Run Windows XP or Windows 7 and never need Anti-Virus Software

As many of you know Windows XP is reaching it's 'retirement' on April 8th 2014. After this time there will be no more software or security updates released by Microsoft. They have however stretched out the support of Microsoft Anti-Malware support for 15 months after that date. This is to aid companies migrate to either Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Many of you have 3rd party software that may not run on Windows 8 or even Windows 7 and it is essential that you remain on Windows XP. So how do you keep running XP safely?

Here's a solution: Why not try RoboLinux or similar and run your favourite Windows as a virtual machine. You can create a 'VM Image' of your existing Windows installation using one of the many tools out there like 'Disk2vhd'. Then run your Windows inside Linux. No Virus-Scanners or spyware, malware issues to worry about. IF you break your Windows installation just run a fresh copy. Problem solved.

Watch this video (by RoboLinux) and if you want, fast-forward to the 'meat' in the sandwich at 8:30 to see how fast Windows loads under Linux. You will be impressed. But not only that. You can run multiple desktops so you can do more at the same time.

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Install VirtualBox in Ubuntu 12.04 and install Windows XP from your CD.

Stop Press: If you are already using Ubuntu you can install Oracle's VirtualBox from the Ubuntu Software Centre. 'Disk2vhd' will create a snapshot of your existing Windows installation and VirtualBox will run it. That way you do not need the original Windows CD and reinstall everything. However if you have problems you can convert the VHD file to VDI (which VirtualBox prefers). The CloneVDI utility is available here and will do the conversion.

Note: Disk2vhd will image everything, your setup, drivers etc. If you run that image on a different PC you may need to install new drivers because all the hardware has changed. The other option is to install a new copy using the original Windows CD. The second video shows this operation.