Ubuntu & Chromium OS

After Google recently announced their intention of developing their latest venture, the Chromium OS, as an open source project, it has lead to cheers from all corners. An example of this openness was given at the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Dallas.

Here is an interesting excerpt from the Canonical blog,

In the interest of transparency, we should declare that Canonical is contributing engineering to Google under contract. In our discussions, Sundar Pichai and Linus Upson made it clear that they want , wherever feasible, to build on existing components and tools from the open source community without unnecessary re-invention. This clear focus should benefit a wide variety of existing projects and we welcome it.

Something else that struck me on the issue is from this Chromium site,

Prerequisites
You need to have Linux. We currently support the following:

• Ubuntu (Hardy 8.04 or newer, Karmic 9.10 recommended)
• An account with root access (needed to run chroot and modify the mount table)
• Chromium prerequisites (needed to build a Chromium-based browser as part of building Chromium OS)

So, Google seems to be using a tried & tested platform as a foundation for their Chromium OS. The year 2010, seems to be getting interesting, with Lucid Lynx & Chromium OS. At least, we get to spend some good time; before the Mayans get the better of us, two years later.

LAMP server on Ubuntu

If you want to have a LAMP server on your Ubuntu machine, but found if difficult to install the different components seperately, the geeks (developers) at Ubuntu have literally made it as good as spoon-feed. For the un-initiated, LAMP is a software bundle for Linux, consisting of Apache HTTP server, MySQL (database component), PHP (for scripting).

The result of their efforts is the following command,

sudo apt-get install lamp-server^

Note: The carrot is not a typo-error, its part of the command. It refers to the 'Tasksel packages' for different tasks. If you need to see the complete list type "sudo tasksel" in the console.

Follow the onscreen instructions, you will be prompted to confirm all the packages, reply with 'YES'. While the installation is halfway, you will be prompted to chose a password for the root user on the MySQL database. Enter your password and confirm it.

Thats it, the install is done; now for the configuration part.

1] Apache2: Open "http://localhost/" in a browser window, if you see a page with "It Works" written on it; then you apache2 installation has succeeded.

Open a terminal window, and paste the following into it, to open up apache2.conf;

sudo gedit /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

add an entry to the end of the file; ServerName your-domain.com (you will have to replace your-domain.com)

2] PHP: Open a console, and type

sudo gedit /var/www/phptest.php

here, enter the following code in the gedit document,

<? php phpinfo(); ?>

restart apache2 with the following command

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Now open your browser to "http://localhost/phptest.php"; if your PHP install was succesful, this page will list out the details of the PHP installation.

3] MySQL
Open the MySQL configuration,

sudo gedit /etc/mysql/my.cnf

Make sure the following setting is proper.
bind-address = 127.0.0.1


(This is an optional step)
Installing phpMyAdmin

sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-auth-mysql phpmyadmin

Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the install, you can access it at "http://localhost/phpmyadmin/"

Finally restart the apache2 server;

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

There you go, your machine is up and running

GO - A brand new programming language from Google

Big news for developers out there: Google has released a new, open source programming language, Go. Go, is currently experimental, and it combines the performance and security benefits associated with using a compiled language like C++ with the speed of a dynamic language like Python. The official mascot of Google Go is a nice little Gopher.

Here’s how Google describes Go in its blog post:

Go attempts to combine the development speed of working in a dynamic language like Python with the performance and safety of a compiled language like C or C++. In our experiments with Go to date, typical builds feel instantaneous; even large binaries compile in just a few seconds. And the compiled code runs close to the speed of C. Go is designed to let you move fast.

We’re hoping Go turns out to be a great language for systems programming with support for multi-processing and a fresh and lightweight take on object-oriented design, with some cool features like true closures and reflection.

For more details check out Golang.org

Here's a sample of the 'Hello, World' program:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
  fmt.Printf("Hello, 世界\n")
}

Fix the Monitor from xorg.conf

Most Linux distros have some sort of control centres from where we can change display settings and make it optimum for our monitors or graphics cards. Sadly sometimes we come across a distro which doesn't support the resolutions native to our card or monitor, in such cases we can directly modify the 'xorg.conf' file which is responsible for the changes in the display.

Before you proceed, back up your old 'xorg.conf'

$sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf_backup

Now, open up 'xorg.conf' in any text editor you have, I'll use gedit for this example.

$sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Here's an example xorg.conf file from my machine, only the section corresponding to the monitor is shown

Section "Monitor"
Identifier   "0-CRT1"
Option     "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
Option     "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
Option     "DPMS" "true"
Option     "PreferredMode" "1280x1024"
Option     "TargetRefresh" "60"
Option     "Position" "0 0"
Option     "Rotate" "normal"
Option     "Disable" "false"
EndSection

Take care before you change any value, its very tempting to try a high resolution, but it might damage your monitor permanently, so always get the specs right from the manufacturers before you change any value.

FGLRX driver problem in Ubuntu

After successfully in getting my ATI/AMD FGLRX drivers on Ubuntu 9.10, I'm finally loving the visual effects.

Earlier whenever I tried to install the drivers from, System>>Administration>>Hardware drivers; the installation of the driver would be successful, but my screen would keep flickering, as if it were some CRT screen being disturbed by radio frequencies.

I decided to try and install the FGLRX drivers one last time, I encountered the usual flickering which, not surprising now, vanished when I changed the refresh rate, from the default 75Hz to 50Hz.

So if any of you are facing flickering after you have installed your drivers and rebooted, try fiddlng with the refresh rate.

Another workaround that has worked for a few Nvidia Cards is to disable Compiz, from System>>Prefrences>>Appearence and in the Visual Effects, select the 'None' option. A restart will resolve this problem.

The last solution I have found to this after scourging the net for hours is to edit the 'xorg.conf'in '/etc/X11/xorg.conf'; which I will be posting later.

Microsoft Windows user authentication, is it a Joke ?

A Microsoft Windows computer cannot be called 'secure' in the least bit, at least as far as the user authentication is concerned. I'll tell you how this is true.

• Boot your computer with any live CD / DVD that supports mounting a NTFS drive (preferably live CDs of any Linux) .
• Proceed with mounting the Windows root drive from your live CD session and navigate to the "%WINDIR%\System32" folder.
• Here, create a backup copy of 'utilman.exe' by renaming it as 'utilman.exe.bak' and rename 'cmd.exe' to 'Utilman.exe'.
• Now restart the computer and boot the Windows OS, when you are at the login screen you have to invoke the Utility manager by pressing 'Ctrl+U'; but instead of the utility manager in this case you are presented with a 'no holds barred' command prompt, with SYSTEM privileges.

And that is how your lil bro can pwn Windows.
Surely a brand of operating systems thats almost getting its seventh version out must do something about this scenario, considering that it is a major player in the business.


EDIT: LOL ... even windows 7 is not secure against this; and this works even if 'cmd.exe' replaces other applications like the onscreen-keyboard(osk.exe), which are accessible from the login screen; you just have to follow the procedure to start whatever 'exe' you replaced with 'cmd.exe', to be able to access the prompt.

I'm trying to come with a workaround to this problem, been tinkering with the registry. I'll post the solution as soon as possible.

VI Improved - Tutorial

How many people using unix like system do you think, have atleast a basic knowledge of using one of the most powerful editors of the platform? There are many who don't like to use VIM, purely due to its 'UN-GUI'ishness; they tend to go in for other simple to use and comparatively less geeky alternatives like 'nano'. What will you do when you are faced with a scnerio where there are no options other than using it ?

This tutorial aims to let you understand the extremely basic stuff you should know about VIM; bewarned that this is not even worthy of being mentioned as the 'Tip of the Iceberg'. VIM is an extensive tool which might take months to master.

To start VIM & open a file, say 'new.txt'; we type the following at the terminal,

'vim new.txt'

now you will see the contents of the file new.txt on your screen, at the last line will be written, "new.txt" 9L, 45C; this means that the filename is "new.txt" having 9 lines of data & size 45bytes (1 char {C}= 1 byte). This mode is called normal mode or command mode.

Now you want to edit the file, go to the character from where you would like to 'insert' text and press either 'a' or 'i'. If you press 'a' the cursor will advance 1 character forward and start inserting and if you type 'i' the cursor will start inserting at the current position. This mode when you insert data or text is called as 'insert' mode, to come out of the insert mode to the command mode, press 'Esc' key.

If you wish to delete some text then follow the same steps for editing to enter the 'insert' mode and use 'Backspace' key to delete charecters, again using 'Esc' key to exit the 'insert' mode and enter the 'command' mode.

Now that you have edited the file, you have to options; either save the changes done to the file or discard the changes and quit VIM.

To save a file type ':wq' in the 'command mode', (Note: - ':wq' will not work in the insert mode), if you want to save the file with another name use ':W FILENAME' in the 'command' mode, but in this option VIM will save the file with the name you specified and continue to edit the old file, and another command is ':saveas FILENAME' which is the same as ':w FILENAME' but it will now edit the new file after saving.

To quit the VIM editor use the command ':q', which is only allowed if the file has not been modified. If you wish to discard the changes and quit type ':q!'.

These are just 'dirt basic' that you need to know if you are going to use a Unix machine, VIM is too extensive to be covered in a few blog posts. Hope it helps even if its a bit. If you have any queries, feel free to post them as comments and I will surely try to clarify them.

pppoe configuration in Ubuntu Linux

Yesterday after getting irritated with the '$ sudo pon dsl-provider' command for my pppoe connection, I decided to shorten the length or atleast make it simpler, something like '$ sudo pon bsnl' or simply '$ sudo pon'.

According to the MAN pages on pon it requires a parameter to specify the provider which has to be dialed, on absence of provider it executes the file '/etc/ppp/pppoe_on_boot', if it is existing and executable.

Again on lack of arguments to the '$ sudo pon' and absense of the '/etc/ppp/pppoe_on_boot' file (which is created when you specify that the connection be automatically dialed up at startup), in such a case the '/etc/ppp/peers/provider' file is executed' which is often the cause of error to most people.

If you have a look at the file '/etc/ppp/peers/dsl-provider' you'll realise that copying the contents to a new file will enable you to use a command such as '$ sudo pon isp'

Steps for '$ sudo pon isp' - Run the following commands in a terminal:

• $ sudo cp /etc/ppp/peers/dsl-provider /etc/ppp/peers/dsl-provider.bak (optional)
  
• $ sudo cp /etc/ppp/peers/dsl-provider /etc/ppp/peers/isp

Now a command like '$ sudo pon isp' will dial your pppoe connection.

Steps for '$ sudo pon' - Run the following commands in a terminal:

• $ sudo cp /etc/ppp/ppp_on_boot /etc/ppp/ppp_on_boot.bak
• $ sudo cp /etc/ppp/peers/dsl-provider /etc/ppp/ppp_on_boot

Now a command like '$ sudo pon' is sufficient for conecting to the internet.

Protection against packet sniffers

Some while back when I was using a SIFY Broadband connection, there was this particular period when all transfers on LAN as well as net speeds dropped drastically. I felt very weird about the fact that this happened almost every day at around 6pm. There was only one cause I knew of (mentioned in the previous post), which could have such an effect; someone is doing a MITM or Man in the Middle attack.

 

So how do we detect these guys?

Firstly I have only tried this trick in my network, I'm not sure it will work with you; but you can still give it a try.

• Start a sniffer like Wireshark, sniff for some time when you think the attack is being carried out. Now from the captured packets, separate out the DNS request packets and search for reverse DNS lookups. If at all there's an attacker who is sniffing or doing a MITM, there are bound to be reverse DNS lookups, either by the application or manually.
  
• If any system on a network responds to a ARP request that is sent to a non-broadcast address, that means that the system is clearly in promiscuous mode.
  
• Later on I found this handy tool XArp http://www.chrismc.de/developing/xarp/.
  
• Also on a windows machine command prompt the "arp –a" command will show you your ARP entries, and "arp –d *" command will delete all entries in your ARP table.

Cain and Abel – Hacking Local Area Networks

This is another tool that is favored in extracting or recovering passwords. Note very carefully, Cain and Abel is a "PASSWORD RECOVERY" tool, use it carefully.

(THIS POST IS FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY)

Before I start, there are a few requirements.

• Download Cain and Abel from www.oxid.it
  
• Should have a switched LAN. (Most ISPs other than BSNL provide broadband via LAN, e.g. SIFY, HATHWAY, local Cable internet connections)
  
• Any Microsoft Windows Operating System.
  

If you are not sure about being on a switched network, continue the steps, until you find out.

1. Download and install Cain and Able from the link given above.
   
2. Start Cain and Abel (requires admin privileges in Vista), go to the sniffer tab, click on the configure menu, select your NIC, check 'start sniffer on startup', press 'OK'.
   
3. Click on the 'Start / Stop Sniffer' (the 2^nd) button on the toolbar. Now click the blue '+' (plus) sign (this is the 7^th button on the toolbar). Check 'All Tests' and click 'OK'.
   
4. After the scan is complete, if you are on a switched network then, you must be able to see many IP and MAC addresses in this pane. If you don't see any IP other than your own, probably you are not on a switched network.
   
5. Notice the tabs on the bottom, HOSTS, APR, Routing, Passwords, and VoIP. You are currently on the HOSTS tab, select the APR tab click on the 'top pane' and click the 'blue +' (7^th on toolbar).
   







6. Now you will again see the IP & MAC address (in the left pane) you saw in Step 5. From this list, select your 'Gateway IP', (this will mostly be something like 192.xxx.xxx.1 or 10.xxx.xxx.1 etc; check your network properties for more info on gateway.) after selecting your 'Gateway IP Address' (now some IP will appear on the right); drag and select all the entries in the right pane, and click 'OK'.
   
7. Now click on the 'Start/Stop APR' (the 3^rd) button on the toolbar. You will see 'HALF ROUTING' and 'FULL ROUTING' entries in the lower pane.
   
8. Now go to the Passwords tab on the bottom. Slowly you will see passwords appearing in this section; most will be under HTTP.
   

The password section gives you full details on the capture, including Username, password, URL, etc. Any person who was online during the time you completed Steps 3 – 5, will be affected, and you will have access to their passwords.

Beware: What this program does is send all the traffic through your computer, so the LAN speeds slow down drastically. On my home network, LAN transfer speeds reduced from 10MB/s to 100Kb/s in 10 minutes.

Also according to me, any network can be efficiently analyzed with a combination of 'Cain and Abel' (http://www.oxid.it/cain) and 'Wireshark' (http://www.wireshark.org/).

Qumana – Blog Editor

I haven't used any blog editor other than the default editor in blogger and MS Word. I had done a search for a blog editor a while ago, but never came across Qumana, until yesterday. Qumana needs Java Runtime Environment installed before you consider installing Qumana. I wanted a editor which would help me post the blog-post without having to sign up at blogger using a browser and editing it over there, (this happens to me at month ends when I desperately try to save some bandwidth), I also wanted a spell checker for proof reading my post. Qumana satisfies all requirements and as an added benefit, it can even integrate AdGenta adverts into your blog-post.

Features:

• Supports a lot of blog providers including Blogger, Wordpress, TypePad, DairyLand, SquareSpace, Drupal, MSN Space, LiveJournal, etc.
  
• Qumana supports AdGenta adverts, which can be inserted by you into your post while editing the post itself.
  
• Can manage multiple blogs from the same provider or by multiple providers.
  
• Allows editing in multiple modes, i.e. the WYSIWYG mode or the HTML mode.
  
• Inserting images and videos is made very simple.
  
• Can insert tags and track backs, allow or disallow trackbacks or comments.
  
• Has a spell check utility, so that you can correct your mistakes before publishing.
  
• One click publish.
  
• It can also set the time of posting.
  

Bummer:

I agree this is a pretty good blog-editor but I loved a feature in MS Word where simple mistakes like capitalization gets corrected automatically, Qumana with its 'spell check as you type' feature comes very close.

 

Get Qumana at http://www.qumana.com/

AutoIt Scripting

A freeware scripting language for the Microsoft Windows platform, which uses keystrokes, mouse movements, window manipulation among others to automate tasks in the windows. This little handy tool does not require any runtimes and will run on most machines without much hardware requirements.

Some of the notable features of AutoIt are:

• Very easy to learn and understand syntax.
  
• Scripts can be compiled into standalone executables.
  
• Creation of GUI is very easy.
  
• Direct call to DLL functions and windows API.
  
• Supports Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, VISTA.
  
• Detailed help file with examples of code.
  

If you can't find a use for AutoIt scripts, then I'd like to tell you to go and get a brain.

Nmap-online.com – Nmap on the internet

I had installed Nmap yesterday to scan a particular target of interest to me, but unfortunately I was getting certain errors about Nmap being unable to find the network adaptor, and I couldn't find a way to make it work. A quick Google search revealed this wonderful online Nmap port scanner, www.nmap-online.com

The interface is intuitive, the default option when the website loads is to quick scan your own computer, full Nmap scans of your own system and custom scans, which allow you to scan custom targets with your own parameters are also included, it keeps your scan requests on queue and lets you know the number of requests before it on queue. When I used it last night, there weren't any other requests so I got my results pretty fast and even if there are many requests it has the option of e-mailing the results of the scan to your own e-mail id.

Whats more is, this service may keep your scan anonymous from the target, if he has surveillance installed.

Google Analytics – A Web Masters’ Swiss Army Knife

Why I have called Google Analytics as a Swiss army knife, is the amount of information it gives you about your website or blog, which helps you understand your visitors needs and trends. Frankly speaking, I myself haven't tried any other web statistics service; because after I saw one report of Analytics, I was pretty sure I won't need anything else.

It's not possible for me to go into every aspect of Analytics in just one post, so here is the overview.

 

The Dashboard View:

This is a basic description of most data compressed for a 'one look' understanding of stats like site usage (which consists of visits, page views, pages / visit, bounce rate, avg. time on site, % of new visits), visitor overview, map overlay, traffic sources, content overview. You can chose to view data specific to any of the stats specified from the sidebar on the left, some of them are specified below.

 

Visitor overview:

Displays a graph showing the visitors to your domain, with technical information like the browser used by the visitors and their connection speeds, which web-masters find very useful when writing scripts or html code for specific browsers as different browsers have some difference in the way they render a particular code.

Traffic sources overview:

Displays a graph showing visits to your domain, along with information of the top traffic sources, top referring sites and top keywords which connect to your site.

Map overlay:

Shows a world map with indications which allow you to find the country and region in the country in which your visitors live. It also has a table with columns like country, visits, pages/visit, average time on site, % new visits, bounce rate; and also the site average for all these stats.

Content overview:

Content overview, shows you the top contents in your site, tell you how many times a particular content has been viewed, tell you the top landing and leaving pages for your domain.

 

There is just too much for me to try and explain in a post, and you will understand that when you sign up for Google Analytics. As is with all of Google Products, it's perfectly free.

 

Bummer:

There's only one feature that I wished were present here; real-time statistics. I guess all the other features do more than covering up for this.

Greedy Torrent

This tool considered by many as the savior of leechers on the bit-torrent protocol, helps them from getting banned on trackers which demand a 1:1 transfer ratio. The communication between your bit-torrent client and the tracker is modified, by telling the tracker that you upload is actually high; even if you aren't uploading.

Features:

Greedy torrent only needs to be configured once during install and never again. The configuration also can be done by a newbie, the upload can be set up to 5 times your download, best factor is that you don't need to change your favorite bit-torrent client.

Fav Icon & the Blogger Nav bar

You might want to bookmark this page if you plan to start a blog or a website, or this might be already be useful if you are having one.

1] Favorite Icon:

Check out the tiny image of my Unicorn logo, on the left corner of the tab and also on the left part of the address bar. By default when you create a blog or a website, the favorite icon or fav-icon is mostly the logo of the hosting company, for blogger accounts it's the blogger logo which is the default fav-icon.

So, how is this changed ?

Finally it's a pretty simple one line code

<link href='url of your image in png or gif format' rel='shortcut icon' type='image/png'/>

[paste the above line immediately after the <head> tag] [if using .GIF instead of .PNG image, replace png with gif in type='image/gif']

Note: Any image should not be used for the fav-icon. Take care of two basic rules.

• Keep the format as .PNG or .GIF, these formats keep the image size small.
  
• A image of resolution 16x16 or 32x32 is preferred.
  

If you are creative enough, you could even create an animated GIF to be used as a fav-icon, but the only problem in this approach is that the animation is visible only in Firefox browsers. In most other browsers only the first image in the animated GIF is shown.

2] The Blogger Navigation Bar (nav-bar)

So you have made a blog with blogger.com, you made your first post. Everything is working fine, but you don't like the navigation bar that blogger.com has provided, you feel no need for it.

There is a simple CSS for achieving that.

<style type='text/css'>#navbar-iframe { display:block }</style>

<style id='page-skin-1' type='text/css'>

#navbar-iframe {

height:0px;

visibility:hidden;

display:none;

}

</style>

[place the above code in the <head> section of you blogger layout-html]

I am not sure whether removing the Navigation bar is against blogger rules, be sure to read them before you do anything, don't do anything stupid if the rules do say that the navigation bar may not be removed.

Anatomy of a simple IP logger in php

<?php

// IP logger, place file at yourdomain.com/log.php

//This picture variable defines which image to show
$picture = "http://img.infotropic.com/w/w060529_2.jpg";

//Visitor's IP address is stored in the variable '$ip'
$ip = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];

//this line tells the logger the name you want to use for the log file.
// if log.txt doesn't already exist, it will be created automatically
$logs = "log.txt";

//here, we open the log.txt for writing to. The 'a' means append to the EOF
$fh = fopen($logs, 'a') or die(" ");

//here we put the ip address into a variable called 'string data'
// the backslash-n starts a new line in the text file, to make it easier to read
$stringData = "$ip \n";

//here we write to the text file what is in the stringdata variable
fwrite($fh, $stringData);

//now we close the file
fclose($fh);


//and finally we echo some html back to the user's browser so they see an image
echo "<img src='$picture'>";

?>

Note:

If you want to learn web technologies, www.w3schools.com is a pretty good website.

Windows Explorer Shell Replacements

Have you ever tried using any shells other than the native Explorer? There are a lot of options that are available to you, with some of them free while others cost a bit. Here are some of the most popular ones.

Talisman Desktop by Lighttek Software

Talisman Desktop is a desktop alternative and shell-replacement for Windows 9x/ME and NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista, capable of transforming your desktop into an interface organized as you like. The program's basic purpose: Launch other applications in a new interface, instead of the standard Windows desktop but the opportunities presented by Talisman are much broader.

Special Features

Talisman Desktop has the ability to switch the default shell from Explorer to Talisman, or it can be run as a native program inside Explorer.

Bummer

This is not free software; also the configurations for some themes are confusing.

Home Page

http://www.lighttek.com/

SharpE by Low Dimension International

Sometimes shortened as #E, is an open source shell replacement for Microsoft Windows 2000 and XP, released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). SharpE is near the end of a major rewrite, which greatly simplifies and cleans up both the source code and the end user experience. The end result is a much better, but somewhat experimental shell.

Special Features

As part of this rewrite, all configuration is now stored for each user in editable XML files as opposed to the registry or "resource files".

Bummer

Not much of an eye-candy.

Home Page

http://www.sharpe-shell.org/

GeoShell

GeoShell is a replacement shell for Windows™ to replace the standard desktop interface. In other words, you trade your start menu, taskbar, system tray and desktop in, and you get our versions, featuring slick, skinnable geoBars which can be placed anywhere and alpha blended into your background.

Special Features

GeoShell has plugins that add additional functionality like RSS readers, weather forecasts, mail checkers, web search bars, virtual desktops and more. In its default installation geoShell also uses fewer resources than Windows Explorer, and is particularly effective when combined with third-party web browsers and file managers to completely upgrade your basic Windows interface.

Bummer

There seems to be limited development going on over this one.

Home Page

http://www.geoshell.org/

Aston Shell

Aston shell is an original replacement for the Windows user environment, allowing users to modify and redesign their entire desktop environment, from the start menu and taskbar to new elements for the desktop, toolbars, etc. The desktop and taskbar environment allows control of appearance of the PC by utilizing the variety of existing themes and skins.

Special Features

Aston may be run on older hardware configurations without any performance penalty, and for more modern hardware setup (but not for 64-bit systems). Customizing Aston interface is somewhat easier than most other shell replacements, as it uses a paged configuration dialog rather than forcing the user to edit hidden scripts. Basic functions can be enhanced by using various plugins which are freely available on official site.

Bummer

This is not free software.

Home Page

http://www.astonshell.com

Email spoofing

Email spoofing is a term used for an activity when you send a email, which has certain information which has been modified. It certainly will be a good prank to send spoofed mails to your friends from people they admire, (like celebs) or may be something like a mail from god@heaven.com telling them that their behavior has not been up to mark recently.

How is email spoofing done?

Spoofing an email is pretty simple; all you need to have is a mail server and a mail client which will let you edit the headers of the mail. The mail client can be skipped if you know how to connect and interact with a mail server through a terminal.

I'd suggest MiniRelay from Netvicious you can download it from here; or Free SMTP server by Softstack from here.

You could use Quick Mailer as you email client, download quick mailer from here.

Now start Minirelay, minimize it to the taskbar, start Quick Mailer and configure it from the preferences menu under File, to use 'localhost' as outgoing server port number '25' and no authentication. Now type in the required fields, i.e. the 'to' field (compulsory), the 'from' field (compulsory), the 'subject' field (optional), and attach any files (optional), and now send this mail.

To the receiver the senders email will look just as you typed, regardless of the ownership of the email address.

Bummer

Sometimes the recipients email provider refuses to accept emails originating from dynamic IP addresses, if this is the case you can try to use free proxies found on the net, but make sure that they support SMTP proxy and not just HTTP proxy. Or you could try by using Proxy Helpers

Wikipedia hits 3 Million

Wikipedia, the successor of Nupedia, a free online English language encyclopedia project, has finally hit 3 million articles (in the English language section). It has taken more than 8 years from its launch in January 15, 2001.

The growth on the English Wikipedia has been steady after the 3 years since its inception when it exploded with articles. It has not been devoid of controversy, when it was found that corporate houses modified content to please certain operatives, amid claims by the science journal Nature that it was about as accurate as Encyclopedia Britannica.

Proxy Helpers

Sometimes we come across applications or games which have no native support for proxy settings in it, which many of us find annoying. Sometimes we desperately need that proxy support, may be to run a game which doesn't have one.

Is there a solution?

Of course, Proxy Helpers or 'socksifier' will allow any application which doesn't have proxy support to run via the Your Freedom proxy network instead of connecting directly. Proxy Helpers have cross platform support. Currently there are versions available for Windows 2000 and above, MAC OS X, and a java application which can be used in Linux. Even multiple executable applications can be 'socksified' with Proxy Helpers. You can download the application from your-freedom.net

Installation and usage details can be found on the Docs page.

Bummer:

This service requires that you register at your-freedom.net, though they do have a free service that lets you use it with a 64kbps speed cap, for 1 hour continuously, up to 6 hours in any 24 hour interval, up to 18 hours in any week interval.

Software review - Digeus Registry Cleaner

Over a period of time after installing Windows on our computers, we find that the loading time of windows has increased, copying a movie takes more time than drinking tea, most of these problems have their origins in the registry.

We install a lot of softwares after formatting and uninstall them when we don't need it, this process makes the registry filled with junk or invalid values which were not removed during the uninstall. These affect the performance of your computer, often drastically. All you need to boost your computers performance is a utility to remove these errors.





Digeus boasts of some features that are not available with most other registry service tools.
Features of Digeus Registry Cleaner

• Slow Boot up
• Longer Machine Response Time
• Unexpected System Crashes
• BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) - My personal favorite
  
• Unresponsive System
• Slower Internet Browser Response
• Slow Start Up of Your Favorite Software

Digeus Registry Cleaner scans, locates, cleans and optimizes the following registry entries:

• Missing shared dlls, unused file extensions, files and folders that no longer point to the correct objects
• Invalid application paths, start-up programs or missing shortcut references that take time when start-up or shutdown PC
• Invalid ActiveX & COM that no longer point to the correct controls
• Invalid installer references that are no longer used or have been moved.
  

It also has an option to backup registry before a scan, and restore it at some other time if need be. The user interface is simple and straight forward, there aren't any confusing options. One of the feature I loved in this tool was the ability to prevent BSOD.

If you are someone who regularly downloads and installs softwares for checking them out, or for temporary use, or you are just a casual computer user, this product will be useful to you as long as you have a computer.

Interested in Digeus Registry Cleaner ??

Head over to the WebSite at http://www.digeus.com/

or simply click here

SysMetrix

For all of you looking for some more eye-candy for your Windows desktop, here another cool product SysMetrix. It is a rather skinnable clock that has much more features than you can think of, and these features or system statistics are displayed in pretty cool ways.



Following are some of the statistics it can monitor

Date	Time	CPU Usage		User Name	IP Address
Machine Name	Windows Uptime	Phys. Mem Total		Phys. Mem Used	Phys. Mem Free
Phys. Mem %Used	Phys. Mem %Free	Swap Mem Total		Swap Mem Used	Swap Mem Free
Swap Mem %Used	Swap Mem %Free	Virt. Mem Total		Virt. Mem Used	Virt. Mem Free
Virt. Mem %Used	Virt. Mem %Free	TCP Bytes In		TCP Bytes Out	Tot. TCP In
Tot. TCP Out	Ave. TCP In	Ave. TCP Out		TCP Bytes Out	Tot. Unread Email
Tot. Email Size	Rotating Email Stats	Recycle Bin Files		Recycle Bin Size	Drive Vol Label
Drive Total Space	Drive Free Space	Drive Used Space		Drive %Used	Drive %Free
Generic Text	Mouse position	Active Window		System Mute state	System Volume
Microphone Volume	Wave Volume	MIDI Volume		CD Volume	Line Volume
Pixel color	Media State	Media Artist		Media Track	Media Track #
Media Track len	Media Track pos	Media Track %		Media Track remain	Media Bitrate
Media Samplerate	Media Channels	OS Name		OS Build	OS Version Info
GMT-based Times	Timezone Desc.	CAPS Lock		Num Lock	Scroll Lock
Number of CPUs	Network Connected	Weather Description		Outside Temperature	Dew Point
Relative Humidity	Heat Index	Barometric Pressure		Pressure Trend	Wind Speed
Wind Direction	Wind Chill	Visibility		Registry Value	Power Source
Battery State	Battery %Used	Battery %Free		Battery Time Used	Battery Time Left
Battery Time Total	CPU #1 MHz	CPU Description		Wireless Strength	Wireless SSID

Further you can skin it as you like, with lots of skins available on the SysMetrix website and also some others available on third party sites.

Where do I get this ?
SysMetrix can be downloaded form http://www.xymantix.com/sysmetrix/
SysMetrix skins can be downloaded from the Xymantics website or from http://www.skinbase.org/Skins/SysMetrix

Hack the most out of Sify Broadband

Sify Broadband customers, this post is for you.

Most of Sify Broadband customers are on a switched network, making MITM attacks very much possible, some network admins have secured their networks against this kind of attacks, but there still exists the main Flaw in Sify.


(NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS MEANT FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY. I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY HARM DONE BY YOU TO YOURSELF OR ANYONE.)

Main flaw in Sify : Their authentication system.

How does Sify authentication system work ?

Sify authenticates a client by checking the following parameters.

1] Username
2] Password
3] IP address
4] MAC address

If any of the above is not matching with the records in their database, you are not logged on.

So whats the flaw ? Everything seems so perfect.
Well suppose Mr. X and Mr. P are friends who have a sify connection, but Mr. P's prepaid account has expired. All he has to do is find out when Mr. X is online and change his IP and MAC address to that of Mr. X. That will get him online on Mr. X's broadband account.

The above means that, if you can find someone who is logged into his Sify Account then you can piggyback on his session and access the Internet. This is also termed as session hijacking. All you need is a IP and MAC address. Username and password are not exactly required if you want to use someone else's connection provided that he/she is logged on.

Method 1:
Search on Google for IP and MAC scanners, I'm sure there are plenty of them out there. A good MAC changer would be Technitium MAC Changer, and you could use Angry IP scanner for getting MAC address and IP address.

Method 2:
Another way to get the IP and MAC is to get control of your switch.

How do I do that ?
Note that your switch is always located at your gateway IP address.
Connect to the switch by typing "telnet 10.xxx.xxx.1" (replace this with IP Address of your switch)
The switch will now ask for a password, go to Governmentsecurity.org for a list of default login and passwords.

Look around the switch to search for the command where all the IP and corresponding MAC are listed.

Give Away Of The Day

Getting a paid software legally without paying. You might think this is not possible. Head over to Giveawayoftheday.com. These folks at Giveawayoftheday have taken a unique initiative in the software distribution world, and offer free licensed software, that you'd have to buy otherwise.

Everyday a software title is nominated and that will be the Giveaway title of the day, this software will be available for download for 24hrs atleast, and will be given in its complete functionality, i.e. It won't be a trial version or a limited version.

Bhuvan - A Desi Version Of Google Earth By Isro

Imagery of Indian terrain have not been very satisfying when viewing from Google Earth. It only covered the Metros and other main cities with somewhat decent resolution of imagery, the rest is not worth mentioning.

Now the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has developed it's own 'desi' version of Google Earth called Bhuvan



The website can be accessed on http://www.bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in. Download the client from the above link. This ISRO provided website has been perpetually busy since Wednesday.

I'm providing alternate links to the Terra Explorer required for Bhuvan.

Download Terra Explorer - http://www.skylinesoft.com/SkylineGlobe/Corporate/Download/TerraExplorerDownload.aspx

• The requirements for Bhuvan are
• Operating System: Windows XP/Vista
• CPU: Pentium 4 2.4GHz+ or AMD 2400xp+
• System Memory (RAM): 512MB
• Hard Disk: 2GB free space
• Network Speed: 768 Kbits/sec
• Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 32MB of VRAM
• Screen: 1280x1024, "32-bit True Color"

Even thought the minimum required is 512 MB, its advisable to atleast have 1 or 2 GB of RAM, along with the other requirements.

It was said that ‘Bhuvan’ maps up to 10 metres compared to Google Earth’s 200 metres and Wikemapia’s 50 metres.According to me, Bhuvan does not come anywhere close to competing with wikimapia.org with respect to clarity.

Following is the aerial view of the Hanging Gardens in Mumbai, taken with approximately same resolution from www.wikimapia.org and Bhuvan. You can see for yourself which service delivers more clarity.




By wikimapia.org




By Bhuvan

ISRO may not be the best in PC technology compared to giants like Google, but it has certainly taken a big leap forward in embracing current technology.

USB Hacks ( Hardware )

Have you ever thought of making a night lamp or a simple table fan powered by a USB port?

By taking some scrap and little bit of work, numerous useful objects can be made, but firstly you need a usb cable.
These come pretty cheap at your local computer hardware store, getting a 5 meter wire will be more than enough. Check if the USB pins are provided, most of the times it is there but sometimes due to some defect it is possible that a pin might be missing. If there are missing pins, get the cable replaced, or buy some pins.

Now lets get started.

1. Cut the USB cable into half.
2. With a wire stripper, take out the insulation, and foil wrap to expose the four internal wires, it will be something like the image shown below.



We are only concerned with the red and the black wires, the other two are data wires. Use the wires and connect them to an array of LED's for a lamp or connect to a motor and use old CD's to make blades for a Fan.

Invent your very own devices, use your creativity to do stuff.

Twitter with SMS

To update Twitter via SMS, you'll need to add your phone number to your Twitter account, and verify it.

1. Go to http://twitter.com/devices (you'll need to log in)
2. Add your phone number in the form provided.
3. Follow the instructions provided to verify your phone.

Once your phone is verified, you send updates via sms by sending your 140-character message to Twitter's SMS number.
- If you're in the US, send to 40404
- If you're in Canada, send to 21212
- If you're in India, send to 5566511
- If you're not in any of the three above, send to the UK long code +447624801423

Twitter doesn't charge anything for this, but standard text messaging rates or bundles may apply from your carrier. If you use your mobile in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada or New Zealand you can also receive tweets via SMS. You can text "OFF" to stop receiving and "ON" to start again.

Remote commands via TweetMyPC

For some reason you have stepped away from the workstation, or let us say you are AFK (Away From Keyboard) and you suddenly remember that some of the windows currently open contain confidential information which you don't want to share with anyone at all. What do you do now ? Going back is not an option.

This kind of situation might put us in a bad corner sometimes, but now we have a solution, TweetMyPC.



This handy app is connected to you twitter.com account and keeps checking for status updates on twitter every minute. TweetMyPC required credentials to a gmail account as well, to send you file list, process list, etc.

Following are the commands that can be typed at the twitter status:

• shutdown: Shuts down your PC
  
• reboot: Reboots PC
• lock: Lock PC
  
• standby: PC on standby mode.
  
• hibernate: PC on hibernate mode
  
• screenshot: Take screen shot and send link
  
• getprocesslist: Send process list to gmail
  
• kill : Kill process
  
• download : Download url
  
• getfilelist : Get list of files from drive
  
• getfile : Send specified file to gmail

You may think if you have access to another computer to do all this, then might as well use one of those remote desktop tools. Well, I'd say you are not wrong TweetMyPC may not be able to accomplish certain things that might be done by remote desktop, like watching a movie that's stored on your computer while you are away (beats me why anyone would do this kind of stuff). My point here is you could use a 64kbps connection with TweetMyPC.

But what if you can't find a machine?

Twitter allows commands to be sent by mail or SMS to change your status, which means you don't need a computer, even a cell phone will do the trick.

I'll make a post on how to update twitter by SMS soon.

Repair your Windows XP system online with Reimage

Most of us who use Windows XP, often find that compared to when we had just installed Windows XP, after a period of time the system tends to get slower. This slowdown is often attributed to missing or damaged system files, another cause might be virus infections. There are many tools out there which allow you to enhance the system after such a slowdown, Reimage is one of them, but whats unique about this is, its completely online.



How does it work ?
Reimage works by downloading a client with your permission and scanning the system by certain predefined parameters, when it finds something like missing or damaged system files, it downloads system files from its server and replaces the damaged ones. A virus check is also done and necessary changes are done to undo the damage done by the virus. This process may be compared to the System Restore function in Windows XP, barring the user settings or applications are not affected.



Reimage comes bundled with another application called Reimage PC Booster, which tracks the applications you are currently working with and speeds them up. A system tray tooltip informs which application is being currently boosted. It also tracks the mouse movements, predicting the next application you will you and boosts it.

Where do I get Reimage?
You can download the Reimage client at http://www.reimage.com/

DDNS

DDNS is a very useful service which allows us to get a domain name mapped to our dynamic IP provided by the ISP. These days ISPs don’t provide static IP to residential homes unless demanded, and even when they do provide they do so at seriously crap rates which not many people might afford. That is where these ‘Dynamic DNS’ services come into picture.

A simple client at the server will allow the system to be mapped to a domain name, given that the server runs the software client provided by the ‘Dynamic DNS’ service provider. This has now been taken to the next step, where the Dynamic DNS account information can be provided in the router settings and it will run the client software removing the need for the server to run additional software.

This tutorial will show you how to integrate ‘Dynamic DNS’ capabilities onto a iBall Baton ADSL2+ router (iB-RL6111A).

Firstly the prerequisites, a ‘Dynamic DNS’ account with one of the many providers. I’d suggest www.dyndns.com. Register with the provider. Traditionally what you would have done is, download their client and run it every time at start up so that your IP is updated. Here we will bypass that additional step.

Navigate to your iBall Baton web interface



The ‘Dynamic DNS’ settings is in DDNS under Access management, here you enter you host-name that you have chosen while registering, your email address, the user-name and password for the ‘DynDns’ account, finally save. The dynamic IP is now automatically updated by the router itself.

When having a website or similar service running it is advised that some firewalls or intrusion detection systems are in place.

Search Engines

Google has become the standard search engine of virtually every web-goer on the internet today. In fact “to Google” is pretty much synonymous with “to search”. But that certainly doesn’t mean that other search engines can’t do a decent, if not better, job and this list has been compiled for just this reason.

Music and Video

MP3REALM:
If you’re one of the countless people today who gets their music digitally, then MP3Realm is for you. The site features a basic search for MP3’s as well as song lyrics. MP3s can be streamed, added to playlists and of course downloaded. The advanced search option also lets users browse

MP3’s by genre (a ton to choose from) or by artist.


TUNE FIND:
I’m sure that some part of all of our lives has been spent in front of the television and I always manage to find a song that catches my fancy no matter what I’m watching. That’s where TuneFind comes in; the site is dedicated to providing users with the names of artists/song titles that have appeared on their favorite television shows, and even movies. You can even reverse look up artists, to see which films and shows their music has been featured on.


Muvibee:
A site dedicated to the best of both worlds, MuviBee lets users search for music and music videos (via YouTube) that might be associated with the song. The site proves to be versatile and certainly unique, providing users with Top 10 Charts from iTunes, the US, UK and Germany as well as direct links to Amazon and iTunes if you should decide to purchase music you like.


Blinkx:
Blinkx is another quality video search engine that collects results from hundreds of video/television providers and incorporates them into your search. The site also lets you browse videos from a myriad of topics.


ClipBlast:
ClipBlast features short videos from a variety of mainstream sources, including TBS, BBC etc. The site is easy to use and loaded with enough content to keep you busy for hours.


Files and Others

Rapidshare1:
Rapidshare has become a premium site for uploading and serving content for hungry web users. It’s natural then to expect a site devoted to searching for files on Rapidshare, and Rapidshare1 is it. The site is dead simple and all you need to get going is something to look for.


FilesTube:
Filestube takes Rapidshare1 to another level by aggregating its searches to include several other networks including MegaUpload, YouSendIt, Filefront etc. Searches can also be filtered by file type which adds more convenience to the engine.


FineSnatcher:
Another good site, FileSnatcher lets you look for files on a few different file sharing networks, including Badongo, Mediafire and 4shared.

Recipies and Cooking

Cookstr:
As the name implies, Cookstr is for the wannabe-chef in all of us. The site is clean and intuitive and searching is simple. What I like best about Cookstr is the wide range of search filters that they offer, some of which include searching for recipes based on chef, author, skill level, holiday, course, cost and much more.


RecipeZaar:
RecipeZaar is another excellent website for searching up quality recipes for your next meal. Users can also search for ‘cookbooks’ which are a collection of another user’s recipes. Also, recipe results feature ratings and nutritional information.

Fun

Tickex:
Trying to buy tickets online? Well then check out Tickex, the site that collects search results from multiple ticket providers for concerts, sporting events and theatre. Searches can be made by venue, country, event, city etc. The site also provides direct links to retailers to simplify your experience even further.


Quotiki:
Looking for something clever to say in your next argument? Try out Quotiki, a quotation search engine that has collected some of the wisest and shrewd idioms the world over.


WhatsOpen:
WhatsOpen is a young site, but its concept is awesome. They let users see what stores, malls and shops are currently open in their neighborhood and how long they’ll be open. As I’ve mentioned, the site is rather new and the working locations are still limited to a few key cities in the US of A, but rest assured new locations are being added as the site grows.

Team Viewer

Have you ever wanted help for some issues on your computer from someone who can not physically come and help you ?

Team Viewer is a remote desktop tool which allows you to easily share desktop and transfer files over the Internet, make a presentation of products,services and solutions. You can remote control partners desktop to give online assistance, or you can show your screen to a customer; all with no concerns about firewalls, IP addresses and NAT.

It is not even compulsory to install. When you run the setup and accept their terms and conditions they give you the choice to either install or run the software. All you have to do is run the program on the two different computers you want to connect and you can use it as you wish, be it a presentation,remote help or transferring files. Team Viewer offers a free version for non-commercial use too.

I suggest you also try it, this tool is worth a try. You can find it at www.teamviewer.com.

IP Spammer

In my last post (and also my first since I started writing this blog) I mentioned about IPMSG. Since I started using this very useful chat client for LANs, I decided to make some programs that let you do more with it.

The first being a Spammer, I like to call it "IP Spammer".

I started off by making use of the command-line support IPMSG has and using batch files to send continuous messages, thus making a spammer.

The command-line arguments for IPMSG are
"ipmsg [/msg] [/seal] ip_address message"
note:-[/seal] is not necessary.

Now use a for loop in a batch file to continuously send messages to any Ip Address in your LAN.

I am giving the coding I wrote to make this Spammer.

Start of code:

1. @echo off
2. SET /P ipaddr=IP Address:
3. SET /P messge=Message:
4. SET /P no=Number of messages:
5. echo Transmitting messages...
6. if "%ipaddr%" == "10.10.18.24" goto :warn
7. for /l %%X in (1,1,%no%) do (ipmsg.exe /MSG /SEAL %ipaddr% %messge% ----- Spammer made by prixti)& echo %%X
8. goto :end
9. :warn
10. for /l %%X in (1,1,1) do (ipmsg.exe /MSG /SEAL %ipaddr% Spam Detected) & echo %%X
11. :end

End of Code

In this I have also made it in such a way that no one can spam my own IP address. This can be modified by you in line 6. When someone tries to spam you, you will simply get a warning message stating "Spam Detected".

(It may be possible, that the same code or program may be found anywhere on the Internet.)

IPMSG

Many of us have LAN's at home, some even have LANs covering a very large area in which a lot of machines are covered. Now when you may want to communicate with your friends on LAN or transfer some files here and there or just chat to throw that boredom away, what software do you use ?

I've got many answers from friends when I asked them the same question. The answers varied from Windows Netmeeting, some server based chat tools & some talked about a messenger called IPMSG (http://www.ipmsg.org/index.html.en). You would be surprised by the features of this program made by H.Shirouzu

• Does not require a server machine.
• Simple, lightweight and compact size.
• Based on TCP/IP(UDP).
• Pop-up style messenger for multiple platforms.
• Very fast file folder transfer.
• RSA / Blowfish encryption of communicating data.
• Host name support on broadcast setup.
• Specifying NIC extension.
• Absence message support.
• Multicast support.
• Command line message supprt.
  

Even if a newbie uses this, it won't take him / her long to get use to this messenger. My first day of using this was superb, then I decided to switch to IP messenger from Windows Netmeeting. The best feature I found in IP Messenger is that, if you are busy with some work and you don't want any kind of disturbance, you can turn on the absence feature and put any message for any one who might message you. When this is active, and if anyone messages you they will get the message that you had set before, and you will also not be disturbed by getting a pop-up. Instead if will remain in your taskbar till you click on the IPMSG icon. The best part is that you get all this in just 103kb (ipmsg version 2.06).Moreover the commandline support allows you to send messages via a batch file.

You might also want to try this software. Just go to IPMSG.org and download yourself a copy of this tool now, latest stable version as of now for Windows is version 2.06 and a beta version 2.50 is out now.


Command-line examples:
C:\>ipmsg.exe /SEAL /MSG 192.168.1.156 Hey ... ssup ??
C:\>ipmsg.exe /SEAL /LOG 192.168.1.156 goin to gamedrome today ??