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Old 05-13-2005, 10:04 AM   #1
shengchieh
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Registered: Jul 2004
Location: Palo Alto, CA
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Question dual boot: can window get infested while running linux?


To All:

I need to figure out if my PC is infested or the server is.
Apparently a spammer is using our fast internet.

1.
This PC is dual boot window 2000/Xandros 2.0 (debian-based).
I have run window for a few years and thus haven't update
Norton AV either. Can the window side be infested while running
the linux side?

2.
If 1. is yes, if I wipe out window and make this PC all linux (wants
to upgrade Xandros or something anyway), will this remove any
infestion?

Sheng-Chieh
 
Old 05-13-2005, 10:33 AM   #2
jschiwal
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If your windows partition uses the NTFS file system, than you should be safe because Linux normally doesn't have the ability to write to an NTFS file system. Of course I can't guarantee that someone didn't hack in, promote himself to root and write to the raw device file.
 
Old 05-13-2005, 10:42 AM   #3
shengchieh
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Thanks for replying.

How can I tell if I'm using NFTS file system?

Sheng-Chieh

p.s. When I installed Xandros, it did all the works.
 
Old 05-13-2005, 06:16 PM   #4
pokemaster
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two ways you can check if you have ntfs:

1) if your windows files are mounted into Xandros, go to that mountpoint (/windows on many machines), right click and click properties, it should give you information about the drive including FS type.

2) if you login to windows, do the same: right click on the C: drive, click properties, it will be listed under "Drive Format" or something similar.


You'll either have FAT16, FAT32, or NTFS. FAT is easily writeable from linux, NTFS not so much. As for being infested, it's not necessarily true that anything needed to be done to your system. Check your router / firewall / server for an open port 25 (the SMTP port). If that's open and you have an SMTP server running on your machine(s), they can just specify your IP as the host through their mail client and voila... mail coming from your machine.


Solution would be, tell the router not to allow port 25 access from outside your LAN, or just turn off your SMTP server.


Whatever the problem is, good luck! We'll all be glad you're shutting down a spammer, if only temporarily!
 
Old 05-13-2005, 06:48 PM   #5
jschiwal
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using the "mount" command without arguments will give you information on what paritions are mounted and the mounting options. Also, the system dynamically updates the /etc/mtab file with the same information.

The fstab entry for the partition may also give the fstype.
 
  


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