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I can suggest, as a quick fix, to search chrome.dll and replace all occurrences of "webp,image" with "apng,image", without quotes. Use any HEX edit software, make a backup before! With this dirty, nasty hack, your browser supposed to not accept webp virus, though I don't know if the website you visit don't support any other formats, so test it and report here! You aren't losing anything, since it's a junk, low quality format, to begin with. And what are you gonna do? Please share your fears, suggestions, opinions. Check here: OLD (before the edit) image/avif,image/webp,image/apng,image/svg+xml,image/ NEW (after the edit) image/avif,image/apng,image/apng,image/svg+xml,image/ https://www.amiunique.org/fingerprint This will make you unique, so proceed with caution, good luck!

Fortunately, AVG 18.8 is supported as well.

Screaming into the void. Shouting into the wind. Honestly, this place, as many others, in the end, they all become echo chambers.

Speaking of which, the latest version of One Core API for XP x86 supports Avast 18.8 as @Skulltrail fixed it. AVG 18.8 is untested, though, but I would be very surprised if it was broken.

Perhaps the manufacturer assumed (quite correctly) that most PC users had more capable hardware by 2018. Support for Windows XP is one thing, but optimal performance on 20-year-old hardware is evidently something else entirely. Whenever I read your condemnations of Avast 18.8, it’s hard to believe that you are writing about the same product I formerly used on Vista without any real complaints. The explanation must be that my Vista hardware was manufactured merely 16 years ago (alas, it died so young), and had a multicore processor with 3GB RAM. If any readers happen to be running XP on more modern hardware (or Vista without some extended kernel that apparently breaks most antivirus products), then I would recommend Avast Free 18.8! (I find it hard to believe that AVG 18.8 with the same engine could be markedly worse, but Avast was my choice so I have no ammunition with which to debate AstroSkipper on that point.)

yeah confirmed, gotta revert upstream commit.

From what I understand, the next big update to Windows 11 is supposed to strip features like the classic start menu, control panel, explorer, etc. Is there currently a plan to find a way to reimplement these things when they are actually removed? Or will Start All Back just be dead?

GitHub has a mirror of libwebp at https://github.com/webmproject/libwebp. You should be able to pull updated code from there. What's scary about it is, you don't even have to download and run anything. Just visit a Web page with a malicious image and bam - you're infected. And a malicious image could even be on a legit Web site if the site owner were hacked. Browsers generally trust images and download them automatically; after all, downloading an image should be safe (even if not safe for work). Heck - someone could just email you a malicious WebP image. Most email clients will block connecting to the Web to download an image, for privacy reasons, but if the image is embedded in the email itself and your email client isn't updated, you're screwed. Right. Per Mozilla, Security Vulnerability fixed in Firefox 117.0.1, Firefox ESR 115.2.1, Firefox ESR 102.15.1, Thunderbird 102.15.1, and Thunderbird 115.2.2 (the ESR 102 version fixes are for Win 7/8/8.1 users) Yes, I saw that and downloaded it. LibWebP 1.3.2 has the fix. Unfortunately it didn't help me with GIMP. Their DLLs are somewhat different, so I couldn't just copy over. Cygwin just updated their libWebP to 1.3.2. Theirs might work with GIMP.</offtopic> One more. Not many folks use the Adobe Flash browser plug-in any more, but if you do, you'd better update it too: https://gitlab.com/cleanflash/installer/-/releases/34.0.0.301 This is quite a mess.

Many companies these days observe what's going on with their PR on social media with the help of AI, so the theory is quite valid. Chrome devs look like the ones who would it. Example, Opera has embedded AI for several versions already. But like I wrote before, we have to wait, because 119 is still beta.

You are absolutely right! Avast Antivirus 4.8 was a version I liked very much, and it is even today installed on my Windows ME partition which still exists only for historical reasons. And as usual in those days, Avast was lightweight and low on resources. How can a manufacturer get so much wrong, considering versions like 18.8 or the very latest?

Yep, a huge thank you indeed, but perhaps we don't have much time to "celebrate"... Speaking of Avast, they recently phased out version 11 of their antivirus, which follows the deprecation of other, older versions. They seem to be keeping the trend running of serving 9 years of support per product. The same happened to all the other products, all the way back to some of the famous ones like version 4.8 released in 2008 which was the last Win98 compatible version, which got retired in 2017, again, after 9 years. With a simple calculation and knowing that version 18 was the last XP compatible one, we can expect Windows XP support to last 'till 2027. We're currently on the second half of 2023 and on our way to 2024. This means that, unless the recent Avast merger changes something, we still have effectively 3 years and a few months to enjoy the support with the definitions update and the same is true for AVG (which is Avast with a different frontend).

It'd be quite simple to create a portable version (in PAF format) of FxESR-102.15.1 Download https://sourceforge.net/projects/portableapps/files/Mozilla Firefox%2C Portable Ed./Mozilla Firefox ESR%2C Portable Edition 102.13.0/FirefoxPortableESR_102.13.0_German.paf.exe/download Install/extract it to a disk location of your own choosing. Navigate to .\PortableApps\FirefoxPortableESR\App\ The contents of directories "Firefox" (32-bit) & "Firefox64" (64-bit) would have to be deleted and substituted with the 102.15.1 ones. https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/102.15.1esr/win32/de/Firefox Setup 102.15.1esr.exe Download, extract with 7-zip; the contents of the extracted "core" dir should be placed inside the above "Firefox" dir https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/102.15.1esr/win64/de/Firefox Setup 102.15.1esr.exe Download, extract with 7-zip; the contents of the extracted "core" dir should be placed inside the above "Firefox64" dir You should be done! When you then invoke the portable PAF launcher (FirefoxPortable.exe), it should launch Fx-102.15.1-x86 (if on a x86 OS) or Fx-102.15.1-x64 if on a x64 OS... (Apologies for the OTs, but I, too, am responding to OTs, sort of ...). Kind regards ...

Yep, I used it, too. It is a pity that a project like WiseVector StopX was simply shut down. But I had the impression that the developers only wanted to get their hands on data in order to launch a commercial product on the market and earn money. The users were more like guinea pigs to feed their artificial intelligence (AI) they had implemented into WiseVector StopX.

God forsaken shame about wisevectorx not gonna lie it looked seriously promising i used to use it myself quite often

I vote for exodus from the internet. But if that's not possible, cut the internet use to the minimum, especially over-engineered complex websites, use less known web browsers, less known OS etc. In the grand scheme of things, this vulnerability is already history. They won't target some weirdos holding onto historic OS/browsers. Surely some new one may appear some day, for that case, read the previous paragraph again.

What does the test page tell you? Post the screenshot please. Did you disable Client Hints? After the edit it should be. image/avif,image/apng,image/apng,image/svg+xml,image/ It's the header which tells the sites what's your browser can accept.

this dll edit does nothing for me on 360Chrome 13.5.2036. test : https://developers.google.com/speed/webp/gallery1

Webp being such a terrible idea, how about any methods to block it at the OS level, no matter what browser you are using? Since as I am reading, the WEBP vulnerability is not limited to Chrome or even Windows.

Here, all here. https://msfn.org/board/topic/185031-webp-virus-fears-nightmares-suggestions-or-exodus-from-the-internet/

I know, right?! And yeah I still love 4.8 even though it doesn't get definitions updates any longer. It is still installed on my Windows98SE which, just like your Windows ME, only exists for historical reasons: i.e it was my very first PC whose PATA HDD has now been turned into a VM...

It's like @Cocodilesaid, one hell of a coincidence to be just a "speculation". How do you know about AI? Do you work with it? Yes, I agree with you, let's hope the Kamshersky gang don't show up here, without them we're having a nice, calm conversation. And I'm pretty sure @Cocodilewas joking about punishments, he will let you go free.

Of course not. Or you can just edit the accept header and throw out webp into the garbage, where it belongs..

I thought that should be said at some point, no matter how long these manufacturers continue to support Windows XP. And as for Avast, frankly, I am not really a fan of it anymore, and certainly not of AVG. I would therefore be able to live with the loss...

:OT I use additionally the app AdGuard, which filters the whole traffic of my tablet via a local VPN connection. But I use it only on demand. Very effective. :End of OT

I only use older 4.3.4 version of Via in conjunction with Chromium WebView (Android System WebView), conventional browsers consume too much memory. Though WebView also keeps getting bigger and bigger...while 1 GB of RAM on my phone isn't! Software today is like capitalism - infinite growth on finite planet. Some of these WebView based browsers also have built-in ad blocker. Via uses AdBlock Plus lists. Or you can use AdGuard's DNS server. Correct.

AVG Antivirus Free AVG AntiVirus Free edition provides realtime protection to your Windows PC from viruses, spyware, ransomware, and other malware. It can block unsafe links, downloads, and email attachments before they are run. Present version comes with an added layer of ransomware protection, which also stops hackers from hijacking your webcam. AVG Antivirus Free 18.8.4084.0 is the last compatible version with Windows XP and, as the name implies, free of charge. Although AVG AntiVirus Free 18.8.4084.0 doesn't receive programme updates, it still protects Windows XP owners with regular virus definition updates. Main features: Real-Time PC Protection - Instantly protects you against even the latest threats. Web Protection - Scans your devices and blocks unsafe links and downloads. Email Protection - Scans your emails (POP3, IMAP4, SMTP) and blocks unsafe links, downloads and attachments. Homepage: https://www.avg.com/en-us/windows-xp-antivirus#pc http://web.archive.org/web/20181129115122/https://www.avg.com/en-us/windows-xp-antivirus Version number: 18.8.4084.0 Date of release: 26.11.2018 System requirements: Compatibel with Microsoft Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 und XP. Version history: There is none. Tests: https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/real-world-protection-test-july-november-2018/ https://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/avc_prot_2018b_en.pdf Reviews: https://www.techradar.com/reviews/avg-antivirus-free https://www.technadu.com/avg-antivirus-free-review/13191/ User experiences: https://msfn.org/board/topic/184730-antimalware-firewall-and-other-security-programs-for-windows-xp-working-in-2023-and-hopefully-beyond/?do=findComment&comment=1253727 by @WSC4 Download links: Online installer: http://web.archive.org/web/20181129115104if_/https://install.avcdn.net/avg/iavs9x/avg_antivirus_free_setup.exe Offline installer: https://install.avcdn.net/avg/iavs9x-xp/avg_antivirus_free_setup_offline.exe Virus database offline updater: https://install.avcdn.net/avinitro/aviupd.exe Uninstaller: And a further tool associated with this AVG version is the AVG Clear 18.8.4084.0 to get rid of all installed components if necessary: https://install.avcdn.net/avg/iavs9x-xp/avgclear.exe Screenshots: Besides all the "objective" facts I have listed above, now some of my own experiences I made in the past. And to be fair, the positives first. AVG Antivirus Free 18.8.4084.0 seems to have a good detection rate in recognising malware as stated in the tests performed by AV comparatives. AVG Antivirus Free 18.8.4084.0 offers a real-time PC protection. It is free of charge, compatible with Windows XP, and it still receives definition updates. Now, the negatives. The installation package and the programme itself is unfortunately bloated such as Avast Free Antivirus 18.8.4084.0. Not to mention the resource consumption I had to observe which is especially a problem on old, weak computers. In my opinion, AVG Antivirus Free 18.8.4084.0 is a cheap imitation of Avast Free Antivirus 18.8.4084.0. As reported by me several times, I had various problems with Avast. But AVG takes the cake. After installing, AVG Antivirus Free 18.8.4084.0 caused only problems, crashed my Windows XP computer, and generated BSODs. That's why I provided the download link to AVG Clear 18.8.4084.0 to get rid of this version completely if you should suffer from similar problems. AVG or more precisely Avast does not provide an own version history for AVG Antivirus Free. IMHO, the choice between AVG and Avast is actually a bit like between plague and cholera , but I would always choose Avast if I had to. This is hopefully never the case again, though. TBH, I actually have listed AVG Antivirus Free 18.8.4084.0 here only for completeness to let the users decide themselves. Cheers, AstroSkipper PS: The research for this article was hell. Useful information about AVG Antivirus Free 18.8.4084.0 was almost impossible to find. The support (Avast) only points to their own Avast products. If someone is looking for support for AVG Antivirus Free 18.8.4084.0, he can expect something. And I don't mean anything good by that. Personally, I will think three times from now on whether I write anything about AVG again.

(offtopic) IrfanView updated its webp plugin:

The Chromium issue is also " Permission denied" (even when logged in with Google account) And yes, it is scary.: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/advisories/mfsa2023-40/ From: https://stackdiary.com/critical-vulnerability-in-webp-codec-cve-2023-4863/: (it was a Zero-Click, Zero-Day Exploit from the infamous NSO Group, know for the Pegasus spyware) On Wikipedia you can find a list of software that uses libwebp: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebP#Support

No, you are not the only one. :OT I use the following browsers on my Android 9.0 tablet with a Mediatek MT8163 CPU: Opera, Kiwi, Brave, Firefox and very rarely Chrome. TBH, I don't like the pure Android Chrome browser. Opera and Kiwi are much better. In Kiwi, you can even use extensions what is impossible in the pure Android Chrome browser. So, I am able to use uBlock Origin to get rid of ads. Same in Firefox. Opera has a built-in ad blocker. Firefox is in the version 117.1.0 and if I understood correctly, this version is not affected. Right? :End of OT

Thanks for the info! Too early to be sure though, since this one is still beta.

People warned you not waste time on 1511. Especially since they fixed the issue with chrome.

Basically, it should also be mentioned here that it is actually incredible to still have companies providing antimalware programmes for Windows XP, an operating system for which support was officially discontinued in 2014, quite apart from whether or not these programmes meet the often high demands of users. And by that I really mean all the manufacturers that still support Windows XP (and also Windows Vista) in any form in these days, such as Malwarebytes, Panda, Avast, MicroWorld Technologies Inc, AVG (actually Avast again), Qihoo 360, Glarysoft, and so on. I think a thank you for that to them all was long overdue. AstroSkipper

@WSC4 BTW, your linked review of Panda Antivirus Free is from 09.06.2021 and hasn't been updated since then. Therefore, it does not refer to the more recent versions of Panda Antivirus Free. This test already linked by me is most recent from 11.09.2023: https://www.experte.com/antivirus/panda But as I already stated, those tests that are not performed by independent testing laboratories should be taken with extreme caution. They are not really objective which is a problem in general. Very often, missing features that no one really needs are the reason for bad results. Cheers, AstroSkipper

New build of Serpent/UXP for XP! Test binary: Win32 https://o.rthost.win/basilisk/basilisk52-g4.8.win32-git-20230916-3219d2d-uxp-58a39ca8cb-xpmod.7z Win64 https://o.rthost.win/basilisk/basilisk52-g4.8.win64-git-20230916-3219d2d-uxp-58a39ca8cb-xpmod.7z source code that is comparable to my current working tree is available here: https://github.com/roytam1/UXP/commits/custom IA32 Win32 https://o.rthost.win/basilisk/basilisk52-g4.8.win32-git-20230916-3219d2d-uxp-58a39ca8cb-xpmod-ia32.7z source code that is comparable to my current working tree is available here: https://github.com/roytam1/UXP/commits/ia32 NM28XP build: Win32 https://o.rthost.win/palemoon/palemoon-28.10.7a1.win32-git-20230916-d849524bd-uxp-58a39ca8cb-xpmod.7z Win32 IA32 https://o.rthost.win/palemoon/palemoon-28.10.7a1.win32-git-20230916-d849524bd-uxp-58a39ca8cb-xpmod-ia32.7z Win32 SSE https://o.rthost.win/palemoon/palemoon-28.10.7a1.win32-git-20230916-d849524bd-uxp-58a39ca8cb-xpmod-sse.7z Win64 https://o.rthost.win/palemoon/palemoon-28.10.7a1.win64-git-20230916-d849524bd-uxp-58a39ca8cb-xpmod.7z Official UXP changes picked since my last build: - Issue #2301 - Make Gecko Media Plugins optional when not building EME or WebRTC (9e7d1492e6) - Issue #2309 - Cherry-pick upstream libwebp fix. (20b69d7ddc) No official Pale-Moon changes picked since my last build. No official Basilisk changes picked since my last build. My changes picked since my last build: - [libwebp] Fix OOB write in BuildHuffmanTable. (61de658e45) - [libwebp] Fix invalid incremental decoding check. (3b44f9850e) - configure: move MOZ_GMP define block after MOZ_EME (f5cacdadbf) - dom/media: more eme fixes (58a39ca8cb) Update Notice: - You may delete file named icudt*.dat inside program folder when updating from old releases. * Notice: From now on, UXP rev will point to `custom` branch of my UXP repo instead of MCP UXP repo, while "official UXP changes" shows only `tracking` branch changes.

For those on Windows 7, their choice is limited, any new working engine will do fine. Can't share the memories, sorry. I never bothered myself with AMD, I didn't want my room to become a boiler room.

There's an editor for that file available. The name's chrome-pak unpacker.

Works ! Many thnx ! I used it for a game though, not that browser, writing here just to confirm the replacement indeed works like a miracle !

Looks like good news for those who trust the Chinese ! Thanks. I wonder will there be a similar to the 360Explorer project to remove the chinese telemetry ?

That's just lame.

Time to laugh! Internet Explorer is still supported! https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/internet-explorer-11 Some web applications only work with Internet Explorer. I have to deal with one at work every week. A big company that may have found it easier to put some cash on Microsoft's table to make them continue to support their old browser, than rewriting their applications.

Now what else to test? I'm out of ideas. Are there any alternative Network Managers for Windows, like there are in the Linux world (wicd and nm-applet for example)? Maybe we have to wait and see what breaks on 9th of May. At least it's no surprise then.

(Edit: Please refer to the next post.) Attention! Changing the date to 7th of May doesn't show any problems. Chaning it to 11th of May (two days after SHA1 certificates have expired) does bring up the SEC_ERROR_OSCP_OLD_RESPONSE, if "Use OSCP to confirm the current validity of certificates" is activated in the New Moon browser (refer to my previous post for further info). Yes, it's correct that having a wrong date leads to HTTPS connection problems. But that is probably because of the actual HTTPS certificates, which are called "valid" for a specific period of time. Have a look at your HTTPS certificates in New Moon under Tools - Preferences - Advanced - Certificates - View Certificates. And double click on one. They have a "Begins On" and an "Expires On" date. Winding the BIOS clock back once a year might get XP-SP2 users out of trouble for now, but it's not a long term soulution and probably other programs will not work properly either with a wrong date. As it can be seen in the post of @Sampei.Nihira having the XP system updated works. I don't like that fact too, but I think I'll risk it and try it out on the odd Pentium 3. The reason are these thousand reports, that especially later updates slow the older OS down, because Microsoft-Monopoly wants to make the legacy systems look bad. I'll clone my hard drive before going to SP3! And if this performs well on this weak, 20-year old computer, your computers should be fine too. More tests to follow... @XPerceniol By the way, my rsaenh.dll of SP2 has version number 5.1.2600.2161, so it's older than yours.

Just replacing crypt32.dll with a newer one didn't change the situation, however what did a noticeable change, was a certain setting in New Moon called "Use OSCP to confirm the current validity of certificates". So now I deactivated the checking of the HTTPS certificate it seems. The error message "SEC_ERROR_OSCP_OLD_RESPONSE" gave me a wink to that. The browser got confused in the process of connecting to the OSCP (holding the certificates), trying to do something with SHA1. Maybe checking the cerfificate? It's not the TLS encryption, SHA is a hash function. I've just learned about this in this video: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=GI790E1JMgw Some more notes on testing: While I was browsing today on the "next-week" Windows XP machine, none of the HTTPS sites did work, not even msfn.org, swisscows.com and wiby.me. So that changed compared to yesterday. Unchecking the option I described above however made browsing possible again. Still, SHA1 is not repaired... I'd be interested to see someone with an updated Windows XP try to time-travel too (setting the time two weeks to the front), as I am still running SP2 on two XP-computers here. This emergency situation can be simulated! I can confirm, that the time can be set back and SHA1 is recognised again. The question is of course, if other things break, that rely on SHA1... because what I've described is only an evasion for web browsing with New Moon... watch out for your local power plants!

Okay, it's intersting, that using the old Netscape 9 (with the modern TLS fixes) behaves differently online than New Moon 28. They choose different encryption algorithms to visit HTTPS sites. All the sites that don't operate on the "next-week" XP with expired SHA-1 certificates can we accessed with Netscape (they don't look that good of course). My Windows 98 machine that uses Retrozilla and Netscape seems to be unaffected, too. Would someone be so kind and send me over the crypt32.dll from his Windows XP 32-bit system? I'd like to see, if a whole update can be avoided.

Oh no! Bad news: There are SHA-1 troubles indeed! By accident, I only tested HTTPS sites that still work here, like "msfn.org" and my search engine "swisscows.com". However "startpage.com" and "duckduckgo.com" are broken, so are probably 60% of the HTTPS sites. This machine is an non-updated Windows XP SP2 with crypt32.dll of 2004, version 5.131.2600.2180. More investigation regarding that will follow... @Tripredacus Good, that you've written this! I wouldn't have given it another test!

(Edit: Please refer to the next post. I was too quickly on the keyboard here... sorry!) Hm... a new millenium bug hystery? I just tested this on my old XP machine (Pentium 3 with XP SP2), switching the date in my computers BIOS to 13th of May 2021 to see if it "expires"... no, it didn't. All drivers were still in place and did their job. Networking worked fine. I recall some troubles, if the BIOS battery on old computers is dead, then it sets the date back to 1980, and then plenty of HTTPS certificates were broken. Maybe you've noticed some files on your hard drive have the edit date 01.01.1980, which were probably created on a computer with a broken BIOS battery. But nothing of that happend in this case.

Two things I'd like to add to this topic: Jackie Stewart and Arfenhouse. Jackie Stewart is a British Formula One world champion, who actually is dyslexic. He said, that to concentrate, he'd get a book and try to read it. It would calm him down in front of a race. Well and Arfenhouse is this: A trashy game (with trashy flash films). It uses deliberatly misspelled words and keyboard typos. No, it wasn't made by a 7 year old kid.

Hi. Just checked , the main driver nvhda64v.sys makes calls to PsGetVersion , so I think it is still used. Any way to cheat it without replacing ntoskrnl ? By the way , RtlGetVersion is absent .

Well , I don't think this will help because I've installed the driver manually, avoiding Nvidia's auto installer. I've spent another several hours trying different drivers and registry hacks. As far as I can see , there is just not enough info for the players to "see" HD audio capable device . Take a closer look at the Vista's registry entries under : [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\MMDevices\Audio\Render\{my receiver auto generated id}\Properties] For example, HDAUDIO string is missing , compared to W7 entries . So I changed the .inf file (added everything from W7 sections to the Vista ones) and when I try to install this driver manually Vista says driver is not signed , I pressed ignore and the installation went ok , but it didn't change anything . Still not enough needed entries in the "MMDevices". It is painfully annoyning to add them manually for each device , esp. since the names are auto generated . At least now I know what's the culprit and who's to blame . I think Nvidia made it that way so one couldn't use HD audio on Vista. I will not purchase their products anymore . I've been their fan for almost 20 years. Any ideas ? Thanks.

Yeah , I too use a 24' CCFL 15 year old monitor and loving it very much. But DTS HD MA is ancient by modern standards and should be supported by ancient hardware, including Realtek (for examplle 2nd Generation Intel Core mobo's) , Nvidia's cards starting from GTX460 (I think, maybe even earlier). Do you remember the times when there was a small cable that we needed to attach to the motherboard's SPDIF and connect to Nvidia's DVI to bypass the digital sound. GTX 8800 definitely had this "feature" . I guess Nvidia was cutting the costs of the production so we needed to use onboard sound , later they added their own chip and it 100% supports DTS HD MA , I guess starting from 2010 or so.