• Lv_InSaNe_vL@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Unless that windows 7 computer is entirely air-gapped from your network, you should switch it to Linux or Windows 10 (which is going out of support in October).

    Even if you have it on a separate VLAN or have it restricted from accessing the internet, there are attacks that can use another device on the network as a starting point for attacks.

    Having a Windows 7 computer anywhere near your network is an enormous security risk. And one that is frankly not worth it, given the alternatives that exist.

    • M0oP0o
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      1 day ago

      Ha, no it is not. As someone who worked many years in the industry, nothing is really secure but also nothing is really attacked in that way anymore. (Unless you think people are going around warwalking looking for vulnerabilities in private networks). There are are still many networked devices running old windows even now (in some really sensitive areas as well). The constant fear mongering about security updates from Microsoft being anything but too little/too late is just crap talk to keep people employed.

      The main risk currently is social engineering, to a degree that (outside major nations/companies) the other attack vectors are a rounding error. You and anyone else worth less then a few millions best approach to online security is to back up often, change passwords often, and don’t click links in emails.