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Hang on to your PS2 Keyboards

By Dave F in Reader

Posted in thin clients, Security, Microsoft on May 8, 2009 at 3:26 pm

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No not play stations, the old PC keyboards with din plugs (PS2 connectors). I’ve just had all kinds of fun with a thin client running WES (windows embedded standard) which is a sort of XPe (XP embedded). The unit is locked down tighter than (insert your own analogy, mine might be to vulgar) so doing anything much with it is tricky. I mean, you can’t even see drive C - ”My Computer” consists of RAM Drive Z.

That is if you are a user, as an Administrator you can access drive C, and can type commands to “run” from the Start button - ma-ha-ha tomorrow the world etc etc.

So how do you get to be an administrator? The same as any windows system, log in as administrator with Administrator as the password obviously.

But it never shows a login prompt - to get a login prompt you must hold down the shift key as windows loads. After some hours, days weeks, … OK a couple of goes, it occurred to me it seemed to load all the USB devices AFTER windows had booted and this was a USB keyboard (as supplied with the unit). I plug in my old PS2 keyboard and I’m in - tomorrow the world etc.

Once I could see drive C I could copy stuff onto it off a USB key, did I forget to click the little green padlock and “commit” my changes to the flash drive? Of course not (well only the once and that doesn’t really count does it?).

So there we are - one WES Thin Client neatly configured. Pretty soon you’ll be able to spot the administrators, they’ll be the ones walking round with an old keyboard under their arm - and muttering “don’t forget the commit, don’t forget the commit, ….”

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Comments

Comment by Dave - May 11, 2009 on 2:00 pm

What about one of those little green USB-to-PS2 adaptors: surely that would work just as well, but at a fraction of the size?

Comment by Dave F - May 11, 2009 on 3:58 pm

That would indeed do the job, however, it looks like there is an easier option http://www.itpro.co.uk/blogs/davef/2009/05/11/nah-dont-hang-on-to-your-ps2-keyboards/

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