本周，WindowsXP的下线日期已经到来，但许多人仍在坚持，有时，甚至更旧的系统仍在继续。你如何说服一个顽固的家庭成员，将他们不受支持的系统更新到一个更新的，更安全的系统是对他们最有利的？

今天的问答环节是由SuperUser提供的，SuperUser是Stack Exchange的一个分支，是一个由社区驱动的问答网站分组。

问题

超级用户读者marczellm正在寻求帮助，说服一个顽固的家庭成员升级他们的旧系统（也可能是受损的）：

The situation I face is a family member whose position is the following:

• I do not want to update something that works because updates may break something. Look at our old computer that runs Windows 98. I have been using it every day for everything for 15 years now and it works without any problem, even though there is absolutely no anti-virus or anything.

Using the same reasoning, he strongly resisted installing any updates or service packs on his other computer running Windows XP, and now that XP is dead, I cannot even imagine how he will react to the choice of either:

• Buying several copies of Windows 7 for his computers for serious money, or
• Switching to Linux and basically relearning how to use computers from scratch

What facts can I use to convince them that it is bad if the computer is infected with malware, even if they do not notice anything wrong?

为了让他的家人相信升级个人安全和系统稳定性是个好主意，marczellm能做些什么？

答案

超级用户贡献者frankthomas和Mejwell为我们提供了答案。首先，弗兰克·托马斯：

The best and least refutable argument is, that if you have nothing else to protect, you have your reputation.

If your account starts sending virus spam, you have to answer to everyone in your address book.

If the FBI starts asking why your PC engaged in a coordinated DDOS attack on a bank’s website (because you got enrolled in the Zeus botnet), you have to let them sift through all your personal artifacts to (hopefully) prove you are not a cyber-criminal suitable for imprisonment for 30+ years. Or worse yet, someone used your computer as a proxy for downloading child ****ography, stealing and selling credit card data, or selling drugs on the Silk Road.

Everyone has their reputation (and potentially their freedom) to protect. Emphasizing that is one of the more effective ways to teach people (patching) religion. Just an investigation on some of these topics is enough to show up in background checks, which can follow you the rest of your life.

接下来是梅杰威尔的回答：

The best way to explain to non-technical people is via an ****ogy, and this is ****ogous to keeping information in a shoebox on your open windowsill. It depends on your behavior whether or not the information in the shoebox is worth taking, or whether anyone will end up taking it, but the fact remains that anyone that has a half a mind to do so easily can.

除了frankthomas和Mejwell在这里列出的原因之外，还有很多原因可以解释为什么在维护个人安全时使用最新的系统是一个好主意。只要谨慎一点，就能避免麻烦，就没有必要公开招惹麻烦。请务必通过下面的原始线程链接查看生动的讨论！

有什么要补充的解释吗？在评论中发出声音。想从其他精通技术的Stack Exchange用户那里了解更多答案吗？在这里查看完整的讨论主题。