Is having two operating systems safer? Like Windows 8 and Ubuntu where you will do all your normal web surfing and gaming etc on one OS and when you need to buy things online, use the other OS. Is it possible for viruses to move between operating systems?
Yes, I think it could be safer to use Linux Operating Systems like Debian, Ubuntu, etc for online shopping, and banking because they are less vulnerable to Adobe Flash Player and Java security problems. But, it is still important to keep your web browser like Firefox, and Chrome updated to the latest version.
I think most Windows viruses can't read Linux file systems because Windows can't read Linux File systems like EXT4 which is used for Linux operating systems like Ubuntu.
I can see it being helpful to use certain software that a default one doesn't provide. I tried to get Windows as an alt OS on my macbook a few months ago but it didn't work and I got tired of fooling with it so I just gave up and found other ways to do what I want. Mainly I just wanted Publisher and Indesign is much better anyways.
A Unix (Linux/Mac) system is definitely more secure than a windows system for a number of reasons:
1. Most viruses are written for windows. Creating a virus requires a lot of effort, and it can only work for one OS, so virus creators usually create them for Windows, because they can get more "customers" that way.
2. A Linux/Unix/Mac system is fundamentally more secure, in terms of how the OS is designed. The "Administrator Privileges" feature in Windows is kind of a bandaid which was added to mitigate viruses, but those types of features are integrated fundamentally into Unix systems (and have been for a long time), making them more secure.
3. While it is theoretically possible for a virus to move between two OSes on the same machine, that is a very rare use case. Most viruses are fairly simple and specific.
So, running a Linux machine should prevent most security concerns, however, it is not truly necessary. Safe browsing, plus a browser extension such as NoScript / ScriptSafe, will prevent most problems from occurring.
For your personal computer just having one could suffice, but for any computer you use in a business role, then yeah, having at least two operating systems would be safer.
If you are careful and use proper programs to protect yourself. (AVG and MalwareBytes) you should be fine. I only use Windows 7 (soon to upgrade to Windows 10) and never had issues with viruses and such, but I am very cautious and don't just download everything. I do my research before downloading something new that I don't know much about. So I have been pretty safe with just 1 OS.
You can always use a dual operating system. The virus attack depends on the sector that it has attacked. If its an on platform virus it can attack the boot sector or maybe the hard drive. So you won't benefit to save your computer by a dual OS. Its always better to use a strong firewall protection and an updated antivirus to prevent foreign bodies entering your machine.
