alt Hacker NewsYes, it is very much atypical. Most hacks happen because admins still haven’t applied a 2 years old patch. I hate updates, but it‘s statistically safer that running an old software version. Try exposing a windows XP to the internet and watch how long it takes before it‘s hacked.
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tasuki • today at 2:01 PM
I don't know about Windows, but I've been running all kinds of outdated Linux (Debian mostly) and it never once caused a security problem.
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card_zero • today at 7:48 AM
Debatable. "I connected Windows XP to the Internet; it was fine" - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40528117
One comment there points out that XP is old enough for infected attack vectors to have all died out. I dunno.
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It depends if the application itself touches the Internet or only when conducting updates.
The threat model for a server and for a personal computer are very different. On a consumer device, typically only the OS mail app and browser have direct contact with the outside world.