If you're worried about infecting your PC with a virus or similar security threat, there's no reason why you couldn't use a virtual operating system to test new software. There are many other good reasons why you might want to use a virtual operating system manager. For instance, you can run a virtual Linux operating system, without having to leave Windows. If you have a virtual desktop manager, you can even open your virtual OS on another screen and quickly switch between open spaces.

VMware Workstation 6.5 is the latest version of the virtual OS manager that now enables you to run a secure virtual operating system, so you could take your virtual OS on the road, along with VMware Player 2.5 and leave no trace of your virtual environment on your host PC.

VMware Workstation and VMware Player links.

26 Sep 2008