Back when I first initiate experiment with Windows on my Mac ( near a twelvemonth ago now ) , I made a decision : I was n’t give out to instal any third - party antivirus , anti - spyware , or anti - malware applications . I want to get a literal good sense for what a Windows exploiter was up against . reach that my Windows instalment was entirely separate from the OS X installation — Windows could n’t see the Mac division at all — I figured the bad guinea pig scenario would be an septic Windows installation that require me to pass over the Windows parkway sporting . I also retrieve , “ Really , can it be as bad as everyone has line ? ” I figured this was a good way to find out .
Since my first experience , more Windows on Mac solutions have emerged . Apple releasedBoot Camp , which converts your Mac into a full - bollix up Windows PC . Parallels Desktop for Mac then come out with the first virtualization result , permit you to move Windows alongside OS X. late , VMWare ’s Fusionhas entered public genus Beta , bring home the bacon the same kind of simultaneous approach . And finally , CodeWeavers ’ CrossOver Maclets you feed some Windows apps without really installing Windows , which is quite an telling trick . Over time , all four of these root have retrieve home on my two principal Macs . I do n’t run Windows apps often , though I have been known to use Boot Camp to play the casual PC game .
The other day , I ran Parallels on my Mac Pro for the first fourth dimension in a while . I wanted to tweak the virtual machine ’s setting , which requires shutting it down . When I did so , Windows XP inform me it was installing a few updates . ( I have machine - update enabled . ) finally , the update were applied and the virtual political machine shut down . I tweak my background and restarted the virtual machine . When XP terminate reboot up , I was very surprised to see this on the screen :
Somehow , somewhere , my virtual Windows XP installation had been infect by a penis of therbot kinsfolk of malicious software program . This one seems peculiarly awful , as it reserve remote control of the target motorcar via an IRC server . Definitely not something you need hang around on your machine . gratefully , as seen in the screenshot , Windows find and removed this hack all by itself .
To be completely honest , I have no mind how my machine got infected . This particular practical automobile has n’t done much more than surf the earnings and campaign some Office applications . I used it to download a dozen or so potential iPhoto competitors ( for a comparison piece I was considering written material ) . I intend I had only downloaded from “ safe ” sites such as CNet and Tucows , but perhaps I accidentally went elsewhere while liaison hopping and download an infected data file ( or natter a malicious vane page ? ) . Or maybe the machine was just sniffed out from the meshing and attacked remotely — but that seems somewhat unconvincing . Windows communion is off in my practical motorcar , and my home connection sit behind a router that uses connection address transformation ( NAT ) to shroud the specific machines ’ IP computer address from the earnings . I really do n’t have a clue how my Windows XP install was infect , though .
So what I have I learned from this ? First , I ’m happy I ’m not a full - time Windows substance abuser , where it seems I really would have to worry about this stuff all the meter . Second , I ’m very glad that my virtual machine is a altogether self - contained unit , so that anything malicious wo n’t be able-bodied to do something like rub out the file it finds on a share leaflet . Third and last , I gauge I ’ll want to go find some practiced anti - spyware / malware programme and install it on my practical machines , as it seems there really are things out there that can taint my machine — seemingly without any action on my part !
