Mac® Security Bible

14.8. Securing Windows on a Mac

Now that Macs use Intel processors, it's easier than ever before to run Windows on your Mac — either using Apple's dual-boot Boot Camp solution or side by side with Mac OS X using a virtualization program, such as Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, or Sun's VirtualBox. Whether it's playing games or running business software, all these Windows-on-Mac scenarios let you do things that a few years ago would have required having a PC on your desk or using painfully slow emulation software, such as Virtual PC.

Along with all the benefits that come from being able to run the vast number of Windows-only programs out there comes a risk: Most of the world's malware is also designed exclusively for Windows! At minimum, therefore, you should take steps to protect your Windows installation against these outside threats, just as you would if you were running Windows on a PC. In addition, depending on which software you install and how you have it configured, you may expose your Mac's files and resources to threats from Windows-based malware, so you should be aware of the dangers and the techniques you can use to mitigate them.

14.8.1. Security risks with Boot Camp and virtualization software

With Boot Camp, you create a new volume on your Mac just for your Windows installation, and when you boot into Windows, your Mac OS X volume is read-only (in Snow Leopard; in Leopard, it's not visible at all). The downside of this arrangement is that you have to go through ...