Virtual PC AntiVirus &A#JD1Tg!d8

I hate to agree with Tom-schizo but:

YES.

Definitely follow all the excellent advice from NoNamer.

BUT: if you are going to go on the INTERNET with XP inside VPC, then you will thank yourself for having an anti-virus. Theoretically a real firewall would protect you from malware, as long as you don't download it yourself or get it in email.

BUT:

1) The firewall in XP is minimal and questionable. You never know what to believe, but I have read plenty of reports swearing they have it on and find their XP install infested with malware. That firewall is also a PITA unless you know how to configure it to your needs.

2) You could very easily download something that is infected or that is a trojan. It has been proven that this is theoretically possible with Mac users. It very easily happens with Windows.

3) I guarantee you are going to get malware sent to you in email. I am on Mac and I get it regularly. It is detected by my Virex install, whose virus definitions I keep up to date.

Note that I tell all Mac users to have an anti-virus. I absolutely believe anyone running Windows, including XP with SP2, is NUTS to not run an anti-virus.

And there is no excuse for not installing an anti-virus considering that some of them are FREE FREE FREE!!!

So head over to VersionTracker or TuCows, etc., find a freeware virus checker AND a spyware checker, and use them. Whether you want them actively checking your system is up to you. But at least scan your Windows install once a day if you go on the Internet.

-- Fortune Magazine, 11-29-05: What's your computer setup today? Frederick Brooks: I happily use a Macintosh. It's not been equalled for ease of use, and I want my computer to be a tool, not a challenge. Frederick Brooks is the author of 'The Mythical Man Month'. He spearheaded the movement to modernize computer software engineering in 1975