Andy - very helpful, thanks. It would seem that those of us who wish to continue running those 'older' programmes should make sure that internet access is not available for them to be sure. Other than something like Zone Alarm where each internet connection has to be 'approved', is there any other safe way? The problem lies in being certain that any particular prog does not try to connect.
Ideally, you should look to update your software so you dont need XP mode. Most stuff
should run natively under win7.
In saying that, I use a program that wont run under Win7 at all. I could upgrade (its protel, electronic design software) but I just dont use it enough these days to justify the cost. Plus the new sofware is subscription based, you pay $8000pa. So its just not worth the upgrade. I digress..
Yes, you should avoid the internet if possible. The connection to the internet is also sandboxed, so it has to run through the host OS's firewall, so once again there is some protection. If you can, you should block XP mode from connecting to the internet. As mixture said, its possible for someone to exploit the Virtual machine and attack the host, but provided you keep the host patched and run up-to-date virus software you should be fairly safe.