[NTLUG:Discuss] Browser Security Question?

[Greg Edwards]

   tr_data1 wrote:
> Robert Pearson has what I consider important questions about the
> security of running M$ IE on Linux via Crossover/VMWare/etc. Not
> intending to hijack his thread: 
> 

It's not that IE is more secure when running in VMware.  VMware runs 
Windows inside of a virtual machine which is basically a program running 
on Linux.  The vmware program has all of the normal memory and permission 
protections that any other program running on a *nix platform has.  The 
Windows hard drives are files on the Linux fs with all of the normal 
permission protections.  The Windows programs cannot access the files and 
resources (including MBR) in the Linux environment without going through 
the vmware program or the the network connections that you've setup via 
samba and windows networking.

This is a simplified description and there are other issues when you use 
raw partitions, but this should cover the general concerns.  Using IE in a 
VMware virtual machine should not be a major worry about your Linux 
environment, but your Windows environment is just as vulnerable as running 
Windows on a dedicated machine.

-- 
Greg Edwards

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