Question from Judy: I’m a struggling user of Parallels and Windows XP for a couple of business programs that STILL aren’t available on my Mac.  Recently I downloaded the recommended by Parallels security utility.  Immediately after I couldn’t get on-line on the windows program.   I have no idea how to sort out what the problem might be – or even who to ask.  Thanks for any help.

Jason answers: Hi Judy!

First off, I would uninstall that security software from your Add/Remove Programs Control Panel in Windows. If the functionality you lost returns after your remove it, then problem solved. If it doesn’t, then something else is wrong with Windows or Parallels. You may need to bring it in to MAC-O-RAMA for us to diagnose and repair the problem.

If you are only using a couple of Windows programs and doing your Internet stuff on the Mac side, you don’t need the protection on the Parallels side. Yes, your Windows OS is susceptible to viruses and malware, but if you are working in Windows with only these business applications and you pay attention to what data you are putting on your Windows side, (don’t accept Flash drives from strangers) you should be safe.

There are other ways to protect yourself from a Windows security breach. You can create “Snapshots” with Parallels. Snapshots allow you make a restorable point of your Windows installation. For example, you could create a new Windows virtual machine, install all your software and set it up to your desire. Then take a Snapshot. Say you get a virus a week later, you can just revert to that previous Snapshot and start working in your clean environment again. Granted, your data for that week will be lost, but you were backing that up, right?

– Jason