Portable (undetectable) version of XBMC?

[RobG]

What would it take to get a portable and/or undetectable version of XBMC? I've used it for years and love it but of late, my employer is trying to force me to remove it from my work computer and are unwilling to even consider approving it for regular use. They're discovering it through some sort of scan, but I'm not sure what. What I do know is that they're finding it despite me having hidden it from the list of installed programs (where you go to uninstall stuff). Perhaps in the registry? Searching for .exe files? I dunno.

So I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to make something that can be made undetectable? Part of me wants to just tell my employer to go F themselves, but I'll admit it's kinda nice getting paid, and it's easy work. So for now... what are my options, if any?

Thanks.

[phil]

I had that problem (where the IT department were being normal IT people) and eventually I found a better (small) employer!

However, there is already a portable version of XMBC which can run without being installed. There are a few disadvantages like inability to work with elevated processes (unless run as admin) and a few things won’t work - thanks to Microsoft bowing to IT and requiring accessibility tools to be installed under the program files folder (and digitally signed)…

If the current portable version is no good, I don’t really know how else it could be hidden - as it sounds more like ‘only known programs are allowed’ - can you not get them to audit/allow XMBC? (I did kinda manage that myself as it was software required to do my job - that worked for a while!)

[RobG]

Oh wow, I'm clearly blind. Never noticed the portable version. I'll grab that on Monday and see if they discover it.

I'd love to go into more detail employer-wise, but suffice it to say they're quite large and very corporate-minded. They have no process to audit the tool and thus allow it; it really comes down to a, "what we say goes, period." Their one exception process can take months and it has to be a "life or death" sort of thing, and sadly, this tool wouldn't fall into that category.

The funny part is I've been at this particular job for two years and have been running it since day one and only in the last few months have they noticed.

FWIW the ONLY thing I use the tool for is to assign the two "side buttons" on my mouse to switch between virtual desktops, and clicking the center button (wheel) to bring up my open apps (sorta like Mission Control on the Mac). Do you think that'll work with the portable version?

Thanks a bunch for your quick reply, btw.

Rob

[phil]

I think that will be OK with the portable version - bit of a look and see but should be OK!
Generally, the portable version struggles with:
1. Interacting with elevated processes (but in a locked down IT environment maybe you cant elevate stuff anyway?!)
2. Sending certain keystrokes, like WIN+X which for some reason is a restricted key-sequence in Windows (????! lol)Only "accessibility" tools can do that, and to be considered an accessibility tool, first the application *has* to be digitally signed with a (not in-expensive) software signing certificate (XMBC IS!) and also has to be running from the \program files (or \windows\system32) folder - and that's where the portable version falls short (for obvious reasons I think!)


I feel your pain re the IT dept! My <previous> employer was a medium size (relatively) US corporate (they bought the company I worked for in the UK) and, slowly, over time, it got worse and worse... I was quite involved in the IT dept in my small office, so I think I got away with more than others (and had a lot more control) but it was slowly getting wicked away, before I was tempted to move away (It wasn't just that they stopped me using my own software lol). At the end of the day, they lock things down to protect the company (or government if that's the case ) and frankly, erode all trust in any of the employees - which in my mind is completely the opposite of a sane/safe working atmosphere. Hey Ho - its like that in most big companies these days!

BTW: The portable version is available on the same site as the main installed version - and it is essentially exactly the same without the installer to wrap it all up. So other than the accessibility tool issue I mentioned above, its identical. I don't know how your IT people scan (if they monitor running processes etc.) but in theory you could rename the main executable (to something like winword.exe or excel.exe or I dunno, malware.exe (maybe not!) ) and it *should* still work - not sure how it would show in task manager but it should work)

[RobG]

Thank you again! I have the portable version running right now and it's great. I had noticed that "Task View" was missing, so I instead selected Simulated Keys and gave it {LWIN}{TAB} which does the same thing.

I agree -- back in the mid-late 90's, I was in IT... we were the red-headed stepchild and were generally crapped on by the rest of the company. Now it appears to have gone 180 deg opposite, where IT now rules with an iron fist and nobody can oppose them. And especially of late it's "security at all costs," so absolutely nobody is trusted at all... yet of course we also have to do yearly stupid "training" about security and other stuff. And two-factor-auth on EVERYTHING is driving me up a damn wall.

Anyway, thank you yet again!

Rob