Using Your USB Stick To Download And Install The Latest Virus Files Automatically - 2k and XP

The aim of this page is to let you use your USB memory stick as a way of automatically updating any pcs you look after (you need administrative rights on them!) that don't have a network connection. The University has a site license for McAfee VirusScan Enterprise (check you are covered by the license agreement), a fine anti-virus program but like any other anti-virus software, it needs regular updating if it's to be good.
What you actually need to update are the definition files, the files that tell the program what to look out for when scanning emails, documents etc. The update for VirusScan comes in a single executable that does all the shutting down of the program while it updates, it updates the definition files and restarts the program at the end. The University Computing Service provide an ftp page for the latest executable (called SETUP.EXE), this gets changed on average once a week. The address of the page is;

ftp://ftp.csx.cam.ac.uk/pub/software/antivirus/superdat/

What the following does is to explain how it's possible with the use of a single batch file and a piece of freeware software called AutoRun USB, to provide a mechanism of automatically down loading the latest SETUP.EXE file every time you plug in your USB stick to a pc connected within the cam.ac.uk domain (Note: this includes all of the DAMTP windows pcs) and then to update the virus program on the pc you've plugged the USB stick into (this stage can be skipped if you don't have administrative rights to the pc).

You can also take the USB stick away and plug it into another pc, e.g. your home pc, a pc that is running the AutoRun USB software and McAfee's VirusScan v4.5.1 and v7 7 v8 and automatically update that machine, a machine that probably isn't always connected to the network and less likely to get updated (especially if you only have a 56k modem!). The same batch file will notice a lack of network within the cam.ac.uk domain, skip the ftp'ing and go straight to the installation of the latest update. If it finds that your pc is already up to date, it will simply log it in the log file (these are held on your USB stick) and quit the program.

What this provides is a simple next to effortless method of down loading the latest virus update as well as an equally easy method of updating, all you need to do is plug in your USB stick

What you need to do

Firstly, plug in your USB stick.

Make a folder called virus on the root of your stick (e.g. if your pc has called your stick drive letter Y then you need to click on drive Y and create a folder called virus).

Download AutoRun USB from here).

Intall AutoRun USB. Check that it loads at Start up (there should be an entry in the Start Menu -> Programs -> Startup folder. If there isn't, create a shortcut to C:\Program Files\AutoRun USB\autorunusb.exe).

Download this zip file and unzip the contents (three files, virus_sdat.bat, waiter.exe and sleep.exe) into the virus folder you created earlier on the USB stick.

Download this copy of autorun.usb and save it on the root of your USB stick (in other words, not within any directories on the USB stick).

That's it, try it out.

As long as you're on a pc within the cam.ac.uk domain, you'll be able to download the latest SETUP.EXE file (you don't need to be a member of the administrator group to do this part!) onto your USB stick. Once it's down loaded, it will then ask you if you 'want to skip updating the local pc'. If you are part of the admin group you can just let the count down finish (or press CTRL + A if you're impatient), the update will then be carried out. If you're not part of the admin group and you miss the chance to 'skip the update', don't panic, the update will just fail and the log file will say something like 'not enough rights'.

Once you down loaded the latest SETUP.EXE file on your 'work' pc, you can take it home, plug it in, the program will automatically run (as long as PenDrive Autorun is running and you've left the default setting to 'start at Windows start-up' selected). If you're not on a network or dialed up at that moment in time, the program will detect the lack of network, jump to the part where it asks you if you want to update the virus program, as long as you don't press any key, it will go off and update it. Log files are stored on the USB stick in a sub folder of \virus called log_files. The name of the log file starts with the computer's name just in case you plug the same stick into many pcs.