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Java-Based x86 Emulator

Posted by kdawson on from the DOS-you-say dept.

jaavaaguru writes "Researchers at Oxford University have produced a Java-based x86 emulator that they hope will be useful in testing applications and learning about viruses without damaging the host, utilizing the robust sandboxing that Java provides. They have an online demo available that boots DOS and has some games to play. Being purely Java, this emulator should be able to run on almost anything, including cell phones." The code is not yet available outside the Oxford community; the developers are said to be working on a suitable general license. In the meantime the code can be licensed on a case-by-case basis.

4 of 263 comments (clear)

  1. What's wrong with virtualisation? by pdbaby · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    What's wrong with virtualisation? Yes, you can't run it on a phone's ARM processor but you wouldn't do that in the first place.

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    Global symbol "$deity" requires explicit package name at line 2. - If only $scripture started "use strict;"
  2. Re:Comparisons to other emulators? by pjt33 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    The JVM isn't 100MB, but about 3. It's the SE 1.6 standard libraries that are 100MB (or 50MB, anyway - rt.jar is 46). If you just want to run the emulator and don't care about your port being called Java then you only need to port the libraries which it uses, which could be quite small. The Personal Profile of J2ME is a cut-down version of SE 1.3 and can be implemented in under 10MB.

  3. We need no stinkin emulation by k1e0x · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Uhh.. can't we just e-mail the virus to a windows user as we always have? Real panic is more fun than emulated panic.

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    Bringing liberty to the masses. - http://freetalklive.com/
  4. Once. by Weaselmancer · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Then, everything else just works.

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    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.