August 29, 2005
WinFS beta 1 released to MSDN network
Looks like Microsoft FINALLY got around to releasing WinFS, the supposedly revolutionary filesystem that was supposed to be released with Windows Vista (Longhorn) and one of the only remaining things that actually kept people like myself slightly in Microsoft's favor even though their operating systems have been pretty lousy in my opinion. Well, after they pulled it from Vista, it was all over for that OS.
Now they've gone and went beta with this WinFS. While I would probably venture to test it, I would never stick this on a production machine unlike a beta filesystem for Linux such as ReiserFS 4. There are just certain things that Microsoft does not do well ever, and one of them seems to be releasing great products in a timely fashion.
Posted by darkmoon at 10:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 10, 2005
How to Reinstall Windows Without Losing Your Data
PCWorld has a great article on how to reinstall Windows without losing your data. As usual, use the same precautions and backup your data in case you do lose it all. This isn't as clean as a clean install but it is a lot less hassle usually.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 08, 2005
Greensboro Linux User Group looks at Windows Vista Beta
The saying goes: "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."
ratchet of Greensboro Linux User Group, took a look at the latest beta installation of Windows Vista at tonight's meeting (8/8) and needless to say he was unimpressed. I unfortunately was unable to sit through the install and had to leave after 1.5 hours (apparently it took 2). Here are his initial reactions, and his latter reactions to the great and powerful new OS that the Redmond giant is pushing.
Way to go Microsoft. More ammunition for us on a bloated half-operating operating system. Makes me actually want to install Fedora Core 4. Scary.
Posted by darkmoon at 11:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Howto change your Windows XP look into MacOSX
This was covered a while back somewhere else, but many people are asking about it. The tutorial given by TechManifesto here covers all the tools you need to change your bland looking Windows XP screen into the vastly better MacOSX. It's no replacement on the OS side, but at least you can look good.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 06, 2005
Windows 2000 SP4 reissue of Rollup 1
Strangely, after releasing their last packaged update, Microsoft has decided to do some more bug fixes and reissue Windows 2000 SP4 Rollup 1. This will include a couple bug fixes within the rollup.
Via Winbeta
Posted by darkmoon at 11:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Virtual Desktop Manager for Windows XP
Virtual Desktop Manager is basically something that was taken from the Unix platform a long time ago. XWindows has always had virtual desktops to increase the workable desktop space up to "n" fold for however many virtual desktops you wanted. Now the Powertoys for Windows XP is doing a similar use along with an OSX rip of zooming in and out from each of the virtual desktops. Cool feature, but way too late for being "innovative." Alas, you take what you can get in features that help you work in Windows XP.
LifeHacker < PowertoysWindowsXP
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 04, 2005
Microsoft Windows 2000 unfixable flaw
eEye CHO (Chief Hacking Officer), Marc Maiffret, has announced the second Microsoft advisory this week.
"You can't turn this [vulnerable] component off," Maiffret said. "It's always on. You can't disable it. You can't uninstall."
Microsoft is looking into the issue and will respond to the advisory after some research into the problem.
SecurityFocus < VNUNet, WinBeta
Posted by darkmoon at 02:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 03, 2005
Howto run Windows 2000 on a 32M ram
There is no magical way to make your computer run any faster than it is capable of, but there is a way to cut out the bloat from Windows (besides switching to linux). Daniel Iverson got Windows 2000 to run pretty smoothly on 32M of RAM and documented a HOWTO so that everyone else that has one of these ancients can try it too!
I'd personally just throw linux on it and not worry about it anymore, but hey. Who am I to talk?
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 02, 2005
Yahoo! Desktop Search Beta
While this doesn't hold a candle to Tiger's Spotlight, this is probably as good as it gets when it comes to Windows. On the fly search results through indexing of your computer's data means:
Faster searching on your Windows computer. It also searches Yahoo Messenger chat logs and Thunderbird email and email attachments. Just beware of stashing those pictures of Jessica Simpson in plain view of the indexer. Yeah, you know what we're talking about...
Get Yahoo! Desktop Search Beta here. Requires Windows XP or
Windows 2000 SP 3+.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 30, 2005
Jahshaka: realtime editing and effects
Having been more interested in media-driven opensource tools ever since heading the ConvergeSouth media team, I found this doozy a while back but never got a good look at it.
Jahshaka is really a great piece of work. It already supports linux, MacOSX, Windows, Irix. It is a realtime editing and effects system that seems to me runs straight and true to the a lot of the older school tools that I've used in the past.
It allows you to run scrubs on clips, and maneuver transition effects and other modules into place to create a more professional looking movie clip.
And guess what. It's open-source! Have at it!
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 29, 2005
Why IE7's Phishing feature is plainly stupid
Interesting that people actually see some use of the IE7's beta features, especially the feature on phishing. This morning, a colleague of mine and I were IMing about the ridiculousness of Microsoft's IE7 and how the only unique feature between Firefox and IE7 was the phishing filter.
Then he went to point out why it was bad. Microsoft is doing a URL block. "That is true," I replied after further study of the beta. "And phishing sites only stay live for an average of two days now," I said thoughtfully. "Exactly," he answered.
Back in March of this year (2005), phishing sites were on average staying alive for six days. May of the same year, the Anti-Phishing Working Group shows on average 5.8 days of live activity.
The way Microsoft implemented it gives you a false sense of security. It doesn't do squat, seeing that most phishing sites have no URL and probably aren't documented until it's too late (Microsoft compares the phishing sites to a list). If you must have it in Firefox, it already exists in extensions. Dan, my friend, your request was answered even before you asked.
Posted by darkmoon at 04:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
nLite - Windows installation customizer
nLite allows you to make a customized Windows installation including removing components such as MSN Messenger, Internet Explorer, or the like. It also creates a bootable ISO image, allows unattended setup, service pack integration, driver integration and other features. All this in a Windows product that is betaware (v1.0 beta4) and is only 1.11Mbytes!
Requirements: .NET Framework 1.1
Should work with Windows 2000, XP, x86/x64 and 2003 x86/x64 all languages. Longhorn will be supported when it reaches RTM.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 28, 2005
Microsoft's Genuine Advantage broken in 24 hours
Microsoft's Genuine Advantage was broken in 24 hours of the release. GA was supposed to sniff the operating system to check if it was legitimate or not and report pirated operating systems. Now with a simple URL hack, the key check is disabled.
Genius.
Via BoingBoing
Posted by darkmoon at 01:41 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 27, 2005
PDFOnline
Another piece of free PDF technology. PDFOnline is a free service where you can upload a PDF and they will send you a HTML version, send them Word Docs, Excel spreadsheets, picture files, and they'll send you the corresponding PDF.
This is assuming you never use PDFCreator which is free also, or Cute-PDF Writer.
Or you could have broken down and bought Acrobat since you needed to edit PDFs. Either way, another useful tool.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 26, 2005
DIY Google Earth Movies
Google Earth is sweet but it the free version only allows you to do certain things. The $400 version can allow you to record movies and do fly-ins and other features but I don't know anyone that wants to drop $400 for Google Earth.
So this guy went in and did a bit of hacking and made his first fly-by movie! The tutorial on how is here.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 22, 2005
Windows appends to text
One of the oldest and used often enough to not even blink an eye when you think about features of Linux is the append to text file feature. You can append pretty much any text to the end of a a text file without opening the file. With this fancy little script, Windows begins to start acting more like a real operating system:
- Create a C:\scratch\ directory on your computer.
- Right click this script and save it to that directory.
- Right-click on the newly-saved SFS.VBS file and choose Create Shortcut. Rename the shortcut something you’ll remember and use, like “add.”
- In Control Panel, double-click System. In the Advanced tab, click on Environment Variables. Under System Variables, choose PATH and Edit. Add c:\scratch\ to the end of your existing path.
- Now, to add text to a file named c:\scratch\scratch.txt, hit Windows-R, type “add” and Enter. Then a popup will prompt you for what text to save to the file.
Type in your text and hit Enter, and a c:\scratch\scratch.txt file will get updated with the new text and the date and time.
UPDATE(7/22): ratchet informs me that you can do redirection of text in a CLI on Windows. Agreed, but most people don't open Windows shell. If you do however, the easiest way to do this is by doing the following:
- echo "THIS IS A TEST" >> c:\mynewfile.txt
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 17, 2005
WindizUpdate
Ever wanted to do your Windows Update but hated the fact that your FireFox doesn't work with it? Windiz Update will! This is a non-Microsoft supported site and what they do is download the updates and allows the certain non-Internet Explorer browsers to run from it.
Currently supporting Mozilla FireFox, Netscape, Firebird, Opera, and K-meleon.
ThisWeekInTech(Podcast13) < 62nds
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 10, 2005
Autorun
For all versions of Windows. This handy utility will show all of the current applications that are starting with Windows upon startup. While this is similar to looking at "msconfig," this utility puts it into a GUI base and makes it a lot easier to read.
Cost? Freeware.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 08, 2005
Microsoft releasing three critical patches on July 12th
Security Focus:
Microsoft plans to release three critical security patches on Tuesday, 12 July. Two of these affect Windows while one affects Office. News of the upcoming patches came in an advance bulletin notification issued Thursday which omits any details about the upcoming security fixes.
Did you expect anything less? The whole monthly patching thing is pretty dreary. I suppose one could call it job security when people get exploited between the 30-day period of security patches.
Via SecurityFocus
Posted by darkmoon at 11:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 07, 2005
MS Antispyware downgraded for spyware corporation
Microsoft has downgraded Claria's Gator spyware in their own anti-spyware blocker. The techworld is contemplating the rumor that Microsoft is on its way to acquiring Claria.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 21, 2005
Transferring files between two computers via Firewire
One of the quickest solutions to transfer files is to plug both computers up with Firewire. Firewire 400 gives 400Mbps while 800 gives 800Mbps. This is about 20-50x the speeds from a network transfer.
All you have to do is assign IPs internal to your network, connect them up and there you go, with quicker than quick file sharing.
This is on the assumption that you have firewire ports in your computers, but both MacOS X and Windows XP support firewire natively. You shouldn't have an issue.
Via LifeHacker
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 16, 2005
WASTE - anonymouse, secure, encrypted
is an anonymous, secure, and encrypted collaboration tool which allows users to both share ideas through the chat interface and share data through the download system. WASTE is RSA secured, and has been hearalded as the most secure P2P connection protocol currently in development. For technical information please see "information", but for more information on download and installation, please see "downloads". Looking for other WASTE projects? Please choose "projects", or if you are interested in the main WASTE sourceforge project, see "sourceforge". Or, if you just need some help with WASTE, see "documentation".
For Windows, Mac, Linux.
Via WASTE
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 15, 2005
AppRocket
If you have ever heard of Quicksilver for MacOSX, this is basically the twin for Windows by CandyLabs. AppRocket is a wonderful way to quicklaunch applications. For Windows 2000, 20003, XP & .NET.
The download is a 30 day trial and a one-time fee of $18 afterwards. Perhaps not free, but definitely one of the most useful utilities you will ever come across for Windows.
The tutorial for setting up AppRocket can be found here.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 13, 2005
Recovering iPod music after a harddrive crash
Lifehacker has some instructions for Windows users. If you have a Mac, those are available also. This is a savior tip in case you think that all your purchased music is gone. Just back it up from the iPod itself! Phew.
Via LifeHacker
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 11, 2005
Monad shell not sleighted for Longhorn
The highly toted Monad shell is not sleighted for the Longhorn release, nor is it looking at the Longhorn Server release. Apparently it takes a lot of time to code a shell that can do everything the GUI can. Wait a second...
Talk about reinventing the wheel.
Via Slashdot
Posted by darkmoon at 02:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 03, 2005
TweakAll
TweakAll is a free Windows program that tweaks settings to make your computer faster. TweakAll comes in version 3.0 which supports all versions of Windows, while TweakAll 1.2.3 only supports Windows 95/98.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 02, 2005
Local ISP Blocks traffic!
A local ISP has implemented restrictions on their customers without any upfront warning all in an effort to "be more secure" but what will be the impact?
In an email this morning, CarolinaNet (in downtown Greensboro) sent out this link:
http://carolinanet...details&i=18
The message states that port 135 for all traffic has been filtered at the perimeter of the CarolinaNet network...meaning it's filtered on their equipment before it ever reaches their client's machines.
That's good right?
Wrong. The whole point of having machines in a facility like that is that you have the ability to serve data on any port/protocol you wish. That means that if you want to serve something on port 135 then you should be able to. This also means that it is the CLIENT'S responsibility to secure his or her own network...not the ISP's. Normally ISPs only alert their clients to potential risks such as this one. They do not (and should not) implement restrictions and THEN send alerts as that is just bad business.
CarolinaNet also admits that it already blocks several ports and has plans for more ports to be blocked later this week.
On another point, the links in the article seem to point that the risk is only associated with Microsoft Windows servers. Even clients that don't have windows servers that have that port exposed to the Internet or use Linux-based software which is not at risk are being restricted. This just doesn't seem right.
This is yet another example of people taking on responsibility that is not (and should not be) their own and by doing so they are limiting the freedoms of others without justifiable cause.
It is also important to point out that other hosting facilities in the area (Bellsouth's Business Class service, SolidSpace in Winston-Salem, DataChambers in Winston-Salem, and Inflow in Raleigh) have not blocked this traffic.
Posted by ratchet at 09:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 31, 2005
Synergy: Soft KM switch
Synergy is a software keyboard-mouse switch. This is for those people that have multiple boxes, multiple monitors, but do not feel the need for multiple keyboards and mice. Since this can be configured for MacOSX, Windows, and linux, it is very compatible to be used with all of the above. Simply install the software, make all of the machines that you want are configured correctly on the network, and prepare to be amazed.
All you have to do is drag your mouse over to the edge of one window, and it appears on the other machine's opposite window. You can cut and paste text across screens.
Definitely very useful if you do not own a KVM switch or only need a KM switch.
Via Synergy
UPDATE: Link fixed. Thanks anonbob!
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 30, 2005
No IE7 support in Windows 2000
No Internet Explorer 7 support in Windows 2000. This only effects Internet Explorer support, but rather strange considering support for Windows 2000 has been extended past the June 30.
Update: Windows 2000 extended support is up to 2010 for security updates.
Posted by darkmoon at 09:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 21, 2005
Miss OS X but must use Windows XP? Never fear.
Just use FlyakiteOSX. This fun transformation package replaces critical system files, tweaks the registry, and installs a variety of sounds, and graphics to bring the full OSX look (but perhaps not the feel).
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 16, 2005
Internet Explorer 7 has tabs
Great. Way to join the rest of the information age by bringing tabs. Microsoft's Internet Explorer team has finally implemented something that has been around since the early 90s in applications. What's more is that other web browsers have had the functionality for so long that you wonder why Microsoft took its time to implement such a simple feature.
A word of advice from a long-time Microsoft user. Fix your bugs, support CSS fully, and implement features that no one else has instead of copying and you'll have the likes of a good product. IE took over the browser market back in the 90s and hasn't really changed since then.
Posted by darkmoon at 11:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wink - Tutorial software
Wink is a great piece of software for Linux (x86) or Windows (all flavors) that is released as freeware. The software allows drop boxes and callouts while taking screenshots. This a great way to create a quick tutorial that is very professional. Outputs consist of Macromedia Flash, Standalone EXE, PDF, PostScript, HTML or any of the supported image formats.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 15, 2005
More critical MSIE flaws uncovered
Security firm eEye has uncovered some critical flaws in MSIE, Outlook and various other Microsoft products that allows remote code execution. The firm has flagged the vulnerability with a high rating.
Straight from eEye:
A vulnerability in default installations of the affected software allows malicious code to be executed, contingent upon minimal user interaction.
With the latest flack that Mozilla has been taking for security bugs, even with quick turnarounds for version 1.0.4, leaving Microsoft in a bind. Their next security bulletin is due on June 14th, which leaves a wide window of opportunity for exploitation.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
How to test for buffer overflows
This tutorial was actually very good in describing buffer overflows, how they work and giving detailed instructions on how to create your own buffer overflow to test if the system would crash.
Learn how security exploits that use buffer overflow work here.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 14, 2005
FireTune
There are many tutorials out there on how to tweak FireFox to make it your slave and tune it so it will play as fast as it can go. FireTune takes all of the scary stuff out of tuning it yourself and is a one stop shop. Works for Windows XP/2000/ME/98.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 08, 2005
Beware of RSOD
RSOD (Red Screen of Death) is the notorious big brother of BSOD (Blue Screen of Death. Apparently RSOD happens when Longhorn crashes with extreme errors, instead of baby errors that only get BSODs. Sweet. Not.
Coming soon to a computer near you. Windows 2020...featuring - Death screens with colors of the rainbow!
Via JoiIto
Posted by darkmoon at 09:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 06, 2005
Windows: TrueCrypt
Lately, encryption has been on everyone's mind. With the latest press about PGPDisk, people have been going nutty over disk encryption.
TrueCrypt is a Windows XP/2000/2003 program that can create a virtual encrypted disk or a hard disk partition or device.
Main Features:
1) Hidden volume (more information may be found here).
2) No TrueCrypt volume can be identified (TrueCrypt volumes cannot be distinguished from random data).
Via TrueCrypt
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 02, 2005
Microsoft tries to get bloggers to hype Longhorn
Nominations for Team99 has begun. Team99 is an orchestrated event that even Robert Scoble helping push to the blogosphere. Team99 will be the Microsoft's voice to promote Longhorn and become the authorities on the new operating system. While this blogging evangelism seems to be a way for Microsoft to tap the blogosphere for help, the latest Longhorn peek by bloggers at the WinHEC conference was handled very poorly by the Redmond based software giant. Not only were the screenshots of Longhorn pulled after citing a beta agreement, but the handling of the situation caused bloggers all around to criticize the issue. Great way to start off on the wrong foot.
Posted by darkmoon at 04:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 28, 2005
How to create panoramic photos with a cheap camera
One of the problems with your 35mm camera is that it isn't able to take great huge panoramic view shots without a fancy lens. But with this short howto by the O'Reilly Digital Photography Hacks, you too can create panoramics on the cheap!
This would require either using Canon's Photostich software, or the open source utilities such as Panorama Tools Project.
Here is the howto and go at it! Send photos!
Via O'ReillyHacks
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 27, 2005
Zoomifyer EZ
LifeHacker has another great utility review. This one is called Zoomifyer EZ. It is a tool that creates Flash driven photos. You can zoom in and out on photos and move around in them via controllers.
The application is made specifically for Windows or Mac. Take a look here!
Via LifeHacker
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 25, 2005
Having problems? Need to backup your Mozilla? No sweat
MozBackup is a great little utility to handle the hassles of backing up favorites, contacts, and mail and others from Mozilla FireFox, Thunderbird, and Netscape utilities.
Unfortunately, this is only a Windows utility, but it does make life easier on everyone in that type of environment!
There is also support in many languages.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 06, 2005
Seventy-five percent of corporate PCs shun SP2
...and 40% of corporations are actively avoiding SP2. Only 7% have implemented the service pack.
Users still reluctant to deploy XP SP2 after then will have to stop using automatic updates after 12 April but that creates a number of possible issues, including possible incompatibilities with future products such as Internet Explorer 7, or a potential support gap when Microsoft support for Windows XP Service Pack 1 is withdrawn in September 2006.
Good thing my corporation pushes the fixes and updates themselves.
SecurityFocus < TheRegister
Posted by darkmoon at 01:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 29, 2005
Feedspring - feed generation software
If you've been looking for some free RSS creation software, here it is. Feedspring is created by UsableLabs and is licensed under GPL. It is supported under Microsoft Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003.
Not only does this have a pretty decent graphical interface, it also can create unlimited RSS feeds and because of the license, there is source code packaged for downloading.
Current version is 0.92b.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 26, 2005
Microsoft funded study that said Windows more secure than Linux
Big surprise? Not really.
Two researchers, from the Florida Institute of Technology and Boston-based Security Innovation Inc., 'surprised the audience at a computer-security convention last month with their finding that a version of Microsoft Windows was more secure than a competing Linux operating system.
Posted by darkmoon at 02:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 25, 2005
Remove Google Ads and others from Firefox
Just follow the steps:
1) Install Chrome edit and
2) Restart Firefox
3) Open Tools>Edit User Files
4) Click the tab: UserContent.css
5) Copy and Paste the contents in the bottom of the UserContent.css tab
6) Restart Firefox
Via Highat
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 22, 2005
Nortel VPN Windows client: password stored in memory
Take heed, those that use a Nortel VPN for their corporate networks. The Windows client happens to store both the encrypted version of the password in the registry, and a clear-text version in memory.
To: BugTraq
Subject: Nortel VPN Client Issue: Clear-text password stored in memory
Date: Mar 22 2005 5:12PM
Author: Roy Hills
Message-ID: <6.2.0.14.0.20050322171210.02c0ed40@192.168.124.1>
Nortel VPN Client Issue: Clear-text password stored in memory
Summary:
NTA Monitor have discovered a password disclosure issue in the Nortel
Windows VPN client: The Nortel client stores the password in an obfuscated
form in the Windows registry, but it also stores the unencrypted password
in process memory.
The Nortel VPN client is used for remote access IPsec VPNs, typically in
conjunction with the Nortel Contivity VPN router.
The vendor has been notified of this issue.
Via Bugtraq
Personal note: While my corporation uses Nortel's VPN, I suspect that even with the password in clear text, it would do no good in the current standing since we use two-part authentication. But those that do not, beware.
Posted by darkmoon at 03:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Converting your drive from FAT to NTFS in Windows XP
In Windows XP, to convert a FAT16/32 drive to NTFS without losing data:
Remove quotes below.
1) Open a command prompt (Start > Run > type: "command")
2) Type: convert "drive letter": \fs:ntfs
Wait until it's done and you'll be rocking and rolling with NTFS.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 21, 2005
Metasploit Project
The Metasploit Project is up to version 2.3 at the time of this post. Metasploit provides IDS signature development, penetration testing, and exploit research.
There is a tutorial by Impact at AbsoluteInsight that goes over Metasploit version 2.1. Older version, but the tutorial covers a lot of insight on penetration testing and how exploits work.
Note that Metasploit is a known research project and use of it can be tracked. Do not attempt to access systems that you do not own and only use for legal penetration testing and research purposes.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 14, 2005
CDBurner XP Pro
Need a Windows CD burning utility, but there aren't any decent ones via open-source? Try CDBurner XP Pro. It's freeware that looks decent and also works rather well.
For all intents and purposes, this is probably the best freeware burning utility and comes highly recommended.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 13, 2005
Thousands of websites still on NT4
Thousands of websites are still being hosted on Microsoft NT4, a huge security risk being that Microsoft has retired the operating system back in December of 2004 and has been out of the patch loop when it comes to SMB (Server Message Block) exploits.
Microsoft addressed the SMB exploit in the Februrary 2005 security update.
Via Netcraft
Personal note: Move to linux. Free, stable, and security exploit turn-arounds are almost twenty four hours maximum. What more can you ask for.
Posted by darkmoon at 10:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 11, 2005
Is your Windows system compromised by a rootkit?
SysInternals has developed RootKitRevealer. This will scan your system for any Windows rootkits on systems with NT4+ (why anyone would bother installing a rootkit on a Windows system is beyond me, but I digress). SysInternals also have many useful utilities for performance and maintenance of Windows machines.
Slashdot < SysInternals
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 10, 2005
Shinkuro: Secure messaging and collaboration
Collaboration software that introduces support for FreeBSD, Linux, MacOSX, and Windows. Joi has a great review of it here.
It allows you to create groups and share folders of files, has a shared chat space (like IRC) and allows you to share your desktop screen with other members of the group (yes, across platforms). The shared files are transfered in the background and edits to files are sent as diffs which can be accepted into the original by the recipient. There is also standard IM with your buddy list. The great thing is that all of the traffic is encrypted. 256 bit AES and 2048 bit RSA keys. Each message is encrypted with a unique key, and the key is transmitted under the RSA key. This is very important since I know for a fact that people sniff IM and other traffic at many of the conferences and public places.
So grab it and register it. For now, it's still free.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 09, 2005
Can't find a DLL because Windows is too stupid? DIY
DLL errors are an abundant problem with Windows when there is cleaning up of unused applications that use the same DLLs as another application. Fortunately, now you can find some of the DLL files at DLL-files and fix it without Windows ticking you off quite as much.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 07, 2005
After 8 years, Windows is still susceptible to LAND
After 8 years, Windows is still susceptible to LAND attacks. Sure, you have to have your firewall turned off, but there are still quite a few computers out there that are potential victims.
Posted by darkmoon at 11:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 06, 2005
Converting a standard Windows system to dual-boot Linux system
Many people are curious about the new rage in Linux that has become the next big operating system contender in the desktop arena. This tutorial will show you how to convert your standard Windows system and create a dual-boot linux desktop system. This will allow you to play with linux on another harddrive without losing your current Windows system. It also allows for a general migration path before you lose all fear and drop Microsoft on its bum.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 05, 2005
WinFS isn't dead? So why upgrade to Longhorn?
Contrary to previous reports that Microsoft was pulling WinFS, their new successor to NTFS, now reports are that Microsoft is going to release WinFS to developers and customers. They are also back-porting the technology to WinXP and Windows Server 2003, which is one of the few reasons Microsoft customers were excited to upgrade to Longhorn.
So the question is, what is there in Longhorn that will compel Microsoft junkies to upgrade?
Posted by darkmoon at 01:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 25, 2005
Microsoft targeting WINE with WGA
Microsoft's latest target is WINE. With the Windows Genuine Advantage, they are targeting the one way that Linux users have been accessing Microsoft products without using the operating system.
Codeweaver's president, Jeremy White:
"The reason we love this is because this shows that Microsoft is aware of Wine at very high levels," said White. "For us it's exciting -- it is an acknowledgement of us as a threat."
Personal note: Hah. Microsoft is scared of Wine of all things. Must actually be cutting into their profit margin. Again, open-source shows that it can make a difference in the world and proprietary software corporations are scared.
Posted by darkmoon at 01:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 21, 2005
Securing Windows: Guide to Desktop Security
This tutorial from Darius at OSNews shows that Windows can somewhat be secured, straight off installation. This requires some knowledge about slipstreaming your install CDs which might thwart newbies from working the magic, but definitely worth the read.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 16, 2005
Microsoft Antispyware for Free
Microsoft's Antispyware is now going to be offered for free, according to the man himself, Bill Gates, at the latest RSA Security conference.
We have spoken about Microsoft's latest acquisition of GIANT here and how it violated EULA here.
Word of advice: this requires a validation of your Windows so if you were bad and do not have a legit copy of Windows, do not attempt to download this software.
Via Slashdot
Posted by darkmoon at 05:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
FireFox now the most used Windows application
Scoble writes:
In just a few months your app has become one of the most used Windows applications in the world. My hat's off to you!
Battelle comments:
Note the use of "Windows application." Winning by moving the goalposts, is what I think that's called.
Posted by darkmoon at 05:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 15, 2005
Windows XP CLI Reference
Anyone that knows Unix knows that there is nothing more powerful than knowing the command line. Fortunately for point-clickers, Windows XP has a command line interface. Here are all of the commands for the interface. Useful? Definitely.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 12, 2005
FireFoxIE
If you're having troubles shifting over to FireFox, but you are sick of the popup ads and the other security holes of Internet Explorer, FireFox now has a new extension! FireFoxIE, an extension to FireFox that makes it look and feel like Internet Explorer without the problematic issues.
For most users using FireFox, there is not really a need for this extension. For converting current Internet Explorer users, please take some time to read ALL of the tutorial. There is quite a bit that needs to be done to make everything feel the same. Estimated time: 5-15 minutes.
Posted by darkmoon at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 11, 2005
Microsoft security chief says Windows is more secure than Linux
Mike Nash claims that Microsoft Windows Server 2003 has only had to endure a total of fifteen patches last year, which was better than RedHat and SUSE. Obviously he misses the point. Microsoft usually takes their sweet time with patches. Linux usually has a twenty-four hour turn around on security exploits. So perhaps you only had fifteen patches, Mr. Nash, but how many holes are there left to be exploited in your product? Many more than I care to count.
Via Slashdot
Posted by darkmoon at 12:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack