What can happen to my new mac if I dual boot windows?

Question

I just got a MAC for school, I'm in my final semester of Computer Programming, which is all done on XP Pro. I got a mac because I'm going into animation and design after and they told me that MAC was best.

I need XP Pro on my computer to finish my current program. But I hear that once you install a Windows operating system on a MAC the security drops WAY down. I believe it to be true. I dont have a choice right now, I need XP Pro on it. So what can I do to protect my new MAcbok Pro? It costed a pretty penny and I want to protect my investment.

Assuming that I AM putting XP Pro on it as a dual boot, what's the best thing I can do to keep safe? What programs will do the best job of protecting my Windows AND MAC side of my computer? What methods do you suggest?

Please no "Just don't install XP" answers, as I said, I don't have a choice... any help is appreciated!

Answer 1

The reason "the security drops way down" when you install Windows on a computer that used to only have OS X is because Windows is said to be inherently less secure than OS X. If you didn't get viruses and hackers and spyware galore when you were using Windows XP prior to getting the Mac, just keep to the same computing habits and you should be fine. Of course, all the "Install anti-viral and anti-spyware scanners", "Use a firewall", "Use Firefox" still apply.

If you do get a virus on Windows XP a Mac, though, your installation of OS X will not be affected directly by the virus, because the virus will most likely be written to target vulnerabilities and system setups in Windows, which don't exist (or work the same way) on OS X. If, however, the virus opens a backdoor for a human (or automated) intruder to access your filesystem, your computer could potentially be put in grave danger. Mac partitions cannot be read by Windows without special third-party software, but a data partition set up specifically to store files used by both Windows and OS X will be vulnerable.

Answer 2

You've gotten some pretty good answers. Most are true. The only side of your Mac that would be damaged by a virus when using BootCamp would be the Windows side. There is one of the newer anti virus companies that specializes in blocking viruses from both the Mac and Windows side. They sell you a CD that installs on both. I can't remember the name of the company, but if you check around, you can find it.

Answer 3

Boot Camp is included with your new MAC, do a Spotlight search for more info. Use it to install a full version of XP Pro as "dual Boot". You can then choose which OS to run at boot up.

Windows is still susceptible to malware, so you will need to install all security tools. OS X will not be affected.

Use the Discovery Tab here to learn more about Malware.

Answer 4

Well its a partition so even if you get a virus on the windows partition you can just wipe the windows side. Plus if you put a anti-virus program on the windows side that be fine. PS there is no know viruses on the mac that are out in the wild so you don;t have to worry too much (out in the wild means they are currently being used by hackers and spamers)

Answer 5

Your Mac files should be pretty safe because they're on a seperate partition. The best idea would be to get a full virus/firewall suite for Windows. I truly believe that the whole thing is a myth. Apple sez only your files on Windows will be vulnerable, but they also say the Mighty Mouse is awesome and simply fantastic, so you dunno if they're telling the truth.

Answer 6

Can you run it as a virtual machine? I'll admit that the only thing I know about macs is that my friend's used to crash constantly. I've got Ubuntu on my computer, but I'm running windows as a virtual machine so I can still use Photoshop.