End of Support for Windows 98se

Now that Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows 98se (as of July 11, 2006) how do you all feel about running an operating system for which no new security updates are available?

Denny Denham (who I noticed has not posted recently) suggested a few years ago before the then anticipated end-of-support date that many of the security risks were really Internet Explorer vulnerabilities (as opposed to Windows vulnerabilities) and that even though those would no longer be available for Windows 98se through the Microsoft updates function they could still be obtained from Microsoft's TechNet page. There have been several patches for Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 since July 11, 2006. Microsoft states that it hasn't tested those patches on Windows 98se.

Any thoughts generally about the risks of running Windows 98se and also about trying to install the security updates to Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 from the TechNet site?

Thanks.

Responses(20)

Flooby

3K Posts

0

March 4th, 2007 19:00

Delierious wrote:
...at which when the OS reaches it peak of stability and security.

Which, in the case of Windows 98, was never anything even remotely resembling stable or secure, particularly in the hands of a novice user. Has everyone forgotten about the numerous reboots, BSODs and security holes that one could drive a bus through that were integral components of 98/ME? Even casual internet users were forced to jump through hoops of every sort, in order to keep these operating systems up and running in a reasonably stable fashion for much more than an hour or two, and security was virtually nonexistent without a plethora of third party apps, many of which were just as resource hungry as the OS itself. If you happened to be trying to accomplish much more than web surfing and/or e-mail reading, your up time per boot decreased at an alarming rate.

Windows XP is far and away a more stable, more secure operating system, and it runs just fine on the same boxes that were originally equipped with 98 and ME.

M Currie

296 Posts

0

March 4th, 2007 21:00

That may be true of many, and of course I can't vouch for how Win98 worked on some other people's machines. I have had very few bad crashes in the seven years I've been running it. It does, of course, need a third party firewall, and a third party program to connect to DSL, but as I said before, anecdotal as my case may be, I've still managed to run it for 7 years without a problem serious enough to require reinstallation. Without a doubt, it's slower than XP, and it does occasionally crash, and I agree that XP is considerably tougher, but I don't count 98SE as a lemon either.

pickles

23 Posts

0

July 7th, 2007 02:00

I too have a PIII 450 and have rub 98SE for 7 years. I sue a firewall and trojan/worm aoftware and have no problems. Connects to DSL simply . Only gripe is having to download drivers for new additions such a cameras. The biggest reason I have stayed away from upgrading to XP is the cost. Not only the Xp program but also a new scanner, printer, charting program, map reading program for starters.That is getting close to a thousand dollars!! I have installed charting programs on identical older Latitudes with one running XP and one running 98SE. No difference in operating speed or efficiency.

Sorry for late reply. Been out of the country... with my ancient 98

barkupatree2002

119 Posts

0

July 11th, 2007 17:00

Pickles

Thanks for sharing your experience with a PIII 450 and Windows 98se on the internet.

I have been busy with other matters and consequently have made no changes to my computer despite all the helpful input from everyone here.

pickles

23 Posts

0

July 11th, 2007 22:00

As they say: If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!

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End of Support for Windows 98se