Windows 98 Users Face Increased Security Risk, Says Study - ' Page Two ' (
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The study also suggests that companies ensure that all their PCs, regardless of operating system, have the latest Microsoft Security hot fixes and that they identify the magnitude of Windows 95 and Windows 98 via a PC inventory.
"Any Windows 95 or 98-based PC with access to the Internet (including mobiles that leave the company network) should be candidates for migrating to Windows XP or Windows 2000. Companies should also determine if installations of Windows 2000 or Windows XP are covered under a Microsoft Volume Licensing Agreement," it says.
To help its customers with this, AssetMetrix, the Labs parent company, will on Thursday announce a new asset management service known as Win98-Exodus, designed to help corporations identify PCs running Windows 98 and Windows 95 and help them develop a migration strategy toward Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
Steve OHalloran, the author of the report, also told eWeek that the report was "not sanctioned, sponsored or even suggested by any other third party. Other than buying Microsoft software and a few MSDN subscriptions, we have no formal relationship with Microsoft. We also have no corporate institutional investors. so it truly is an independant study.
"Companies need to be better informed about the potential security risks associated with using Windows 98 or Windows 95 within their corporate environment. With Win98-Exodus, AssetMetrix customers can view the details of any PC within their organization that is running either Windows 95, 98 or NT.
"They can then drill down to detailed reporting on the individual components of each PC, assign pricing values for each required hardware or software component upgrade, estimate labor time and cost, as well as viewing application compatibility reporting for each PC," said Jeff Campbell, the president of AssetMetrix.
Editors Note: This story was updated to include additional information and comments from the author.
