March 30, 20205 yr I have an unsecure network (2 ransomware viruses in 2 years, Win7, half of the PCs does not have any antivirus software) I have to connect to. What is the safest option? My spare netbook does not work well enough to do anything (1GB of RAM). So I am trying to set up a VM (VMWare Workstation 12 Player). Is it reasonable? Edited March 30, 20205 yr by Hawke64
March 30, 20205 yr 11 hours ago, Hawke64 said: I have an unsecure network (2 ransomware viruses in 2 years, Win7, half of the PCs does not have any antivirus software) I have to connect to. What is the safest option? My spare netbook does not work well enough to do anything (1GB of RAM). So I am trying to set up a VM (VMWare Workstation 12 Player). Is it reasonable? I'm sorry, but could you very clearly state what you're trying to accomplish? I just don't have a good enough idea of what you're trying to do to provide any kind of input. Quote Against stupidity we have no defense. Neither protests nor force can touch it. Reasoning is of no use. Facts that contradict personal prejudices can simply be disbelieved - indeed, the fool can counter by criticizing them, and if they are undeniable, they can just be pushed aside as trivial exceptions. So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self-satisfied. In fact, they can easily become dangerous, as it does not take much to make them aggressive. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.
March 30, 20205 yr It'd be helpful to have more info but yes, that is something you can do. Really though any sandboxing would be recommended going off of what you've provided but keep in mind these are just very general safe practices. Edited March 30, 20205 yr by ShadySands Free games updated 3/4/21
March 30, 20205 yr Author The goal is to connect remotely to the work PC with the minimal risk to the home PC (despite my willingness to go to the office, it is not possible right now). There are several applications that have to be running on the work PC specifically and I must be logged in. I successfully created a VM with as little additional software as possible (Win10x64, Avast, TeamViewer, Mozilla Firefox). So far Avast hasn't discovered any threats.
March 31, 20205 yr Wait, it's...the work PC that is a security risk to your home PC? If that's the case, sure, VMing is a good idea. Having a work-provided VPN would probably be a more elegant solution, but given that you aren't already on it and apparently the work network and PC is more or less totally unsecured, I assume it's not an option. Using something like Sandboxie to remote in might also be an option for something less resource-intensive than a VM (and Sandboxie is totally free these days), but I'd probably feel safer with the full-blown VM. Quote Against stupidity we have no defense. Neither protests nor force can touch it. Reasoning is of no use. Facts that contradict personal prejudices can simply be disbelieved - indeed, the fool can counter by criticizing them, and if they are undeniable, they can just be pushed aside as trivial exceptions. So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self-satisfied. In fact, they can easily become dangerous, as it does not take much to make them aggressive. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.
May 1, 20205 yr Try out VirtualBox. It's free just need an .ISO to load the Operating System you use in it. Elsewise if you use windows 10 pro on your home PC you can spin up a virtual in Hyper V which is built in to win 10. If your work pc is infecting your home pc... that seems crazy.. Your IT people suck. Get a good AV that stops ransomware / crypto like Eset or something.
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