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Will Windows Virus's from Boot Camp Affect OS X?

The_Man

The_Man

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 10, 2005
274
0
I was just wondering if I am to dual boot into Windows on my intel-mac, and get virus' (which is destined to happen), will this affect the performance of OS X in anyway?

Thanks

(If this is a repeat of an old thread can somone just send me a link and the mods will delete this thread. I used search, but couldn't find anything.)
 
If the Virus is clever enough to erase the entire drive, or damage the hardware (by overheating?) maybe.
Or if it is a virus in a common language like Visual Basic for Applications (the Microsoft Office automation language)

But otherwise, how do you suppose a virus written to execute in one OS can cross the universe and execute in another OS entirely?
 
CanadaRAM said:
If the Virus is clever enough to erase the entire drive, or damage the hardware (by overheating?) maybe.
Or if it is a virus in a common language like Visual Basic for Applications (the Microsoft Office automation language)
Click to expand...

This is the only way that I could see this happening.
 
CanadaRAM said:
If the Virus is clever enough to erase the entire drive, or damage the hardware (by overheating?) maybe.
Click to expand...

There are a couple of viruses that are known to get into the MBR and mess things up, but I really wouldn't worry about a Windows virus affecting OS X at all.
 
The_Man said:
I was just wondering if I am to dual boot into Windows on my intel-mac, and get virus' (which is destined to happen), will this affect the performance of OS X in anyway?
Click to expand...
Virii are not part of the Windows experience by default. They're part of what happens when you give someone a tool, expect them to know its ins and outs, and leave everything on/open by default.

That said, Windows-borne virii should have little or no effect on your OS X installation, seeing as Windows can't read the HFS+ filesystem. Biggest problem might be a low-level access to the drive that eats the partition table or something, but virii are rarely that destructive anymore.

Most of them just want to turn your machine into a spam relay or a DDoS zombie.
 
How about with Virtual PC?

Slight de-tour, but I'm occasionally using Virtual PC with Windows XP and a similar thought of virus's crossed my mind. Do I need an anti-virus application in my case?

EDIT: Sorry, I was being lazy. I found an answer in another thread.
 
will macs running xp be vulnerable to viruses?

will the macs running xp be vulnerable to viruses?? i'm not really to good at that kinda stuff. its just a question i've been wondering about for awhile. Thanks for any help!!:D
 
no it wont,
of course just the fact, windows is running on a Mac will make it stable and secure... no i am jokin,

windows will stay the same on every platform!
 
To Translate

Yes you are vulnerable to viruses. See, its the OS not the hardware that determines susceptibility.
 
CanadaRAM said:
But otherwise, how do you suppose a virus written to execute in one OS can cross the universe and execute in another OS entirely?
Click to expand...

someone wrote and posted a windows/linux viruses that was able to move through different unix,linux, and windows a few years ago. now, a viruses jumping from windows to os x just executing machine code in theory could be possible, but quite hard.

http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/linux.simile.html
{Win32,Linux}/Simile.D is a very complex virus that uses entry-point obscuring, metamorphism, and polymorphic decryption. It is the first known polymorphic metamorphic virus to infect under both Windows and Linux. The virus contains no destructive payload, but infected files may display messages on certain dates. It is the fourth variant of the Simile family. This variant introduces a new infection mechanism on Intel Linux platforms, infecting 32-bit ELF files (a standard Unix binary format). The virus infects Portable Executable (PE) files as well as ELFs on both Linux and Win32 systems. So far Symantec has not received any submissions of this virus from customers.
Click to expand...
 
From Apple:

Word to the Wise
Windows running on a Mac is like Windows running on a PC. That means it’ll be subject to the same attacks that plague the Windows world. So be sure to keep it updated with the latest Microsoft Windows security fixes.
Click to expand...

Link
 
ok thanks! ive been thinkin bout that for awhile and im just starting to get better at computer stuff.:D
 
EricNau said:
I suspect this is going to be the target for virus programers for a while; at least until the novelty wears off.
Click to expand...

I also suspect this particular subject will be the beginning of many threads for the foreseeable future...!!! :D
 
About the question of whether your Mac OS X disk partition is vulnerable to a virus that infects the Windows side of your system: I assume the answer is YES.

(Actually the answer might be NO as of today, but will be YES in short order, as virus authors adapt their code for dual-boot Macs.)
 
Catching a virus on the PC is not as easy as most Mac enthusiasts would have you believe.
 
vamp07 said:
Catching a virus on the PC is not as easy as most Mac enthusiasts would have you believe.
Click to expand...

Viruses - no if you've got either a good virus checker or an ISP that checks incoming/outgoing mail. Spyware - yes, although you're obviously more prone to it if you use IE and have interests that take you to odd search results or believe that clicking on toolbars/smileys adverts and popups is a good thing. I believe that most tech-savvy users can keep a PC clean but most home-users aren't savvy and for them it's tough (at least listening to the conversations around my office!)
 
These are just my recommendations :)

As soon as you install windows on any machine, I would install a few tools...
  1. Anti-Virus - AVG (www.grisoft.com) - an Excellent program, unlimited free version available (pro costs just over 38 dollars US for 2 years of use).
  2. Spyware tools - Spybot Search and Destroy and Adaware - two great tools. Spywareblaster is a good additional tool as well...
  3. Browser - FireFox. I personally avoid using IE as much as possible because quite a few virii of late seem to have taken advantage of "weaknesses" in either IE or OE.

As I said, these are just my recommendations - but all of these have freely downloadable legal versions, which you can burn to a cd before the install to have them ready :)

Phoenixjim
 
ChrisBrightwell said:
All you have to do is plug an unprotected machine into the internet. Being infected then becomes a matter of time.
Click to expand...
I heard of a study once (sorry, I don't have the source), and it was an average of 18 minutes before an unprotected computer got a form of malware.
 
EricNau said:
I heard of a study once (sorry, I don't have the source), and it was an average of 18 minutes before an unprotected computer got a form of malware.
Click to expand...
I'm glad to hear that. I had heard that it was a matter of seconds, e.g., faster than you could launch a program to configure a firewall.
 
EricNau said:
I heard of a study once (sorry, I don't have the source), and it was an average of 18 minutes before an unprotected computer got a form of malware.
Click to expand...

But what system? Unpatched XP? Or SP2? I've heard that SP2 did a pretty good job of protecting a system from those self-propogating worms.
 
From what I have seen, everytime someone has a problem with their computer they say its a virus. When it turns out the person caused the problem and just doesn't want to admit it.

And like said earlier, its not that easy to get a virus. Most of the time its caused by using computers without common sense. Like the people who use P2P to download music, and end up downloading .exe files. Or the click-happy people who just click yes to every ActiveX control that comes up in IE.
The only thing I use to protect my computers is McAfee Virus Scan, and a router, and nothing else. I cant even remember the last time I a virus was detected on any of my computers.
 
CanadaRAM said:
If the Virus is clever enough to erase the entire drive, or damage the hardware (by overheating?) maybe.
Or if it is a virus in a common language like Visual Basic for Applications (the Microsoft Office automation language)

But otherwise, how do you suppose a virus written to execute in one OS can cross the universe and execute in another OS entirely?
Click to expand...
...Which is why the only time my MacBook Pro XP sees the 'net is at LAN parties. (and thats just a local network!)
 
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