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I am (deliberately) still running XP on my main home PC. Since the attack of the WannaCry ransomware, I have been unable to reach Windows Update (or any other Microsoft website) with Internet Explorer. I have seen no other indication of being attacked. Do I have a problem? If so, is there anything I can do about it? And what can I do to prevent problems in the future?

Thanks for any advice, Howard French

user684556
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  • Have you tried another browser? What error message are you seeing? – DavidPostill May 23 '17 at 12:53
  • *Do I have a problem?* - The problem you have, if there is even a problem, is not connected to WannaCry. There has not been a patch released for Windows XP in over 2 years. Be sure you have [KB4012598](https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4012598) installed. *You can use another PC to acomplish that task.* Your problem of being unable to reach Microsoft websites are for some entirely different reason, one that you have not identified yet, and has nothing to do with WannaCry – Ramhound May 23 '17 at 14:17

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Have you been attacked by WannaCry? No. If you had been, you would have seen a screenshot like this one: WannaCry Screenshot

Since you can still access your computer and use it, you don't have WannaCry.

As for Windows Update and Microsoft websites, this would indicate a different problem.

Try a different browser. See if it's an Internet Explorer issue.

After this, run a virus scan and MalwareBytes (https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download/) to make sure it isn't a virus or Malware.

If nothing is found, the next step is to check the event viewer. Go to Start -> Run -> eventvwr.exe and look in the logs for errors relating to Windows Update and Internet Explorer. If there are any, they'll be an error code which you can search for or return here with it and we'll try to help.

Stephen
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  • There is no problem with Firefox, which is my normal browser (but of course I can't run Windows Update with it). I normally run (ran) Windows Update twice a week, which is how I found the problem. I read that there was supposed to be an MSRT patch including XP back in March, but I don't remember that happening (and I can't check my update records). I have run MalwareBytes, which found no problems. A System Restore did not help either. I'm not too worried about the Windows Update problem in itself, as long as it's not a sign of a lurking problem that may pop up at a later time. Thanks. – user684556 May 23 '17 at 13:13
  • @hbfrench, Microsoft did release a patch for WannaCry for Windows XP as noted in [WCry is so mean Microsoft issues patch for 3 unsupported Windows versions](https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/05/wcry-is-so-mean-microsoft-issues-patch-for-3-unsupported-windows-versions/). You can [check on which patches are installed on your system using the free WinUpdatesList (WUL) tool from NirSoft](http://support.moonpoint.com/blog/blosxom/2014/11/14#wul), which you could download using Firefox. The WannaCry patch is in [KB4012598](http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4012598). – moonpoint May 23 '17 at 13:52
  • @moonpoint, Thank you, I installed that patch this morning. – user684556 May 26 '17 at 13:36