Don't bait Mixture Remember he/she is taking the trouble to post useful info on PPRuNe.
Whilst I do see some of the point you are trying to make I do have to say that poor old mixture seems to come across as a 'know it all grumpy' who sort of buys his own bait from the fishing shop. I'm sure he is a thoroughly decent chap/chapess, but when he types it doesn't seem to come across that way.
Anyway back on the thread. I've got an old XP laptop that has been used as a doorstop the last few years. I'm going to fire it up and leave it connected to the internet for a few weeks and see what happens. Nothing on the machine of any personal nature - I formatted it a few years ago, reloaded the OS and left it at that.
I'll let you know what happens.
Kind regards
Exeng
P.S. Is it possible that I will see a mushroom cloud of atomic proportions over the city of London from the leafy lanes of Surrey? Or will life go on as normal for most of us non IT people?