If there's an environment where you can tinker with the OS until it breaks, or you want to see what a virus infection process looks like without fear of infecting others, then the perfect environment to do that is inside a virtual machine.
The technique is called virtualization. Just like a full computer, a virtual machine has all the same features as a physical computer. All it lacks is the physicality.
There are various ways to create this virtual machine, ranging from using paid applications to free ones. In this book, you will get a brief guide on how to run full virtualization using VirtualBox, which is a free product from Oracle, but very powerful.
So if you ever want to learn how to tinker with an OS or test a virus, just use virtualization techniques.
By reading this book, you will be able to:
- Practice virtualization techniques simply and for free
- Install an OS within an OS, without disturbing the existing OS on the hard disk
- Make Windows 7 and Windows XP work side by side on the same computer, and at the same time
