The 'coming doom' for Windows XP users and what can be done...

[knarf2]

Fellow nerds of the net,

I read the below post from 'DuckHook' and reesponded:

Originally Posted by DuckHook

Just posted on another thread about this very topic. I run XP in a VM. I will disable the VM NIC come April 2014 and thereby sandbox XP within the VM. It won't have any further communication with the big bad outside world and will be stuck with whatever I've now got installed on it and nothing more. If you can religiously isolate XP this way, it should be as safe as anything else on your box. If you reconnect the NIC and decide to surf with it, all bets are off."

My response was:


If the writer of the above post (or anyone else on the forum) can answer my question, I'd be grateful.
This sounds like an interesting idea, however forgive my ignorance, but how does one 'sandbox' a virtual XP and disable the 'NIC' (I assume that stands for network card?). Note I use only a single machine for use at home (not on any network). Thanks.

So to anyone out there who can figure this one out, I give my top nerd award out Do you think this is really possible? Would a person running XP inside Linux Ubuntu REALLY be safe from the 'doom' coming in April? If so what is the easiest way to set it up?

[buzzingrobot]

He's talking about disconnecting his XP-in-a-VM from the net. That's all. (Yes, NIC is the network card.)

The threats that are worrisome about XP are attacks that use the internet -- a network, after all -- to get at it. The same is true of any other OS connected to a network: It is vulnerable to attacks distributed from other machines on that same network.

The issue with XP support ending is that Microsoft will not be distributing new updates to counter new kinds of attacks that are discovered. Malware is mostly a professional criminal activity these days, so it is presumed those folks will seize the opportunity to devise new methods to go after all those XP machines.

If your XP installation is not connected to the internet, then you are not vulnerable to malware distributed via the internet. If that's the case, you've already done what this guy says he is doing.

[knarf2]

He's talking about disconnecting his XP-in-a-VM from the net. That's all. (Yes, NIC is the network card.)

The threats that are worrisome about XP are attacks that use the internet -- a network, after all -- to get at it. The same is true of any other OS connected to a network: It is vulnerable to attacks distributed from other machines on that same network.

The issue with XP support ending is that Microsoft will not be distributing new updates to counter new kinds of attacks that are discovered. Malware is mostly a professional criminal activity these days, so it is presumed those folks will seize the opportunity to devise new methods to go after all those XP machines.

If your XP installation is not connected to the internet, then you are not vulnerable to malware distributed via the internet. If that's the case, you've already done what this guy says he is doing.

Thx 4 the reply Buzz... When he says detach the NIC, does he mean PHYSICALLY detach it or thru some software? Also, if it is a single computer, NOT on a network, and used in your home is it safe to assume that NO precautions whatsoever are needed? If that is true, then this is a solution for MILLIONS of people that is free and will introduce them to Linux. What do you recommend as the quickest, easiest way to install and run VMware Xp in a Linux Ubuntu? Also does XP run well this way?

Thanks again from a budding nerd

[monkeybrain20122]

Thx 4 the reply Buzz... When he says detach the NIC, does he mean PHYSICALLY detach it or thru some software?

You can choose the VM, go to Settings > Network and uncheck "Enable Network Adapter" (see screenshots)

[buzzingrobot]

Dunno what "DuckHook" meant, but as long as a machine isn't connected to the net -- wired or wireless -- it isn't connected to the net. Disabling the NIC, in or out of a VM, will do the trick. So will turning off the wifi card and/or pulling the ethernet cable.

[monkeybrain20122]

So will turning off the wifi card and/or pulling the ethernet cable.

But you don't want to kill connection for the host.

[3rdalbum]

If that is true, then this is a solution for MILLIONS of people that is free and will introduce them to Linux. What do you recommend as the quickest, easiest way to install and run VMware Xp in a Linux Ubuntu? Also does XP run well this way?

It's no solution. XP is used because its users don't like change. If they wanted to install Ubuntu, even just for a Windows VM, they would have already done it.

XP in a VM is a solution for businesses that need to use custom-written software that only works on XP, but it will almost certainly be software that requires networking. Heck, the average Windows desktop really needs an internet connection anyway. The secure part of the idea was "no networking", not "VM".

XP in a VM will run slower than on bare hardware. 3D performance: nonexistent. The overhead of running two operating systems and emulating hard drives and other devices will have an impact. Core 2 CPUs and later have special virtualization acceleration features, earlier CPUs don't.

Also, please just say Ubuntu. Not "Linux Ubuntu". Linux is not a software company.

[monkeybrain20122]

Also, please just say Ubuntu. Not "Linux Ubuntu". Linux is not a software company.

But I believe that "Ubuntu Linux" is acceptable.

[alex2e1gzy]

Just wondering why you still want to run XP at all? There are better OS's (like Ubuntu).

As for secure - what if a virus looked for the VM on the host PC, then decided to infect your XP install? Not beyond the realms of possibility...

[buzzingrobot]

... is a solution for MILLIONS of people that is free and will introduce them to Linux. What do you recommend as the quickest, easiest way to install and run VMware Xp in a Linux Ubuntu? Also does XP run well this way?

I don't know what kind of protections, if any, are brought to XP by running it inside a VM. Offhand, I'd say XP-on-the-net is XP-on-the-net, in or out of a VM. Maybe someone else can chip in here.

OF course, if someone does not need net access, they can just take XP off the net. It's not like they'll be missing access to updates after the April end-of-life.

Honestly, if someone has a requirement for Windows apps, staying on Windows is the option I recommend, whether or not they're on XP or another version. So, upgrading to Win7 or Win8 seems to me the optimum solution for an XP user who needs to stay with Windows applications. Both Win7 and Win8, properly configured, are more secure than the typical XP setup.

Now, if an XP user does not need to stay with those Windows applications, and is willing to do some homework initially to identify Linux apps that provide enough of the functionality of those Windows apps to get the job done, perhaps also adjust some habits, then migrating to Ubuntu, or another Linux, is certainly a very good and viable alternative.

[Can't answer your question about XP performance. Last time I used XP was in 2001 just after it was released. When I installed it and then immediately ran the updates, via a dialup link, the machine was infected before the updates finished downloading. That was the last time I bought Windows and a day or so away from the last time I used Windows on my own hardware.]