By default, operating systems will have firewalls and some network security mechanisms to protect devices from being attacked and infected by viruses when online. Even operating systems from more than 20 years ago also had them. So what would happen if network protection was missing? Recently, a foreign YouTuber tested this interesting project. He used the classic Windows operating system Windows XP and turned off all security functions (including the firewall). As a result, within a few minutes of connecting to the Internet, he was infected with more than a dozen viruses, and he did almost nothing in the process. It was really scary.
Actual testing of Windows XP shows that operating systems without network security protection will soon become infected.
Recently, foreign YouTube channel Eric Parker shared an actual test video showing Windows XP turning off all network security protection and connecting to the Internet in 2024. Of course, this operating system is installed in a virtual machine:
There are no firewalls, anti-virus software, or any network security protection. After connecting to the Internet, the operating system will still have some security reminders to prevent users from accidentally shutting down:
Just a few minutes later, strange executable files began to appear from the Windows task manager handler menu, such as conhost.exe. After Google, it looked like a malicious program, and then ran for about 10 minutes:
As a result, there were several more malicious programs that I had never seen before, and the virus automatically created a new Windows XP account called admina. This account hosted an FTP file server on this virtual machine and could control files and permissions in all systems:
This was not over yet. Soon, many other Trojan viruses and malicious programs appeared on the system. In order to find out how many viruses there were, Eric Parker downloaded and installed Malwarebytes.
Malwarebytes scanned a total of 8 viruses, including Trojans, backdoors, DNS changers, and malware. In fact, there are more viruses in this virtual machine, and the free version of Malwarebytes only caught 8:
Full video:
In addition to Windows XP, Eric Parker also tested the Windows 2000 operating system. The impact was even more exaggerated. Viruses were secretly installed within a few minutes of being exposed to the Internet, and the virtual machine was automatically shut down. After restarting, more viruses appeared, eventually causing the operating system to crash with a blue screen and become completely unusable:
However, you don’t need to worry too much when you see this. Therefore, today’s operating systems are very secure. Even if the firewall is turned off, they will not be so easily invaded by malicious programs. Old operating systems such as Windows XP and Windwos 2000 that were decades ago are so easy to be infected because they have too many major security vulnerabilities.
Eric Parker also pointed out in the video that he was running Windows 7 on another virtual machine, and no viruses were detected even without anti-virus software and firewall.
In any case, this can still alert those users who are using old operating systems to upgrade as soon as possible. The security updates of the operating system are also very important. It is better to update if possible.
Source: KOCPC Chinese