Where can I download the older version 6 Lansweeper?

[tmittelstaedt]

Hi, I have a small 35 desktop customer who was running an old Windows 2003 server that I just replaced with Server 2016 on a new hardware box. I'd like to repurpose the old box to a Linux application server and run their Server 2003 license in a virtualbox and then use it specifically for Lansweeper. However the new version of Lansweeper no longer runs on Server 2003. I would like to run the last version 6 that DOES run on Server 2003. I don't really want to run Lansweeper on the new server because the new server is running HyperV, and it's running as a file server and domain controller on the hyperv host and Exchange 2016 in a virtual server, and I'm not really interested in c rap ping up the HyperV host or the exchange server guest with sql express or any of that. (in other words - it's currently rock solid stable, depended on by the entire company as a critical server - don't eff with it)

Yes I know I can probably find an old Core2 PC in a dumpster and put windows 10 on it for this but I would prefer NOT to have it running on a machine with a single disk drive that could crash at any time particularly when I have a grand old Dell server with a Perc 6 and a 15k rpm raid array of ultrascsi disks available. And they already spent the money on the Server 2003 license so why not use it?

Anyway, is there an archive or FTP server I can pull the last version of Lansweeper that would run on Server 2003 from? There's nothing in the new version 7 that I need or want and I'm not a fan of running the latest thing just because it's the latest thing.

[CyberCitizen]

Can I just say wow, you have come to a forum asking for help which is mostly user driven, your responses are just plain rude and come off as entitled and I know best attitude. You could have just said thank you for the information /advice about the old OS, however I have a need to run this old OS and because of that, I have setup additional security measures to prevent the exploits etc.

But to answer your question. It would be best to email support and request the old installer and explain why you need the older version.

[Esben_D]

Just to get back on topic here, there is no official place to download old installers. Aside from new features we also include security updates and bug fixes, so there are more reasons to have the latest version aside from just having a higher version number.

There might be third party file sites out there that might have an old version. But it's up to you to decide if you trust them enough to download the executable.

[fjca]

I don't know your environment, so my advice is based on "standard" setups... yours could be a very specific situation, but even them...

I don't think anyone from Lansweeper will give you access to an older version, for security/liability/commercial/<insert here> reasons. That question has been asked in the past, and at least on the forum, they haven't answered.

And you will have issues with Windows 2003 down the road, for instance thinks like this:

https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2049143
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/226f6e75-772c-4321-b079-bde801ab44ab/cipher-suite-for-windows-server-2003-sp2?forum=winserversecurity

Sometime in the future there will be a new cipher/protocol/thingie that Lansweeper 6 or Windows 2003 won't support/work with, even with workarounds, and at that point you will have to migrate.

Also, that Dell server won't run forever either. A PERC 6 means a 9th/10th gen model, or an early 11 th model, so we are talking about a 2008-2009 machine. They ran fine, in fact, I've got a few still running, but Dell does not support them anymore, I have a third party maintenance contract for them, and already have a pile of decommissioned models for spare parts. That does not seem to be the case with your customer... you can of course buy a used part on eBay, but that takes time to buy, to ship, to install, etc... warranties are not just for the part, they are mainly for the SLA...

If it's just for Lansweeper, my advice to you is to forget the Windows 2003 license, and just install a Windows 10 VM with SQL Express on the server, and run the latest Lansweeper version on it. Even if it was some bugs, it adds support for more devices, more hardware information, Cloud scans, Exchange scans, etc...

[tmittelstaedt]

fjca wrote:


Also, that Dell server won't run forever either. A PERC 6 means a 9th/10th gen model, or an early 11 th model, so we are talking about a 2008-2009 machine. They ran fine, in fact, I've got a few still running, but Dell does not support them anymore, I have a third party maintenance contract for them, and already have a pile of decommissioned models for spare parts. That does not seem to be the case with your customer... you can of course buy a used part on eBay, but that takes time to buy, to ship, to install, etc... warranties are not just for the part, they are mainly for the SLA...

If it's just for Lansweeper, my advice to you is to forget the Windows 2003 license, and just install a Windows 10 VM with SQL Express on the server, and run the latest Lansweeper version on it. Even if it was some bugs, it adds support for more devices, more hardware information, Cloud scans, Exchange scans, etc...

From a license perspective it is a license violation to run a copy of Windows 10 workstation in a VM unless you buy a Volume License copy of Windows 10. Many people probably don't know this but Mickydoodle buried an exclusion for virtual machines in the retail shrink-wrap license. The minimum order on a VL purchase is $500. The fact is that it's cheaper to find an old Core 2 someone threw away in a dumpster, install 10 on it, get the free digital license from Microsoft and have at it. MS activation servers do not hand out free digital licenses for activation requests from virtual instances of windows 10.

Technically, that also requires a 64bit VM and the older hardware could not run 64 bit virtual guests (but could run 32 bit virtual guests) due to missing CPU instructions Intel added into later CPUs. Yes you can run 32 bit versions of 10 but Lansweeper doesn't support 32 bit anymore as a host platform.

There is zero liability to a software vendor for handing out free copies of software. In order for there to be liability you have to have a contractual relationship and that requires a monetary transaction. Please don't use the lame old excuse of "liability" as a catch-all. Particularly when their actual purchasing contract boilerplate disclaims all liability! Good grief! Don't you even know that Microsoft permits you to download prior versions (some insecure) of their own software under volume license? Liability? Liability my gluteus maximus!

Thanks for telling me that they ignore requests for older software. Translation, thanks for telling me they are d ** s who don't have the courtesy to even say "company policy is to do a scorched earth on older software copies" then gaslight you into thinking you're better off with their new schlotz. I won't waste time waiting for them to respond and somewhere I must have an older copy buried somewhere along with their announcement a few years ago when they released it saying how it was the greatest thing since sliced bread and we would all need to hyperventilate until we downloaded and installed it. Funny how it's always the same with software companies - whatever junk they are pushing today is always the most supremely best stuff there is then a year later the exact same version isn't worth wiping your a z z with. Why, it's almost like they insert software vulnerabilities in software like easter eggs to guarantee they have something in the future to convince the sheeple to buy their new stuff. <eyeroll> Or maybe it's just coding by people who don't give a hoot about buffer overflows and other security sloppy programming.

Now as for older hardware - they invented backups to answer that question. But, I get it. After hardware gets to a certain age it has a higher chance of developing a fault. That's why it is common practice to move it into hosting NON-CRITICAL software like Lansweeper.

I can do what I need to do at the customer with a spreadsheet. It's more convenient to do it with an old copy of Lansweeper that will run on the antique server. If said antique server sputters and dies then no big deal. I can always find a replacement for antique hardware. The trick is finding additional NEW hardware at the same price (free)

[tmittelstaedt]

I'll tell you what. I just spun up an unpatched windows xp pre-service pack 1 system at this customer on a virtual server on another Linux box and I'll give you $500 to break into it. You can put your money where your mouth is and prove you know what you are talking about and aren't just a dumb kid who doesn't know the first thing about security, and get paid to boot.

You wanna know the customers name? Sorry son, that's part of what a REAL cracker's job is to find out. You wanna know what network it's on? OK I'll even give you it's IP address. It's 192.168.5.4 There you got it! Have at it! Prove to us that you know what you are talking about!

<eyeroll>

Anyone else want to actually ANSWER the question???? I'm not sure why I'm wasting time here - the last post I made nobody had an answer to either. Going 0 for 2 folks!

[grimstar]

tmittelstaedt wrote:
I'll tell you what. I just spun up an unpatched windows xp pre-service pack 1 system at this customer on a virtual server on another Linux box and I'll give you $500 to break into it. You can put your money where your mouth is and prove you know what you are talking about and aren't just a dumb kid who doesn't know the first thing about security, and get paid to boot.

You wanna know the customers name? Sorry son, that's part of what a REAL cracker's job is to find out. You wanna know what network it's on? OK I'll even give you it's IP address. It's 192.168.5.4 There you got it! Have at it! Prove to us that you know what you are talking about!

<eyeroll>

Anyone else want to actually ANSWER the question???? I'm not sure why I'm wasting time here - the last post I made nobody had an answer to either. Going 0 for 2 folks!

It's scary that this is your response as it borders on childish. I work in information security, but my job isn't to prove I can break in to other people's environments. My job is to protect my company's assets, and in this case I relayed information in order to try and protect your customer's assets.

Your customer has a sysadmin who doesn't have the right temperament to be managing their environment (again, as evidenced by your response). I hope you take a step back and think about what you are recommending and trying to accomplish. You may not like what I'm saying, but as someone that works in technology none of what I said should be news to you.

[tmittelstaedt]

RKCar wrote:


It's scary that this is your response as it borders on childish. I work in information security, but my job isn't to prove I can break in to other people's environments. My job is to protect my company's assets, and in this case I relayed information in order to try and protect your customer's assets.

Your customer has a sysadmin who doesn't have the right temperament to be managing their environment (again, as evidenced by your response). I hope you take a step back and think about what you are recommending and trying to accomplish. You may not like what I'm saying, but as someone that works in technology none of what I said should be news to you.

Your response is predictable but flatly, you do NOT know the environment and therefore you are not competent to judge if anything I'm doing is insecure or not - unless you succeed (or fail) at an attempt from the outside to break in.

Security is all relative. Most "exploits" if you call them that are only usable in specific environments. And, most exploits are nothing compared to physical security flaws. You may have the best patched system in the world but if it can be stolen by an attacker that drives a stolen car through the door of the building, runs in and grabs the server then runs back outside and jumps into another stolen vehicle driven by an accomplice, then you are just pretending that you are secure.

I have customers (not this particular one but some others) who run production facilities that make construction materials with millions of dollars of equipment that is controlled by a windows 2000 system. They use 2k because the vendor that built the plant wrote the control software to run on 2k and if they wanted to upgrade it would mean ripping out the PLC and buying a new one then having the vendor come in and write a whole new process control application on visual basic or whatever it is that they use. That's around a $100k job. For what reason? Just so Microsoft can sell them a $200 piece of software so people like you can be happy? The world is not all a bunch of millennials sitting in cube farms in front of the latest PCs.

[grimstar]

Server 2003 went end of life four years ago. You are doing a disservice to your customer by trying to keep that thing online as it is vulnerable to essentially every exploit that has been released since 2015. Please don't try to keep that thing running, especially because Lansweeper touches everything.