Which Os Does The Majority Think Is More Safe And Stable: Win 10 Or Win 7 Pro?

Does anyone run Linux? I wouldn't even mess with MS if Linux had a program like Windows Media Center in my personal computers and if it'd work with my work programs!!!

 

By coincidence I guess you have posted this exactly 12 months to the day before extended support for Windows 7 will end. After that the choice will be Win 10 or use an alternative OS and that, for the vast majority of ordinary users, will not be a practical option. Sure there will be diehards who will persist with Win 7 but ordinary users might as well accept that Win 10 is the future and perhaps it's time to start getting used to it.

 

Fortunately (*knock on silicon), any issues I had with W10 were early and resolved by MS or vendors writing drivers. So far so good...

 

From what I've read about Win 10 security compared to other versions of Windows, the Win 10 OS is indeed substantially safer than Win 7. Maybe not as good as using a dedicated security app. I use Bitdefender (but then again, I'm a belt and suspenders type of guy). You might google "Win 7 and Win 10 Security comparison" and read what comes up.

 

Windows 10 is indeed safer than windows 7 but as it stated in a previous post that support is ending next year so there will be no more updates for windows 7 also there is no anti virus installed on windows 7 but i used Comodo IS on both systems so I didn't see any difference but windows 10 does have a solid Windows Defender built in.

 

Kodi Home Theater Software is an option you should certainly consider with Linux.

If running debian as i prefer, its a your standard terminal command for install.

https://www.tecmint.com/best-media-server-software-for-linux/

 

I want to thank everyone (except the WIN 10 bot) for their input. I want to especially THANK Replicator for his input and time to post the link. Looks like MS will retain its grip on my work laptop, but will be shortly gone after I get Kodi going on my personal computers! Thanks again (most) everyone!!!

 

Well, that was a bit insulting.

Just like the people who hung on to an easily hackable and expired kernel when they refused to give up XP, hanging on to Windows 7 is a negligent security risk after support expires. Vista was far more secure and stable than XP, despite some uninformed opinion. Same with W7 over Vista, and W10 over W7. Windows 8 was probably the worst kernel offering since Windows Me.

Just because you don't like a product, or are too lazy to modify it's shell to suit how you feel about it's GUI, don't disparage those who find it to suit their purpose well.

Tx...

 

the mekanic: I doubt if I'd even be in this site if I knew how to "modify it's shell" which I assume means writing code. My comment was not AT ALL directed towards anyone who uses WIN 10 and does not take EVERY opportunity of shilling for 10( even before it was released). I also assumed it would be evident who I was referring to: my mistake. I know just enough about this stuff to be dangerous to myself. It has nothing to do with being "lazy." My biggest concerns are due to increased control and commercialization of our operating systems and by proxy, our government.
My biggest personal gripe is them abandoning MMC. If they hadn't started messing with it in WIN 8 you wouldn't have heard a word out of me. WIN 10 seems to be a system closer resembling Apple now and for those needing plug and play is a good thing. I am one of those people. SO, I APOLOGIZE to anyone else who felt I was directing this to them.
I actually mislabeled my questions anyway. What I really wanted to know is how people felt (between the two) which was less stable, intrusive, controlling and commercialized. "Safe" was another mistake on my part. None of these systems are actually safe...they can't be due to their very nature.

 

@mrgta67,
I feel the same you do.
I will not insult (or criticize) any member. But I'm getting tired of those who think Windows 10 is oh so great. It looks like crap and the forced updates should tell any reasonable user that it's broken.
I can go on the internet right now with Windows XP (my second partition) without any security and nothing bad will happen.
As for support for Windows 7 ending in 2020... who cares?
I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate without SP1 and no updates. And I abandoned my free copy of Panda Security six months ago.

 

Those of you who seem convinced that W10 is more secure might want to dig deeper into the security vulnerability history here (they ceased updating the # of exploits column during early 2015). You can also access similar details there for other recent Windows releases and much more.

There are currently 26 listed for W10 this year, a jump of 10 over yesterday (probably due to studying the most recent, unscheduled (so possibly including some patches for scheduled patches that introduced new vulns.) patches and the vulns. they fix).

 

No matter which version of Windows one uses... Security is 99% user dependent.

 

There is nothing so much fun, as hitting the power button on a friends laptop, and waiting 4-5 minutes (or 45?) for Win 10 update, to finally take a non-smoke break, relinquishing the computer back to us! (And each time, it does seem to reset the passwords, and who knows what else). Or to read how others (on here) mention how often Win 10 crashes. For a long time I've thought MS were crooks. That said, I have found a new-to-me Dell 7010 with Win 7 Pro installed, and compared to my Briggs and Stratton w/Vista, this is actually working. Since most on this thread are certainly more up-to-date than myself.. any comments about Win 7 security? Apologies if I should have started a new post. Is MSE safe enough? I used to run MalwareBytes Premium.. should I put that on this computer too? Or something different? Better? Hog-Watts latest??

If my life WAS about computers (I've designed embedded hardware, digital and analog.. but pretty much hate computers otherwise).. I might want to take a class. This year, it will be to get up to speed on SOME VIABLE alternate OS from anyone but MS or Google, or Facebook for that matter. Any pointers that I should consider? Rather common browsing, writing, spread sheet ironing, and a bit of cad work. It shouldn't require a rocket scientist to keep the thing humming. And this is where I THANK MajorGeeks, for all the times THEY have removed my whatever from a PC jam. MG exemplifies how life (with real human beings should be!)
Ok, I'll stop now! THANKS!!! Jerry

 

You could start by checking out Ubuntu. askubuntu.com is pretty newby friendly (not that you are necessarily a newbie but just saying).
I am not sure if it has the software that you need, though. You use open office. For CAD, you could have a Windows partition that you boot to for that.

Why no love for Windows 8.1? I really think that a lot of Windows 7 users are going to move to it.

 

W8 has a good touch GUI. If you have a Surface, W8 would suit it well. What did they call it? Metro interface?

 

Cool, never tried it.
Call me ignorant but I don't understand the debate between win 7 and win 10. IMO, those 2 are the easiest to rule out. Win 7 takes about 4 hours to install and update and needs about 35 Gigs to install. And I am not even talking about the time to configure things. Perhaps Windows 7 is worth it if you have it already installed and a disk image, which a sensible user should have.
Win 10 forced updates weigh heavily against it. I have some licenses, though, so might get stuck using it on a computer or two at some point. I have used it a fair bit in the past.
So, best options seem to be 8.1, a server version (I am curious if this is a viable option), OS X (maybe?), or a Linux distro.

 

Windows 8/8.1 looks like crap.
I run Windows 7 on a 20 GB partition and the Windows folder is less then 10 GB.

You can't be serious.

http://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide

 

No, 8.1 is not necessarily the best option. It's just better suited to a touch screen. Sorry I wasn't clear about that.

Updates can be annoying, like when they reset programs like Classic Shell or do you a favor like uninstalling a program not seen as "compatible". However, that hasn't happened on my machine for quite some time. Compatibility is not solely up to Microsoft. I think Vista was not only gorgeous visually, but the reason it got a black eye was not truly Microsoft's fault. It's what happens when a host of hardware manufacturers downsize their dev teams and they aren't employed to write drivers.

At this point, W10 runs smoothly and reliably on my machine.

 

I don't think market share is a good indicator of what's best for knowledgeable/reasonably knowledgeable users. The masses can make laughably bad decisions time and time again.

But, maybe the point you are trying to make is that hardware manufacturers wont create drivers for Win 8.1, if the market share is small. That's a valid point but I think we have to wait until about 6 months after Windows 7 support ends and see the market share then.

I don't see many differences between the look of Windows OS's over the years. About all that looks different for me is that there is a Windows logo instead of the works start.

Admittedly, Windows 8.1 makes you stay in full screen mode for some things. But, not many things that I am aware of.

Two things that Windows 10 has that 8.1 doesn't is the built in print to PDF, and the Edge browser.

Where is OP, to call me a Win 8.1 bot ?

 

Another supposed difference between 8.1 and 10 is that 10 supports multiple desktops.

 

Windows 10's market share will increase. And 8.1's share will further decrease.

Again, you can't be serious.
Virtual PDF printers are better than the 'print to PDF' in Windows 8.1.
Edge? Do you want a list of browsers that are better?

 

I explained differences between 8.1 and 10. These are facts, not opinions. Facts concerning features of the OS's. I did not express any opinion on web browsers or PDF printer applications.

 

I do agree.
Windows 10 is superior to Windows 8.1.

And here I disagree.
Why go half way?
Most Windows 7 users will bite the bullet and opt for Windows 10.

 

Another note about Microsoft Edge browser is that Microsoft is going to replace it with their own chromium browser on windows 10

 

I like Windows 10 better that 7. But actually I've had more problems out of the both than I did with DOS 5.0

 

What don't you like about Win 8.1? You said it's ugly looking. What other reasons do you have?

 

When Windows 8 was introduced, Microsoft replaced the familiar Start Menu with the Metro Start. Like every user was rushing to buy a touch screen monitor! Windows 8.1 'fixed' that. But it's still not the same. Fortunately Iobit introduced Start Menu 8. Why didn't Microsoft give users an option like in Windows XP?
When I help a friend with her Windows 8 laptop everything looks familiar (thanks to Start Menu 8). But it still has a 'flat' (2d) UI. I really like the Ribbon - it's more user-friendly than toolbars.

That said, I think it's pointless upgrading from Win7 to Win8.1.

And market share is important. Users will find more support for Windows 10 than 8.1 on tech support forums.

 

I bet my windows 7 more secure than your windows 10.Do i really need to go down the list on what is wrong with the current 1809 installment.Windows 10 is becoming as about as bad windows ME.

And do i need to mention that windows 10 spy's on you through multiple services and new add on. So if you like the spying on windows 10 be a windows 10 fan boy.

 

The full screen start menu isn't a problem for me because I don't have any situations where I need to see the desktop while navigating through the start menu. Admittedly, there are some screens that need to stay in full screen mode, and that can be annoying. You can have a more traditional start menu, but there are certain things that will be in it and it's probably not a good idea to take them out, like "startup" and "desktop." I will check out the iobit software that you mention, too.

The OP should probably be considering Win 8.1 before Linux, unless he/she is a rare case that uses a very unique list of software titles (or is flexible to change).

A couple of days ago, I tried installing Win 7 on a 32 GB bootcamp partition and that was not enough space. Yes, I know there are workarounds but there wasn't any straightforward way of helping Win 7 deal with its problem of running out of space. Perhaps these kind of space requirements are the case with all 3 Windows OS's.

 

Win 7 and 8.1 do, too. But, 7 and 8.1 prob have more ways of managing that (like not installing some updates).

 

i favor windows 10 myself. I like the stability better.

 

Windows 7....At least it does not delete your data.LUL.

Unlike windows 10.Ooops microsoft messed up big on that one.

 

I run many installations of windows here, thanks to Oracles VirtualBox.
The main OS is windows 8.1, with Classic Start Menu, coz... Metro
To 'deal with' telemetry in the OS I use SimpleWall, which does an excellent job of getting you closer to a telemetry-free clean room within which you can dispatch your duties to the OS.

Win2000 was my favourite Win OS. It was fast, stable (mostly) and great for power users.

I loved WinXP, but drivers are patchy in 64 bit. The then current machine wouldnt take it because of lack of drivers.
It wont support SSD's either, coz it wont do TRIM on the disk, and will kill an SSD's performance over time.
WinXP I think is where MS got device enumeration solid.

I never used win vista. I could see what a nightmare that was looking at other people battle with it.

Win7 I think was very good. I would be running it today. Driver support for the current machine forced me off it and onto Win8.1.

Win10 I would not consider using day to day. It may be *secure* but not for the end user, who every move is up for grabs thanks to telemetry built into the OS, which appears far more encroaching than win7 or win8. Update may vary that though.

The Win10 start /advertising menu is a diabolical mess.

BUT... my ultimate choice for windows OS is ReactOS, the windows clone. Problem is, its been in alpha for a very very very long time.
It wont do 64bit, wont do hyperthreaded CPU's and wont do Multi-Core CPU's. You get the same report below no matter how many hyper-threaded multiple cores you have....
https://www.reactos.org/sites/default/files/imagepicker/1249/reactos_0410_5.png

Its POSIX support can be lacking. POSIX (Portable Operating Systems Interface Extensions) are important to guarantee data structures and behaviour in networking and other areas, between OS'es.
It supports modern linux oriented file systems. Its very small, very fast.

I'd love to run a non MS windows one day.... SparkyLinux with Wine4.0 does a good job though.

So its win7 for me over win10 hands down. Win10 may be more mature, shiny and newer than win7, but it sucks for its snooping.

 

I really don't appreciate uneducated innuendo that may lead other members to take heed of misinformation.

Updates and patches are on a rolling release, and what was wrong yesterday, does not apply today.

Windows 10 presents a solid OS for me from which I have had extremely few issues.

Its hard to take advice from a member that doesn't even operate Win10, but would rather listen to social media false news from noobs who couldn't make lego work.

If my tennis career was taking off.......would I listen to advice from Tiger Woods, or Roger Federer?

 

This debate is entirely pointless. The decision has been made and Win 7 is on skid row. Two years from now it will be history and those who don't accept Win 10 had better start looking for something else as competent that will run on their hardware.

 

True...

 

Not part of this debate, but I have some thoughts on the subject. I agree that now Win 10 is the product to go to and if buying new or recently refurbished that is probably the only option in many peoples area.

But I'm not convinced that Win 10 or even MS is the final configuration that any of us will ever see in our lifetime. I saw the progression from 8 bit to 16 bit to 32 to 64. What is there to make anyone believe that there will never be 128, 256 or heck even 512 bit pcs available to normal consumers.

Any increase in bitness will change data structure available, memory addressing techniques, memory seperation for security application, and who knows what else may be able to be programmed in a whole bunch of new 'space'.

Any manufacturer of chips may one day develop an os specific to their product. Chrome and android come to mind of newer products that may not have seen the end of the tunnel, so to speak, of what may be available with future innovation.

I not even convinced that 10 will be Ms's final product. With advances in hardware 10 could become as unable as their past products to keep up with newer device drivers and security situations.

Another question I have is how many of the internet controlling devices, switching centers, data rooms, ect are on Win 10? Or are they running a better or more secure product.

 

It is a useless argument and Andy also makes a valid point.......Win10 will not be the last OS we see!

Cast your eyes back to when Vista took over from XP, we were hearing the exact same argument.
And the same for when XP took over from 2k.
And the same for when 2k took over from 98.
And the same for when 98 took over from 95.

The network and tech moves fast today, be onboard for security purposes, or get left behind the eight ball

 

Well said David!
A year or two ago, I spent 6 months on the internet with Windows XP Professional SP3 - updates turned off, and no security, antivirus, antimalware software, etc. And nothing bad happened.
It's worth repeating: "Internet security is 99% user dependent."

The big three for me are:
Don't click on attachments in emails from unknown sources.
Don't click on website links if you are not 100% sure the website has a good reputation.
Don't connect other people's smart phones and flash drives to your computer.

 

I agree Imandy windows 10 is not the last Os from microsoft.

Have you ever heard of Code named Polaris,is it going to be a stripped down windows 10.To match chrome books.

There is a leak i read some where,that their is a possibility of a windows 11 or 12.

 

I would say that is exactly correct Eldon. The only time I found a problem was searching for old drivers for someone's laptop/pc -
Sensible use is the key to security - but I still use anti-malware, and updates.

 

Why SparkyLinux as distro of choice here?

 

Well why didn't you say so mate? Why pay for Win10 when we can all safely use XP?......nothing bad happened not only because of your secure network usage, but also perhaps because your just Eldon, an innocent home user with nothing to offer those who seek purpose targets that may divulge critically sensitive information, financial gain, or access to corporate data networks and backend systems through an open door in age old software that's riddled with RCE vulnerabilities, XXS and CSRF attack surfaces etc (and the list goes on).

Can you imagine the US Military running XP SP3 (using IE6) across across their server networks which protect classified information?
Any attack from malicious parties would not only be child's play, but the end result would be way, way worse than any Pearl Harbour.

As a security researcher@Hackerone, I would strongly advise against the use of any outdated software as this is often an open invitation to trouble.
We have access to coded scripts that efficiently and purposely scan the network for nodes running vulnerable OS's.
There are attack modules you can get right off the shelf that punch holes through existing vulnerabilities in old software, especially XP and most likely, soon to be Win7.

Look, I know we are only home users and are very unlikely to be targeted by those who know what they are doing, but there are business owners, IT specialists and corporate entities who visit MG's as well.
Why snub 10 and therefore up-to-date third party software, simply because a lone update has caused some issues for people? Or we are paranoid about being spied upon, or Joe Blow across the road says his 10 keeps crashing and its sh*t so don't use it?

Blocking Malware and closing open doors in any system is a cat and mouse game. We are always trying to stay one step ahead of the bad guys so why would you not give yourself the best chance at keeping the wolves from the front door?

Even running the latest and greatest wont make you immune I know, but good security begins with modern patched software, its a fact.

Maybe I don't get my point across very effectively, but I have seen and worked on many horror stories that could have easily been prevented if only the decision makers could accept change, and drop the consensus that 'It cant happen to us'...….know what I mean?

In saying all that, Linux beats Windows hands down for security and functionality in software, especially back-end server and database domains!

The Majorgeeks.com server that sends a packet response to your browser, that is rendering this page your viewing, is Linux based.
Debian in fact...….most likely the latest version of Ubuntu!
(An updated/secure browser is also of critical importance on todays network, but how can you run one on an old OS?)

 

I did not suggest this.
I merely shared my experience.

 

I think Eldon's point is that it is user behaviour that really makes the difference, not having the latest and greatest OS, and I would mostly agree as my experience matches his. The problem is that such posts can be misconstrued as advocating such an approach, which I am certain he does not intend.

 

A great discussion ! All show that W7 is still loved, and lovely- W10 is very intrusive, and I would say a bullying operating system -but very good in protection.
When support stops for W7, anyone using it will need to have very good antivirus, and Malware protection.
Personally, I think I would prefer to use Windows 7 (Ultimate) with Windows 10, in a VM, until W7 loses support, then changing over (update the VM as normal, and create backups)
At present I have triple boot W7, 8.1 (modified) and W10 on one hard drive (Windows 10 gives me more little niggles than the other 2, and I can just reboot, if in a hurry and boot into W7, or, 8.1, to get back on-line)
My main backup drive has W10 with W7,and 8.1 VM's, but I need to work on that to get it how I like it- at present, I am considering putting it into W7 Ultimate and using VM for others as I am not overly happy with W10- I am considering doing a black viper on the W10, to get it as I want it..... Choices...….