Python: How to use platform.win32_ver() on a remote machine?

Question

So of course I'm new to Python and to programming in general... I am trying to get OS version information from the network. For now I only care about the windows machines.

using PyWin32 I can get some basic information, but it's not very reliable. This is an example of what I am doing right now: win32net.NetWkstaGetInfo(myip, 100)

However, it appears as though this would provide me with more appropriate information: platform.win32_ver()

I have no idea how get the info from a remote machine using this. I need to specify an IP or a range of IP's... I intend on using Google's ipaddr to get a list of network ranges to scan. I will eventually need to scan a large network for this info.

Can someone provide an example?

Answer 1

A good way is to use WMI. The following links from Microsoft contain enough information to write code for your purposes:

• Connecting to WMI on a Remote Computer
• WMI Tasks: Operating Systems

The missing piece is how to do this in Python. For that, consult Tim Golden's site:

• WMI for Python
• WMI Cookbook

By the way, if you're OK with using a command line program and parsing the output, then I would suggest the PsTools available freely. In particular, psinfo can do what you want.

Answer 2

I had to use remote registry... HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion

ProductName, EditionID, CurrentVersion, CurrentBuild