Articles about Virtualization

The curse of Windows 11's system requirements has struck, and this time the victims are users of VirtualBox. Anyone hoping to run the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system in Oracle’s virtualization software is out of luck.

It comes after Microsoft tightened up the requirements for running Windows 11 in virtualized environment. The recent change in policy means that virtual machines are subject to the same hardware requirements as physical computers -- including the need for TPM 2.0.

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With the release of the first beta build of Windows 11, increasing numbers of people are keen to try out the operating system. You could install Windows 11 as your primary OS, you could opt to dual boot with Windows 10, or you could just use an old computer (assuming it meets the minimum system requirements).

But perhaps the least disruptive option is to go down the route of virtualization. There are various tools you could use for this, but Windows offers Hyper-V, an optional component that can be used to create virtual machines. Technically, it is exclusive to the Pro editions of Windows 10 and Windows 11, but with a little tweaking, it's also available in the Home editions. Here's how to enable Hyper-V.

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Microsoft's love affair with Linux has been developing in recent years, and has now reached the stage of being a serious relationship. Such is Microsoft's commitment that the company is now actively involved in contributing to the Linux kernel.

One of the latest updates sees the company shifting its focus slightly when it comes to Hyper-V. Its virtualization tool has thus far been largely fixated with x86_64, but now there is a move towards "running Linux as ARM64 Hyper-V guest".

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The release of M1-powered systems was warmly welcomed by the Mac community, thanks largely to the huge performance boost Apple silicon brings. For macOS purists, the move to M1 chips makes a great deal of sense, but for anyone used to running other operating system on their Macs, there were questions.

Running Windows 10 on M1 systems is possible thanks to the latest version of Parallels for Mac, but this is far from being the only virtualization software available -- people have been asking for some time what to expect from VMware Fusion. Now the company has revealed details of what to come; and while it's great news for Linux fans, it's not so great for Windows users.

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Virtual appliances are an inexpensive and relatively easy way for software vendors to distribute their wares for customers to deploy in public and private cloud environments, but new research shows appliances often have exploitable and fixable vulnerabilities, or are running on outdated or unsupported operating systems.

The Orca Security research study found 401,571 total vulnerabilities in scanning 2,218 virtual appliance images from 540 software vendors. This means less than eight percent of virtual appliances were free of known vulnerabilities.

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It's a little over a month since Linus Torvalds announced the release of version 5.8 of the Linux kernel -- something he previously described as "one of our biggest releases of all time".

But despite the fact that Linux kernel 5.8 was released so recently, VirtualBox has already been updated to include support for it. This means that the virtualization software can be used to run distros like Ubuntu 20.10 (Groovy Gorilla), which is powered by version 5.8 of the kernel. The software can also run under distros based on the newest kernel.

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Having now embraced the same engine as Chrome, the Chromium-based Edge is now Microsoft's default browser. If you want to keep using Microsoft Edge Legacy and Internet Explorer 11 for some reason, Microsoft has opened up a way to do so -- and to do so safely.

The company has released virtual machine images that include both web browser. Available free of charge, the images are available for a range of virtualization platforms.

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Microsoft has been gradually hugging Linux closer to its heart, making it ever easier to install Linux-based operating systems within Windows 10. Now Ubuntu fans have a new option when it comes to installing their favorite distro.

It is now possible to install either Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or 19.04 using Windows 10's Hyper-V Manager -- the admin tool designed to make it easy to manage virtual machines.

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Back in September last year Microsoft announced the launch of its Virtual Desktop to allow Windows to be run in the cloud.

At the time, however, it was only a private preview. Today the public preview launches, so anyone with an Azure subscription can try out the service.

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Who doesn't feel a little nostalgic from time to time? Progress is great, but sometimes it's nice to look back at how things used to be -- even if it's only to laugh at how different and primitive things used to be. The world of computing is no different in this regard.

Last year, developer Felix Rieseberg released Windows 95 as an Electron app to let 90s computer users relive their younger years. Now he's back with a second version of the Windows 95 app, and it's even better than ever -- gaming classics such as Doom and Wolfenstein3D are now included, for starters!

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Microsoft has announced an upcoming security feature which it hopes will take the fear and risk out of running unknown software. Windows Sandbox is an isolated desktop environment which functions much like a virtual machine; any software installed to it is completely sandboxed from the host operating system.

Aimed at businesses, enterprises and security-conscious home users, Windows Sandbox will be part of Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise. It is not clear exactly when the feature will debut, but it could make an appearance in Windows 10 19H1 next year.

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A security researcher has not only discovered a vulnerability in the virtualization tool VirtualBox, but has released details of the exploit and a step-by-step guide to the zero-day vulnerability.

Russian exploit developer Sergey Zelenyuk found a way to break out of VirtualBox's virtual environment and he chose to go public with the vulnerability because of his displeasure at the "contemporary state of infosec, especially of security research and bug bounty". Having told Oracle about the problem, he also tired of the "delusion of grandeur and marketing bullshit" he experienced in the infosec community.

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Microsoft has announced Windows Virtual Desktop, a way to run virtualized instances of Windows and Office in the cloud.

Running on Azure, Windows Virtual Desktop offers multi-user supports and enables several people to remotely log into the same Windows 10 virtual machine. Microsoft says that the service is also optimized for Office 365 ProPlus and notes that it includes free Windows 7 Extended Security Updates.

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In a new survey released ahead of this year's VMworld, cloud protection and management company Druva reveals cloud adoption is growing for virtualized workloads, with 90 percent of respondents running, or planning to run, virtual machines in the cloud in 2018.

But the survey also highlights significant risks associated with this shift, as organizations discover that on-premises approaches to data management are outdated and no longer adequate for the cloud era.

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While breaches often focus on consumer or payment information, they also put at risk key intellectual property and business assets.

Virualization-based security specialist Bromium is announcing a new product called Protected App, which allows organizations to establish robust, end-to-end protection around their critical intellectual property (IP) and high value assets (HVAs).

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