Vistapocalypse

Your profile shows that you are running Windows 8.1 this week, in which case the good news is that Malwarebytes still supports Windows 7 and above, i.e. you are not restricted to using 5-year-old version 3.5.1. Not only that, but Malwarebytes 4.x versions have scored better in independent tests! I never realized that you were a fan of Malwarebytes. As recently as January 16 you stated, “I’ve never used anything else accept avast.” Then you puzzled me by stating on March 9 that “panda is definitely the better choice...and has been my go to antivirus for the past year now”!? Looks like no one has posted in the Windows 8 forum since April 19, so perhaps you could try to liven things up over there? 🤔

D.Draker would agree with that, and it was not my intention to pressure you into testing Kaspersky 19 - only to point out a gap in our knowledge.

Incorrect. When Kaspersky dropped Windows XP from its official system requirements, Vista was also dropped. The last Vista user to report using Kaspersky on February 12 was using 18.0, but it does not necessarily follow that 19.0 was incompatible with XP - in fact the author of this Kaspersky support article clearly thought that 19.0 was compatible with XP provided that the processor supports SSE2: https://support.kaspersky.com/us/common/compatibility/15479 I posted that link as recently as January 24, but unfortunately this thread has doubled in length since then, so repetition is necessary. More unproven assumptions based on analogy with “most AV companies,” by which you must mean Avast, since no other AV vendor has regularly submitted a free version for independent testing. Like I already said, “we will never know whether Kaspersky Free also could’ve achieved a perfect score.” One can only assume.

Happy Birthday to Malwarebytes 3.5.1 which is 5 years old today. 🎂 Malwarebytes Premium was first certified by AV Test (Magdeburg, Germany) in October 2018, although its Protection score (4 out of a possible 6) was the lowest of any product in the test. Avast Free scored 5.5 for Protection on that occasion. AVG Internet Security scored the same as Avast Free, which suggests to me that there is no advantage in using paid versions of Avast/AVG products. Of course most products in that test had already stopped supporting XP, including Malwarebytes (although it was still a 3.5 version when testing began in September). An interesting question is whether Kaspersky Internet Security 19.0 was compatible with XP. I don’t know, although I did see reports that it worked on Vista. Unlike Avast, Kaspersky never submitted their free version for testing by independent labs, so we will never know whether Kaspersky Free also could’ve achieved a perfect score.

@UCyborg Your last post suggests paranoia at the very least, and is frankly pretty scary.

You already posted very relevant screenshots. I did not install every available feature, e.g. Software Updater would advise you to update programs that cannot be updated on post-EOL XP/Vista in any case.

We have too many shooters to count here in the USA (and yes, they are usually young). I only shoot off my mouth.

It’s quite a relief to me that you have treated Avast fairly even though you are embarked on a quest to find something better. (Good luck with your quest, but I’m still not convinced there is anything better for XP/Vista.) In fact you overstated the features of Avast Free 18.8 in your first paragraph: As your “Protection” screenshot shows, those features are locked in Avast Free, although I’m sure you had them with Avast Premier. (Malwarebytes Premium includes Ransomware Protection, but unfortunately that feature is inactive on XP/Vista. )

Most famous these days is Elon Musk. https://www.newsweek.com/asperger-syndrome-elon-musk-autism-spectrum-disorder-1590043

Yes, I had a problem with depression starting in teenage years, but it got better as I grew older. I think youngsters are disappointed and frustrated by the limitations of life; but as you grow older, you realize this is all there really is. Many youngsters with depression also have another underlying condition, e.g. nobody ever heard of Aspergers when I was your age. I think you should spend less time at online forums, forget about legacy versions of Windows, and “get a life” while you’re still young enough to enjoy it!

Thanks for stepping forward! I believe you once mentioned your condition in one of roytam1’s incredibly lengthy threads. (At the risk of sounding unreasonable, I often wish that members would strive for concision in their postings - but fat chance of that happening!) Here’s wishing you a happy MHA month!

I just saw on TV that this is Mental Health Awareness Month and immediately thought of MSFN. I think it’s safe to say that we have some members with OCD, although in my case the problem is Aspergers. Please take care and take your medications!

Of course I may! I was born in the USA - not China. You have almost convinced me that XP diehards really are a threat to the security of the Free World, so keep up the great work!

Both are Chinese. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/glarysoft

This is where AstroSkipper first mentioned WiseVector EOL: https://msfn.org/board/topic/177099-which-antiviruses-are-known-for-a-fact-to-be-working-on-xp-sp3-as-of-2019/?do=findComment&comment=1238935

Last month at Bleeping Computer, a Windows 7 user named Erunosta was advised that MSFN was the correct forum for his query. Erunosta replied: “I read some topic on MSFN, but I’m not impressed yet. They have too much “noise” talk about everything.” https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/784441/steam-on-win7-after-eos/?p=5503135

It sounds to me like @Cixert could install Malwarebytes Free without removing Avast, as you instructed on the previous page!? It will be interesting to see which vendor cuts off definitions for their legacy version first. Cixert prefers a very old version of Avast that no longer receives definitions anyway!? And don’t worry: I would also advise against purchasing a “Premier” license for Avast in 2023!

If you had to completely remove Avast, how do you know “the compatibility issue does not occur” with real-time protection disabled in 3.5.1? Anyway, one thing I hated about Malwarebytes 3 was that there was evidently no way to install the free version without first installing a “free trial” of Premium (please correct me if a method of doing that is known). I never purchased a license for MB Premium and definitely never will! I suppose you could transfer your license to a newer OS when they cut off definitions for 3.5.1, but putting MB Premium on Windows 10 or 11 would only cause conflicts with Microsoft’s excellent antimalware protection. If I was an XP diehard, I would certainly not purchase a license for MB Premium in May 2023!

Is that so!? I used Avast Free 18.8 (with real-time protection on) together with Malwarebytes Free 2.2.1 (no real-time protection - but unfortunately no more definition updates for that excellent old version) on Vista x86 for quite some time without any issues. (I always avoided Malwarebytes 3 due to lukewarm reviews of their attempt to become a “real antivirus.”) Frankly, this topic reads too much like an advertisement for 5-year-old Malwarebytes 3.5.1. Ironically, one place on the internet where Malwarebytes is not recommended for Windows XP is Malwarebytes Forums. In November 2022, an XP user stated his intention to purchase Malwarebytes Premium 3.5.1 if he could be reassured about the continued availability of definitions. Forum regular Porthos advised, “save your money [for] a new computer,” while Root Admin AdvancedSetup flatly stated, “I’m sorry...but Malwarebytes 3 is not supported any longer” (which is technically true, although I don’t doubt that you are still getting definitions for the time being). The poster then mentioned that he was running Avast, and the Root Admin replied, “Yes...if you wish to run on XP then Avast is probably one of the few choices you have left.” https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/292465-winxp-32-malwarebytes-3512522-malware-signatures/

I see you have already posted four times in AstroSkipper’s new topic. How many security programs have you mentioned there so far? Looks like zero! If you need social media, my suggestion is Twitter.

I have no idea what version of Firefox you were trying to use and don’t really care! Here is a link to the correct subforum: https://msfn.org/board/topic/183159-browsers-working-on-older-nt-family-oses-link/

I disagree: Do not close this topic! I would truly hate to see AstroSkipper’s new topic grow at a rate of 20 pages per month like this one did (never mind that there are only a handful of “MW+” products to consider for XP), and frankly I suspect that AstroSkipper would be quite upset if that were to happen. Do not close!

Adobe Flash Player’s time bomb was detected early by setting system date and time beyond doomsday on a virtual machine. Someone might want to try that with the nagware version of Steam. https://msfn.org/board/topic/182654-adobe-flash-shockwave-and-oracle-java-on-xp-part-2/?do=findComment&comment=1184906

Do you know that 64-bit versions of Firefox never supported XP or Vista?