Final advice before I dive into Parallels for Mac?

I'm a Windows-hater from way back (I was a Unix guy before Mac OS X gave me the best of both worlds). I'm about to finish grad school and fear that I may soon be working in a Windows shop, so I'm thinking this may be a good time to swap my personal PB G4 for an MB or MBP specifically in order to run Parallels. Ideally I'd like to continue using my Mac on the job; if that becomes impossible, then at least I'd be able to bring Windows-dependent work home from the office.

Windows applications I have in mind: at this point I'm thinking Visio and maybe a little ArcGIS, but who knows what else will get thrown at me. I don't anticipate needing any graphically intensive applications (no 3D rendering, etc.)

So before I take the plunge, some questions:

- I need a 2 MB machine so I can give 1 MB to Mac OS X and 1 MB to Windows, right?

- A 2 GHz MacBook should be adequate even if a MacBook Pro would be better, correct?

- Should I stick with XP until and unless my workplace has entirely shifted to Vista?

- Is there any reason to invest in Office for Windows or should it be possible to smoothly move to the Mac environment for MS Office apps? (I guess this might depend on whether my workplace makes heavy use of Outlook. Ugh. :-( )

- What's a good rule of thumb for the disk space I should budget for Windows?

- Any other advice or caveats?

Thanks!

P.S. For anyone wondering about the feasibility of ArcGIS under Parallels, here's a test report: http://listserv.uri.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A...cgis&T=0&P=178

 

That's certainly a way to think about it but I've used the automatic memory allocation feature without any problem.

I don't know about that. I've only used MBP -- both CD and C2D. FWIW, I would suggest the MBP C2D to give yourself more flexility, esp if you're wanting to support Vista down the road.

Absolutely. I've only ever used a v1.0 from MS on two occasions: Access and OneNote. Access was tolerable as a v1.0 release whereas OneNote was OK. But every other v1.0 release has inevitably had problems. Personally I won't be touching Vista until SP1 or its equivalent is released.

I use Office for Mac and also have Office for Windows installed but what I've found is that Office for Mac does the job for me quite well. I even imported all of my prior Outlook data. There are ways to import PST files or portions of them so i think you'll be OK, but it does depend on how heavily your work environment leverages the Windows only features.

I have 60GB allocated but, then again, I do most of development and technical support work and and for Windows.

Go with a standard, "simple" installation of Parallels first and get familiar with the various configuration possibilities BEFORE trying to do something unusual. Most of the problems that I've seen being reported have to do with highly specific configurations desires or particular devices. I would say "don't go there" until you're pretty comfortable with Parallels. It will save you a lot of time and hassle.

val

 

Thnks for the quick reply, Val. I must be misinformed: I thought I'd read that memory allocation is fixed when you fire up Parallels. I guess I should go RTFM again. Does your answer affect the machine I should buy? Can I back off on the memory a bit, if it's automatically allocated where it's needed?

 

I wouldn't back off on the memory but, perhaps that's just me. I prefer to make certain that I have as much as I might reasonably need. When prices come down, I then see about maxing out memory.

 

I have a MacBook Pro C2D that I've maxed the RAM to 3 GB, with my XP VM taking 1GB of that. It works fine. In XP SP2 I run Outlook, FeedDemon, Trillian and Quicken/QuickBooks Pro mostly. I run Word, Excel and PowerPoint on the Mac side. Only disadvantage is that I can't double click a file in an Outlook attachment and have it open on the Mac side. I have to save it to my drive and open it from there. Not a biggie, and it works just fine.

 

Parallels will install a read/write folder on the Windows desktop that points to the root volume of your Mac. You might want to think about what that means to you and how it fits into your security policy.

 

Thanks for the tip. Any suggestions about specific steps to take, or anywhere I should go look?

I suppose that raises the not-Parallels-specific question of the minimal set of unfamiliar security precautions a Mac person should take upon acquiring a Windows system. :-(

 

When you create a Windows VM an option is Shared Folders. In the pane that opens for this defiition at the bottom there is a radio button for Global Shareing. I always unselect it because my security requirements are that Windows run in a sandbox. The Parallels view is that OS X and Windows are partners on the platform.

A second share is created, too, and it is less obtrusive but no less ominous. You might want to tune it as well, again, depending on your security expectations.

Regarding the shares - they allow any capable malware in Windows to harvest anything or everything allowd by Unix permissions on the Mac side. In addition, any capable Windows malware can also copy a perl script to your home folder or to any writable folder such as /tmp or /var/tmp, and replace your bashrc file with one of it's own and which will execute the planted script. Some here see no need to worry including some of Parallels's own staff.

My guess is they believe they will get the best market position by making the Mac and Windows as transparent operationally as possible, so things like drag and drop are of greater need than security. My bet is most folks won't know, understand, or care about the security issue so long as their games work.

 

I was curious to read that report, but the link seems to be having problems. However, I can attest to the fact that I have been making full use of ArcGIS Desktop on my Macbook Pro with Parallels/XP with no problems. Indeed, ArcGIS accounts for 99% of my windows use.

 

You're right, let's try that URL again: http://listserv.uri.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0609&L=scgis&T=0&P=178

 

You'll probably mean:
- I need a 2 GB machine so I can give 1 GB to Mac OS X and 1 GB to Windows, right?

Mac OS X and Windows don't work with 1 MB anymore for years.

 

There will be some folks here who will try to scare you into believing that Global Sharing is inhernelty problematic; however, I have been using it and enjoying it. Such easy interoperability is one of the primary reasons I want to use Parallels, instead of either Boot Camp or a separate Windows machine. But, then again, I'm a fairly experienced Windows users and developer, so I have also come to understand what needs to be done to keep Windows systems running well -- and protected.

My suggestions FWIW is to get Norton SystemWorks (paid program), AdAware (free or shareware) and SpyBot (free or shareware). The other suggestion is not let those who want to only "play in the sandbox" scare you. Parallels is a great product -- and so is Windows.

 

no no no

allocate a smaller amount to parallels

leaner is meaner

of 2gb
500 to 700k is enough for parallels which will take 2.2 gb virtual memory (1gb of 2 gb will run slower)

standard WInXp security management is essential
good freebies are available

ante virus 6 months Norton from google tools
or AVG home

I just found Sygate Personal Firewall as a home use freebie which is industrial strengh to replace McAfee® Personal Firewall Plus which was a freebie from AOL when I used them as my ISP

adaware
spyware blaster
spybot search and destroy


irfan view with all plug ins can browse but not save images in the mac system

good house keeping is esential with all machines
for example
disk clean ups with utilities offered by the OS vendors


take care

Hugh W

 

Thanks for all the Parallels tips

dkp: Thanks for the explanation. Yeah, that does sound troubling. Sounds like the Parallels people have drunk the same koolaid Microsoft has been swilling for years, of naively opening giant holes that have to be filled in later.

Paul S: Amazing, after all these comments, that you're the first person who caught my mixup of MB and GB. D'oh!

drval and Hugh: Thanks for the security-ware tips. At this point I feel bewildered about how to lock down Windows. Can anyone recommend a tutorial on Windows security, preferably one for Mac and/or Unix people?

And Hugh: I still don't understand. Why is less memory for Parallels faster? And what if I want to run apps in Parallels which are memory hogs?

 

I don't think there's anything either naive or malevolent here -- just a recognition that users want a certain kind of GUI experience and interoperability and, knowing how to handle the risks, feel a sense of comfort in doing so. And, if you don' t like those features, you can disable them.

Use the following as a starting point for jumping to other references.
http://66.226.64.108/warehouse3

I just Googled internet security for windows for mac users

 

riddle: I'm beta testing Parallels on a Macbook C2D with 2GB. I run Matlab and Adobe Illustrator mostly, both Fat apps. I use 700MB for my XP. The experience is, simply, great! Very smooth and performance is good. I would not upgrade to Vista unless some app really depended on it.

My main concern is that the Parallels beta chews CPU constantly, around 20% (of one CPU) at Idle. That means shorter battery life if you will work on the move. I hope that will eventually get fixed.

Personal Windows Tips:

• Use AVG free if you are cash strapped, or if you want the fastest and most memory efficient anti-virus, NOD32. Use ad-aware and/or Spybot Search and Destroy once a month
• Use an alternative browser, Firefox or Opera (I use Opera as it has a smaller memory footprint and is fast, it also has the best track record at secunia.com for fixing security bugs). IE7 is much less dangerous than IE6 was.
• Use nLite to strip out uselsess stuff before install: http://www.nliteos.com/
• Autopatcher gives you ALL updates and useful software in one go, saves a huge amount of time going through all the updates: http://www.autopatcher.com/
• Control Panel > System (or press Windows+Pause) > Advanced > Environment Variables > Set all TEMP locations to c:\temp to stop temporary files going everywhere!
• Once installed, use autoruns ( http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/autoruns.mspx ) to make sure only the applications you want start with windows. The other sysinternals tools, especially Process explorer and process monitor are the best free monitoring tools available, highly recommended.
• Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder Options > View > Automatically search for network folders and printers = OFF | use this to disable the service permanently: http://www.grc.com/unpnp/unpnp.htm
• Turn off messenger and remote registry: http://it.emory.edu/showdoc.cfm?docid=2604&fr=1093
• Run unknown new software in a sandbox, great for trying stuff without causing any changes to the system: http://www.sandboxie.com/

 

Thanks, Non Troppo! Very useful list.

I take it that, from a Mac OS X point of view, Parallels is just another app, and when I don't want to run it it won't make any demands on memory, CPU or the battery. Right? Given that I hope most of my life will still happen on the Mac side, I shouldn't be running Parallels off the battery much.

 

I think they know exactly what they're doing and what it means to security but commerce is a big motivator and to be honest this particular hole won't affect the majority of users. But... I haven't yet mentioned it in these forums, but one of the rather trivial things Windows malware can do that should probably get everyone's attention is that it can delete from the Mac file system it's own vm files. Not too big a deal if you've been careful about backing it up.

But wait - there's more...

Even more delicious, while you sleep it can transfer your vm to a remote site. So there you are - a complete machine stolen out from under you without your knowledge and without leaving a clue. Your OS, your applications, your private information, your data - all of it lifted with a few lines of code. The perfect crime. The good news is you get painless drag and drop between Windows and OS X.

Anyone with an open mind care to venture a guess as to how long it takes to write such a tool?

This can be interpreted as fear mongering or educational, not my call, and I have nothing to gain either way, but regardless, the information provided should give the users something to consider when making their security choices. Education is a good thing.

 

Or it can be seen as fear mongering re: information that users of Windows have known -- and been dealing with -- for years. The fear mongering aspect is the presentation that somehow this is NEW when actually, the issues specific to Windows have been known and responded to over the years. The information aspect is in reporting to non-Windows users knowledge what is already well known in various forms in the Windows community. Knowing how the community of WIndows users has responded to these issues -- and continued to function very well -- is also informative, but not fear mongering.

We live in a widely interconnected world and that means that terrorism of all kinds is now widely available. I still fly -- frequently -- even though planes themselves are no more secure to destruction than before 9/11.

 

The issue I raised is not a Windows issue - it is an issue for any environment where one OS has user level read/write access to the top level disk of another OS and all of it's mounted remote file systems. This is typically not a problem with discreet systems because the OS's have a natural security perimeter. It is a problem because at least with Parallels the security perimeter of the guest overlaps the perimeter of the host and that is not just unusual, it is unprecedented. Parallels has created a tunnel through the firewalls of both the host and the guest and has done so without so much as a notice to the unwary user.

It is a non sequitur that Windows users have prior experience. Mac users running Windows may or may not have that experience. No Mac users have much experience in user space machine virtualization and the interesting issues they present because it is a very new technology. It is especially unimportant what your personal experiences are because 1) you are a single data point, and 2) there are not yet any exploits that can take advantage of this exposure.

You have a perfectly valid view of the situation - you're not worried about an exploit and that's fine. Just like the airlines - most flights are uneventful. I might question the wisdom of getting onto an airplane that you know to have mechanical problems that can kill everyone on board - you make your choices based on your criterion.

For the rest of us we can look at the options and choose that model that best suits our criterion - the good news is that at least people who read these forums are aware of the problem. Users who have not found these forums may or may not understand all you and I have shared and I think somebody should try to reach out to them and give them the benefit of this knowledge. Maybe somebody will make a YouTube video of the process of destroying or pirating a system via the global share.

By the way, you have not said if you believe it is possible or not to do what has been suggested.