Experiment: Clean Windows XP with an Internet connection was infected with a virus after only 10 minutes

YouTube author Eric Parker conducted an experiment in which he decided to find out how long it would take to infect a “naked” Windows XP with malicious software in 2024, if you just connect it to the Internet and do nothing. Using a virtual machine, Parker installed Windows XP without a firewall or antivirus.

10 minutes after connecting to the Internet, Parker discovered the conhoz.exe process, known as a Trojan, in the task manager. He stopped this process and let the computer continue to work. A few minutes later, a new user with administrator rights appeared and new processes started, including the FTP server. Parker tracked malware activity indicating a connection to the Russian Federation. He suggested that attackers may be trying to create a botnet or spam server.

Subsequent investigation revealed more malware, including another Trojan and a rootkit. A scan with Malwarebytes revealed eight malware running on the computer: four Trojans, two backdoors, and adware.

This experiment clearly demonstrates the importance of security measures and timely software updates. In modern conditions, simple caution, as it was possible many years ago, is no longer effective. Windows XP’s built-in firewall can be enabled, but outdated software that hasn’t been updated in years has very little chance of protecting against modern threats.