Using the Command Line Scanner What is the Command Line Scanner?
You will be familiar with the GUI Virus-Scan feature of Norman Security Suite. This ...
Using the Command Line Scanner What is the Command Line Scanner?
You will be familiar with the GUI Virus-Scan feature of Norman Security Suite. This tool can also be accessed through the Command Line/Command Prompt in Windows. This is very useful if Malware is interfering with your ability to run a scan through the normal user interface.
PLEASE ENSURE ALL WORK IS SAVED AND ANY NON-ESSENTIAL PROGRAMS ARE CLOSED This guide will take you through the use of the Command Line Scanner. As well as the various options you have to alter what the scanner does.
Opening Command Line & Finding the Folder 1) Single Left-Click on Start ①> Run ②. Then type in cmd ③(Win 2K/XP/Vista/7) or command (Win 95/98) and Single Left-Click on OK ④.
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This will then open the Command Line Window. The first thing we will need to do is navigate to the Norman folder that contains the Virus-Scanner program. 2) You will notice that we are currently in C:\Users folder. We need to get back to C: which we can do by typing cd\ in the Command Line and then press Enter.
This in the directory you are currently in. In this example C:\Users
3) You will then need to get into the Norman directory that contains the scanner program. Type cd program files\norman\nvc\bin and then press Enter.
Notice how this has now changed.
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Using the Command Line Scanner
Running the Virus-Scanner You are now in the directory where the Virus-Scanner is located and where it can be run by typing nvcc. Before we actually run the Virus-Scanner we will need to talk a little about switches.
Switches A switch is usually a forward slash followed by a combination of alphanumerics (i.e. /XY) with a space in between, if more than one is used. It is put after the command to run a program and is basically an option for the program to run with. This gives us allot more control over the way the Virus-Scanner runs. Example:
This will run the scanner but also has the switch to scan all hard disk drives in the computer (local), instead of just the hard disk you are currently in (C:).
Details Scan all local disks (All disks attached to your computer, not floppies). Scan all disks (not floppies). Do not sound alarm when infection found (default OFF). Repair files and boot sectors: /CL:0 no /CL:1 yes, /CL:2 also within archives. Repair files and boot sectors. Same as /CL:1. Scan compressed program files (default OFF). Scan archive files /C:0=no, /C:1=yes. Scan archive files. Same as /C:1. Specify number of logfile generations Specify log file name (Overrides /LD: and /LG:). Specify directory for log files. Set logging level: /L:0=no, 1=yes, 2=verbose. Suppress the default memory scan. Ignore errors (default OFF). Quiet mode. No stdout output (default OFF). Repeat the scan (default OFF). Use sandbox /SB:0=Off, /SB:1=On. (Default value in Config). Do not allow user aborts (default OFF). Scan subdirectories (Default when scanning drives). Do not stop on errors or when infections found (default OFF). Verbose mode (default OFF).
As you can see there are many possible variations of switches that you can use to customize your scan. In the majority of cases there are only a few main switches that you would use. We will now look at a “normal” use of the scanner and what some of the switches can do.
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Using the Command Line Scanner Starting a Scan In this example we will use the following switches: /ALD – This will make sure we scan all the hard drives and CD/DVD that are attached to this machine. /B – This will switch off the alarm that is sounded when malware is detected. /CL – This will repair damaged files and the boot sector on your hard disk. /O – This will not prompt you to continue if an error is detected when trying to read a file. /SB:1 – This switches on the sandbox, for better malware detection. /U – This switch will ensure that the scan doesn’t stop if an error or infection is found. /L:2 – This enables the verbose logging of the scan. This will create a .log file of the scan results. 1) To run the scan with these options you will need to type NVCC /ALD /B /CL /O /SB:1 /U into the command line.
2) After you press Enter you will then see the scanner run as below. (Please Note: The scan can take a very long time, depending on the amount of information that is on your hard drive).
3) During the scan you could, potentially, see a few error messages pop up. This is normal as Norman VirusScanner will be unable to scan files that Windows is currently using. Also some archived types are not readable by the scanner.
4) Once the Scan has completed you will then see a summary of what it has found.
Finding the Log File If you recall, we added the switch /L:2 in order to create a log file of all the things the scanner has done. We now need to find this .log file which is in C:\Program Files\Norman\Logs. This file is very useful for Norman Technical Support staff as it will enable them to see exactly what the scanner is doing and where any errors or infections are occurring. This will usually be requested by Support Staff if you are having an issue. Page | 3
Using the Command Line Scanner 1) Go to Start ①> My Computer ②> C: ③> Program Files ④. 2.
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2) Then go to Norman ①> Logs ②.
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3) You will then see a series of log files. The file we are interested in will be the last, numerically. Single RightClick on the log file ①, then move your cursor down to Send To ② and then Single Left-Click on Compressed (zipped) Folder ③. 1.
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You will then notice a new file has been created in the log folder with the same name as the log file we just compressed but with a different icon. This is the compressed file we have just created. We now need to cut and paste this file into a location that can be easily found (i.e. Desktop).
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Using the Command Line Scanner 4) Single Right-Click on the compressed file and Single Left-Click on Cut ①. Then go to your Desktop and Single Right-Click in a blank space ②, then Single Left-Click on Paste ③. You should then see that the file has been moved to your desktop.
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You will then need to attach this to an e-mail to send to the Technical Support Team. Unfortunately we are unable to guide you through this process as each mail client differs in the way you attach files to an e-mail. If you are unsure of how to do this, please check online for your mail client support.
