{"id":3755,"date":"2019-11-26T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=3755"},"modified":"2019-11-19T15:24:23","modified_gmt":"2019-11-19T20:24:23","slug":"can-a-virus-disguise-a-32-bit-operating-system-for-a-64-bit-operating-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/26\/can-a-virus-disguise-a-32-bit-operating-system-for-a-64-bit-operating-system\/","title":{"rendered":"“Can a virus disguise a 32-bit operating system for a 64-bit operating system?”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Answer requested by Kacey Mae)<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can it? I suppose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it would be extremely difficult to pull off at all; and nearly impossible to pull off in a way that would fool anyone who was paying attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The usual way to run a full 32-bit OS inside a full, operating 64-bit OS is to use a virtual PC (info<\/a>; example<\/a>). But such software isn’t subtle — your PC’s hardware will be simultaneously supporting two complete operating systems, with all the added overhead and resource use that implies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"32
Here’s a complete, functioning, 32-bit Windows 98 (!)
running in a virtual PC on my current 64-bit Win10 setup.<\/center><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you attempted to wrap a virtual PC in some kind of “virus,” the resulting code would be huge (it would need to contain the entire second OS, plus the virtual-PC software), would take a while to set up, and only the least-observant users imaginable would be fooled by the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides, most 64-bit OSes (e.g. Windows) can already run 32-bit apps<\/strong><\/em> — that’s “backwards compatibility,” and it’s baked right into the primary software; no helpers or viruses needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running an entire 32-bit OS inside a 64-bit OS is not a simple or subtle thing. And trying to do that via a virus? I think you’re barking up the wrong tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Permalink: https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=3755<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"[seperator]\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

COMMENT \/ QUESTION<\/strong> on THIS ITEM?<\/strong> See the<\/em> Comment box<\/strong> at bottom of this page!<\/em>

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(Want free notification of new content? Click<\/em> <\/strong>here<\/a><\/b>!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Answer requested by Kacey Mae) Can it? I suppose. But it would be extremely difficult to pull off at all; and nearly impossible to pull off in a way that would fool anyone who was paying attention. The usual way to run a full 32-bit OS inside a full, operating 64-bit OS is to use…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,10,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-reader-asks","category-science-and-tech","category-windows"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-Yz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3711,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/06\/why-doesnt-my-pc-boot-with-more-than-16gb-of-ram\/","url_meta":{"origin":3755,"position":0},"title":"“Why doesn’t my PC boot with more than 16GB of RAM?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-11-06","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by \"Weslo\") The three primary reasons for RAM limitations: There can be mathematical limitations: a 32-bit PC can only access about 4GB of RAM, because that --- roughly 4 billion --- is the highest you can count using 32 bits of data. 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In your case, you want to run a 32-bit (\"x86\") version of Office on 32-bit Windows, itself installed on a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":472,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/24\/a-reader-asks-how-do-i-fix-an-operating-system-not-found-message\/","url_meta":{"origin":3755,"position":2},"title":"A reader asks: How do I fix an ‘operating system not found’ message?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-09-24","format":false,"excerpt":"Q: How do I fix the \"an operating system wasn't found\" screen, with all the words are mixed up and the screen is white and twitching?\u00a0 (via Quora) A: An \"Operating System Not Found\" or \"Missing Operating System\" or similar message will occur when you boot\/start\/restart a PC, but something\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2205,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/13\/readers-reply-to-cheapest-way-to-network-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":3755,"position":3},"title":"Readers reply to “cheapest way to network” post","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-03-13","format":false,"excerpt":"In \"What\u2019s the cheapest way to network an external hard drive?\" I suggested a fully-functional, zero-cost option: Connect the drive to any PC that's already on the network, and use the OS's built-in network sharing function (e.g. Win10's Give access to\/Advanced Sharing\/ option) to let others access the drive. Several\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "From the InBox"","block_context":{"text":"From the InBox","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/from-the-inbox\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1156,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/26\/a-reader-asks-how-much-ram-do-i-need-for-my-laptop\/","url_meta":{"origin":3755,"position":4},"title":"A reader asks: How much RAM do I need for my laptop?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-11-26","format":false,"excerpt":"Q: How much RAM do I need for my laptop? I mostly use it for word documents, Internet browsing with multiple tabs, and, occasionally, light video editing. I currently have 4GB but I'm considering going up to 8GB. 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