Antimalware, firewall, and other security programs for Windows XP working in 2023 and hopefully beyond

[NotHereToPlayGames]

I have not been following the thread but did see a very tiny portion of all of the Kaspersky talks.

I only hereby submit that the thread remain informative and unbiased and non-political.

My "two cents" in regards to making 2023 decisions based on 2017 "bans" would be this - how many government agencies have banned XP and should we be using that as a metric to ban XP on our personal computers?

My answer would be a resounding NO.

[AstroSkipper]

For all owners of a computer with a processor, that does not have more than the SSE instruction set, the air is getting thinner. The number of antimalware programmes that offer real-time protection has shrunk dramatically in recent years. The End Of Life (EOL) of Avast Antivirus 2015 was to be expected in any case. Like all AV providers, old versions are no longer supported after a certain point, and thus no further virus definitions are delivered. As a first measure, I recommend to save the last offline definition updater, when automatic definition updates will stop, to use this version as long as wanted and to have the possibility of a later reinstallation. Here is the link of the definition updater for Avast Antivirus 2015: https://install.avcdn.net/ivps9x/vpsupd.exe
And for all those who, like me, have withdrawn their trust in Kaspersky and still need an antimalware programme with a background guard for their old computer after September 2023, there will be another solution beyond Kaspersky. I will write about it soon. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by AstroSkipper

[NotHereToPlayGames]

I don't think any US Government Department/Agency has publicly "banned" XP.

But I can find several articles stating that they have abandoned XP in favor of 10  --  https://www.minitool.com/news/defense-finally-abandon-xp-for-windows-10.html

Does that mean that all XP-related threads here at MSFN should "move on"?  Again, a resounding NO.

I only site this "correlation" (if it can be seen as such) in the sense that if we can PROVE that Kaspersky of 2023 is NOT THE SAME as the Kaspersky of 2017, then let the reader make the informed decision on whether to use it or not.

In the world of IT and computers, almost ALL articles in 2017 no longer apply in 2023 - unsure if this is the case for Kaspersky.

Edited July 15, 2023 by NotHereToPlayGames

[NotHereToPlayGames]

4 minutes ago, AstroSkipper said:

And for all those who, like me, have withdrawn their trust in Kaspersky and still need an antimalware programme with a background guard for their old computer after September 2023, there will be another solution beyond Kaspersky. I will write about it soon. 

[Dixel]

3 hours ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

I only site this "correlation" (if it can be seen as such) in the sense that if we can PROVE that Kaspersky of 2023 is NOT THE SAME as the Kaspersky of 2017, then let the reader make the informed decision on whether to use it or not.

In the world of IT and computers, almost ALL articles in 2017 no longer apply in 2023 - unsure if this is the case for Kaspersky.

Did you actually read the US gov. labs statement, where they caught Kaspersky injecting malicious code into browsers? Well, the member Vistapocalypse pushes the old version, which is affected! I'm not sure why some members choose to ignore it! I took a leave from this site, I came back, I see the same user pushes the same old Kaspersky, at the same time he declares he never used Kaspersky himself, and doesn't have XP!

I find his actions suspicious, to say the least! You?

[NotHereToPlayGames]

I did read it, yes.  But I have also read dozens of articles informing the user how to remove the usage of unique identifiers.  It is public knowledge and to hide that while shouting about "bans" is a bit BIASED in my view.

I myself take that route.  I remove/disable telemetry before using Win10.  I remove/disable telemetry before using 360Chrome.  Even an HONEST Firefox user will tell you that Firefox collects telemetry if the end user does not remove/disable it.

An antivirus's sole role is to prevent viruses.  The effectiveness of that and that alone (and ability to run on XP) should dictate whether it is discussed in this thread.  PLUS how to disable telemetry.

Software collecting telemetry is "much ado about nothing" (many do this in the guise of "improving their product").  But an informed user that is NOT showed how to disable telemetry (or even hides that it can be disabled) is also pushing an agenda.

There are two sides to this coin.  And both sides are equally legit, or so it seems to me.

I've said all I need to say, I trust the MSFN Reader is intelligent and above average of a conumser or they would not be here in the first place.  I trust them to make the informed decision.

[Dave-H]

13 hours ago, Saxon said:

And again, posting about Kaspersky is also indeed offtopic, since it's been removed by the OP, due to the discovered infection risks and harm it brings.

Posting about Kaspersky is not off-topic here, as it's a security program which can still be used on Windows XP, which is the topic of this thread.
Nobody here has the authority to ban the discussion of any program in any thread, unless it's off-topic for that thread.
The risks of using Kaspersky are now well known, and should be discussed, but only on a technical basis, not concerning the software's origins, which quickly descends into political rows, which are not allowed here in technical threads. It's up to individuals to make the choice as to whether to still use programs like Kaspersky.
Helping people make that choice is what these discussions are all about.

[AstroSkipper]

9 hours ago, Saxon said:

I read through this thread and became a huge fan of@AstroSkipper , for his hard work and findings.

Thanks for your nice words and your trust! 

9 hours ago, Saxon said:

And again, posting about Kaspersky is also indeed offtopic, since it's been removed by the OP

Although I considered Kaspersly to be avoided due to significant security risks, the mature readers of this thread have to decide for themselves whether to use such software or not. Talking about Kaspersky here in my thread is not off-topic, though. It is rather a topic that I think has been discussed enough by now. And to permanently offer others something that you are not willing to use yourself is somehow questionable. Anyway! I only decided not to write an article about Kaspersky and not to offer it as an option for Windows XP. But as always, readers must answer to themselves for the use of such software, which is fraught with considerable concerns, and then also bear the potentially resulting dangers themselves. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[AstroSkipper]

On 7/13/2023 at 9:39 AM, AstroSkipper said:

On 7/12/2023 at 11:52 PM, Monroe said:

Yes ... I should have said 'definition updates' earlier. It was dated for today July 12 ... number 4. I just ran the Malwarebytes update again and it is now - v2023.07.12.09. Some years back the definition updates stopped working for me also. I got in touch with someone at Malwarebytes and he assured me that they had not dropped support for v1.75.0.1300 ... but it just would no longer update. He worked with me for awhile but nothing worked. I would try to update a few times a month and one day after about 8 months I ran the update again and the definition update downloaded and has been downloading ever since. I made no changes to anything on my end, it just started working again. One of the 'Mysteries of the Universe' I guess ... I really wanted to keep this version on the computer so I was happy when it started working again.

Thanks again for checking and confirming! Thus, according to your observation, Malwarebytes v1.75.0.1300 is receiving definition updates again. Unbelievable!  I will have to try this out at the next opportunity. Maybe, someone else here in the forum is using this version and can confirm this. 

@Monroe Can you be so kind to provide a screenshot from the update tab of Malwarebytes v1.75.0.1300 to have a look at your data in terms of definition updates? I tried this version again, and updating doesn't work at all. Malwarebytes can't connect to its host for updating. Thanks in advance! 

[Monroe]

3 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

@Monroe Can you be so kind to provide a screenshot from the update tab of Malwarebytes v1.75.0.1300 to have a look at your data in terms of definition updates? I tried this version again, and updating doesn't work at all. Malwarebytes can't connect to its host for updating. Thanks in advance! 

 

Image 01.CLP Image 02.CLP

[AstroSkipper]

1 hour ago, Monroe said:

 

Image 01.CLP 1.71 MB · 2 downloads Image 02.CLP 1.71 MB · 1 download

Thank you very much for uploading screenshots! As far as I understood you correctly, you didn't change any settings, and you didn't modify anything. Right?  Another question:  Do you have one of the last offline definition updaters for this version?  Mine is from 2019. In any case, it seems I have to test it once again all from scratch. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by AstroSkipper

[Monroe]

26 minutes ago, AstroSkipper said:

Thank you very much for uploading screenshots! As far as I understood you correctly, you didn't change any settings, and you didn't modify anything. Right?  Another question:  Do you have one of the last offline definition updaters for this version?  Mine is from 2019. In any case, it seems I have to test it once again all from scratch

Nothing has been changed through the years ... it is carried the day it was installed from backup to backup. I mentioned earlier that the program wouldn't update for about 8 months maybe four years ago. I just kept using it with the last definition update I had. I figured it could still check some downloads for me and then the program started updating again. I asked around but nobody else was having any problem getting updates, just me. I am not sure I understand your question: "last offline definition updaters for this version?". I always just manually update with the 'Update' tab. I never let it update on it's own when you first start the program.

It may just start updating again one day. It's probably not that important in 2023 anyway ... most people have probably moved on to a newer version that works with Win XP. Nobody responded to your earlier request to also verify that they were still able to get definition updates for v1.75.0.1300. I may be the only one left still using the program ... probably not but there can't be many.

[AstroSkipper]

10 hours ago, Monroe said:

I am not sure I understand your question: "last offline definition updaters for this version?"

Until 2020, Malwarebytes offered offline updaters for definition updates. Its file was named mbam-rules.exe. I am looking for the most recent, i.e., last officially provided version.

10 hours ago, Monroe said:

It's probably not that important in 2023 anyway ...

All possible, working antimalware programmes targeting Windows XP are important to be listed here. If Malwarebytes v1.75.0.1300 is still receiving definition updates, although it was abandoned years ago, it would be unbelievable and great.  I personally liked this version very much. 

[AstroSkipper]

9 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

All possible, working antimalware programmes targeting Windows XP are important to be listed here. If Malwarebytes v1.75.0.1300 is still receiving definition updates, although it was abandoned years ago, it would be unbelievable and great.  I personally liked this version very much. 

@Monroe! Thanks again for reporting that Malwarebytes v1.75.0.1300 is able to receive most recent definition updates in 2023! That are really great and good news. Although updating of definitions failed initially when instalIing this version, I found yet a way to get the update function of this version working again under Windows XP.  It was a bit tricky but it works now such as you reported. I will write an article about that very soon.  Thanks again! You are simply great. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[Anbima]

On 7/15/2023 at 11:15 AM, AstroSkipper said:

And for all those who, like me, have withdrawn their trust in Kaspersky and still need an antimalware programme with a background guard for their old computer after September 2023, there will be another solution beyond Kaspersky. I will write about it soon. 

For me, Kaspersky AV now quits.
Which antivirus would you recommend for XP?

What is the new one you wrote about?
I would have to renew Kaspersky otherwise.