The purpose of this article is to introduce the average PC user to VirtualBox. Terminology may be simplified to make it easier to understand for the non-Geek.
This article contains 3 sections and covers installing VirtualBox Hosts and Guests under Windows and openSUSE.
VirtualBox is virtualization software that runs under most modern operating systems. What this means in layman’s terms is that you set up an environment that pretends to be an actual computer, this is a “virtual machine” ( VM for short). With that virtual machine you can run another operating system in a window just like you would run another program. For instance, if you are using Windows 7 you could run Ubuntu in a window at the same time (see screenshots below for examples). To be clear, only the machine (computer) is virtual, you are actually running this other operating system.
The advantages of using virtual machines are many. For the home user these would include trying out new operating systems and the ability to run programs from different operating systems.
You can run many Windows games under Linux, or use Microsoft Office. You could try the latest Windows 7 SP beta, test new programs, tweaks, and configurations. You can try the latest Linux distros in an environment that is more realistic than a Live CD.
My favorite way to use VirtualBox is to run Windows under Linux. More specifically, I run Windows XP and 7 under openSUSE 11.3 (more on this later).
Security is also an advantage. The main operating system is separate from the one running on the virtual machine. For the most part viruses, malware, crashes, bugs, etc. are all contained inside the OS running in that VM. This of course does not relieve you of the responsibility of using safe computing habits. Lets say you download a file that contains a virus while under an Ubuntu VM and then run that file in Windows you could get infected.
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iTunes 10.1.2
Download. Be sure to see Ed Bott’s – The unofficial guide to installing iTunes 10 without bloatware
iTunes 10.1.2 provides a number of important stability and performance improvements.
New Acronis Coupons
15% off full versions of Acronis True Image Home 2011, and Disk Director 11. Good through April 18th, 2011.
Hit the links in the right column for the discount —>
Time To Run Windows Update
Updates available for XP-7 and MS Office. There is also an optional update for Windows 7 that basically prepares your computer for SP1.
This update is necessary to successfully install and to remove any service packs to all versions of Windows 7 and on Windows Server 2008 R2.
FWIW, I have no clue when Windows 7 SP1 will come out. Last I heard was Q1 which means sometime before April.
Microsoft Security Essentials 2
This version of Microsoft Security Essentials includes the following new features and enhancements to better help protect your computer from threats:
-Windows Firewall integration. Security Essentials setup enables you to turn on or off Windows Firewall.
-Network Inspection System. This feature enhances real-time protection by inspecting network traffic to help proactively block exploitation of known network-based vulnerabilities.
-New and improved protection engine. The updated engine offers enhanced detection and cleanup capabilities with better performance.
iTunes 10.1.1
About iTunes 10.1.1
This release provides a number of important bug fixes, including:
* Addresses an issue where some music videos may not play on Macs equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 9400 or 9600 graphics.
* Resolves an issue where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when deleting a playlist that has the iTunes Sidebar showing.
* Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when connecting an iPod to a Mac equipped with a PowerPC processor.
* Addresses an issue where some music videos may not sync to an iPod, iPhone, or iPad.About iTunes 10.1.1 for Windows (64 bit)
This release provides a number of important bug fixes, including:
* Addresses an issue where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when resizing the iTunes window.
* Resolves an issue where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when deleting a playlist that has the iTunes Sidebar showing.
* Addresses an issue where some music videos may not sync to an iPod, iPhone, or iPad.
Time To Run Windows Update
Updates, and updates, and more updates available for XP, 2K3, Vista, 2K8, Seven, Office, etc.
Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for December 2010
3DMark Contest Winners
The contest winners for the 3DMark 11 Advanced Edition keys were contacted and the prizes were claimed.
Congrats to Darek and Tony!
FWIW – My favorite PC game of all time is Redneck Rampage 🙂 I just had a ton of fun playing it.
New Windows 0-day vulnerability emerges, bypasses UAC
Story found via Neowin, via Winrumors, original at Prevx. It being the Thanksgiving Holiday here in the states I assume most of the MS staff here is off and the only official statement I can find from Microsoft at the moment is from a German Microsoft TechNet blog post. Microsoft is investigating new vulnerability in Windows Kernel (translated).
Being a privilege escalation exploit, it bypasses by design even the protection given by the User Account Control and Limited User Account technology implemented in Windows Vista and Windows 7. All Windows XP/Vista/7 both 32 and 64 bit are vulnerable to this attack.
Time To Run Windows Update
I don’t see anything critical since the last round of updates but there are “important” updates available. What you get depends on what OS you are running.