Re:Chinese hack U.S. Weather systems, satellite network
by ivanca on Wednesday November 12, 2014 @07:36PM
(#8599289)
Windows 7 is just as easy to pirate so the logic is not solid there.
Re:Chinese hack U.S. Weather systems, satellite network
by netheril96 on Wednesday November 12, 2014 @08:31PM
(#8599469)
I find it very hard to believe myself, because when you can obtain for free, why not go for the latest, shiniest version? But the reality is, most of Chinese computers are still stuck with XP, whatever the reason is.
Re:Chinese hack U.S. Weather systems, satellite network
by acqq on Thursday November 13, 2014 @03:55AM
(#8600562)
XP was made for much weaker machines, older hardware. When you earn 100 USD per week you don't upgrade hardware as long as you can. Just as an example from another part of the world, I live in Europe and I've used a Sony notebook from 2002 until the last year, when the hardware started to fail. I guarantee you that Windows 7 can't be installed on it. Even the newer Ubuntu versions weren't installable from one point on.
Re:Chinese hack U.S. Weather systems, satellite network
by ddebernardy on Thursday November 13, 2014 @05:36AM
(#8600821)
One reason is chinese banks. Quite a few reportedly still run an IE6-only site that won't run properly in a modern browser.
17.18% of all desktop OS-es connected to the internet are Windows XP, the version for which Microsoft doesn't publish updates. Most of these computers are in China. Also "in 2009, approximately 80% of software sold in China was pirated."
The average weekly income of a Chinese worker is around 100 USD. He is not going to buy new software even if it costs the same as in the US. It typically costs even more.
Don't be surprised bots have easier targets there.