In a recent video posted by the popular YouTuber Eric Parker, he showcased the dangers of connecting old operating systems to the Internet without any protection. The experiment involved a virtual machine running Windows XP being connected to the network without any security measures in place. Within minutes, the operating system was infected with various viruses, highlighting the risks involved in such a practice.
Despite the seeming absurdity of intentionally exposing a computer to the Internet without protection, this was a common practice in the early 2000s. While Windows XP did have a built-in firewall and many users had antivirus software installed, the level of vulnerability was much higher compared to modern operating systems. Additionally, with Windows XP no longer receiving security updates as of 2014, it has become an easy target for hackers.
During the experiment, Eric Parker discovered multiple viruses, including “Conhoz.exe”, infecting the Windows XP virtual machine within just 2 minutes of connecting to the Internet. Despite running a scan with Malwarebytes, which detected eight viruses classified as trojans, remote access programs, and adware, there were still many malware programs that went undetected by the software.
Parker also conducted a similar experiment with Windows 2000, which resulted in even more dire consequences. After connecting to the Internet with all ports open, a virus quickly infected the system, leading to a series of virus installations and ultimately crashing the virtual machine with a “blue screen of death.”
It is worth noting that modern operating systems like Windows 10 and Windows 11 have much more robust security measures in place to prevent such vulnerabilities. Parker confirmed that Microsoft operating systems from Windows 7 onwards are not susceptible to the issues demonstrated in the experiment. When he conducted the same test with Windows 7 on a separate virtual machine without any antivirus or firewall, no viruses were found.