tl;dr: Security concerns for my Linux partition, when running Vanguard on Windows?

Now that Vanguard is out, I can’t play LoL on Linux anymore. I’m running a dual boot setup with windows and I’m using it only for stuff I can’t get to work on Linux, so there is no personal data on there.

  • Are there any security risks for my Linux partition, if Vanguard is installed and running on my Linux partition?
  • Could Vanguard potentially access my ext4 Linux file system via Windows?
  • If my NAS is mounted on Windows, could that also be a security concern?

I’m grateful for any kind of feedback, since I’m not very informed in terms of rootkits and kernels!

  • @[email protected]
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    27 days ago
    • probably not, Linux isn’t running when you’re in Windows, and Windows isn’t running when you’re in Linux
    • it could, but I think you’d need a targeted attack for malware to jump from Windows to Linux, since that’s a pretty niche target
    • yes, if it has write access, you’re open to ransomware attacks, which are a fairly common form of malware; if your NAS has a rollback option, you’re probably fine, but definitely make sure your remote backup restore works (you do have off-site backups, right?)

    If you want to be extra secure, encrypt your Linux partition. They could still corrupt your Linux partition, but they wouldn’t be able to read anything on it without your password. Both of my Linux machines (laptop and desktop) use an encrypted root partition, and they run games and whatnot just fine (I don’t notice a slowdown).

    • @looOP
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      127 days ago

      Thank you very much! Long-term I will encrypt my drive and since I don’t have off-site backups for my NAS, I will just unmount it on Windows.