Does F-Secure SAFE run under Parallels Desktop on an M1 Mac?

Sto
Sto Posts: 3 Observer

I cannot install F-Secure SAFE on a Windows11 System running under Parallels Desktop on an M1 Mac. What's the problem? The error message tells me that the Processor ist not supported. But on that W11 System even age old Windows98 programs with deep hardware access are running. Why not f-Secure Safe? I think that’s not a problem of the F-Secure Safe Program but a problem of the Setup procedure. I think in the setup procedure the internal requests do not consider the scenario „Windows11 running on Parallels Desktop on M1 Mac“.

Does anybody has similar experience?

Accepted Answer

  • ArthurVal
    ArthurVal Posts: 233 F-Secure Employee
    edited November 2022 Answer ✓

    Hey, @Sto!

    Yeah. I can provide a small comment from the Mac side of things.

    I believe when you run Windows inside Parallels on an Apple Silicon Mac, you actually use an ARM version of Windows. So the software that runs there needs to support ARM version of Windows.

    And as Ukko pointed out above, it looks like the PC product does not support ARM currently. I found a similar limitation mentioned in the user guide section for the PC product.

    https://help.f-secure.com/product.html#home/safe-windows/latest/en/concept_5C9DE4ACE87B491CA11190172C10B452-safe-windows-latest-en

    Good news is that the latest TOTAL Mac (previously known as SAFE) product of version 18.4 runs fully natively on Apple Silicon :)

    It might be not what you would like to achieve. But just throwing it out there that you can still use the Mac version of the product on your host Mac machine.

    Best regards, Arthur

    Mac R&D Team

Answers

  • PJB
    PJB Posts: 5 Observer

    😲 Hej

    Har samme problem, bare en almen PC.

  • PJB
    PJB Posts: 5 Observer

    Åbentbart svært at finde et svar!!

  • Ukko
    Ukko Posts: 3,611 Superuser

    Hello,

    Sorry for my reply. I am also an F-Secure user... and, actually, I cannot back up my opinion with something weighty... but F-Secure SAFE system requirements have one inclusion: *ARM-based tablets are not supported. What I assume means "ARM" processors.

    The rough description of M1 Mac - ""....is a series of ARM-based systems-on-a-chip ..."".

    Could this be the cause of your situation? Or does the ability to run Windows 98 applications remove that possibility?

    In the sense that if the installer has identified (found / seen) an ARM-based processor, then it reports a 'incompatibility' notification about this.

    Anyway, good if someone answers with a much more technical view of the subject.

    Thanks!

  • Sto
    Sto Posts: 3 Observer

    High Ukko,

    thanks for trying to help me. The restriction of the system requirement (I think so) does only concern tablets or smartphones with ARM processors, not a PC. E.g. F-Secure Safe runs perfectly with MacOS on my M1-Mac. But it does not run on my Mac with an ARM-based Windows11 that is running under the Emulation-SW "Parallels Desktop.". My History: On my old Intel-Based Mac, F-Secure had run under Intel-based Windows11 under the Emulation SW "Parallels Desktop". By the way, just received more information from F-Secure support: Windows11 processors and M1 Processors are supported by F-Secure.

    But: obviously not.

  • Sto
    Sto Posts: 3 Observer

    High Arthur,

    thanks for your comment. Please look to my answer written to Ukko. May be, you have another idea.

  • Ukko
    Ukko Posts: 3,611 Superuser
    edited November 2022

    Hello,

    Thanks for your response and comments.

    The restriction of the system requirement (I think so) does only concern tablets or smartphones with ARM processors, not a PC. E.g. F-Secure Safe runs perfectly with MacOS on my M1-Mac. But it does not run on my Mac with an ARM-based Windows11 that is running under the Emulation-SW "Parallels Desktop.". My History: On my old Intel-Based Mac, F-Secure had run under Intel-based Windows11 under the Emulation SW "Parallels Desktop".

    ..

    But: obviously not.

    Indeed, I wrote (but didn't mention that I am talking about Windows limitation) that I'm just guessing.. that the "*ARM-based tablets are not supported" claim (in the requirements for F-Secure SAFE for Windows platform) may imply the lack of support for "ARM" processors.

    But your description fits very well and confirms it. I think ARM-based Windows PC or pure laptop are not mentioned in Help/Documentation and system requirements due to their small number or unavailability (at all) at the time.

    By the way, just received more information from F-Secure support: Windows11 processors and M1 Processors are supported by F-Secure.

    What maybe means - Windows 11 support for Windows F-Secure SAFE; and M1 Processors (ARM) for Mac F-Secure SAFE support.

    If their information was about Windows 11 (ARM-based device) - sorry.

    Because, yes, as ArthurVal wrote """the latest TOTAL Mac (previously known as SAFE) product of version 18.4 runs fully natively on Apple Silicon""". So, I just supposed that "if the installer has identified (found / seen) an ARM-based processor, then it reports an 'incompatibility" notification about this' for Windows system's solution. Anyway, good if there will be other ideas or confirmations from F-Secure teams.

    Thanks!

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