The experiment showed how vulnerable legacy operating systems are.
A recent video of popular YouTuber Eric Parker caused a storm of emotions among netizens. Parker clearly demonstrated how dangerous it is to connect old operating systems to the Internet without any protection, including firewalls and routers.
The experiment used a virtual machine with Windows XP connected to the network without any protection. The result was not long in coming: within a few minutes, the operating system was infected with numerous viruses.
At first glance, it may seem absurd to knowingly connect your computer to the Internet without any security measures. However, in the early 2000s, this practice was quite normal. Although Windows XP had a built-in firewall, and many users used antivirus software, the ability to work in a completely unprotected mode was significantly higher compared to modern operating systems. In addition, in 2024, Windows XP does not receive security updates, which makes it an easy prey for hackers.
Just 2 minutes after connecting a virtual machine with Windows XP to the Internet, Eric Parker discovered several viruses that had spontaneously installed on the computer. Among them was a virus called "conhoz.exe". Then another virus created a new account "admina", which was used for hosting the FTP server.
Over time, a lot of Trojans, viruses, and malware got on the system. To detect infections, Parker installed the Malwarebytes security tool on the VM, which detected eight viruses classified as Trojans, remote access programs that change DNS settings, and adware. However, even after that, a lot of malware remained on the computer, which the free version of Malwarebytes could not detect.
Eric Parker did a similar experiment with Windows 2000, and the results were even more depressing. Within a few minutes after connecting to the Internet, when all ports, including SMB, were open, the virus was installed on the computer and automatically turned off the VM. After it was restarted, even more viruses got on the system, which eventually led to the"blue screen of death".
Modern operating systems are devoid of such serious vulnerabilities. Windows 10 and Windows 11, for example, have much stronger security measures that prevent the spontaneous installation of malware, even if the firewall is disabled. Eric Parker confirmed that Microsoft's operating systems, starting with Windows 7, are not affected by the demonstrated vulnerabilities. During the experiment, he ran Windows 7 without an antivirus or firewall on another VM and found no viruses.
A recent video of popular YouTuber Eric Parker caused a storm of emotions among netizens. Parker clearly demonstrated how dangerous it is to connect old operating systems to the Internet without any protection, including firewalls and routers.
The experiment used a virtual machine with Windows XP connected to the network without any protection. The result was not long in coming: within a few minutes, the operating system was infected with numerous viruses.
At first glance, it may seem absurd to knowingly connect your computer to the Internet without any security measures. However, in the early 2000s, this practice was quite normal. Although Windows XP had a built-in firewall, and many users used antivirus software, the ability to work in a completely unprotected mode was significantly higher compared to modern operating systems. In addition, in 2024, Windows XP does not receive security updates, which makes it an easy prey for hackers.
Just 2 minutes after connecting a virtual machine with Windows XP to the Internet, Eric Parker discovered several viruses that had spontaneously installed on the computer. Among them was a virus called "conhoz.exe". Then another virus created a new account "admina", which was used for hosting the FTP server.
Over time, a lot of Trojans, viruses, and malware got on the system. To detect infections, Parker installed the Malwarebytes security tool on the VM, which detected eight viruses classified as Trojans, remote access programs that change DNS settings, and adware. However, even after that, a lot of malware remained on the computer, which the free version of Malwarebytes could not detect.
Eric Parker did a similar experiment with Windows 2000, and the results were even more depressing. Within a few minutes after connecting to the Internet, when all ports, including SMB, were open, the virus was installed on the computer and automatically turned off the VM. After it was restarted, even more viruses got on the system, which eventually led to the"blue screen of death".
Modern operating systems are devoid of such serious vulnerabilities. Windows 10 and Windows 11, for example, have much stronger security measures that prevent the spontaneous installation of malware, even if the firewall is disabled. Eric Parker confirmed that Microsoft's operating systems, starting with Windows 7, are not affected by the demonstrated vulnerabilities. During the experiment, he ran Windows 7 without an antivirus or firewall on another VM and found no viruses.
