It's no secret that Windows security is akin to that of cheesecloth. As if you needed yet another reason to switch to a real operating system, let's take a look at how to get administrative access on any Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or 7 box that you can physically access, and change the boot medium on.

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Straight out of the hak5 wiki, I've been trying to build my own USB Switchblade. Unfortunately, at the time of the episode, the best we had was Windows XP. Well, time has passed, things have changed, and I'm sitting on a Windows 7 box (honestly, I only use it for gaming), and I no longer have an XP box in the house. The instructions for creating a Switchblade involve running a utility that reflashes your U3 capable USB thumbdrive with a custom .iso that includes all your fun tools. Unfortunately, Windows Vista and Windows 7 operate quite a bit differently than Windows XP, and the utility that reflashes your pen drive complains that "you can only update one U3 compatible device at a time," and that you should "unplug all other devices." Fortunately, I have found a solution.

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Introduction

This summer, I had the good fortune to spend several months working at the University of Michigan. One of the tasks assigned to me was devising a method for data collection over time for certain types of data. In particular, we were looking to collect information from /proc/meminfo and out of our lm_sensors output.

The issue that we came across with logging these sets of data was that they were set up for one-time viewing. That is, they looked similar to the following: (continue reading...)

So, there's a reason I haven't been posting all summer. I have a ton of stuff in the pipeline that I've been working on. My schedule just opened up a bit, so you will start to see some new scripts and tutorials over the next couple of weeks. There's some really impressive stuff on the way, so stay tuned!

Introduction

Ever since the Palm Pre came out, there has been a dull uproar over the inability to remove certain apps, specifically the NASCAR app that nobody seems to use. A typical downloaded application can be removed by pressing [orange] while tapping on the application icon. A dialog will pop up that gives you the option to delete the application. Unfortunately, this option does not exist for the NASCAR application, and now Sprint has decided to plague us with a second useless application: the NFL app.

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Introduction

Ever since the Palm Pre came out, there has been a dull uproar over the inability to remove certain apps, specifically the NASCAR app that nobody seems to use. A typical downloaded application can be removed by pressing [orange] while tapping on the application icon. A dialog will pop up that gives you the option to delete the application. Unfortunately, this option does not exist for the NASCAR application.

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There is no doubt that we will soon run out of IPv4 space. To remedy this problem, IPv6 was developed. Linux and Mac OS X have inherit IPv6 support, and many people are still avoiding Vista in lieu of XP. Unfortunately, Windows XP does not have the built in IPv6 support that comes inherit with newer operating systems.

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Introduction

Knowing what ports are open on your machine is half the battle of locking it down. Knowing that you have a rogue web server running on port 6337, or realizing that somebody forgot to disable SSH logins can mean all the difference when under attack from an unknown entity. Preferably, we'd use a tool such as nmap or nessus to perform these checks for us. However, if the option isn't available, we can use an app that's already built in, albeit hidden, in OS X: Stroke.

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For anyone familiar with OS X, they know that the Dock can get pretty cluttered with running applications. If you're like me, you try to keep the dock as tidy as possible. Some, however, have a need to run multiple programs, and there's no way around it. Luckily, there is a way to have your cake and eat it too.

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Sitting in the dark, as many of us geekly types often do, I don't look out the window much. I also don't like surprises. Needless to say, I don't like clamoring out of my cove only to find that it's raining. Or snowing. Or 127º. So, I came up with a simple solution: let Geektool keep me up to date with the weather. This script requires you to have lynx installed, so if you don't already have it, head on over to MacPorts or Fink and grab yourself a copy (either sudo fink install lynx or sudo port install lynx, depending on your flavor.) Dump the following script into your favorite editor, and chmod +x it. (I threw mine into /usr/bin). (continue reading...)