Which Of Microsoft’s Operating Systems Is The Safest?

Microsoft ended support for Windows XP a few weeks ago, which means security patches for known exploits aren’t being released for users still using the old operating system. That means those users are vulnerable, and will stay vulnerable, to attacks that have proven to be successful. Surprisingly, this situation still isn’t enough to make XP Microsoft’s most often infected operating system. At Digital Trends, Konrad Krawczyk reports on Microsoft’s latest Security Intelligence Report that details which versions of Windows put users most at risk.

According to the report, Windows Vista, not XP, is the most vulnerable to attacks of any operating system Microsoft has released since 2001. Vista, which was released in 2007, is the only monitored operating system with an infection rate over 3-percent. Windows 7 was the next highest at 2.59-percent and then XP at 2.42.

The safest operating system is also Microsoft’s newest. Windows 8.1 has an infection rate of only .08 percent. Windows 8, however, is infected at a rate of 1.73-percent.

The infection rate numbers don’t tell the whole story, however. Windows 8.1 has a low infection rate, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the safest operating system. It is certainly the least used of all Microsoft’s products so there are fewer targeted attacks. Conversely, nearly half of PCs use Windows 7 and XP still accounts for more than a quarter of desktops. Windows 8 and 8.1 combined are installed on about 12-percent of PCs.

The takeaway from these statistics is that no operating system is truly safe. Even users of Windows 8.1 need to have additional security tools in place to avoid attacks and malware infections.

Regardless of your operating system, if your computer has been the victim of an attack and is infected with malware, bring it to Geek Rescue or give us a call at 918-369-4335.