A non-OSNews-reader asks: "I've got 5 PCs that I'm trying to use to train disadvantaged young people. The problem is they are riddled with viruses and a firewall blocks me from updating them. The people in charge of maintaining the
PCs won't fix them or give me the admin password (Win XP) to let me
install a new or updated antivirus. The centre is being shut down in a
few months. If they were working, I could still do a lot with them, so I've been
looking for a good online virus scan - but they all try to download a
little .exe onto your PC first, and the settings on the PCs won't
allow that. Suggestions? Solutions? Links?" Read on for our recommendation. Update: It appears that this question is part of an elaborate email scam designed to propagate malware. See here for details.
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Member since:2007-04-23
How are the download restrictions enforced? Will it let you download other files but not executables? Are they enforced using policies on the machines themselves, or at the network level?
Can you receive files via email?
You could try to introduce the executables to the systems via some kind of removable media...
You could try embedding executables in a word document or similar..
Also see if you can access a command prompt and download files using ftp..
Can the machine boot from removable media? If you can do that, you could run 0phcrack and get all the admin passwords which will probably be the same on all the boxes. If not, can you remove the HD or connect it to another machine, maybe a laptop and a usb to ide adapter - take a copy of the drive and crack the passwords..
From a boot cd, you could probably remove the malware too, but that would do nothing to prevent the machines getting quickly reinfected.
Or you could equip every box with a linux livecd, which would probably be far more useful and safer.
Member since:2007-04-23
How are the download restrictions enforced? Will it let you download other files but not executables? Are they enforced using policies on the machines themselves, or at the network level?
Can you receive files via email?
You could try to introduce the executables to the systems via some kind of removable media...
You could try embedding executables in a word document or similar..
Also see if you can access a command prompt and download files using ftp..
Are the download restrictions based on filenames? many such things are, and you can download files by renaming them on the server and renaming them back once downloaded. Or you could perhaps download a zipfile if that's permitted?
Can the machine boot from removable media? If you can do that, you could run 0phcrack and get all the admin passwords which will probably be the same on all the boxes. If not, can you remove the HD or connect it to another machine, maybe a laptop and a usb to ide adapter - take a copy of the drive and crack the passwords..
From a boot cd, you could probably remove the malware too, but that would do nothing to prevent the machines getting quickly reinfected.
Or you could equip every box with a linux livecd, which would probably be far more useful and safer.
Member since:
2005-07-06
Nuke... orbit