Theoretical experiment! Need outside input

Alchemy · 22 Dec 2012

Do not even know where to categorize so General it is. Just posted in the thread I am getting help on to clean my laptop but wanted to hear what everyone had to say. I lack the knowledge, be it formal or otherwise, as well as the experience to answers these so I might have found a fun project to jump into.

I had the idea to do this since I do not have any access whatsoever to a clean computer.

Boot into safe mode with networking.
Download and install a VirtualBox (Suggestions for what to run inside are needed. I was just going to do the most readily available Linux distribution).
Once the VirtualBox is ready and an OS is setup in Safe Mode with Networking, download the Win Offline Defender and make a bootable CD or Flash drive with it.

Theoretically, the idea sounded great to me and fun to test but I do not have the knowledge, nor the experience to know if that would even be a "'clean" environment much less if any other minute or grandiose factors/variables apply. Some that I can think of would be: If downloading and installing/setting up VirtualBox was even possible in Safe Mode with networking? Would making a bootable CD or flashdrive be possible in S.M.w.N.? Even if the environment inside of the VB which would be inside of S.M.w.N. ended up being "clean," would the download still be a failure as a result of coming from the internet where my infected computer has had plenty of time to apart of? Should the download prove to be in a .zip or similar format proven to be clean by various scans, even if the environment was clean or infected, could a switch from Safe Mode with Networking to Safe Mode allow the extraction and creation of the bootable item to remain clean? Last, if the computer was known to have been infected, could it even be trusted to test any of the previous ideas or should one say lesson learned, clean Win install and post to make others aware of the new information?

Nigsy · 22 Dec 2012

You could run Ubuntu from the live CD. Would mean you wouldn't need safe mode etc and as the OS runs from the CD the risk of a virus would be small to zero.

Desktop | Ubuntu

You could then run and download what you like within Ubuntu and create, I guess in theory a bootable USB drive.

Hope this points you in the right direction.

ICIT2LOL · 23 Dec 2012

Hum Alchemy forgive me mate but just what exactly do you want to do? If it is just a clean install of 7 then there are a few options.

I got sorta lost when you went into detail which frankly I find very hard to follow. My other query is that you say you are not terribly conversant with computing.

I have never heard of installing Windows OS in safe mode so maybe mate in point form as I asked what is the end result needed?

Alchemy · 23 Dec 2012

I understand, it did get a little farther down the rabbit hole in a not so clear fashion. Should have had bulleted notes rather than the way I wrote it to make it more precise. It is almost like a test to see if one could create a 100% safe environment on an infected computer by setting up VirtualBox while in safe mode to download cleaning utl's etc.

bassfisher6522 · 23 Dec 2012

Bottom line is, for a complete clean PC, you need to do a clean reinstall. This is the only true way of making sure that the PC in question is free of virius's and spyware.

Thorsen · 23 Dec 2012

Sounds interesting in concept, but for whatever the reason, I am sure there are easier methods.

only thing I could recommend is to actually try it minus the virus infection part. If the connection to the internet is already compromised through to SMwN, then it's most likely a lost cause already.

And there are plenty of troubleshooting utilities like Ultimate Boot CD and SymanticBootDisk symantec boot ERT

Also, the VirtualMachine, even if safe and clean, would not be a good permanent solution. what would be the next steps after all that is accomplished?

ICIT2LOL · 23 Dec 2012

I concur with the others mate I cannot see any advantage to doing that seems to be making a lot of work for yourself but I must say you certainly have some interesting ways of looking at things in that you are thinking outside of the square.
That is good in my book and is to be applauded. But in this instance maybe not really advantageous in what is being attempted.
But again it shows a logical and flexible mind:)

bobafetthotmail · 23 Dec 2012

Alchemy said:

Should the download prove to be in a .zip or similar format proven to be clean by various scans, even if the environment was clean or infected, could a switch from Safe Mode with Networking to Safe Mode allow the extraction and creation of the bootable item to remain clean?

You are overrating a bit what a virus can do to a computer. Malicious stuff around isn't smart enough to defend itself so strongly like corrupting the tools you download (it's hard to make the code for them to be so smart small enough for the thing to spread at a decent rate). At most they lockdown the computer, but then it's a kamikaze virus, big deal.