Windows 7: How safe is a VM to the host?

I've only used VMs for testing known apps, development work and testing OSes.

How safe are they from infecting the host with a virus? Normally I use a seperate computer or i switch harddrives and boot up to another drive, so there is no chance for a virus.

However, sometimes thats a hassle.

Hello s0me0ne.

That is 100% safe if you use VHD or etc. HDD file format ----- that is ----- When VM's files cant access to Host (like when you use physical device for storage not VHD type or etc. file format)

VMs is best for that. Testing and development.... When you do that with virus , its recommed to make snapshot if can.

Trinty.

Hi,

Contrary to popular belief there is still a security risk when running VM's. The major risk is in the network connectivity between the host and VM (e.g. sharing files between the host and VM).

If you run a Linux guest OS on the VM, then the risk is reduced, simply because there isn't as much Linux-based malware, but also because you usually never use the OS as a root user. Having said that, there are a handful of cross-platform malware that infect both Linux and Windows, for example BadBunny, but these are very rarely seen nowadays.

My recommendation is to always keep the Guest OS updated, and to install anti-virus/malware software on both.

Regards,
Golden