FUNCTION RANDOM - All Things Technological On Your Mind

[analog kid]

If it's gotta be windows, I'd go with win-7 over xp if for no other reason than it supports more recent software. But, yes, if you run a (good) firewall, AV and don't do dumb things online like opening attachments from emails you don't know or are obvious scams, use Virtual-Box and do a dump after your online session and use a VPN, then it's just as safe as you make it. It all depends on your online activity, personal savvy and level of paranoia.

'Safe' is a relative term.

OSX and linux can be hacked just like windows, but win has the biggest user base so it's the most productive target with the most 'holes' exposed.

If you need an OS, it seems you can get either xp or 7 for under 50 bucks, sometimes as little as 19 bucks (though from your post, I assume you already have a copy of xp).

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/191-5532507-9060804?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=windows+xp

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xwindows+xp.TRS0&_nkw=windows+xp&_sacat=0

Be aware that if you buy a 'branded' OEM version (say, for a Dell) and the machine you're installing to is something else (like an ACER), the SLIC table in the ACER BIOS won't match the license key on the Dell OEM disk and you may have to mod the bios to get it to install (so to be safe, don't buy a branded OEM distribution).

However, for future reference, should you ever need to do this, this is probably the best place to go for help/tools/mods:

https://www.bios-mods.com/

I had to do this to deal with a BIOS 'whitelist' issue for a video card upgrade a few years ago and they were very helpful.

Thanks. I have a copy of 98, XP, Vista and 7. Sharing the 7 license key isn't doable, but the XP version will work.

A relative gave me an old laptop a few months ago. I fired it up and saw it was running XP.  Just to see what happened, I clicked Windows Update and it updated XP for four hours.  It seems that Microsoft still has updates online, at least until the stopped supporting it.

Thanks. On my slow internet, the updates would probably take two days.

[zeebo]

I agree with all of these except the old Zip drives.  Back in the day those sweet 100Mb disks were awesome, and mine kept working even with that big crack in the plastic. 

http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/143771,top-10-technologies-that-burnt-early-adopters.aspx/1

[Mr. Fidget]

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Happy Independence Day... weekend. I submit for your approval this fine, free, & fun Android App programmed in FORTRAN. Like particle fireworks!
Fun w/ Particles!
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[analog kid]

How to turn off Windows 10's keylogger (yes, it still has one)

[(Sandman) Logan-5]

Here's a handy little site for checking your firewall, & router.

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

[starrmtn001]

Here's a handy little site for checking your firewall, & router.

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

Cool!  Thank you Logan.  Still feeling crappy.  I'll check it out when my eyes are in better focus.  Going down for a nap at the moment.

[(Sandman) Logan-5]

Cool!  Thank you Logan.  Still feeling crappy.  I'll check it out when my eyes are in better focus.  Going down for a nap at the moment.

I'll join you. Time for a break anyway.

[analog kid]

"Windows 10 is installing" prank. Pressing Enter gives a BSOD.

http://fediafedia.com/prank/win10/index.html

[pate]

I am NOT going to try THAT again...

[Juan]

The most interesting thing about the Hillary emails is that lawyers were able to delete them without the FBI being able to recover them.  Comedy didn't say the server drives were physically destroyed, so I assume they were deleted with software.  What happened to the celebrated abilities of the FBI to recover data?

[(Sandman) Logan-5]

The most interesting thing about the Hillary emails is that lawyers were able to delete them without the FBI being able to recover them.  Comedy didn't say the server drives were physically destroyed, so I assume they were deleted with software.  What happened to the celebrated abilities of the FBI to recover data?

Code Select Expand


shred -vfz -n 10 /dev/sda5


Sorry Juan. What this command actually does is securely wipe partition sda5. the command line switch ' -v ' is for verbose. This outputs the progress of the operation to the terminal,  ' -f ' changes permissions to allow writing, and -z adds a final overwrite with zeros to hide shredding. the command switch -n (number of times to overwrite) in the above command is 10, whereas the default is generally 3x.

For those that don't believe in the multiple overwrite theory, you can use this:

Code Select Expand

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=16M

An informative article here:  http://dominicm.com/seculery-wipe-disk-linux/

The dd command makes it extremely difficult to recover data.

[albrecht]

I've posted about this issue before but it has come up in the news again as some States are trying to pass law. Goodness knows though once Obama etc get their various TPP and international treaties. I think if you buy a product, even if it has software, you should have the right to have it repaired where you wish (or be able to do it yourself) without violating some law! I could see this spreading to cars and trucks and just about everything else now that many things are "smart" or "connected."
Farmers lobbying for the right to fix own tractors
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/technology/article88653497.html

[GravitySucks]

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/07/12/bionic-butt-could-lead-to-better-prostate-exams.html?intcmp=ob_article_footer_text&intcmp=obnetwork

[Inglorious Bitch]

Hack steals keystrokes from millions of wireless keyboards

http://www.geek.com/news/hack-steals-keystrokes-from-millions-of-wireless-keyboards-1663684/


Wireless tech, by its very nature, is hard to secure. When you’re broadcasting and receiving signals from the ether, it’s not too difficult for others to figure out what you’re up to. This week though, security researchers at Bastille discovered that millions of keyboards and mice are susceptible to some pretty serious attacks.

The exploit works because cheap wireless keyboards and mice use a proprietary radio signal standard â€" not WiFi or Bluetooth. Every wireless tech has security flaws, but WiFi, for example, has been tested and verified by countless organizations and researchers. You can get in, but it’s a lot tougher.

Those tiny USB dongles that transmit and receive radio signals are especially concerning because hackers can use them to compromise so-called “airgapped” networks, or those that don’t have an internet connection. Many of the most secure networks are kept off the internet specifically to keep them secure, but there’s no telling just how many of them are vulnerable to this kind of simple, effective attack.

All of the affected hardware comes from one company: Nordic Semiconductor. The manufacturer designed its chips to be capable of encrypting signals, but unlike Bluetooth or WiFi which require it by default, Nordic’s hardware require its partners to write their own software for it. So, because most people are phenomenally lazy, especially when that lethargy saves them money, most of these chips aren’t encrypting their signals. In an interview with Wired, Bastille’s CEO compared it to having an “expensive deadbolt and leaving it unlocked.”

If you’re concerned, you can check out a list of the affected devices here. They include some big, usually reliable names like Kensington, HP, and Anker. Once again it seems that even the most mundane things we use are vulnerable to discrete attack.

A few months ago, Bastille published findings that hackers could inject fake keystrokes or signals from more than a hundred yards away. Even worse? It takes a scant fifteen lines of code. But now that same group has discovered that with just a bit more tweaking, anyone can read your keystrokes and mouse inputs just as well.

[cweb]

Now that a certain popular video hosting site has gone html5, it now keeps video files and their respective audio tracks separate. I noticed this while trying to find a way to get the site to stream *only* the file to my browser without loading the player interface, recommended videos, etc..

One well-known method for pulling video from that site is to simply dump its URL into VLC as a media stream. (Sometimes you have to remove the "s" from "https." And sometimes it doesn't start converting the video unless you open the Messages dialog- don't ask me why.)

I've found another method using the browser- but the catch is that you only get the .webm file. So you'll have to convert it after. I will describe the Firefox method because that's what I used.

1. Go to video page and let part of the video load. Play a couple seconds of it.
2. Right-click on the page and select "inspect element."
3. In the window that pops up, go to the "network" tab.
4. In the subtab below it, click the "media" tab. You should see a series of files of type "webm" with file names that start with "videoplayback?"
5. Click on a random entry. In the right-hand window next to this one, make sure "headers" is selected. In the "Response Headers" section below it, look for the header that says "content-type." This will tell you whether the link you have clicked is for audio or video.
6. If this is the respective stream you want, right-click on the filename and "copy url."
7. Paste the URL into a new browser tab, but do not hit enter yet! Find the text string in the url that says "&range=" and delete it all the way up to before the next "&" symbol. If you do not do this, it will restrict the length of the file you are about to load!
8. Once you've trimmed the URL, hit enter. It should load the video or audio file in your browser as a .webm. Now you can "save as" to wherever you want.

This method is obviously more involved than the VLC method, and it only gives you video OR audio at a time, but it's a fun little workaround. I'm sure there are more parameters in the URL that you can adjust, but I'm too lazy so you'll have to figure that out on your own! 

[pate]

Realational data basic are such a boarLOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyHb_HQG9YY

[albrecht]

http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/08/researchers-crack-open-unusually-advanced-malware-that-hid-for-5-years/

"Security experts have discovered a malware platform that's so advanced in its design and execution that it could probably have been developed only with the active support of a nation-state."

[Jackstar]

"The actor behind ProjectSauron is very advanced, comparable only to the top-of-the top in terms of sophistication: alongside Duqu, Flame, Equation, and Regin," the Kaspersky researchers wrote. "Whether related or unrelated to these advanced actors, the ProjectSauron attackers have definitely learned from them."

Listen to me now and believe me later.

[GravitySucks]

Pure.simple.genius

[onan]

dunno if this has been posted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mDipvDLshs

[albrecht]

dunno if this has been posted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mDipvDLshs

I don't know but I haven't seen, thanks.
That would be cool if someone implements this. I wonder if some of these developers always advertising "Barndominiums" and a few acres for a ridiculously low price are using something like these?

[onan]

I don't know but I haven't seen, thanks.
That would be cool if someone implements this. I wonder if some of these developers always advertising "Barndominiums" and a few acres for a ridiculously low price are using something like these?

They probably wouldn't be cheap or all that weather tight. But in an emergency what a great ability to offer shelter, hospitals, warehouses, and the ability to decrease chaos in a few days.

[albrecht]

They probably wouldn't be cheap or all that weather tight. But in an emergency what a great ability to offer shelter, hospitals, warehouses, and the ability to decrease chaos in a few days.

I would think there could be developed a very basic model for use in those kind of temporary to semi long term situations (like with the floods or situations where houses and infrastructure are gone.) Though, yeah, probably wouldn't be cheap. Though I am amazed how quickly a pre-fab, basic metal building can be put up (or those Amish with their barns.) A 'pop-up tent' equivalent building would be awesome in those situations, especially if design to be really big or contain several buildings on one load- versus the RV/Mobile home or pre-fab solution.

[albrecht]

We are living in amazing times! Where "shadowy agencies" and political parties and bankers being "outed" and "data dumped" by illegal hackers, weird dark net groups, and governments and malware, designed by governments, being stolen/used by each other and/or private groups and reported on by the CFR's magazine!
http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/08/15/shadow-brokers-claim-to-be-selling-nsa-malware-in-what-could-be-historic-hack/

[wr250]

ReactOS 0.4.2 Released

Beyond the usual updates to external dependencies such as Wine and UniATA, much work has gone into refining the experience of using ReactOS, especially with respect to the graphical shell and the file explorer. Perhaps the most user visible change however is the ability now to mount and read from several Unix filesystems, namely ext family, ReiserFS, and UFS. Native built-in support for these filesystems should make for considerably easier interoperability than the current out-of-box experience provided by Windows, and there is more to come in the future.
https://reactos.org/project-news/reactos-042-released

--
there is no spoon, only bacon.

[starrmtn001]

ReactOS 0.4.2 Released

Beyond the usual updates to external dependencies such as Wine and UniATA, much work has gone into refining the experience of using ReactOS, especially with respect to the graphical shell and the file explorer. Perhaps the most user visible change however is the ability now to mount and read from several Unix filesystems, namely ext family, ReiserFS, and UFS. Native built-in support for these filesystems should make for considerably easier interoperability than the current out-of-box experience provided by Windows, and there is more to come in the future.
https://reactos.org/project-news/reactos-042-released

--
there is no spoon, only bacon.

[(Sandman) Logan-5]

Some may find this interesting.  https://web.archive.org/web/20021204160616/http://rafiki.nosc.mil/projects/projfiles/DN112009.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20020729223033/http://rafiki.nosc.mil/projects/projfiles/DN309283.html

[(Sandman) Logan-5]

Intel's Packet of Death...

http://blog.zorinaq.com/live-demonstration-of-intel-packet-of-death/

[(Sandman) Logan-5]

Comedy relief anyone ?

http://blog.zorinaq.com/i-contribute-to-the-windows-kernel-we-are-slower-than-other-oper/

[Juan]

Trey Gowdy says Hillary's team used an open source program called BleachBit to wipe her servers.  Anybody here using it?