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I want to share my laptop with kids and (probably idiots) friends. In order to keep it secure (without rootkits, virus, keyloggers, etc) i am planing to change my windows shell to a custom one that I have developed (works at least in w2k, I haven't tested it later). Then this shell will autostart a virtual machine (probably with virtualbox) for the guests.

The questions are:

  • will this generate any drawback, especifically in video performance, specifically in games?
  • will this keep the host safe?
  • do you suggest other configuration (vitrualization software, operting system, or whatever)

Changing disks is not an option because I lose warranty in that case.

Edit:
I know and understand that 'You just can't secure a computer to which you allow physical access', but I keep this apart because I will be close to the laptop but not watching its screen.

Thanks in advance.

HopelessN00b
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Luis Siquot
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  • "Please tellme why are the downvotes?" Your question is off-topic. (Please take a moment to read the [faq].) This site intended for professional system administrators. It's also a pretty terrible idea and far more work than just getting proficient at re-provisioning the operating system between uses. – Aaron Copley Oct 19 '12 at 19:27
  • @Aaron, I think this is a vitualizartion question. nobody in games.stackexchange.com (or similar) will anwser this propely. Anyway thanks for your time – Luis Siquot Oct 19 '12 at 19:34
  • You can try [Super User](http://superuser.com/faq), but really, like I said it's a terrible idea otherwise. (For the reason already answered below.) You cannot protect anything for which you don't control physical access. It's also not a real question. It seems like you've already got a solution in your head. So what do you want from us beyond validation? Give it a shot and see how it works out. – Aaron Copley Oct 19 '12 at 19:38
  • yes @AaronCopley i know that, see my edit, but I can take care of hardware with a quarter of my left eye, but I can't protect the software even behind the shouds of the one that is on the laptop – Luis Siquot Oct 19 '12 at 19:41

1 Answers1

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Not possible.

You just can't secure a computer to which you allow physical access. That's rules 1 through 6 in the computer security handbook, and why despite throwing billions of dollars at the problem, big media can't come up with a DRM scheme that actually stops piracy. If they can't do it will billions of dollars at stake, what do you think your odds of doing it are?

Your other problem, of course, would be that no software is going to keep your laptop safe from the kids spilling grape juice into it, the friends losing it, or the idiots using it to play football with.

So just don't do it. If you must, you can limit the amount of damage by restricting them to a limited user, making sure you have good AV and firewall software in place, taking a good backup/disk image beforehand and managing your expectations. If you expect it to come back as a burned pile of metal and melted plastic, you probably won't be too disappointed when it does come back in a sorry state.

HopelessN00b
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  • I know and understud that 'You just can't secure a computer to which you allow physical access', but I keep this apart becouse I will be close to the laptop but not watchig its screen. – Luis Siquot Oct 19 '12 at 19:35
  • also, is not in my mind nor in que question a way to stop piracy. I only asked "will this keep the host safe?" host here refers to the one in a virtualization. – Luis Siquot Oct 19 '12 at 20:01