21-05-2016, 06:12 PM
I'm aware that each VM is responsible for its own protection. With Vbox (and presumably VMware) you have control over the resources that you grant to each VM. As a matter of routine I wouldn't grant network access (and hence internet access) to a VM running an obsolete OS. Unless I'm mistaken I think this should keep it safe.
In my own lab I need to keep an older version of some Xilinx software in service to support some older designs which use hardware that's no longer supported in current Xilinx software. The older software won't run on anything later than XP. It has no need for network access so it can sit safely in a VM running XP.
The alternative would be a dedicated PC running XP which would be a nuisance. It would also be an older machine with greater potential for hardware failure. If I need it even further into the future I can simply copy the entire VM on to another PC where it should run without further effort.
I've seen people advocate doing all your everyday acitivites on a VM. The idea being that if you foul up a VM with a virus etc you simply revert to your last clean copy of that VM. You can also readily create new VMs for high risk activities and delete them when you're finished.
In my own lab I need to keep an older version of some Xilinx software in service to support some older designs which use hardware that's no longer supported in current Xilinx software. The older software won't run on anything later than XP. It has no need for network access so it can sit safely in a VM running XP.
The alternative would be a dedicated PC running XP which would be a nuisance. It would also be an older machine with greater potential for hardware failure. If I need it even further into the future I can simply copy the entire VM on to another PC where it should run without further effort.
I've seen people advocate doing all your everyday acitivites on a VM. The idea being that if you foul up a VM with a virus etc you simply revert to your last clean copy of that VM. You can also readily create new VMs for high risk activities and delete them when you're finished.
www.borinsky.co.uk Jeffrey Borinsky www.becg.tv
