Where can I find an online anti-virus that doesn't install on your PC?
takeshiechard45717
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?
Keith Mc
> I've got 5 PCs that I'm trying to use to train disadvantaged young people
> Suggestions? Solutions? Links?
First off: Why won't the administrators update the antivirus products on it?
If it is simply a budget problem, ask them to use some of the better
FREE ones For freebies, I prefer: AVG Free, MalwareBytes, and Ad-Aware.
I run them ALL, on ALL of my systems. You need several, because many
of the newer virii know how to fool one or another, or intercept the AntiVirus
updates and fool them into thinking they've been updated. Running several
(overnight, daily) tends to minimize that problem, because ONE of them should
catch any new virus that got in that day. (My systems now run from 3-6 hours
of AntiVirus products every night. <sigh>)
BTW... Once you have it cleared, there are several ways to keep yourself safe, but
many require either discipline, or Admin Access.
A) Save all nonexecutable data files, then Ghost the system. (IOW, Flush and
reload the entire HD nightly. Guaranteed to kill anything! Requires Admin
access, though.)
B) Make Frequent Backups on external media, in case you have to flush the system.
Modern virii now also infect System Restore Files when they first attack to
keep you from reverting to an earlier save state, so flushing is a safer bet.
Anyway, If you can't get the Admins to do anything (because the biz is in
Shutdown Mode and everyone is On Their Way Out and working on resumes):
1) Can you get to the BIOS during Startup, or is that locked too?
If so, can you set it to boot from a CD, or a thumb drive?
If you have THAT kind of access (many Admins forget to set BIOS passwords),
see if it is possible to temporarily change the Boot Order to start with a
CD, or a thumb drive. IF so, then you can create a basic XP disk (or a
virtual PC on a thumb drive) on another machine, and install your favorite
antivirus to it. Boot from it, and scan the system. Then change the Boot Order back.
2) There are free downloadable disk images out there of basic
utility disks that include both an OS and antiviral product executables.
Search for them. (Again, you will need to be able to switch the boot order.)
But the biggest challenge these days is that SOME Windows virii simply
can NOT be extracted, because they have edited the OS WAY too much,
or destroyed critical system files and replaced them with Re-Infector versions.
Also, other viruses often run in SETS, where as long as ONE is still running,
each one can rebuild the others' files AS each are being extracted, foiling removal.
Unfortunately, in those cases, you have to temporarily physically remove
the HD and slave it to another CLEAN system (that has AutoPlay disabled,
for safety) as a Secondary Drive, to make sure the virii are not running.
These days, that is almost the ONLY way keep Virus Teams from thwarting
your removal efforts, as many have figured out how to run even during
limited operating modes that used to be Safe.
Once the disk is slaved to another system, you then pull off any files you
want to keep, use a Key Extractor utility to find all of the original keys
of programs currently installed on it for re-installation, and wipe the
drive all the way down to the partitioning. Remount it into the original
chassis, repartition and reformat it from scratch, then reinstall the OS
and every utility from scratch using their original disks & keys (or for
missing disks: use any original copy, and the recovered keys).
Overall, a VERY painful process... It also requires AT LEAST physical access
to the chassis, AND of course the true owner's permission to DO this.
(In your case, it sounds like that may not be an option.)
That's why IMHO you are still best off trying to convince the current
Admins to let you either
- update the current anti-virus software, or
- add in some freebies like AVG and MalwareBytes and let THEM take a
crack at it (especially if you have limited time left on the project).
But I can tell you though, if there are a LOT of virii on the system, it is
often a good indication at least ONE advanced virus has hit you,
which knows how to cripple your current anti-virus product.
It's almost like Computer AIDS, where one virus allows others to enter.
If that has happened, I'm sorry to say that you may already be at
the "Better Off to Wipe It ALL and Reload" stage.
Good luck, and let us know what you finally do!
- Keith Mc.
Neal Probert
In this case, perhaps just booting Linux off a thumb drive or a CD would allow them to have the computer experience and bypassing the PC's problems at the same time.
Windows
=======
If you gotta have Windows:
My boys have XP, but their accounts are without Admin privs (which is one of the big reasons why XP goes bad so often). A hassle for me to install/upgrade things, but saves a day spent reloading everything. I use Avira AntiVir and Spybot Search & Destroy on their systems. Haven't had to do a complete reload in 3-4 years. Just the usual routine checkups, updates and defrag.
Don't use Microsoft Lookout! or Internet Exploder as most viruses target those two apps. Get rid of the pre-installed crudware, turn off unneeded services. I usually turn off Windows firewall as it really doesn't work all that well, but use a broadband router with WPA secured WiFi always if you can.
Firefox is good and Mozilla patches holes pretty fast. Don't know if Google Chrome is up to the task. Keep Flash Player and Acrobat Reader up to date.
Signs of infection include: fast computer that runs slow, idle computer with network light blinking like crazy (you're probably sending spam), and really strange inexplicable and sometimes non-repeating behavior.
Linux
=====
Aside from work, I use Linux at least 90% of the time at home. So if you can go the Linux route:
Install and run Linux (Fedora or Ubuntu). Have never, ever gotten a Linux virus. A good number of games will still run fine under Wine or Cedega. Multimedia is almost as good as XP. OpenOffice is free compared (and compatible with) to M$ Office, which isn't cheap.
Install Windows XP into VirtualBox VM. Snapshot it now and then, especially just before and after a round of M$ updates. If Windows f*s up, revert to previous snapshot which takes seconds.
For hardware access or robotics, I'll dual boot XP or Linux on my laptop. Use XP when I can't find the Linux equivalent application. I don't do email or web surfing under XP, unless I have to.
As for email, I route some accounts through Gmail and that filters a lot of shit out. Then all email winds up at my Linux server at home, which runs anti-virus and spam filters.
/// ProbeStar Telematics Systems, LLC. ///
Automotive, Mobile and Embedded Systems Consulting
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winikkapafford88443
tbnorris
previous Geek Squad CIA (a damn good one i might add as well) and a
listener to the Security Now podcast on TWiT.tv, i have moved past
the thought process of trying to "uninstall" any virus or spyware
application i run across, i do run scanners still, but when it comes
to a positive hit, well i do a wipe and reimage, you do have to get
the licenses for all the applications that are needed to be run, but
you know you are on a firm footing when you have finished. Also,
something i have heard of but not YET played around with is Windows
SteadyState (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/
sharedaccess/default.mspx) it basically locks your partition down, so
that when you turn off the computer it erases EVERYTHING that is not
locked to it... from what was said about it (twit.tv/sn129) if you
want to have some permanent storage then you have to move that to a
different partition, but it will make windows free from infections,
because all you have to do is just reboot. you will need some admin
access to the SteadyState app to allow things to be let in, and i
THINK windows updates are allowed to be locked automatically, but i am
not sure how that works. it slows booting but not all that much after
everything is said and done. Maybe totally off base from what you are
trying to do, but was intrigued to have something other then spam on
this line enough that i figured i would respond.
-t
On Sep 23, 1:03 pm, takeshiechard45717 <takeshiechard45...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Jim Rees
where you don't know the history of these machines.