Vistapocalypse

We will never know how many programs can be broken by Server 2008 patches because very few people are actually running "FrankenVista." The only other report I've seen is that Sandboxie is incompatible with the Meltdown and Spectre patches according to @Ruan (https://forums.sandboxie.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=25590). If you are keeping a Vista PC for the sake of legacy software and have Windows 8 etc. on another machine, then this entire exercise seems like a waste of time at best.

That's exactly what I was thinking Mathwiz: your "problem" might be someone else's "protection." Microsoft's definition and engine updates are of course intended for Windows 7 systems. Thank you for indulging my curiosity regarding MSE's CPU usage with Basilisk 55 and Slimjet 10. It seems that MSE supports practically any browser nowadays. (Well you still haven't mentioned IE, but I would be very surprised if MSE's CPU usage doesn't spike with IE open.)

That is very interesting to me. I wish you would also try roytam1's Basilisk Moebius, and perhaps Slimjet 10 (based on Chromium 50), and let us know if MsMpEng's CPU usage spikes when using either of those browsers. I'm not currently using MSE, but I might consider it for Vista.

Your dedication and hard work are much appreciated WinClient5270! AntiVirus & Security Software: Avast has given advance notice of their intention to end support: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=220639.0 Two more brands that ended support last year are F-Secure (https://community.f-secure.com/t5/F-Secure-SAFE/End-of-Windows-Vista-support-for/ta-p/92278) and Immunet (http://support.immunet.com/topic/3311-new-release-immunet-600602604606/). As @Ruan once pointed out (in a post that was lost to the server crash of early June), certain Server 2008 patches are incompatible with Sandboxie (https://forums.sandboxie.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=25590). Microsoft Security Essentials 4.4.304.0 predates the EOL "time bomb" and still works on Vista according to @Jody Thornton, but would have to be downloaded from a third party such as FileHippo.

I thought version 9.x was the last to support XP (https://support.eset.com.tr/kb358/). You are using version 11?

AFAIK the only browsers that MSE supports are Firefox and IE (see system requirements at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17150/windows-7-what-is-microsoft-security-essentials). Of course MSE can block harmful downloads regardless of browser (you can test that at AMTSO). BTW the final Firefox 52 ESR security update is one month old today.

In the last few weeks, there have also been many reports of inability to get definition updates for the old antispyware version of Windows Defender on Windows 7 and Vista (e.g. https://www.askwoody.com/2018/born-windows-defender-isnt-getting-updates/), and perhaps on Windows XP as well (some Defender users running XP posted earlier in this thread, so perhaps I'm not completely off topic).

Oh NO! If what you say is true, then the last "supported" browser for Vista might be...Internet Explorer 9. Let us pray to the Pale Moon...

This list is a great idea! Glad I didn't think of it (too much like work). I'm new to MSFN, but Vista and I go way back. PDF viewers: Adobe Reader XI does support Server 2008 (https://helpx.adobe.com/reader/kb/system-requirements-adobe-reader.html), which probably explains why it's UNS (works) on Vista. My only issue is that its Updater doesn't work, so patches must be applied manually. Reader XI's EOL should be coming around October. I don't use Foxit Reader, but noticed many months ago that its system requirements (https://www.foxitsoftware.com/products/pdf-reader/) no longer list Vista or XP. However I don't see this change in their version history (https://www.foxitsoftware.com/products/pdf-reader/version-history.php). Apple software: The Data Execution Prevention errors began with iTunes 11.2 (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6241945). (I'm using 11.1.5 because it does not have the issue.) The ability to sync with older iOS devices using iTunes 12.1.3 was finally broken by iOS 10.2 (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7799391). Antivirus: A list of antivirus products that have already ended support for Vista can be found at https://www.vistax64.com/system-security/304411-vista-no-longer-supported-some-security-software.html. Your list of ONG AVs looks terribly short, but where to begin? Panda and Webroot come to mind.

Yes, just your basic amber alert at this point, but I'm sure we'll go to red alert on April 11. An interesting question is when MSE support will actually end for Vista. In the case of XP, Microsoft proclaimed that definition updates would end in July 2015; but they didn't actually crack down until September 1, 2016. Even now, XP die-hards are still able to use MSE 4.4 from before the dreaded end-of-life features were introduced. However I'm not interested in downgrading to 4.4 in light of MSE's historical record at AV-Test (see https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/manufacturer/microsoft/windows-7/). MSE's protection was quite poor until 2015. (Microsoft evidently resolved to make Windows Defender more effective for Windows 10, and MSE improved as a byproduct.) Granted, 4.4 might perform better with today's definition and engine updates, but who can say? Whenever definition updates end, I will turn to another antivirus solution.