Virtual PC

[Frederic Bonroy]

if *i* understand correctly a virtual pc is nothing more than a hardware
(cpu, ram, hard drive) emulator... the ones i've seen require you to
install an operating system on them in order to do anything interesting
with them...

Depends. On the one hand there is emulation (Bochs is an emulator) and
on the other hand there is virtualization (Virtual PC and Vmware). Bochs
really emulates the CPU while Virtual PC executes the code on the
physical CPU. It intercepts and manages certain events so as to be able
to "embed" the "virtual" code into the physical environment.

 

[FromTheRafters]

What's your distinction, if any, between a virus from any source that
infects your email application, and a virus that infects any application
but comes via email?

No distinction, both are file infectors. One may be a payload of sorts that
is carried by an e-mail vector worm, while the other may be a payload of
another (or a mixture) type of worm. A virus need only copy its viral code
in order to be a virus - anything else it copies along with it is payload to me.
A worm sends itself (or a fragment of itself) to another device and doesn't
*need* to have a viral function - so I consider the viral function to be worm
payload.

Are either considered to be email virii?

Since "e-mail" is not a program, it cannot be infected. The fact that internet
mail has been extended to allow executable content transmission does not
mean that e-mail is now infectable - it only means that the deeper content
encapsulated within could have been infected.

 

[FromTheRafters]

if *i* understand correctly a virtual pc is nothing more than a
hardware (cpu, ram, hard drive) emulator... the ones i've seen require
you to install an operating system on them in order to do anything
interesting with them...

Yes, I assumed that a user would want more than an error message if
the "missing operating system" message is also emulated. ;o)

 

[FromTheRafters]

I use Microsoft's Virtual PC to test whether virus samples that I come
across are viable (or rather: viable enough to be included in my modest
non-scientific collection).

Of course, since Virtual PC and VMware do not technically emulate the
code but execute it on the physical processor, there is always a
theoretical risk that a virus might escape from this environment.
One famous virus author has written a short article on how a virus can
find out whether it's running in Vmware.

Or what exactly do you mean by "virtual PC"?

I was wondering the same, because there may be some confusion between
a virtual machine and a virtual machine designed as a sandbox application.