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

[jaromski]

SOLUTION: Don't Network with XP

it seems like XP/SP2 is pretty good as long as you completely disable all inbound/outbound network activity. yeah you can download your fancy AV programs, enable your ingress "firewall" and feel safe, well as safe as you can feel, but to truly feel secure, DISABLE ALL WINDOWS NETWORKING APPS.

perhaps a bit draconian, another workable solution i've found is to use as few "networkable" apps as possible. the more programs you have with internet/network access, the more likely your windows system will get hosed. plus do you really need a web browser / email client / chat / ftp app duplicated across both systems?

i think the beauty here is that apple has put XP in its place as a legacy system. it is brilliant they don't intend on supporting vista because WHO CARES ABOUT VISTA. there are a few windows apps i need to run for whatever, but for the most part i will use my mac for x/y/z/etc.

now, back on topic, there is a possible data hazard involved in loading multiple systems on separate partitions; for both XP and OSX. possible but not that probable. it is more probable that XP will eat ***** before OS/X, at least that has always been my experience. but it does feel icky to have both systems co-existing on the same hardware. somehow deep inside something tells me bad things will happen.

but then again life is more fun when you live dangerously.

 

[ChrisBrightwell]

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.

You just described the vast majority of PC users.

 

[Whiteapple]

why would you need to give xp the right to go on the internet?
(ok, if you play online games, i'd understand)
OSX is much more secure for the internet.
Nevertheless, for windows updates, and for occasional online game, I have set up these:

BitDefender Professional Plus 9
Sbybot
Adaware

hope this helps

 

[HenryB]

Mate,

Having just bought an iMac and installing boot camp I feel that the best options is: use OSX for anything web related and leave your windows partition with no internet browser at all! Do the Windows upgrades and nothing else.
I see the functionality of windows as just a means to keep on using legacy software for switchers (like myself). Keep your web browsing/working for OSX.

 

[ewinemiller]

If you're using MacDrive, probably yes

My MacBook Pro came in yesterday and I'm using MacDrive on the XP install so that I can read my OSX disk. Should a virus come along that does the destructive thing, it could trash the data or OSX install on that partition though it couldn't execute under OSX (that may change, saw a note about a virus the other day that infected Linux and/or Windows, wouldn't be surprised to see multiplatform viruses become more common).

Having said that, I'm not particularly worried. I keep my virus protection up to date, email is scanned and scrubbed on the server, run a firewall, don't run unexpected attachments, most of the time I'm also behind a hardware NAT firewall, and the last time I got infected by a virus was...uh, never.

 

[Glen Quagmire]

The plural of "virus" is "viruses", not "virus's".

I've never had a virus in six years of Windows use. Be careful and there's nothing to worry about. Make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date and use Adaware/Spybot on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, on my Mac, I don't have to worry (much) about anything like that. It's just such an enjoyable computing experience in comparison.

As for viruses affecting OS X, just format Windows as NTFS, keep both OSs separate and use a USB stick to transfer stuff between the two.

 

[ManchesterTrix]

All you have to do is plug an unprotected machine into the internet. Being infected then becomes a matter of time.

Unless of course you have a router/firewall setup which you should regardless of whether you use OS X or Windows.

 

[andiwm2003]

The plural of "virus" is "viruses", not "virus's".

.................................

and it's certainly not virii! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virii



but back to the topic:

my two main concerns are:

the virus deletes/messes up the OS X partition

the virus infects files on the OS X partition. that doesn't affect OS X but the virus can be passed on to windows systems when I transfer the files.

are there any examples for this from using Virtual PC?

 

[howesey]

The virus will only effect the partition that Windows is installed on. Unless the malware has a HFS+ engine and can recognise OS X. So, a virus from Windows will not effect OS X.


As for transfering a virus onto the Windows partition from OS X. OS X cannot write to an NTFS drive. Also, to my knowledge, there are no worms on OS X that would spread over a system. UNIX is too closed and secure to allow this.

 

[Doctor Q]

The virus will only effect the partition that Windows is installed on. Unless the malware has a HFS+ engine and can recognise OS X. So, a virus from Windows will not effect OS X.

This point has been made a couple of times, but why do we dismiss the "unless" in your sentence so easily? Won't writing just such code (to recognize and affect the Mac filesystem) now become a hacker goal?

 

[Doctor Q]

CNET article: Windows security on your Mac.

The Windows system can't read or write to the Mac partition. However, third-party software may eliminate some of these barriers. And while there have been dual-platform viruses in the past, they've been strictly proof-of-concept and, therefore, not a true threat to users at home. The availability of dual-system Macs may change that.

 

[unixfool]

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.

About two years ago, I flew to Texas to visit a home that my wife lived in before she got shipped to Iraq. The computers had been offline for about 6 months and my wife had the cable internet cut off while she was away. A few months prior to my arrival, MS Blaster had rocked the world. I needed to get online with one of the computers, so I made a connection via dialup. As soon as connectivity to the internet was established, the machine was infected with MS Blaster....I'd say within 5 seconds of connecting.

I was in a ridiculous situation. I knew that the machine would probably be infected when I connected but not THAT soon. There was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't receive the MS patches without going online. SP2 wasn't out yet. The machine didn't have any type of firewall already in place. I had no software on CDs that I could install before going online that day.

Within an hour of the infection, I was able to clean Blaster from the system and apply the patch. I then spent ages trying to download all the patches that were released in the last six months...on dialup.

When I returned to VA and work, I explained all this to my coworkers. Since I work for a managed security services provider, this story had value to myself and my coworkers.

BTW, any software that emulates a Windows environment or actually runs a true Windows environment is going to be vulnerable to Windows-based malware. This includes Wine and VMware, amongst others. This was discussed years ago. With Mac systems, the only things that will be affected will be the Windows install, not the Mac install, UNLESS someone gets creative and creates malware that would attach itself to the Windows install on a Mac system, then mutate into something that could affect Mac systems (maybe by taking advantage of a pre-existing or 0-day vulnerability). It can happen.

 

[unixfool]

CNET article: Windows security on your Mac.

I can see this happening if someone has 3rd party tools installed that simplifies gaining access to filesystems. There are tools for Windows that gives access to Linux partitions, for example. Tools such as ExploreFS do this. I'm not aware of any tools that will do this on Mac systems though.

I'm not going to say that the Mac FS is inaccessible from a locally installed Windows system, though. Anything is possible. Windows has a history of being insecure...installing it on a system that is proven to be more secure is asking for trouble, IMO. The system is only going to be as strong as its weakest link. For now, there may not be issues, but I'm pretty sure some cracker(s) out there is(are) already crafting something that will bridge the Windows/Mac gap to take advantage of an insecure install of Windows running on a Mac system. Sure, vulnerabilities rarely affect hardware, but if two OSs are sharing the same hardware with one of those OSs being insecure, the whole machine will eventually become a risk.

 

[grapes911]

This point has been made a couple of times, but why do we dismiss the "unless" in your sentence so easily? Won't writing just such code (to recognize and affect the Mac filesystem) now become a hacker goal?

Maybe. But I think this is a great time to use the old argument, "Because Macs have such a small share of the market, they are not a big target for hackers. If they ever become popular, then we will see Mac viruses." I generally find this to be crap, but I do think it holds true in this case. I know it only takes one hacker to make a virus, but I doubt it will be a huge problem. Only time will tell though.

 

[pirescoelho90]

I am thinking of installing XP on my MBP with bootcamp, but i'm a little bit worried about the viruses. Not because of the windows security problems (I won't connect my MBP to the internet when using windows, i'll use it only to play games), but because of the windows viruses I might have stored on my OSX HD partition. I know that the viruses wont harm my osx, but I was wondering if they can move themselves to my windows partition (note that they haven't been executed yet), execute themselves there, and then infect my system?
Is that possible?

thanks for the replies!

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I am thinking of installing XP on my MBP with bootcamp, but i'm a little bit worried about the viruses. Not because of the windows security problems (I won't connect my MBP to the internet when using windows, i'll use it only to play games), but because of the windows viruses I might have stored on my OSX HD partition. I know that the viruses wont harm my osx, but I was wondering if they can move themselves to my windows partition (note that they haven't been executed yet), execute themselves there, and then infect my system?
Is that possible?

thanks for the replies!

1. Why do you store virus's on your computer?
2. The Windows virus's won't harm a computer if they're never run.
3. If you get windows virus's on OS X, sooner or later you're going to catch an OS X one that does harm your system, I'd think about changing your web habits.

 

[pirescoelho90]

1. Why do you store virus's on your computer?
2. The Windows virus's won't harm a computer if they're never run.
3. If you get windows virus's on OS X, sooner or later you're going to catch an OS X one that does harm your system, I'd think about changing your web habits.

1- I didn't mean that I stored them. what I was saying was that while surfing the web and downloading stuff I could get a windows virus (cause they are a lot more common) that would stay on my HD without me noticing it, cause it wouldn't harm my osx.

2- So, according to what you said, the virus cant duplicate itself or move to the windows partition without being executed first?

3- I was worried about the OSX viruses, because i do a lot of downloads. After seaching in some forums, I found two opinions: a) mac is completely secure and you dont have to worry, and b) there are viruses for osx (only a few, but there are).
Since I am always freaked out about security and viruses, I went to an apple store asking for an antivirus for mac and they told me not to worry cause there were no viruses for mac, so the antivirus isn't needed.

So, are there viruses for mac? and should i be concerned if i use XP with bootcamp even if just for gaming, disconnected from the internet?

I apologize for all the questions, but I am a new mac user. Switched from vista to snow leopard about two weeks ago, and i'm loving it (what a difference!). But, as former vista user, i am still very worried about viruses and trojans.

thanks a lot

 

[CylonGlitch]

So, are there viruses for mac? and should i be concerned if i use XP with bootcamp even if just for gaming, disconnected from the internet?

I apologize for all the questions, but I am a new mac user. Switched from vista to snow leopard about two weeks ago, and i'm loving it (what a difference!). But, as former vista user, i am still very worried about viruses and trojans.

There are no real viruses on the Mac, there have been a few trojans but all of what has been made so far (for OSX) require user interaction to install and run. There are no freely replicating viruses that can infect your system without your knowledge.

If you're running bootcamp, your windows partition can get infected and cause issues. But normally windows can not read or write the Mac partitions. BUT that doesn't mean they are safe; a windows virus can very easily muck with the partition tables and destroy ALL partitions in the system. BUT, fortunately, this type of behavior isn't very common. Most viruses are damaging to files mostly because of the replication and distribution so that they can turn the machines into zombies; they don't want you to lose data because then they can't get your machine. Also windows protects the partition tables a little better.

I wouldn't worry too much about it though, you're going to be much safer if you just use bootcamp to play games that you've purchased.