[Lobby4]

So you use bootcamp to partition your HD, install windows, anti-virus, etc. After you do all this, it it possible to get a windows virus while booting from your OSX partition? It wouldn't work in OSX, but could it jump to Windows when you boot in it? So hypothetically could you get a Windows virus while only connecting the computer to the internet in OSX? Odd/dumb question, I know, just curious.

[Hansi]

A virus is a piece of executable so yes it can inhabit a file on your MacOS partition as long as it's in one of the files on that partition. If you have a virus on your Windows partition, give Windows read/write access to your Mac partition and it contains files that are applicable for infection then those files can be infected.

But even if any files on your MacOS partition do become infected they can not be executed from within MacOS and affect it in any way except if using these infected files in conjunction with some application that it run via a WIN32 API (Wine and it's derivations etc).

[Tesseract]

Multiplatform malware is theoretically possible, but nobody bothers.

[charmin]

Keep the partitions more than 2 feet apart.

[the Battle Cat]

charmin, on October 23rd 2009, 11:09 AM, said:

Keep the partitions more than 2 feet apart.

Wrong! Not good enough, some of the more virulent viruses use their own bodies to form bridges across spans, much like army ants.

[jackdawsson]

the Battle Cat, on October 23rd 2009, 07:45 PM, said:

Wrong! Not good enough, some of the more virulent viruses use their own bodies to form bridges across spans, much like army ants.

Also not much use if it's a jumping rc (release candidate?) virus: jumping rc virus. Defo needs to be much more than 2 feet apart... to be on the safe side.