Hacking Cerberus

Just thought I'd share a couple of tips with you about how I got past the restrictions on the Win95 boxes in my college. The admins use this security program called Cerberus to restrict access to the computer, which does just about everything. It stops you from running DOS applications, getting access to the Control Panel, writing to certain directories, running programs from the Windows Explorer, etc. The My Computer and Network Neighborhood icons are still there, but Cerberus clears them (from the desktop I'm assuming), so there's nothing to click on. To remove Cerberus, I would need to get access to the registry and maybe the Cerberus directory, so I need to get a run box.

The way I did it was this: right click on My Computer and select Explorer. When Explorer came up though, I saw that certain directores such as c:\windows\ and c:\windows\system\ were shown as empty, again by this Cerberus thing. Damn. However, some directories did have viewable files in them. This was the key. What I did then was double click on an unassociated file, and when it says "Open With", go to "Other ..." and type, say, c:\windows\regedit.exe for the Registry Editor, or c:\windows\winfile.exe for the File Manager (which shows ALL the files on the hard drive. Cerberus doesn't seem to block it at a low enough level to stop that program).

After that it was a pretty simple task to get rid of Cerberus, ie. search through the registry for Cerberus and remove all references to it and also in the Policies bit which blocks off the Run, Find, (I'm guessing this is referring to the Start Menu options)etc. commands.

Hope that'll be useful in some way, somehow ...

Cheers,

... <- [ this is actually my handle :) ]

Information on Cerberus

The product known as Cerberus 4S or 4N is made by UniPress Software.

4S and 4N for Windows 95:

Cerberus 4 provides a full range of drive, file and folder protection options together with a number of Windows 95-specific protection features. Version 4S is designed for stand-alone machines whereas version 4N provides support for networked machines and adds centralised administration.

Use Cerberus 4 to:

Protect your Windows 95 workstations against accidental or deliberate damage.
Hide folders and files from users.
Restrict users to working in selected folders while rest of hard drive is hidden and read-only.
Prevent users from running applications from floppies or CD-ROM's.
Prevent changes to application and desktop settings.

Key Features

Application protection: Prevent users from running any application.
Drive protection: Restrictions include no access, read only access, no application to run from drive.
Folder protection: Restrictions include no access, read only access, hidden.
File protection: Restrictions include no access, read only access, hidden.
Exemptions: Applications, files and folders can be exempt from general protection settings.
MS-DOS Command protection: Disable individual MS-DOS commands such as DEL.
Registry key protection: Write protect Registry settings.
Multiple users: Individual and groups of users each with individual access rights to protected items.
One-time passwords: enabling one-day access if a password is lost (4N).
Central Administration: Can be maintained on one networked computer (4N).
Roaming Access Rights: A user's access rights are applied wherever they are logged on (4N).
Easy installation: Rollout across network with pre-set settings.

Since the document you are reading was originally published Unipress has renamed their product from "Cerberus" to "S to Infinity." As far as I can tell it is still the same program that Cerberus is.

S to Infinity is the complete desktop security system providing access protection with unique features and a philosophy dedicated to PC security. S to Infinity protects the PC from the desktop using access controls and encryption. Now you can prevent users from inadvertently causing system problems by restricting access to desktop settings and disallowing the creation of additional shortcuts. To further protect your PC through access control S to Infinity allows you to limit access to applications, folders, and files by user. Now each user can only access what you have allowed, eliminating the chance of a user accessing or corrupting other files.

S to Infinity addresses four main areas in providing simple, effective, PC security.

Desktop Enforcement - S to Infinity allows you to determine, set, and lock in, a standard screen configuration for all PCs. Users cannot change desktop settings, create shortcuts, change wallpaper etc.
Access Control - S to Infinity controls all aspects of users desktop access, from application, to folder, to file all the way down to the drive. Users each have their own access rights, so they can access the applications and files they need to perform their jobs. S to Infinity for Windows 95/98 also, uniquely, protects individual Registry keys and individual MS-DOS functions.
Encryption - Unlike most other encryption products, S to Infinity provides strong on-the-fly encryption. Users are unaware they are working with encrypted files - encryption / decryption is automatic. Any file or folder can be encrypted. Encryption is available for Windows 3x, 95/98 and NT, providing cross-platform compatibility for encrypted data.
Centralized Administration - S to Infinity can be centrally administrated and supports the use of policy extensions to set common settings and user access rights.

It should be noted that many of the techniques used to bypass the program Foolproof might also work on Cerberus. Be sure to check the document on how to hack foolproof for the latest techniques.

written by ? modified for distribution by m2mike

As always, if you know something about unrestricting restricted workstations, then please send it to me at m2mike@yahoo.com.