Need help with tricking "vm-detection"

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saindo
Posts: 14
Joined: 14. Jan 2016, 12:17

Need help with tricking "vm-detection"

Post by saindo »

Happy with VirtualBox for so long... Just got a problem and thus am switching back to VMware.
Host: Ubuntu 20.04; Guest : Win10 / Win7
I had to install on new software here in guest Windows system. This jerky app check the running environment and refuses to run in "virtual machines". I know there could be too many parameters by which the app could use to judge the VM environment. But I did found one solution to this in VMware+Win10, by just adding one line of 'hypervisor.cpuid.v0 = "FALSE"' in .vmx file. I tried and that line of configuration really did the trick. And it seems only work in Win10 guest.
The in Virtualbox, I tried fresh installation of Win10, with "paravirtualization" as None. But it did not work.

Also I tried several "VBoxManage setextradata' and 'VBoxManage modifyvm" but no configuration worked.

Is there any more logical approach, based on the difference between VMware and Virtualbox, as well as the magic line in .vmx?

Thanks!
fth0
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Re: Need help with tricking "vm-detection"

Post by fth0 »

AFAIU, the VMware setting 'hypervisor.cpuid.v0 = "FALSE"' effectively clears the guest's CPUID bit HVP (HyperVisor Present). I never found a real documentation on that setting, though. In VirtualBox, setting the Paravirtualization Interface to None also clears the guest's CPUID bit HVP.

In consequence, you'll have to find out what the app really checks.
mpack
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Re: Need help with tricking "vm-detection"

Post by mpack »

If the app really cares about detecting that it's in a VM, then it can do so easily. No magic setting changes that, and it will be no different in VMWare.
saindo
Posts: 14
Joined: 14. Jan 2016, 12:17

Re: Need help with tricking "vm-detection"

Post by saindo »

Thanks for your help.

Is there an easy way to figure out which "parameter" this app is reading to judge the "VM environment"?
scottgus1
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Re: Need help with tricking "vm-detection"

Post by scottgus1 »

saindo wrote:Is there an easy way to figure out which "parameter" this app is reading to judge the "VM environment"?
Not in Virtualbox's normal settings and commands. You could ask the app's developers, but if they're interested in not running in a VM they're not likely to tell you how to defeat that effort. :lol:

Essentially, Virtualbox produces a virtual 'computer'. What the apps installed on that 'computer' do cannot be controlled by Virtualbox. You'd have to debug/reverse-engineer the app using whatever web-searchable methods are available, to find out what that app is doing. Or use a real computer for this app. Or get a different app whose developers don't care about running in a VM.
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