is Spyware/Malware! The worst Windows distro was Windows 98se which holds the title of the most unstable piece of garbage and the most Blue Screen Of Deaths.

The first things I would do in a new XP installation were to switch from the Teletubies theme to Windows Classic and disable all the special effects eye candy. Then its look and feel was basically the same as in Windows 2000, plus it ran faster without those slight pauses while waiting for windows to fade in and out and stuff like that.

Mauser wrote: Sat Sep 26, 2020 10:03 pm The worst Windows distro was Windows 98se which holds the title of the most unstable piece of garbage and the most Blue Screen Of Deaths.

Meh.. I disagree

I had a great Music production setup on Win98SE with 24bit Audio support, Wavetable sampling and other stuff that was quite ahead of its time. The disappearance of ISA slots and the software compatibility issues of XP both with hardware drivers and with the Audio software I was using pulled the rug out from under me and I was sadly never able to replicate that setup on XP. Yes... my use case was not common at all but 'Vendor lock in' both with Windows and with commercial Audio software both drove me into the loving arms of Linux.

I had far more stability issues with XP than I ever did with 98SE...*shrugs

Does it come with those hilarious comments about how bad the MS code and coders are?

JayM wrote: Sat Sep 26, 2020 10:07 pm
The first things I would do in a new XP installation were to switch from the Teletubies theme to Windows Classic and disable all the special effects eye candy.

Yes, I've always done the same. And after 2012, I used Windows Embedded POSReady 2009. In fact, it was minimal XP plus such wonderful tools as EWF and FBWF. Now, thanks to MX Linux, I was finally able to find similar functionality in the Linux system. I think if it wasn't for MX, I would still be using the EWF tool. By the way, sometimes I still use it. )) For example, when I need Adobe Photoshop CS3. GIMP is a good editor, but when I've used Photoshop for years, it's not so easy to change my habits.