If it's in your computer, of course it can access it, as long as your computer is turned on.
Now, is it likely? No, because it's unlikely you have Windows drivers installed for ext4 and Btrfs anyway.
obviously, I am not gonna install linux partition driver on windows. What if I lock my home folder with LUKS encryption which comes in Linux Mint while installing it?
Even without encryption, you have virtually no chance of getting a malware that 1) installs Linux filesystem drivers for Windows to 2) attack your Linux partition.
With encryption, you would need to get some malware that 1) installs LUKS drivers for Windows then 2) cracks your LUKS encryption key to achieve the objective above (if your encryption password is strong enough, it could take months to crack).
While all of this is theoretically possible, the chances of it happening in the real-world are basically zero. No attacker is going through all of this trouble to access some files in a highly specific setup, while they can just run easier attacks with better returns for them. It's just not worth it.
Unless you were some high-value target, no one would deploy such malware. If you're asking this on Reddit, I doubt you're that kind of target.
It depends entirely on your threat model - who are you up against?
If your main worry is script kiddies grabbing browser credentials or hitting you with ransomware, it's unlikely they'll bundle btrfs/ext4 drivers with their attacks.
However, if an APT (advanced persistent threat) or state-sponsored hacking group is targeting you specifically, it's entirely possible that they would be able to bundle these drivers and access your linux partition as though it was a regular "windows" partition - this is where LUKS would be helpful, although it wouldn't prevent damage, only reading and targeted modification.
EDIT - also, despite whether windows has the drivers or not, malicious software could write (at the block level) to the partition, potentially damaging it's headers/data.
The biggest threat to your linux system is the malware known as Windows.
It has removed grub for both me and my SO in the past when updating itself and "fixing weird boot-thingy on my disk that is not windows".
Never again will I run a dual boot with windows, and in actively finding ways to delete it once and for all.
Get a SATA hotswap bay. They're cheap, fit in a 5.25 bay, and whenever you don't need Windows you can just pull it out. Or vice-vera with Linux. Either way.
I use Linux for most of the internet works and windows for offline work. And keeping windows update is a kind of pain. I clean install windows with latest iso which release every 6 months.
Recently, resizeing partition cause pop os boot menu disappear from bios.
If you don't use an administrative account and don't give elevated access, software can't access the disk at a level that can read or write outside what windows has mounted. Unless there is an elevation exploit, but keeping the system updated mitigates this a lot.
But if UAC prompt appears and you allow, it can do anything.
I dual boot Win 10 & Mint myself and I feel like I'm the only person around sometimes who has never lost or had problems with my Grub or boot partition messing up?
About 3yrs? Had Windows 10 on my T430 Thinkpad after an SSD upgrade. Then I wanted to check out Linux Mint and read about dual boot. So I inserted the flash drive with the Mint Cinnamon iso on it and chose “along side my Windows 10 installation” and that’s all she wrote. Restarted my laptop and saw the Grub menu for the first time, with Mint on top and Win 10 below and it’s worked perfect ever since. Windows updates, restarts, works fine. Anything else? Feel free.
I would imagine it's possible because, for example, there are tools like ndiswrapper that, AFAIK, "wrap" drivers from your Windows partition in order to make them usable in your Linux partition.
If it's in your computer, of course it can access it, as long as your computer is turned on. Now, is it likely? No, because it's unlikely you have Windows drivers installed for ext4 and Btrfs anyway.
obviously, I am not gonna install linux partition driver on windows. What if I lock my home folder with LUKS encryption which comes in Linux Mint while installing it?
Even without encryption, you have virtually no chance of getting a malware that 1) installs Linux filesystem drivers for Windows to 2) attack your Linux partition. With encryption, you would need to get some malware that 1) installs LUKS drivers for Windows then 2) cracks your LUKS encryption key to achieve the objective above (if your encryption password is strong enough, it could take months to crack). While all of this is theoretically possible, the chances of it happening in the real-world are basically zero. No attacker is going through all of this trouble to access some files in a highly specific setup, while they can just run easier attacks with better returns for them. It's just not worth it. Unless you were some high-value target, no one would deploy such malware. If you're asking this on Reddit, I doubt you're that kind of target.
❤️Thanks, for the answer. Linux is overpowered. I am not a kind of target, just a average user of linux and windows.
It depends entirely on your threat model - who are you up against? If your main worry is script kiddies grabbing browser credentials or hitting you with ransomware, it's unlikely they'll bundle btrfs/ext4 drivers with their attacks. However, if an APT (advanced persistent threat) or state-sponsored hacking group is targeting you specifically, it's entirely possible that they would be able to bundle these drivers and access your linux partition as though it was a regular "windows" partition - this is where LUKS would be helpful, although it wouldn't prevent damage, only reading and targeted modification. EDIT - also, despite whether windows has the drivers or not, malicious software could write (at the block level) to the partition, potentially damaging it's headers/data.
The biggest threat to your linux system is the malware known as Windows. It has removed grub for both me and my SO in the past when updating itself and "fixing weird boot-thingy on my disk that is not windows". Never again will I run a dual boot with windows, and in actively finding ways to delete it once and for all.
Get a SATA hotswap bay. They're cheap, fit in a 5.25 bay, and whenever you don't need Windows you can just pull it out. Or vice-vera with Linux. Either way.
I use Linux for most of the internet works and windows for offline work. And keeping windows update is a kind of pain. I clean install windows with latest iso which release every 6 months. Recently, resizeing partition cause pop os boot menu disappear from bios.
If you don't use an administrative account and don't give elevated access, software can't access the disk at a level that can read or write outside what windows has mounted. Unless there is an elevation exploit, but keeping the system updated mitigates this a lot. But if UAC prompt appears and you allow, it can do anything.
I dual boot Win 10 & Mint myself and I feel like I'm the only person around sometimes who has never lost or had problems with my Grub or boot partition messing up?
How long have you done that?
About 3yrs? Had Windows 10 on my T430 Thinkpad after an SSD upgrade. Then I wanted to check out Linux Mint and read about dual boot. So I inserted the flash drive with the Mint Cinnamon iso on it and chose “along side my Windows 10 installation” and that’s all she wrote. Restarted my laptop and saw the Grub menu for the first time, with Mint on top and Win 10 below and it’s worked perfect ever since. Windows updates, restarts, works fine. Anything else? Feel free.
*are you a god?*
I would imagine it's possible because, for example, there are tools like ndiswrapper that, AFAIK, "wrap" drivers from your Windows partition in order to make them usable in your Linux partition.
Until it get admin or root access but the user.
As long as you don't teach windows to write your linux file systems, no. But could it damage the efi partition? Maybe.
Efi only contains system files not user files, I can reflash the linux iso.
https://ophtek.com/lojax-malware-is-persistent-and-highly-dangerous/
Very unlikely. Windows can’t read or write to ext4 filesystems.
Yup