Hello there,
I have a question. If I’m doing windows linux dual boot, is there any possibiliy that windows can spy my data on linux? Or: if i got ransomwared on windows, is my linux part of my pc safe or not?
How can I prevent all above?
Thx
Windows cannot access EXT4 or BTRFS by default. Also in Linux you can use LUKS to have your partition encrypted, and Windows even with a ext4/btrfs driver will not be able to read your data.
Of course Windows, if infected, could wipe your partition table or things like this.
Is it likely? No. Is it possible? Yes.
If you want to make absolutely sure that Windows can’t spy on anything, you’ll need to physically remove the storage device containing Linux when booting.
A more practical but slightly less secure approach is to enable full disk encryption on Linux. Then, if Windows does decide to get sneaky it’ll only see random data.
This doesn’t prevent hostile code such as ransomware from destroying the data though. For that, you need to have good backup hygene.
A good backup system is to have automatic daily backups to some online cloud storage provider, and weekly or monthly backups to a physical device you keep disconnected and safe.
I don’t think Windows will spy on Linux, but you never know, as we don’t have the source code of Windows to look it up. If you get ransomed, they can lock the whole ssd, even if your Linux partition might be encrypted already. And even if you have Linux on a separate ssd.
To prevent all that, practice good use of Windows without going to questionable websites or downloading apps from random places. But the best would be to either have a different PC for Linux. You can buy a small factor PC for $99 these days, brand new. Or, each time before you boot into windows, you disable on the BIOS the SSD with Linux in it. This way, no Windows malware can “see” that there’s another SSD there, so they won’t be able to lock it. Unless of course they lock your BIOS too…
I cannot answer definitively, but it’s highly unlikely that windows could access any data from your Linux partition. That said, if you’re that concerned about the potential for this to happen, perhaps your shouldn’t use windows at all. This is coming from a PC gamer who uses Linux exclusively.
Thx for all the suggestions. Is there any mainboard which automatically unmount all other drives when you boot into an OS?
Mounting a drive is the function of the OS. If you mean automatically disabling a port, no, typically motherboards don’t have that functionality.
Automatically, no. And have a look at this too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTjj1ILCwRs
Removed by mod
Sry there are some programs I need for work only working on windows
Removed by mod
Thank you a lot for bringing very constructive contribution here. I feel well helped. I hope your attitude can bring a lot of people using linux and feel happy about it. Linux community is sure glad to have someone like you.
Removed by mod
