Sorry in advance if this has already been posted about ad nauseam, I tried doing a search but didn't find what I was looking for.

I was chatting with someone last week about using the Intel Mac to run Windows and how it's supposedly "better" - something about how the Intel Mac will not contract viruses like the PCs because when it's restarted the Mac clears some internal memory or system that magically erases any virus or spy ware on the machine making it the Ultimate Windows Machine.

Does anyone know anything about this?

I'm thinking about getting an Intel Mac to run Windows and if that is the truth, it would certainly alleviate many concerns. Or is an Intel Mac running Windows foiled by the same virus/spyware problems that the average PC faces?

Thanks!

From all posts here and elsewhere I have read you need to install Norton's or some Virus program on Intel Mac in the XP partition. I have not read anything about "clearing" on the WIN side of the mac.

You can search and find many references to this here also Google the reviews of Mactel and I think you will not read anything different than "A virus program needed for the WIN side of the Mactel".

samintx has the right of things. The Windows partition of the hard drive will be just as open to viruses and spyware as a native windows machine. However, your OSX parition is safe, and the viruses cannot infect that partition.

As well, since Apple has to implement "hacks" to make windows work on the intel Macs (see BootCamp instructions), this makes me wonder whether Windows will not work "as well" (but much better than VPC) on a Mac as opposed to a native windows machine.

Just my thoughts.

-Spiff

A commentator on NPR stated that if an IntelMac running Windows contracted a virus restarting the computer was all that was needed to get rid of the virus or spyware. That was the day or so after the release, and I can't remember his name. Only place I've heard it however.

iaJim Wrote:
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> A commentator on NPR stated that if an IntelMac
> running Windows contracted a virus restarting the
> computer was all that was needed to get rid of the
> virus or spyware.

I believe it was something like "If you get bogged down with viruses and/or spyware, just restart the mac, booting into Mac OS X, and continue to work..." Not exactly the same as "magically" zapping evil software from the system

That NPR story was probably referring to Parallels. Which is just a virtual machine running Windows. If you make a copy of the virtual machine and the one you're using get hosed by a virus, just erase it and switch to the copy. BAM! Back in business. This will be the way forward. Think of Windows as the Ghetto-OS, the OS that you only venture into when it is absolutely necessary, and you dont' want anyone to know that you were even there.

Don't even mess with Bootcamp unless you have some really heavy Windows lifting to do. If you must use Bootcamp you also need antivirus / antispyware software. Think of running Windows via Bootcamp on your Mac like getting it on with a less than reputable escort. You'll want protection and a source for penicillin. Running Windows via Bootcamp makes your Mac no different than any other cheap-o PC with all the same vulnerabilities and problems. The installation, while not exactly difficult, is not insignificant either. It is at least 1 hour of your time that your computer is completely unusable. Regular re-installation is simply not a viable option. This is why I say that a product such as Parallels or similar is the way forward.

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MacResource User Map: [www.zeemaps.com]#

An Intel Mac runnng Windows XP via BootCamp *IS* a PC. Period. And as such is just as vulnerable to windows viruses and spyware, etc. that can infect the Windows boot partition.

If you *re-boot* back to the MacOS partition, you have NOT removed the Windows viruses on the Windows partition anymore than you would by turning an infected Dell computer OFF. The next time you startup the Windows partition via BootCamp the viruses will still be there... just like the Dell, next time you boot that up.

All Apple has managed to do, to some degree, is isolate the MacOS boot partition from the BootCamp Windows XP boot partition.

So in effect, if you boot back to MacOS, the virus ridden Windows XP partition seems to have "gone away", but in reality, it is just waiting for the next time you need to boot it back up.

Nothing magic going on here. If you need to run Windows via BootCamp, you need to plan on supporting it just like a normal PC... because that is what it is.

Running XP in "virtualization" mode via software like Parallels' is an entirely different story, though. I think a lot of people confuse the two.

ztirffritz,

Good post. Beat me to the "post" button

Cringely makes some extravagent promises like that, but it looks like he's just saying what ztirffritz was, that when one copy of win gets hosed, you delete it and run another.

Which seems like a reasonable way of going about it.

Here's the article:
[www.pbs.org]

On an earlier thread [forums.macresource.com] elmo3 astutely pointed out that if you're going to run Windows in a virtual environment, it doesn't have to be a mac. You can get VPC for Windows and do it that way. So the benefit of trashing a tainted Windows install and starting fresh with ease is hardly a reason to buy a mac.

Mike Johnson Wrote:
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> On an earlier thread elmo3 astutely pointed out
> that if you're going to run Windows in a virtual
> environment, it doesn't have to be a mac. You can
> get VPC for Windows and do it that way. So the
> benefit of trashing a tainted Windows install and
> starting fresh with ease is hardly a reason to buy
> a mac.


Except that running Windows inside of Windows is like building a house of cards on top of a house of cards. If you're VM gets hosed, what is stopping the Host OS from getting hosed too? They are both susceptible to the same vulnerabilities. I'm not saying that this can't be done correctly, but for the average user, it is not a trivial task to harden the host OS and allow the client OS to remain useful and connected to the internet. If you want to run Windows inside of another OS, don't use Windows as the other OS. Linux, OS X, FreeBSD, and a host of other OSs all have virtualization/emulation options available. Wine, Darwine, Qemu, Parralels, VMWare, Vitual PC are just a few of the options available.

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MacResource User Map: [www.zeemaps.com]#