ANSWERS: 1
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The operating system (OS) on a NAS delivers all the configuration needed to see the hard drive on the network. Each NAS may be different, but you have many network protocols to choose from and any PC (OS) can access the drive. I've never played with one, so I don't know what measures exist to prevent it from being seen outside your network, but assuming you're using a private IP network in your home (like 192.168.1.0), it shouldn't be accessible from outside. As far as viruses, not to worry. The OS that is put on NAS boxes is not Windows, it's usually a custom, stripped down version of Linux or OpenBSD that has just enough functionality to run the hard drive and become a client on the network. The vectors for intrusion just don't exist.
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