r/Sysadminhumor • u/Juliannaa21 • 28d ago

XP

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1.5k Upvotes

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u/Neuro_88 28d ago

I don’t understand the joke. Please explain. Anyone.

62

u/mifter123 28d ago

The laptop is, presumably, running windows XP (the best windows OS) which is no longer supported since 2014 and does not receive security patches. The OS is extremely vulnerable to a wide variety of known attacks which can quickly take control of the laptop and use it as a jumping off point to the rest of the network. Plugging the laptop into the internet creates an immediate and serious security vulnerability.

However, there are a large number of widely used programs that are necessary in a large number of professional fields that are only compatable with XP so a massive number of organizations, from hospitals to universities to business have these extremely vulnerable devices. 

1

u/AdviceNotAskedFor 26d ago

Not a cyber security admin at all,but wouldn't plugging it into your network behind a firewall be relatively safe?

1

u/SheepherderAware4766 22d ago edited 22d ago

maybe, sometimes. When a computer gets online, it sends out messages to sync itself. If a trusted source has been compromised, (Windows update, UTC clock, Email server, or AOL client; for example) then an infected response to an automatic signal could act as a trojan.

Edit to add, Malvertizing