Almost All WannaCry Victims Were Running Windows 7 (theverge.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: According to data released today by Kaspersky Lab, roughly 98 percent of the computers affected by the ransomware were running some version of Windows 7, with less than one in a thousand running Windows XP. 2008 R2 Server clients were also hit hard, making up just over 1 percent of infections. Windows 7 is still by far the most common version of Windows, running on roughly four times as many computers as Windows 10 worldwide. Since more recent versions of Windows aren't vulnerable to WannaCry, it makes sense that most of the infections would hit computers running 7. Still, the stark disparity emphasizes how small of a role Windows XP seems to have played in spreading the infection, despite early concerns about the outdated operating system. The new figures also bear on the debate over Microsoft's patching practices, which generated significant criticism in the wake of the attack. Microsoft had released a public patch for Windows 7 months before the attack, but the patch for Windows XP was only released as an emergency measure after the worst of the damage had been done. The patch was available earlier to paying Custom Support customers, but most XP users were left vulnerable, each unpatched computer a potential vector to spread the ransomware further. Still, Kaspersky's figures suggest that unpatched XP devices played a relatively small role in the spread of the ransomware.

Comments

Win X Upgrade

[Anonymous Coward]

If MS hadn't tried to force Win10 down Win7 user's throats maybe more would have been installing patches.

Re: Win X Upgrade

[TWX]

You've obviously never worked enterprise IT. You don't roll-out new versions of anything until they're thoroughly tested, and sometimes you find that you can't roll-out a new version of some software because other mission-critical software is not compatible with whatever new thing you're trying.

Case in point, all of those ATMs and Point of Sale systems that are still running XP, that Microsoft is still supporting.

Windows 7 has more support for legacy applications than 8/8.1, and Windows 10 has even less support than 8/8.1. If those legacy applications provide the profit or are otherwise of primary importance to the organization then it does not make sense for the organization to change software. The operating system is merely a means to an end, not the end itself.

monocropping

[goombah99]

Monocropping leads to viruses whether agricultural or operating systems. Not much more to be said than that other than to point out Intels are the ultimate monocrop and they have a gigantic backdoor called the Management Engine.

In the age of global terrorism, one can expect engineered viruses for agriculture and computers to only increase till something we can't get past comes along. then we'll act in hindsight.

Re:Pirated versions

[ewhac]

...most of the infected computers were running pirated versions.

[Citation required]

Re:Of course...

[Zumbs]

Which was all nice and dandy until Microsoft decided to ram Windows 10 down everyones throats. I can fully understand the annoyed users who simply disabled Windows Update because of those nasty practices on the part of Microsoft. Trust is easily lost and hard to regain.