My grandma needs me to fix her computer that my little sister hosed with a virus for the millionth time. I’d really like it to stay fixed, so I hit on the idea of forcing her to use VMWare or something and do her mostly-web-based computer usage in a place where it can’t hurt anyone.
However, I seriously doubt that instructing her to launch the program and do her surfing from there is going to work when she knows she doesn’t really have to.
Is this possible? If so, is it easy? I’ve only ever messed around with VMWare for a few minutes on someone else’s computer, so I’m not exactly up to speed on that program.
Alternately, are there any other solutions to my problem that you would recommend instead?
How about switching her from Internet Explorer to another browser? My main browser is Chrome, but I also use Firefox. I only run IE to get updates from MS.
Alternatively, make sure the login accounts she uses do not have admin rights. You can always right-click and select Run As. And make sure Little Sister does not have the admin password!
I should add that the IE icon had already been moved. She managed to do this with Firefox. It’s got the AntiVirus 2009 malware and a million other damn things that keep coming back, so I think I’m going to backup the data and reinstall XP.
Contrary to many people’s prejudices, Firefox is no safer than IE these days (and I say this as someone who uses Firefox as their default browser). It might be worth sticking with Chrome until the virus writers catch up with its foibles.
There is no way to drop someone directly into a VMware or VirtualPC virtual machine without their knowing about it. If you could convince her to stick to using one, that would be an elegant solution.
XJETGIRLX’s solution of Windows Steady State, however, sounds like an ideal situation; it’s free and it seems to offer a lot of control.
Is Firefox demonstrably more secure for web browsing than IE? I know people have been raving about how great it is for a while, but I use IE7 and have the “it ain’t broke so I won’t fix it” mentality.
I usually keep the security and privacy settings on “medium-high” so I can still receive cookies from legit sites (like this one) but when browsing… less-than-reputable sites I’ve had my anti-virus software pop up on occasion to warn me that a virus-containing file was somehow downloaded. It quarantines the file, which I then delete, and so far haven’t had any problems but it scares me to think a virus can be transmitted so easily over the net.
I use IE and have never had antivirus software or a virus but I keep it patched and the internet settings very tight. I can do without all the java etc.
Another thing to take into account is that AV software often scare you for nothing because they want you to believe they are doing something. Every once in a while I will scan my computer with an online check like http://housecall65.trendmicro.com/ (which I highly recommend) or other online such service. Almost every time it will come up with virus warnings but further investigation proves they are all false. They will trigger virus warnings from cookies (a cookie cannot carry a virus) or even from the hosts file or registry. Things which are actually put there by me because they are beneficial are triggering virus alerts. People who do not know better will think the AV is actually doing something useful.
My computer is about 5 years old and runs faster than newer, more powerful, computer running AV software.
And disable booting from CD or USB in the BIOS setup and then password protect the BIOS. Physical access to a machine usually means it can be trashed, but it can be made more difficult for the less computer savvy.
I can predict what will happen with this, though. She’ll need to install things often enough that my grandmother will get tired of going upstairs to type in the password and just give it to her. Then she’ll just install everything. This girl hasn’t met a computer she can’t fuck up. (Sorry, I’m not trying to downplay anybody’s suggestions, and I do very much appreciate your input.)
I’ll look into Steady State. That seems like it might work.
I have Windows XP and I had a friend install Microsofts VM on my machine and it works great. The trick is is that you have load another operating system for the VM. My friend works at Microsoft and got me Windows Vista.
He set a restore point before I started using bittorents and said I could fuck it up all I wanted and to reset to the restore point.
Also, I think you should be able to go into Administrator mode and make her a folder that automatically uses VM without her having a choice.
I have both computers running 24/7 and it works great. The thing you have to be aware is you memory. It should be at least two gigs if not three or four.
Install VMworkstation, create a machine for her with full access to trash as she sees fit.
Lock the host down really tight, and only allow her user on the localhost the ability to run the VM machine.
If she can’t do anything outside of the VM machine, she really won’t have need to use the host. At the end of the day the guest machine should run as well as the host if you feed it with memory.
That being said, if the computer is a newer one.
Another, more secure way would be to install CentOS with xen virtualization as the host. Install Windows as a guest and have her use that. This way you can REALLY lock her down against damage she could do to the host.
Xen supports restore points or you can build the guest as a large file. After you get everything installed just make a copy of the file. When she trashes the guest just overwrite the working guest file with the copy.
As for easy: Vmware Workstation is very easy to understand. Xen not as much, but it isn’t rocket science either. The concept is the same. Host computer runs guest computer/s.
Another option is to install Windows XP 64 bit. You’d have to buy a new OS but a lot of stupid viral code doesn’t run well on 64 bit. You’d have to make sure your computer bits have 64 bit drivers though. The plus side is XP 64 is MUCH better than its 32 bit counterpart.
Tried this. Didn’t work. Or at least I thought I did when I hooked her hard drive up to my computer* and watched it find dozens of malware programs. But they keep coming back. Over and over and over and over. Every time I come home from work, there’s an AVG window open with at least a dozen newfound viruses.
Seven, thanks for the tips. Her computer is at least three years old, though. I think it only has a gig of RAM and certainly doesn’t have a 64 bit processor. Still, that’s the kind of answer I was looking for, so thanks again!
*I had to do it that way because her PC was bogged down with such an obscene amount of malware that I literally couldn’t move the mouse or operate the keyboard once Windows had finished loading.