There is an account in Microsoft Windows that is more powerful than the Administrator account in Windows Operating Systems. That account is called System account it is similar to the root OR super user in the Linux/Unix world . I will show you how to access this system account in this article.

In the ‘good old days’ of Windows 2000 / Windows XP there was this AT.exe command with the /interactive parameter/switch.. if you scheduled a task using

AT 12:34 /interactive cmd.exe

cmd.exe was started by the scheduler windows service and since this service was running under system account, the cmd.exe process was created by local system authority => result, your cmd.exe process was running as system.

Nowadays, with Windows 7 / Windows Vista and UAC and other improvements, the AT /interactive way does no longer work. but (for sake of Christ) there are those SysInternal Tools by the almighty doctor Russinovich. Especially we’re looking at the psexec.exe tool in this post .. So, to run a cmd.exe or any other process as system, just download psexec.exe and call it as follows:

C:\>\Temp\SysinternalsSuite\PsExec.exe -i -d -s cmd.exe

PsExec v1.98 – Execute processes remotely
Copyright (C) 2001-2010 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals – www.sysinternals.com

cmd.exe started on CONWKS100 with process ID 5220.

In the opened cmd.exe type:

C:\Windows\system32>whoami
nt authority\system

C:\Windows\system32>

and you’ll see, you’re ‘the god of your system’ and you have all privileges.

Links

SysInternals psexec.exe can be downloaded here

The final build number is 1.0.1611.0.

Security Essentials is designed to work on Windows XP, Vista and 7 and protects end users against virus threats and spy ware. MSE is Microsoft’s free anti-virus and anti-spyware product that is set to replace Microsoft’s paid Windows Live OneCare subscription service which was withdrawn earlier this year. Microsoft Security Essentials was codenamed “Morro”.

MSE is absolutely free for all users of Windows XP, Vista and 7, and distributed in both 32bit and 64bit flavors — as long as you have a genuine copy of Windows. Microsoft will not bundle it with Windows 7, though, when it’s released on October 22nd, 2009.

“Consumers have told us that they want the protection of real-time security software but we know that too many are either unwilling or unable to pay for it, and so end up unprotected,” said Amy Barzdukas, general manager for consumer security at Microsoft. “With Microsoft Security Essentials, consumers can get high-quality protection that is easy to get and easy to use – and it won’t get in their way.”

MSE is likely to be targeted to compete with the low end of anti-virus products from other providers, and it is not expected to make a big impact on sales of full-blown security suites. MSE is designed for home use. It requires no registration, trials or renewals and is available for download directly from Microsoft. Most users are expected to be home users or small businesses with a only a small amount of managed PCs. In a statement earlier this year, Janice Chaffin, president of Symantec’s Consumer Division claimed: “Microsoft’s free product is basically a stripped down version of the OneCare product Microsoft pulled from the shelves. A full Internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected.”

Security Essentials ranked fourth in a test with other leading free malware protection. If you are interested in MSE you can read an informative early review by Paul Thurott here

Links

Microsoft Security Essentials Homepage

Download: Windows XP (32 bit)
Download: Windows Vista & Windows 7 (32 bit)
Download: Windows Vista & Windows 7 (64 bit)