Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

I used them (e.g., http://www.mewho.com/system47/) in my very old 32-bit
Windows XP machines. I'd like to reuse them in my new, updated 64-bit W7
HPE SP1 installation.

Thank you in advance. :)
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Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

On 04.12.16 21:32, Ant wrote:
I used them (e.g., http://www.mewho.com/system47/) in my very old 32-bit
Windows XP machines. I'd like to reuse them in my new, updated 64-bit W7
HPE SP1 installation.

Thank you in advance. :)

I think the oldest ones are much safer than the new ones.

Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

Ant wrote:
I used them (e.g., http://www.mewho.com/system47/) in my very old 32-bit Windows XP
machines. I'd like to reuse them in my new, updated 64-bit W7 HPE SP1 installation.

Thank you in advance. :)

Where are you getting them from?
If off of your old XP computer they should work fine.
If off the web I would be concerned about viruses, trojans, etc.
The URL that you posted immediately goes to a Flash screen.
VirusTotal does not seem able to analyze it.
That is a bad sign. I would never click on the flash arrow.

Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

Sjouke Burry wrote:
On 04.12.16 21:32, Ant wrote:
I used them (e.g., http://www.mewho.com/system47/) in my very old 32-bit
Windows XP machines. I'd like to reuse them in my new, updated 64-bit W7
HPE SP1 installation.

Thank you in advance. :)

I think the oldest ones are much safer than the new ones.

How so? I would assume the older ones aren't. :/
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Quote of the Week: "Be thine enemy an ant, see in him(her!) an elephant." --Turkish Proverb
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
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( ) ing, then please kindly use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.

Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Ant wrote:
I used them (e.g., http://www.mewho.com/system47/) in my very old 32-bit Windows XP
machines. I'd like to reuse them in my new, updated 64-bit W7 HPE SP1 installation.

Thank you in advance. :)

Where are you getting them from?
If off of your old XP computer they should work fine.
If off the web I would be concerned about viruses, trojans, etc.
The URL that you posted immediately goes to a Flash screen.
VirusTotal does not seem able to analyze it.
That is a bad sign. I would never click on the flash arrow.

They're the same ones I used in Windows XP Pro SP3 machines.
--
Quote of the Week: "Be thine enemy an ant, see in him(her!) an elephant." --Turkish Proverb
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.home.dhs.org (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail privately. If credit-
( ) ing, then please kindly use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.

Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

Ant wrote:
Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Ant wrote:
I used them (e.g., http://www.mewho.com/system47/) in my very old 32-bit Windows XP
machines. I'd like to reuse them in my new, updated 64-bit W7 HPE SP1 installation.

Thank you in advance. :)

Where are you getting them from?
If off of your old XP computer they should work fine.
If off the web I would be concerned about viruses, trojans, etc.
The URL that you posted immediately goes to a Flash screen.
VirusTotal does not seem able to analyze it.
That is a bad sign. I would never click on the flash arrow.

They're the same ones I used in Windows XP Pro SP3 machines.

I have XP3 on a separate hdd and just tried all the old *scr files from their
original XP3/win/sys32 position. They all worked except for the ones requiring 3D.
Those I moved to 7/win/sys32 and they worked just fine.
I don't use a screen saver any more. Instead I set the monitor to sleep
after 15 min of non-use.

Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Ant wrote:
Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Ant wrote:
I used them (e.g., http://www.mewho.com/system47/) in my very old 32-bit Windows XP
machines. I'd like to reuse them in my new, updated 64-bit W7 HPE SP1 installation.

Thank you in advance. :)

Where are you getting them from?
If off of your old XP computer they should work fine.
If off the web I would be concerned about viruses, trojans, etc.
The URL that you posted immediately goes to a Flash screen.
VirusTotal does not seem able to analyze it.
That is a bad sign. I would never click on the flash arrow.

They're the same ones I used in Windows XP Pro SP3 machines.

I have XP3 on a separate hdd and just tried all the old *scr files from their
original XP3/win/sys32 position. They all worked except for the ones requiring 3D.
Those I moved to 7/win/sys32 and they worked just fine.
I don't use a screen saver any more. Instead I set the monitor to sleep
after 15 min of non-use.

The reason for screen savers is to have Windows autolock with its
password protection. :/
--
Quote of the Week: "Be thine enemy an ant, see in him(her!) an elephant." --Turkish Proverb
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.home.dhs.org (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail privately. If credit-
( ) ing, then please kindly use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.

Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

Ant wrote:
Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Ant wrote:
Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Ant wrote:
I used them (e.g., http://www.mewho.com/system47/) in my very old 32-bit Windows XP
machines. I'd like to reuse them in my new, updated 64-bit W7 HPE SP1 installation.

Thank you in advance. :)

Where are you getting them from?
If off of your old XP computer they should work fine.
If off the web I would be concerned about viruses, trojans, etc.
The URL that you posted immediately goes to a Flash screen.
VirusTotal does not seem able to analyze it.
That is a bad sign. I would never click on the flash arrow.

They're the same ones I used in Windows XP Pro SP3 machines.

I have XP3 on a separate hdd and just tried all the old *scr files from their
original XP3/win/sys32 position. They all worked except for the ones requiring 3D.
Those I moved to 7/win/sys32 and they worked just fine.
I don't use a screen saver any more. Instead I set the monitor to sleep
after 15 min of non-use.

The reason for screen savers is to have Windows autolock with its
password protection. :/

Most people at the office have that.
I edited group policy and removed it from my laptops.
Having it turn on and lock me out for a few min during meetings with upper
management and customers is not a good idea.

Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

On Sun, 4 Dec 2016 12:32:09 -0800, Ant wrote:
I used them (e.g., http://www.mewho.com/system47/) in my very old 32-bit
Windows XP machines. I'd like to reuse them in my new, updated 64-bit W7
HPE SP1 installation.

Thank you in advance. :)

It looks clean to me, and it works well on Windows 7 64-bit.

One thing you should is that it's a Flash based screen saver. The installer
installs the (old) official Flash Player ActiveX, but I don't know whether
it replace any newer version or not. So, when you've installed it, it'll
prompt whether to open the Screen Saver Control Panel or not. Don't open it
yet. Instead, reinstall the *32-bit* Flash Player ActiveX with the latest
version after you've installed the screen saver. Just to make sure that you
have the latest Flash Player ActiveX.

The installed screen saver module file (*.SCR) VirusTotal analysis:

https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/c41a9ff520e00b985ead8851b272f1b2919652bb967bd06127 577a88ef158f1a/analysis/

When the screen saver is active, it'll create a temporary folder called
"System47 dir" (under "Windows\SysWOW64" folder; or "Windows\System32" if
32-bit OS) which contains some Flash animation files (*.SWF) including some
data files as well as its required DLLs. I've ZIP-ed it and uploaded it to
VirusTotal. Here's the analysis.

https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/25b39efa6154748bfcbaec5c41f4e6ee4acf6b01581066717e d612b1beb16c63/analysis/

Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

On 12/04/2016 11:45 PM, Ant wrote:

[snip]

The reason for screen savers is to have Windows autolock with its
password protection. :/


And it DOESN'T save power, but increases power use by creating moving
pictures you don't see that much, preventing the computer from slowing
itself down to save power.

I run BOINC (https://boinc.berkeley.edu/), allowing the PC to be doing
something useful (turning OFF the screen saver, since that wastes CPU
power) and turning the monitor off.

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AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do
because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." [Susan B.
Anthony]

Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

In message , Ant
writes:
Sjouke Burry wrote:
On 04.12.16 21:32, Ant wrote:
I used them (e.g., http://www.mewho.com/system47/) in my very old 32-bit
Windows XP machines. I'd like to reuse them in my new, updated 64-bit W7
HPE SP1 installation.

Thank you in advance. :)

I think the oldest ones are much safer than the new ones.

How so? I would assume the older ones aren't. :/

The old ones, assuming you're getting them from a trusted source, are
more likely to be safe from viruses, and the newer things that _might_
make your hardware behave in odd ways; conversely, some of them will
make your graphics hardware behave in odd old ways.

New ones are _probably_ not going to make your graphics hardware
misbehave, and will _on the whole_ "play nice" with modern OSs.
(Conversely they'll be much huger, and more demanding in requirements.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

live your dash. ... On your tombstone, there's the date you're born and the
date you die - and in between there's a dash. - a friend quoted by Dustin
Hoffman in Radio Times, 5-11 January 2013

Is it safe and OK to use very old Windows screen savers?
 

On 2016-12-05 03:27, JJ wrote:

On Sun, 4 Dec 2016 12:32:09 -0800, Ant wrote:
I used them (e.g., http://www.mewho.com/system47/) in my very old 32-bit
Windows XP machines. I'd like to reuse them in my new, updated 64-bit W7
HPE SP1 installation.

System47 is clean and works just fine on Win7 32/64, however...

One thing you should is that it's a Flash based screen saver. The installer
installs the (old) official Flash Player ActiveX, but I don't know whether
it replace any newer version or not. So, when you've installed it, it'll
prompt whether to open the Screen Saver Control Panel or not. Don't open it
yet. Instead, reinstall the *32-bit* Flash Player ActiveX with the latest
version after you've installed the screen saver. Just to make sure that you
have the latest Flash Player ActiveX.

It installs very old Flash alongside the newer one; it does not replace
it. HOWEVER, EACH AND EVERY TIME the user updates Flash, the *%@! Flash
installer deletes the older flash library and breaks System47. You then
have to re-install the screenSaver. Since Flash updates every 2 weeks,
this gets old very fast...

Regards,

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