VMs.edited
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
The University of Nairobi *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
1
Subject
Information Systems
Date
Nov 24, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
6
Uploaded by reaganmumo
Surname1
Student Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Virtual Machines resemble physical devices like computers, and they contain CPU, memory,
files contained in the disk or even server. Information stored in the device is made available
anytime the device's user needs it. In general, virtual machines are regarded as virtual computers
in physical servers, but they only exist as code. Making VM is called virtualization, and these
devices are dedicated amounts of CPU and memory that are rented by a physical computer of the
host. A VM works by applying the concept of a computer file that is regarded as an image, and
this image behaves like a real computer. VM are compatible with various operating systems and
can run on a window or separate computing environment. For the VM to work effectively, it
should be partitioned from the rest of the operating system. This implies that a VM can affect a
device's operating system's normal functioning.
There are various uses for VMs. One application is deploying applications to the cloud. Since
applications stored in the cloud use virtual data, VM machines make it easy to access data stored
in the cloud. The second use is to test new OS. New OS, including beta releases, are tested on
virtual machines before making these releases official for use to users.
Malware, short for malicious software, is often developed by groups of hackers primarily
interested in making money, either by distributing the malware or selling it to the highest bidder
on the Dark Web. Malware may also be created for other purposes, such as a tool for agitation, a
way to test security, or even as a weapon of war between governments. Malware steals sensitive
Surname2
data from users of the internet, and also malware destroys entire devices by corrupting data
causing the devices to crash.
There are different types of malware, and this malware group, according to the malware, are
spread or how they behave. The behavior of malware determines the type of damage caused to
victims' devices. For example, suppose a hacker accesses the personal data about a user, like
passwords and financial details. In that case, these hackers can use this information to conduct
cyberbullying or steal money from users' accounts. One example of malware is a virus that
resembles biological namesakes. These viruses survive when they are inside the host while
remaining inactive if they are not attached to any user or device.
There is a close relationship between malware and virtual machines. Hackers can use these two
software systems to access information from devices or users. Fake virtual machines can stop
malicious software. A virtual machine is used to create a perfect environment replica of the
original environment to see how a malware sample communicates with anything from the file
system to the registry. Malware scanning will help protect the network from some of the most
harmful cyberattacks. The hacking process requires the hacker to have basic information
regarding the user, like BIOS information used to access a virtual machine. Virtualization is done
for various reasons to keep virtual machines safe from hackers. virtualized systems give testers
ideas on supporting cross-platform analysis on various platforms. This means that a variety of
operating systems are examined to check whether there is malware. Once a system has been
virtualized, it becomes easy to create virtual systems, and this is helpful in cost and space
management because users do need to purchase and install large physical machines.
Surname3
Virtual systems protect because malware testing occurs in the VM. This provides system
protection. A virtual machine is helpful because a user can protect the privacy and personal data
from being harmed. Virtualization provides ideal testing conditions for applications' security.
To conduct a malware plus virtual machine analysis, a user needs to be aware of the security
threats that malware can face. Virtual machines are created applying general tactics of creating
many software systems today. This means that malware development for these VM can be easy
because hackers know the general working procedures of various software systems. To protect a
VM from malware, a user needs to know how the physical system is configured. Users are
encouraged to swap files if two systems share the same piece of information. Setting permissions
on files creates privacy because malware cannot access these files through third party users.
Permissions should be set as read-only, and the host has to install Anti-Virus software. For
windows users, it is advisable to install windows defender, and the operating system should be
kept up-to-date. This provides updates for new security features that prevent Virtual Machines
from malware. Some Virtual Machines require the network to share data, and this means that
installing a firewall is essential because it filters network traffic and keeps off intruders.
The design and implementation of a virtual machine mimic a physical machine in several
aspects. This implies that designing a virtual machine is borrowed from physical machines. One
purpose for designing a VM was to create a simple way to execute operating systems and share
resources like storage or RAM. Since this is similar to most physical systems, malware attackers
can look for unique features that differentiate a physical machine and a virtual machine. Once the
malware identifies these differences, it becomes easy to hack a virtual machine. The differences
identified provide crucial information on how a virtual machine runs on a real or virtual machine.
Some of the differences between virtual machines and real machines are that VM has "guest
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Surname4
additions" installed in the VM. This means that these guest additions can be drivers or services.
These "guest additions" provide an easy task for malware to detect a virtual device. Emulated
hardware devices is another difference between a VM and a real machine. This means that there
are some resources that a real machine utilizes, and these resources are virtualized. When
hardware services are emulated inside a hardware device, malware attackers can detect where the
drive is real or Virtualized.
When malware manages to get into a virtual machine, there are effects that the malware causes.
If a virtual machine is affected by a virus, it can alter the user's data inside the virtual system. If a
user had been using applications stored in the cloud, hackers could access information for these
applications operating in the cloud. Cloud services do not guarantee users privacy of their
information, which means that once the malware is on an application stored in the application,
the information becomes vulnerable.
A virtual system's performance decline once malware gets into a virtual machine. Malware
attacks may extract large amounts of data from the users, which means that the device's storage
and RAM be compromised. Resources are shared between the malware and the VM, making the
running of tasks slow.
Malware behaves differently when they penetrate a VM. Once malware gets into a VM, it can
inject code that may look like private data, especially if it is explored. This means that the code
will be executing commands privately without the VM user's consent. This malicious code can
then be moved to other parts, and the purpose of privatizing the code is to escape modern
security technologies that can detect malware. The malware can bypass various limitations and
continue with its attacks while retaining its initial malicious code. Since the malicious code is
highly encrypted, it becomes difficult for the host VM to notice.
Surname5
Works Cited
Riad, Khaled, and Lishan Ke. "Roughdroid: operative scheme for functional android malware
detection."
Security and Communication Networks
2018 (2018).
Surname6
Gibert, Daniel, Carles Mateu, and Jordi Planes. "The rise of machine learning for detection and
classification of malware: Research developments, trends and challenges."
Journal of
Network and Computer Applications
153 (2020): 102526.
Burnap, Pete, et al. "Malware classification using self-organizing feature maps and machine
activity data."
computers & security
73 (2018): 399-410.
Schwarz, Michael, Samuel Weiser, and Daniel Gruss. "Practical enclave malware with Intel
SGX."
International Conference on Detection of Intrusions and Malware and
Vulnerability Assessment
. Springer, Cham, 2019.
Zhang, Qi, et al. "A comparative study of containers and virtual machines in the big data
environment."
2018 IEEE 11th International Conference on Cloud Computing (CLOUD)
.
IEEE, 2018.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help