anti virus & firewall

[littlewaywelt]

I installed Parallels the other day along with XP home, so that I can run a few key programs that won't run on mac.

Do I need to enable the firewall and install an antivirus program and subscription? Is the computer only accessible to that type of malware when Parallels is open and running?

I really don't understand how this whole emulation/virtual thing works, depsite reading the wiki on it.

 

[LeviG]

you still need to install av and firewall (although I just use the inbuilt windows one with a hardware firewall in my router), AVG has a free antivirus program that is highly regarded or you could go for the paid options such as kaspersky or nod32.

 

[Moof1904]

When I installed Parallels on a friend's MBP, Parallels included kaspersky anti-virus free. It's an install option in Parallels. Did I mention it was free?

 

[3nm]

in addition to AV and firewall, imho it's best to disable/limit parallels' access to OS X's folders. even though the possibility is close to zero, theoretically someone can gain access to OS X by the folder sharing feature in parallels. i haven't played w/ parallels for a while, but iirc you can configure it by opening parallels > configurations > shared folders