Linux+Windows: Questions and Concerns

[jackthechemist]

Greetings all,

I finally got fed up with Windows and decided to download and Ubuntu blah blah I'm sure you've all heard that before. I'm partitioning the drive and installing Ubuntu and Windows (XP, Vista or 7, not sure yet, basically just to run anything WINE can't), but am wondering...

1) If I boot OS#1, can the inherent flaws of OS#2 (on a separate partition) be exploited?

2) If I boot OS#1, is it susceptible to any spyware/malware/viruses/Trojans that might have infected OS#2? (I know this question is a bit general)

3) Would it be wiser to buy a separate HD and put Windows on that? Consider questions 1) and 2) with regard to separate HDs.

4) Can anyone think of something I haven't yet considered?

Thank you all in advance for your input. Forgive me if the answers are obvious, normally I would do more research but am in a hurry.

Jack

[coopstah13]

1 & 2) no, but if you share files between them then you might face an issue, windows virii will only work on windows though you could download an infected file on linux
3) probably not, usually using multiple disks causes annoyances with booting

[Jonathan183]

4) Can anyone think of something I haven't yet considered?

Consider installing Linux and then installing Windows as a VM that way you have complete control over what Windows has access to.

You can dual boot Linux and Windows on the same hard drive or use separate hard drives. Using separate hard drives will only really help with security if you disconnect them when using the other OS.

[GNU-Fan]

ad 4:
It might be better to install Windows first, then Ubuntu afterwards.
This is because the Windows installer sometimes overwrites the bootloader so that only starts Windows.

[samalex]

Greetings all,

I finally got fed up with Windows and decided to download and Ubuntu blah blah I'm sure you've all heard that before. I'm partitioning the drive and installing Ubuntu and Windows (XP, Vista or 7, not sure yet, basically just to run anything WINE can't), but am wondering...

1) If I boot OS#1, can the inherent flaws of OS#2 (on a separate partition) be exploited?

2) If I boot OS#1, is it susceptible to any spyware/malware/viruses/Trojans that might have infected OS#2? (I know this question is a bit general)

3) Would it be wiser to buy a separate HD and put Windows on that? Consider questions 1) and 2) with regard to separate HDs.

4) Can anyone think of something I haven't yet considered?

Thank you all in advance for your input. Forgive me if the answers are obvious, normally I would do more research but am in a hurry.

Jack

Actually I'd suggest installing Linux only on the hardware then running Windows through VirtualBox. That's the way I have it setup, and it works quite well. Windows is in it's own little world and unless I create shares between the instance of Windows and the Linux file system there's pretty much zero way for any flaws, bugs, etc to hop from Windows to Linux.

You'll need a decent system to do this plus Windows games that require lots of horsepower isn't ideal in this situation, but for those apps that Wine just can't hack this is the best way to do it. Plus you'll have the ability to run your Win apps and Linux concurrently.

Take care --

Sam

[jmadero]

I have found issues with virtualbox, most notably major lag with videos (netflix streaming) and once in awhile I get network issues with it....I dual boot and just use Windows once every few months or so.

[jackthechemist]

Hello again,

Thanks for the prompt advice. I just finished backing up my files and will be installing Windows first, then Ubuntu.