China bans Windows 8 on government PCs

[Scorpus]

The Chinese government is a serial offender when it comes to banning things, with the country recently adding a major product to its ever growing list of prohibited items: Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system.

To be clear, China is only banning Windows 8 installations on government computers; citizens are still free to use Windows 8 on their personal computers if they choose. However, the ban is still a significant blow for Microsoft, which has struggled to gain a sales footprint in the country due to piracy.

The ban was officially issued through a Central Government Procurement Center notice on using energy-saving products, although it's unclear exactly how banning Windows 8 saves energy. An official Chinese news agency, Xinhuanet, reports that the ban was to "ensure computer security after the shutdown of Windows XP", but again officials didn't state exactly how the ban ensures the security of PCs.

Around 70% of government computers in China are running Windows XP, which Microsoft recently ended support for 13 years after it was released. Windows XP is inherently less secure than newer versions of Windows, made even less secure now that support has ended, so by prohibiting new government PCs from running Windows 8, it's unlikely Chinese systems will become safer.

The proposed alternative to Windows 8 on government machines is a variety of Chinese-made Linux-based operating systems, such as KylinOS and StartOS. As Xinhuanet notes, these OSes aren't particularly popular and are likely less versatile than Windows, presenting an interesting situation for government officials going forward.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/56817-china-bans-windows-8-on-government-pcs.html

 

[wastedkill]

I highly doubt new windows OS's have prepatched all the stuff that have been on the old OS's so in fact XP is more safer than 8

 

[Guest]

I highly doubt new windows OS's have prepatched all the stuff that have been on the old OS's so in fact XP is more safer than 8

Possibly one of the most ridiculous comments ever made.

 

[Burty117]

I highly doubt new windows OS's have prepatched all the stuff that have been on the old OS's so in fact XP is more safer than 8

I assume Sarcasm?

 

[VitalyT]

Microsoft should ban Chinese food on its premises

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

The proposed alternative to Windows 8 on government machines is a variety of Chinese-made Linux-based operating systems, such as KylinOS and StartOS. As Xinhuanet notes, these OSes aren't particularly popular...

Yes, but I bet they're particularly effective at keeping a very close eye on government employees. I'll bet China learned a thing or two from Ed Snowden about not paying attention to what your employees are doing in your system.

 

[wastedkill]

I assume Sarcasm?

No.. unless im thinking of a different OS that had the exact same zero day security issue that was patched 2yrs before the new OS was out.... which from what I remember might have been windows xp or 7 maybe but unlikely vista...

 

[bexwhitt]

I highly doubt new windows OS's have prepatched all the stuff that have been on the old OS's so in fact XP is more safer than 8

XP is unsecure by design.

 

[wastedkill]

XP is unsecure by design.

Like all Operating systems then...

 

[EEatGDL]

XP is unsecure by design.

Like all Operating systems then...

"more safer"? And no, all OS are vulnerable by design, but XP lacks a lot of security measures, starting by that ugly .ini file read on boot; without doing anything fancy simply add or delete [maliciously] any random character and you have a headache granted. If XP boot fails you have to format because there's no support for boot repair like in >=6.0 NT Windows versions. There are a lot of simple changes that add some protection or make them more robust than XP, but of course, IE vulnerabilities, OS exploits are still possible -and that doesn't mean XP and 7/8 have the same security measures.

 

[Guest]

It's probably smart for an aspiring superpower to not use enemy software. It's almost like
DUH smart.

 

[Dilan Gilluly]

I highly doubt new windows OS's have prepatched all the stuff that have been on the old OS's so in fact XP is more safer than 8

Wtf are you talking about? Of course the new Windows OS's are "prepatched" because they were made AFTER XP and therefor actually have more security measures in the OS. Windows 8 was deemed more secure than OSX at the time of its release by security researchers.

Since XP still has vulnerabilities that are being discovered and patched in Windows 7 and 8, makes it less secure. So you can use XP if you want, but I'll stick with current and supported Operating Systems.

 

[GhostRyder]

This was an odd decision but nothing to big in all honesty. The funny part are the different excuses used in why they are not going to use 8 to me. According the the article and the Chinese government, Windows 8 is an energy hog (Or at least inefficient) and to unsecured. I can see maybe they have a reason to say its not secure enough for them, but the energy hog one is quite perplexing.

 

[wastedkill]

I personally use windows 8 but hate metro, would use linux but lets be honest it doesnt have all the software windows does and its UI aint exactly easy..

 

[Burty117]

No.. unless im thinking of a different OS that had the exact same zero day security issue that was patched 2yrs before the new OS was out.... which from what I remember might have been windows xp or 7 maybe but unlikely vista...

You said XP is safer than Windows vista/7/8.1, it's not, you're right in the fact no OS is free from security vulnerabilities but it certainly isn't safer by any stretch of the imagination, I sincerely hope you don't spread that weird view on Windows XP around.

I personally use windows 8 but hate metro, would use linux but lets be honest it doesnt have all the software windows does and its UI aint exactly easy..

Agreed, I also use 8.1 now, lets see what the October "Update2" brings as they've already shown off the new start menu.

 

[cartera]

I highly doubt new windows OS's have prepatched all the stuff that have been on the old OS's so in fact XP is more safer than 8

That is a interesting point of view which goes against every product lifecycle. Please explain why corporations, governments and businesses would bother making the investment moving away from XP if it is safer sticking with XP?

 

[psycros]

"However, the ban is still a significant blow for Microsoft, which has struggled to gain a sales footprint in the country due to piracy."

Right, because the state-supported piracy industry in China definitely won't pirate Windows 8.

/triple facepalm

 

[Guest]

Which is the aspiring superpower?

 

[Guest]

They just hate the start screen.

 

[Jad Chaar]

This was an odd decision but nothing to big in all honesty. The funny part are the different excuses used in why they are not going to use 8 to me. According the the article and the Chinese government, Windows 8 is an energy hog (Or at least inefficient) and to unsecured. I can see maybe they have a reason to say its not secure enough for them, but the energy hog one is quite perplexing.

Yeah the energy hog complaint is odd.

 

[Guest]

> ...[Linux-based operating systems] are likely less versatile than Windows

I assume this is sarcasm too. Versatility thanks to liberal licensing used for free (as in freedom)/open-source software is exactly one of the main reasons why most supercomputers, most servers, the CERN and the International Space Station use GNU/Linux operating systems

 

[tragicallyhip]

US government bans procurement of networking hardware made by Chinese company, NSA busted for extensive back door eavesdropping using said companies gear worldwide. With alleged cooperation between Microsoft and NSA China decides they don't want anything to do with US based OS, Go Figure!
Turn around is fair play my friends.

 

[wastedkill]

That is a interesting point of view which goes against every product lifecycle. Please explain why corporations, governments and businesses would bother making the investment moving away from XP if it is safer sticking with XP?

YOLO....? More secure than being paid to leave gaping fat holes in your OS so tards can watch you on your webcam you mean?

 

[Guest]

I assume this is sarcasm too. Versatility thanks to liberal licensing used for free (as in freedom)/open-source software is exactly one of the main reasons why most supercomputers, most servers, the CERN and the International Space Station use GNU/Linux operating systems

...and that is precisely why it has no single standard, or no standard to be perfectly frank, and through that is inherently unstable. The only reason its so popular for environments such as those you have listed is because Linux can be customised for very specific tasks, whereas windows is a general one size fits all. Or in other words, Windows is cheaper than Linux from a corporate perspective (If you can get your head around the fact that windows is supported by a large corporate entity while Linux is not and thus costs more to maintain)

 

[TheBigFatClown]

Smart move by the Chinese.

Windows 8 sucks. All the reasons most people say they upgraded just aren't compelling enough for me if I am going to be stuck using a cartoony 4-bit color scheme with square corners and no transparency in application windows because tablets aren't powerful enough. If Windows 9 stops punishing desktop users at the expense of tablet users that would solve the biggest problem with (the current version of) Windows 8. As terrible and unappealing as the overall look-and-feel of Windows 8 is, its not the biggest concern I have.

The biggest concern I have about Windows 8 specifically and the Windows brand in general is not where it's at right now. Where its at right now is pretty sad but I am even more concerned about where its headed. ZDNet posted an article hinting at the idea of Windows becoming an operating-system-as-a-service. Sounds like it could become very expensive. It also sounds like less control on the client machine and more on the server or "in the coud".

Microsoft much like government would prefer people become fully dependent on them versus being able to stand on their own two feet. God knows that Microsoft probably regrets the release of Windows XP more than any other software product they have ever released. "Our customers using a operating system for over 12 years? How do we prevent THAT from ever happening again in the future? Operating-System-As-A-Service. Yearly Subscriptions." Bingo!!!!!

And then there is the last concern and that is one of security. Windows 8 maybe the securest operating system to date if you consider keeping amateur hackers from tampering with your machine the only bad guys. But how secure is it in keeping out the NSA? Maybe I am too cynical. Maybe Windows 8 doesn't have a gazillion backdoors in it that were mandated by the NSA. Is that possible? LOL. I can dream...cant I?