• DocumentCode
    1160231
  • Title

    Virtually secure - [IT virtualisation]

  • Author

    Bradbury, Dan

  • Volume
    3
  • Issue
    19
  • fYear
    2008
  • Firstpage
    54
  • Lastpage
    55
  • Abstract
    The argument for virtualisation as a security tool makes perfect sense: however it is delivered, malware generally attacks the underlying operating system. It installs software to carry out a malware writer´s goals, which are largely criminal, consisting of spam distribution, password stealing, and account harvesting. But in a virtualised environment, the operating system becomes nothing more than a file - a movable, replaceable entity. Operating systems in virtualised environments are delivered as virtual machines (VMs). If something goes wrong with the VM - if it gets compromised by malware, for example - then the idea is that it won´t affect any other operating systems that you run atop that virtualised environment. If you´re really worried about its security, you can remove it altogether and replace it with a fresh one, it´s as simple as moving a file.
  • Keywords
    invasive software; operating systems (computers); virtual machines; data security; malware; operating system; virtual machine; virtualisation;
  • fLanguage
    English
  • Journal_Title
    Engineering & Technology
  • Publisher
    iet
  • ISSN
    1750-9637
  • Type

    jour

  • Filename
    4783243