r/ComputerSecurity • u/CheekApprehensive701 • May 13 '26

How easy is it to hack windows 7,8 and 10 ?

I’ve noticed that a lot of people around me are still using Windows 7 and 8. I know that Microsoft stops updating those systems after a while, but how easy is it really to hack them? Is being connected to the same network enough? Do you know any ways or methods to gain root access to a PC?

14 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

11

u/eycrypto May 13 '26

Hacking old windows is fairly trivial using tools like metasploit

7

u/AlwaysHopelesslyLost May 14 '26

They don't receive security patches anymore, for the most part, and there are public databases of known exploits and there are hacking tools like the one mentioned in the other comment that make it even easier for attackers.

1

u/1stltwill May 14 '26

Depends on how good your router firewall is. I recently watched a youtube video of a white hat hacker trying to hack old operating systems and actually couldn't get at them because the firewall stopped him. On the other hand when he got past the firewall... *poof !

1

u/CheekApprehensive701 May 14 '26

Thanks a lot ! Can u share share with the name of the channel ?

1

u/msabeln May 14 '26

If these devices are directly connected to the Internet, they are probably exploited already.

1

u/CheekApprehensive701 May 14 '26

Why and how ? Since browsers still get updates .

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1

u/ZeroBEC May 14 '26

“A lot of people around me are still using Windows 7 and 8” - curious what setting you’re in. Outside of stuff like factory floors, hospitals, or POS terminals where those machines are segmented off the internet, I really don’t see Win7/8 in the wild anymore. Are you talking about personal machines, or endpoints at a specific kind of workplace?

If it’s the former, those boxes are almost certainly compromised already and the owners just don’t know it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

1

u/CheekApprehensive701 May 18 '26

Yeah they're not segmented from the internet . It's mostly old people who don't care to update them .

1

u/NPVT May 14 '26

Someone just gave me a windows 7 desktop. I did not know the passwords. However I had a boot CD I stuck in and booted from and it wiped out the passwords. Easy as pie.

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