Windows 98 and Millennium Support from Microsoft Discontinued - Should I Worry ?

The simple answer is yes you should, the chances are that you have been running your system quite happily for several years and are wondering what all the fuss is about.  This is the reason why, as the use of the internet has grown the speed with which new viruses and other security threats including worms, spyware etc. has mushroomed.  Microsoft has had a constant battle releasing patches with regular monthly updates.  From July 11 2006 no new updates have been available for either Windows 98 or ME.  Furthermore some leading providers of security software (Antivirus etc.) are discontinuing support for versions of software running under these versions of Windows.  If you ignore the issue and hope for the best, be warned !

Windows 98 and Millennium Edition - Housekeeping Tips Windows 98 and Windows ME Housekeeping Tips

What are my options ?

In principle you have following options:

1. Do nothing and hope that nothing happens - but be warned by simply connecting to the internet you potentially leave yourself open to threats which could range from the fairly benign, to serious risks to your machine or your data including any personal, financial or banking details, passwords etc. on your machine.

2. Buy a new machine running Windows XP, this however might not be as simple an exercise as you may think in that your existing internet setup, files and applications will need to be re-installed - if this is the route you wish to go down then Appleton Computers will be more than happy to assist you in your purchasing decision and any installation work required. We will also give you recommendations on the safe disposal of your old machine, remember the hard disc still contains all your data - even if you format it, the data is still there - so be warned !

3. Upgrade your current machine to Windows XP.  This will require your machine to have a minimum specification as recommended by Microsoft, however from our experience with a number of upgrades don't even consider this unless your machine is running the following:

500Mhz Pentium III or better

256Mb RAM

5 Gb of spare disc space, at least therefore an 8/9 Gb drive.

The official recommendations from Microsoft are less than this however real life experience suggests that you will be less than happy with the outcome if you install on anything less than this specification.  The upgrade process itself may also leave certain applications such as Antivirus, Firewall etc. requiring to be re-installed from the original discs.  Altogether Appleton Computers would not recommend an upgrade to Windows XP on your current machine, other than perhaps installing a new hard disc and clean install of the OEM version of Windows XP, it is a little known secret but a modern good sized disc (60Gb+) high speed (7,200 rpm) & 8Mb Cache hard drive can make considerable overall system performance improvements under Windows XP compared with your present disc drive.

4. Put in place additional protection measures to minimise the risk to your machine and your data, this whilst not an ideal solution can allow you to continue with your current system until such a time as your require to install a new application that needs Windows XP or more powerful machine. Realistically if you are happy with your current system then it will probably give you another 12 to 24 months use out of your current system.

What Can I do to Protect Myself If I decide not to Upgrade ?

First and foremost other than disconnecting from the internet and never sharing a floppy disc, USB  memory stick or CDR ROM with anyone else there is no absolute guaranteed method that will protect you. However we have put together based on our experience and the research we have undertaken the following recommendations:  Before reading further please however ensure you have run Windows Update (this can be found here Windows Update) and update your system to latest available set of updates, also if your running Microsoft Office 2002 or later run Office Update (this can be found here Office Update).  We also recommend an online Virus Scan if you have any doubts as to whether your Antivirus software is up to date, you can try the online scan at Symantec (Norton) you also check your online exposure to other security threats Symantec Online.

1. Connecting to the internet  via dial-up ?

If you are still using dial-up then to appreciate the internet and the applications available on-line an upgrade to broadband should be considered ! If you stay with dial-up a good software firewall should be installed as an absolute minimum - Appleton Computers recommend Zone Alarm - the free version for Windows 98,  Windows ME, free Antivirus from AVG and Anti-spyware packages such Ad-Aware from Lavasoft or for more experienced users Spybot Search and Destroy is also recommended - these can be from the Download Section Windows 98 and Windows ME Download Section

2. Are you using broadband ?

Firstly if you are using a USB modem, then we would recommend you consider an upgrade to a full ADSL Modem/Router. A router with built in hardware firewall will provide you a first line of defense in that your computer will no longer be directly visible on the internet, also USB connections on older machines will only allow a maximum internet speed of approx 2Mbits, broadband is now also widely available with speeds up to 8Mbit, another reason for ditching the USB modem. If you are on NTL / TeleWest cable broadband a hardware firewall that connects via Ethernet to either your cable modem or set-top box is also highly recommended. A further benefit of a hardware firewall / router is that if you ever buy a second machine or laptop then your internet connection can be used by more than one computer at the same time. Appleton Computers will be happy to provide and install either an ADSL Modem / Router or Wireless unit and set-up your computer accordingly.

Appleton Computers also recommend that for Windows 98 / ME a software firewall such as - Zone Alarm is installed,  free Antivirus from AVG and Anti-spyware packages such Ad-Aware from Lavasoft or for more experienced users Spybot Search and Destroy are also recommended - these can all be found in the Download Section Windows 98 and Windows ME Download Section

3. Surfing the Internet

Once you have implemented the measures described above then we should next turn our attention to surfing the internet.

Unfortunately there are already known security issues with both Internet Explorer 6.0 which Microsoft will not fix under Windows 98 / ME, our recommendation is to install Firefox from the Mozilla Corporation and ditch MS Internet Explorer. Not only is Firefox acclaimed for delivering a faster browsing experience, it is currently supported in a Windows 98 and ME environment.

4. E-mail client

Outlook Express will also no longer be supported under Windows 98 and ME. The simplest solution if you are using Outlook Express is switch to Webmail, most Internet Service Providers offer this method for you to access e-mail in any Web Browser. Alternatively you can install Thunderbird from Mozilla (same family as FireFox) and it will import all your mail settings from either Outlook Express or Outlook, this is available in the download section Download Section Windows 98 and Windows ME Download Section

However as always the general security advice is if in doubt 'don't open an e-mail' or click on an attachment from someone you do not know, no responsible financial institution will ever e-mail asking you to submit and re-validate your security details or personal information by clicking on a link. The key message is if in doubt 'STOP AND DO NOT DO IT'.

Additional Resources

Housekeepking Guide and Tips Windows 98 and Windows ME Housekeeping Tips

Windows 98 and Millenium Edition Download Page Windows 98 and Windows ME Download Section