I'm having a problem verifying that an installation of Windows 7 is legitimate. It passes the validation online at Microsofts website, but I want to know if there is anyway to check the actual installation.
From what I've read, MD5 is something you can check on a file and therefore, I can check the ISO. The thing is... I don't have the ISO, but I want to check if this is a good install, with no rootkits/backdoors. Any ideas?
Yes and no, there are tools available to check the integrity of the system files in windows. However you do not need to affect the integrity of the system files to put in a rootkit or backdoor.
If you are unsure of a computer you just got, re-format it and reinstall windows. There are resources available if you do not have your ISO but still have a valid license key.
EDIT: If you are concerned about a tampered ISO, just get one from the last link I posted.
EDIT2: If you have a ISO already, you can see the official hashes from TechNet, but you need a subscription to actually download the iso's from the site.
