Do you need AV in Windows VM?

[SQLinject0r420 0]

Do you need to install Antivirus on Windows Virtual Machine (Vmware, Parallels or VirtualBox) if ESET Cyber Security Pro is already installed on MacOS?

Does it increase security or is it just redundant?

Does battery consumption increase if AV is installed on both, host OS (MacOS) and guest OS (Windows)?

[Marcos 5,074]

It depends. If you happen to run malware on a Windows VM with the network disconnected, it would have to be able to escape the VM and infect the host OS, ie. it would have to drop Mac OS components as well. I assume that such malware doesn't exist. Another thing is if the VM has connection to the LAN or Internet; in such case the malware could spread further if run on the VM. In that case it would make sense to have an AV on Windows as well.

As for energy consumption, an AV should have negligible effect on it.