Parallels

[Keytachi]

hi! i love my mac, but unfortunatley micrsoft has a bigger market share(for now...) anyway there are some .exe that i wanted to run on my computer, but i hvae some questions about parallels:
1. is it good?
2. will my computer security be compromised?
3. will i need to buy a Windows XP?

thx

 

[0007776]

your computers security will not be compromised for OS X you will need virus protection for the windows Part. You will have to buy a copy of windows XP I'm not sure if Vista is supported yet.

 

[mac-convert]

1. Yes, for me at least, and I'm sure for a lot of other people. Seriously, though, a lot was put into this, and yes, it performs well.

2. Will your computer be compromised? Not Mac OS, but Windows, yes, unless you run the same anti-virus, etc, that you would on a stand-alone system.

3. Yes, you will need to purchase a legal copy of Windows and register it.

That being said, you can download a trial copy of Parallels, I think for a 30-day trial - maybe only 15. Check the site. I bought mine a long time ago.

EDIT: Answer to above - Vista is supported now.

 

[Keytachi]

from what i've read parallels uses a "virtual machine" so if i get a virus in windows, and lets say it would try to delete my hard drive, it would delete windows virtual machine HD? my Mac OS would always be safe?

 

[bankshot]

from what i've read parallels uses a "virtual machine" so if i get a virus in windows, and lets say it would try to delete my hard drive, it would delete windows virtual machine HD? my Mac OS would always be safe?

That's correct. The virtual machine does not have direct access to the Mac side of things.

However, you can setup Parallels to share files from your Mac's hard drive, having them show up as a networked drive in Windows. In theory a Windows virus in Parallels could go and delete any shared Mac files, but then this can also happen when sharing to a real Windows PC over the network. All the usual cautions for running a real Windows PC on your network would apply here.

I'll echo the other comments that Parallels works very well. I've been using it since it was in beta last year, and it's worked beautifully for the small amount of Windows development I have to do.

 

[Keytachi]

one last question: i've the free 15-day trial, and a friends XP copy, ill have to re-download the .exe i want to run or is there a way to make the go to the parallels VM?

 

[wrldwzrd89]

one last question: i've the free 15-day trial, and a friends XP copy, ill have to re-download the .exe i want to run or is there a way to make the go to the parallels VM?

Set up a shared folder in the Parallels VM settings, then drop the .exe in the shared folder. Get Parallels running, then open the shared folder and copy the .exe over to where you want it in Windows.