Windows XP machine connected to the internet in 2024 becomes compromised in minutes

What would happen if you installed Windows XP in 2024, set the internet connection to be fully open without any firewalls or anti-virus software, and just let the computer sit there idling? If you answered, malware and hackers would obtain full access to the file system and admin privileges in minutes - then you'd be on the right track.

YouTuber Eric Parker decided to run an experiment to see how dangerous running Windows XP in 2024 is, and the results were alarming. Without browsing, downloading, or opening suspicious files, the PC (a virtual installation) was almost immediately infected by malware. Granted, the Windows XP Firewall was disabled, too, but it's wild to think how vulnerable XP was/is to attacks.

All you need to do is go online with Windows XP, and you're open to all manner of malware, Trojans, new admin accounts being created, and even an FTP server starting, which all happens here.

It's a wild ride, with a few nasty bits traced back to IPs in Russia (naturally) and more popping up and appearing as time goes on. In the latter half of the video, Eric Parker installs a legacy version of Malwarebytes, which finds eight different bits of malware after an initial scan. One of the items changed the DNS (Domain Name System) for browsing and network access to a VPS from the Chinese company Alibaba. That is not a good sign.

By the end of the video, the malware wins, and the outdated anti-virus software cannot keep up with the various attacks. Eric Parker notes that using the same open network setup in Windows 7, after several hours, there was no issue or evidence of malware.