After 2020--Use Linux as vm inside Win 7? How safe?

jamesldavis

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After 2020 How safe/unsafe would it be to:

  • Only access the net via a Linux installed inside Win 7 as a virtual machine.
  • And you keep your antivirus active on the Win 7 side.

What other steps might one take to continue using unsupported Win 7 after 2020?
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Lenova
OS
Windows 7 Home 64 bit
Memory
8 megs
Antivirus
Avast
Browser
Firefox
The better option would be to use W7 as a VM inside a native Linux installation.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
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EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
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Realtek Integrated
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Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
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Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
Thanks. How much better and option is that. Also concerned about slow down of Win 7 run as a virtual OS.
Or is there a VM that will provide a fast Win 7 even though virtual?
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Lenova
OS
Windows 7 Home 64 bit
Memory
8 megs
Antivirus
Avast
Browser
Firefox
Only access the net via a Linux installed inside Win 7 as a virtual machine.
That's pretty much what I already do, so 2020 isn't going to matter to me. The only real difference from your proposition is I don't even bother with AV anymore. I just create a known-good VM snapshot, and every time I start the VM I start from that snapshot. That way, if anything bad did manage to get into the linux VM, it would get flushed out by the reset-to-snapshot at the start of each VM session anyway.

As I see it, the "linux-plus-WinVM" vs. "Win-plus-linuxVM" strategies each have their pros and cons.

In the "linux-plus-WinVM" scenario, what you're saying is you're going to commit your web browsing to the increasingly less secure of the two OSes, and you're going to be doing most of your non-web work in the host OS, linux, with it's attendant learning curves -- not just for linux, but inevitably for the new programs and applications you'll have to switch to, as well. I'm not sure that would be an attractive option for me. You don't want to continue doing your non-web work in Windows because you're also using it for the web ... and if you were to favor that route, then there was no point to setting up a VM in the first place.

In contrast, the "Win-plus-linuxVM" scenario means you're going to commit your web browsing to linux, an OS that not only should continue receiving security updates, but is also arguably a smaller target for attack to begin with. (I'm presuming the majority of malware attacks target Windows users.) You can also continue doing most of your non-web work in your old, familiar host OS (Windows), and with your familiar programs and utilities. The downside is your host OS will still have to be able to connect to the net in order for the VM to access the net. If you're never using a web browser in Windows, though, that risk will IMHO be acceptably small.

I'm already using the "Win-plus-linuxVM" strategy, and I don't plan to change anything in 2020. FTR, I also quit updating Windows at the end of 2017 when the Spectre debacle hit. So 2020 changes nothing because I've already quit updating Windows.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell Optiplex 7050
OS
Windows 7/8.1/10 multiboot
CPU
Intel Core i7-7700
Motherboard
Dell, Intel Q270 chipset
Memory
48GB (2x16GB Crucial DDR4-3200 + 2x8GB Hynix DDR4-2400)
Graphics Card(s)
Intel HD630 + AMD Radeon R7 450 PCIe
Monitor(s) Displays
Asus VC279 (27")
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Toshiba M.2 NVMe (256GB),
Samsung 960 Evo (500GB),
WD Red Plus 80EFBX (8TB)
If you have a desktop, the best option is to use Windows 7 and Linux on separate drives. You stay offline with the Windows drive and use the Linux drive for online work. Eventually, unless you need Windows for something you can't do on Linux, you will probably be done with Windows.


you can basically do the same thing even in a laptop, by creating a dual boot system, where you have two partitions, one with Linux, the other Windows. This is equivalent to having two separate hard drives.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Gateway GT5656
OS
Windows 7 x64 SP1
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ / 3.0 GHz
Motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE
Memory
6 GB
Monitor(s) Displays
Lenovo LED
Screen Resolution
1920 X 1080
Hard Drives
Windows on 500 GB spinner; Ubuntu 16 on Sandisk 250GB SSD; Bodhi5 on Samsung 250GB SSD; another old spinner for fooling around.
PSU
Original that came with computer
Keyboard
Logitech wireless
Mouse
Logitech wireless
Antivirus
Microsoft Sec Essentials
Browser
Vivaldi
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