Tuesday, December 27, 2011

10 Ways to Download Online Videos


Well, there are number of ways you can Download Videos from online video sharing sites like youtube, metacafe etc.


You can save videos or remix them by clipping/appending them or share with friends. Here is the list of services you can use to download and save online videos:-
1. YoutubeX:As the name suggests, using this you can download any youtube video. Videos will be saved in FLV format. To play them you need to download and install FLV player, very handy and easy to use video player. You can also convert FLV format file into other formats likes .MPEG using a FLV converter.
In case you want to download and save videos other than those of youtube, then you can use these services: Download MetaCafe Videos, Download Google Videos, Download IFilm Videos, Download MySpace Videos.
2. KeepVid:This online serrvice support number of video sites, huge list there. Also, it showcase top videos on its homepape. In case you do not have any video in mind, simply download those most watched videos and enjoy!
3. Clipnabber:Another easy to use service for downloading online videos. Simple enter the URL of the video that you want to download and then click on ‘Nab Video’. It downloads that videos and renames the file as whatever.flv
4. Vixy: This is a service with difference. Not only you can download the online videos, you can also select the format of the output video. In built converter let you select format of to be downloaded video among MOV, AVI etc.
5. Zamzar:It is one big online file converter service. Besides video file download and conversion you can also perform coversion for images, zip files, audio files, document files etc. Surely can serve to number of file conversion needs.
6. Videoronk:Site gives you list of top videos from Youtube, Metacafe, Dailymotion etc in a very clean format. You can watch those videos or download them.
7. VideoDownloader:This service provide two options. One you use it in traditional way of pasting the url of the video and then downloading it.
Other you can download and install Firefox addon. So, while playing video in Firefox browser hit the icon for the downloader and video will be saved. Simple, isn’t it?
8. DownThisVideo:: First this that you will notice on this website is tag cloud. Good way to find some interesting and cool videos. Besides it also have list of top videos and usual service of downloading videos by pasting the url of the video.
9. kcoolonline: This service supports about 98 videos sites for downloading of online videos. Layout is clean and simple and has the facility to paste the URL of the online video you want to download.
10. MediaConverter:: This service support file conversion and online video download. Seems better suited for Youtube videos. However, you need to create an account before using this service.
Hope above list will be useful in finding the just right service to download your favorite videos. In case you know any other service, please share with me here. In the meantime, enjoy the videos!

How To Play Angry Birds in Firefox


Firefox doesn’t require any addtional plugin and you can play Angry birds directly by Clicking here.
Angry birds is available in SD and HD version.Here are the Direct links

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Trick to Auto Shutdown PC in UBUNTU

Linux is a open source Operating system.It is free and more secure than windows.It uses Linux Kernel which was written by Linus Torvalds in 1991.Earlier I gave you the trick to automatically shutdown pc in windows Operating System.Similarly you can also automate the process of shutdown in UBUNTU.

* Open Terminal window [Ctrl+Alt+T].
* Run the following command to install Gnome Schedule.






After installing Gnome Scheduler, open Run Application [Alt+F2] and run the following command in it.
gksu gnome-schedule

Click New—>Recurrent Task









Now in the Description field give any display message that you want to show and in the Command field type.

/sbin/poweroff


















In the Time & Date field set the time when you want to shutdown your PC and click on Add button.

Now your pc will Automatically Shutdown at the scheduled time by displaying the message PC Shutdown at Midnight.





Convert Any Blog into an Ebook to Read Offline

Blogger and WordPress are most popular platforms among bloggers.There are blogs for every niche like health,technology,hacking,programming etc which are full of information.If you are a regular reader of some blogs and want to have access to their content even when you are not connected to internet than you can create a pdf version of the blog.The PDF version of blog doesn’t include any ads and is completely free to create.You can also store it in your smartphone and read it on the go.

# Open BookSmith Website
# Click on the Start Now button to initiate the process.










# Enter the URL of the blog and select its blog type (either WordPress or Blogger).Also select how you want to fetch post’s( by latest or Date range)















# After clicking on Get the Posts! button it will grab all the post.You can uncheck any post that you don’t want to include in your PDF
# In next step you can customize the PDF file.You can select not to include Images and publish date of posts.You can also add the title, subtitle, authors name and choose cover page.

















# Once you are done with customization click on Create my book! button.It will take some time depending upon the number of posts to be included.










# Now you can download PDF by clicking on Download Ebook! button or save it for later download.You need to register if you want to save ebook for later download.












Blog smith fetches posts from Feed of the blog.If webmaster have enabled only partial posts in their feed then the ebook will only have partial post.However if you are the owner of the blog than you can fetch complete post by providing your wordpress or blogger login credentials.

Friday, November 4, 2011

9 Best Ways to Secure Your Digital Life From Hackers 2011

1. Secure your WIFI connection



Home users are particularly prone to leaving their routers open without passwords, in order to make sure that you’re protected check your router settings to verify whether encryption is turned on or not. leaving access unencrypted can be just a minor issue of bandwidth being stolen by unauthorized users freeloading off your connection to more serious cybercrimes like credit card fraud or hacking taking place using your internet connection, which may be traced back to you.

The majority of routers support encrypted connections, support either WEP or WPA/WPA2, always opt for WPA/WPA2 as it’s far more secure. If you have the option hide SSID broadcast, turn that on as well, it basically allows you to make your wireless router invisible to outsiders and they need to know your SSID to access the network.

2.Encrypt your hard drive It’s important to keep your data secure in case of loss of hardware or even theft. An encrypted hard drive basically prevents its contents from being access without the password. It is obviously more important to encrypt thumb drives and laptop drives. Windows 7 Ultimate and Business editions come with a built in hard drive functionality using a software called BitLocker which will encrypt your entire hard drive, but users with Home Premium or Basic users shouldn’t feel left out as there is a free way to encrypt your hard drive using trucrypt.

Mac users can use FileVault to encrypt their folders, and OSX Lion will allow you to encrypt your entire hard drive as well.You can also get hardware encryption which will use fingerprint recognition to unlock data inside the drive like the Lacie Rugged Safe.


3.Keep your software updated



It’s a given that you need to keep your operating system, antivirus and web browser up to date in order to protect yourself from exploits, and if you haven’t got automatic update turned on for them, you should do it now.

However a lot of users often overlook other software such as Acrobat Reader, Flash, Java and iTunes when it comes to keeping software updated. It’s important to realize that many of these applications have direct access to the operating system, and an exploit in these applications can be used as a gateway into your system files. Flash and Acrobat are used heavily with web browsers which is the number one


4.Upgrade your antivirus suite.


It’s as important to keep your virus suite updated as much as it is to keep your virus definitions updated. The reason for this is because antivirus software evolve in the way they deal with malware, such as introducing heuristic technologies which identify common traits of viruses, the way they interact with the system and actively block these scripts. This is why having an outdated antivirus software, despite updated virus definitions may not provide the best possible protection. If you’re using an older version of antivirus software you may entitled to discounted upgrades to newer versions.

5.Secure your smartphones


Many people completely overlook this fact, but smartphones are essentially mini computers which hold swathes of personal information about you. They often hold logins to your facebook/twitter accounts which are set on auto login, online banking and other financial information as well as access to email. If someone gets hold of all these details it can cause a lot of stress and havoc to your life.

It’s vital to keep your devices with password lock activated, additionally you should take some precautionary measures in case you lose your device.

Apple has a very cool security software called Find my iPhone which is a free app by Apple, which lets you track your phone by GPS, lock and remotely delete data from it. You can even use it just to locate your iPhone if you misplace it, causing it to sound an alarm.

For Android users it’s important to stay protected, smartphones are just as vulnerable to viruses as a PC, although the android platform is more prone to them than apple due to the open platform nature of the former. Android phones require antivirus protection, all the popular desktop antivirus brands offer android support as well.

The app store is less prone to malware due to the fact that all apps are vetted by Apple before publishing, although if you’ve jail broken your iPhone, antivirus protection may be something you need to look at.

6. Vet web page links using a link checkerCyber criminals are using sophisticated strategies to drive users onto their web pages, increasingly innocent websites are being targeted using exploits to find security holes to hack and implant code on them which can launch JavaScript applications and infect computers when users visit the infected site. Link checkers scan links on your search results and optionally other websites and indicate whether links are safe, websites are scanned by their own servers so it does not impair your computer performance. Link checkers are available with most anti malware security suites such as with AVG, McAfee and Symantec.

7. HTTPS encryption for websites


Most people are well informed with the necessity of using https secure connections with online shopping when entering sensitive personal information. However, it can be argued that websites like facebook, twitter, gmail and others hold equally sensitive information about you.

Did you know you can elect to use https secure connections on these websites? For case by case uses, you can insert a ‘s’ after the http on the web address, if there isn’t one already to access the site securely. However if you want to access the sites securely every time you visit, you can login select the option to always use https in the profile

8.Use online backup to keep an offsite storage of your files


A great way for mobile workers to keep data kept safe and secure while on the move is to use online backup, this provides great peace of mind if your computer gets lost, as it allows you to recover your files from the cloud. Online backup services like Sugar Sync also provide users with high level synchronization features which can be used as a great time management tool as well, as it keeps data across all your computers consistent and up to date. You can look up variousOnline backup servicesto compare their features and read up user reviews.

9.Avoid public wifi and public computers


Using public computers can be incredibly risky as malware and key loggers can be installed to track your keystrokes and cached files in order to gain access to your private information.

secure your digital life from hackersAdditionally, public wifi connections can be risky as the servers can be breached with malware additionally phantom hotspots can be set up which appear like legitimate hotspots, but are actually other ordinary laptops which act as a middleman eavesdropping into the connection.

An example on how cached data can be hijacked to login to your web accounts can be demonstrated using FireSheep.

Thankfully mobile 3G internet connections are becoming more affordable, and are often faster than public wifi hotspots. 3G connections are far more secure, additionally you may be able to tether your Smartphone internet connection to work on your laptop. I hope this article helped you all for sure

Thursday, November 3, 2011

5 Best Troubleshooting Free Software’s for Your Windows

1) Process Explorer :

In short Process explorer helps in sorting out problems that has unique capabilities making life easier by allowing the tracking of DLL problems and handling leaks by providing greater insights into the way a file is being handled by Windows and applications work. This program consists of two windows one showing the list of currently active processes, which also includes the names of the owning accounts, while the bottom window depends on the mode the program is working.Download :Process Explorer
2) SIW :

SIW stands for system information for windows. This is an advanced tool that analyzes computer and gathers detailed information about system properties and settings, displaying in an extremely comprehensible manner. This program has the capacity to create a report file in CSV, HTML, TXT or XML format and is capable of running the program in batch mode. The program is categorized into major categories like software information, hardware information, network information, network tools, miscellaneous tools and real time monitors. This standalone utility can help you resolve and handle any troubleshooting problems in Windows. Download :SIW
3) Blue Screen View :

This is a windows utility tool that gathers information regarding all kind of crashes under on single roof and enables to identify the problem and rectify with the needed solution. The tool records the time and date of crash besides other vital information like the nature and the reason for the crash, the type and kind of crash, the details of the device driver causing the crash. Using this tool you can identify the nature of the crash and the device driver involved. Download:BlueScreenView
4) Autoruns :

This is another product from Sysinternals for sorting the common troubleshooting problems in Windows, which includes the comprehensive knowledge of autostarting the locations of any start up monitor and shows you what programs are configured to run during system boot up or login. They also show the entries in the order that Windows process them. Download:Autoruns
5) Windirstat :

This is a tool that monitors as the name suggests Windows Directory Statistics giving you three useful views of the information gathered – directory list view, tree map view and extension list view. Of all these the most useful information could be gathered from the tree map view. The tree map view has each file colored with a different color and contains all information about their files and directories. The size of the rectangle in the tree map is an equivalent representative of type and size of the file. Download:Windirstat

Security TIPS for PC users

Do's
*** Unplug your PC if you are not using it for extended periods of time. Be aware of the fact that even if your computer is turned off, a hacker may have access to your information if your network card has WON ( Wake-On-Lan).
*** Password protect your computer.
*** Use passwords that are not easy detectable.
*** Regularly change your passwords (at least once in 6 months). Keep in mind that in some computer systems (Linux, for instance) once you use a password , you have to regularly change it as it expires anyway.
*** Back up your information (on CDs, DVDs). It is the only way you can avoid loosing it for good.
*** Keep your backup information in a different and secure location from your PC system. Take safety measures for your sensitive data. For instance, in case something unexpected should happen where your PC is located, such as a fire, you have the certainty that your information is safe and sound somewhere else.
*** Use antivirus software.
*** Use a firewall.
*** Use email filtering or attachment blocking software.
*** Always use a delete software.
*** Regularly update your software.

Don't's
*** Do not download files or programs from sites you don't know or trust.
*** Do not use easily detectable passwords on your computer, such as name, date of birth, mother's maiden name, etc.
*** Do not use the same passwords for all your files.
*** Do not keep your backup information in the same place with your PC. In case an unforeseen situation may appear where your computer is located, you have the certainty that your backup data is safe in a different location.

Rapidshare downloads

Rapidshare is NO.1 FILE SHARING service on the web today. But it isn’t free. You will have to pay subscription charges to get a Premium Account. Most of us don’t like to wasting money to buy a premium account. So here are some simple tricks to fool Rapidshare.

*JAVASCRIPT Method:

1>Goto the page you want to download,hit the FREE button
2>Include the following in your address bar: javascript:alert(c=0)
3>Click OK to the pop-up box and enter the captcha code
4>Download Your File

*Request new IP address from ISP (for dynamic IP address Internet users only)

1>Click Start -> Run
2>Type cmd in the Open box, then click OK.
3>At the command prompt, run the following commands one by one:
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
exit
4>Try to download from RapidShare again.

*Using Bookmarklet in IE:

1>Open IE
2>Right Click On This Link
3>Select Add to Favorites
4>Select Yes to the warning that the bookmark may be unsafe.
5>Name it “RapidShare No Wait”
6>Click on the Links folder (if you want to display it in your IE toolbar)
7>Click OK, (You may need to close and reopen IE to see it )
8>Goto rapidshare and click the bookmarklet when you are forced to wait.

Hide Yourself From Network Users!, And give access to only specific users!

Don't want your XP computer to show up in the network browse list (Network Neighborhood/My Network Places) to other users on your network? One way to accomplish that is to disable file sharing. To do this, click Start, right click My Network Places and select Properties. Right click your local area connection and click Properties. Uncheck the box that says File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks. Click OK.

But what if you want to be able to share folders with some users; you just don't want everyone on the network to see your computer's shares? There's a way:

Click Start and select Run.
In the Run box, type net config server /hidden:yes
Click OK.
Now others who know the UNC path (\\computer name\share name) can connect to your computer's shares from the Run box, but it won't show up in the network browse list.

How to find a remote IP

Method 1

To view someone's IP# when they send you hotmail email do this:
1) Click "Options" on the upper right side of the page.
2) On the left side of the page, Click "Mail"
3) Click "Mail Display Settings"
4) Under "Message Headers" select "Full" or "Advanced"
5) Click ok

Method 2
reg a dydns account and install the ip pointer, so each time you ping the host name you regestored

for example:
you regestor the host name myhost.dydns.com, then you keep a little software running on the target host. The little software will keep update your IP to dydns.com server.

so at your pc just start cmd, and ping myhost.dydns.com, it will give you the most updated ip address.

Method 3
neverender, what doesn't work for you? Simply type in nc -vvv -l -p 80 on your box, which will set it to listen in verbose mode on port 80. Then give them a link to your IP address (for example: 111.111.111.11) and tell them to type it in their browser. The browser should resolve the address as well as append port 80 automatically. Just make sure that your friend is not very computer literate.

Method 4
Just download a very simple server such as this one and install it on your comp. Then run it and give your ip to the person you want and tell them to connect to it through a browser. Your server will log their connection and you will get their IP.

link:http://www.download.com/Abyss-Web-Server/3000-2165-10283992.html?tag=lst-0-6


Other Ways
-www.imchaos.com and make a "spy poll" to put in ur profile, this will tell u the IP of anybody who answers ur poll
-originalicons.com there is a page for doin it (i dont like it, but it works)
-or irc

Saturday, October 29, 2011

How To Block Websties ,Without Software

How To Block Websties Without Software, block websites


 Steps:


1] Browse C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc
2] Find the file named "HOSTS"
3] Open it in notepad
4] Under "127.0.0.1 localhost" Add 127.0.0.2 www.sitenameyouwantblocked.com , and that site will no longer be accessable.
5] Done!


-So-


127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.2 www.blockedsite.com


-->www.blockedsite.com is now unaccessable<--




For every site after that you want to add, just add "1" to the last number in the internal ip (127.0.0.2) and then the addy like before.


IE: 127.0.0.3 www.blablabla.com
127.0.0.4 www.blablabla.com
127.0.0.5 www.blablabla.com


etc

How to Back Up the Registry

Before you edit the registry, export the keys in the registry that you plan to edit, or back up the whole registry. If a problem occurs, you can then follow the steps how-to restore the registry to its previous state.


How to Export Registry Keys

Click Start, and then click Run.

In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.

On the File menu, click Export.

In the Save in box, select the boxs at the bottom the bottom according to weather you want to export all or only selected branches of the registry.

Next select a location in which to save the backup .reg file. In the File name box, type a file name, and then click Save.


How to Restore the Registry

To restore registry keys that you exported, double-click the .reg file that you saved.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

How To Disable Picture And Fax Viewer

We all know that WinXP likes to keep itself held together, and how it doesnt like you uninstalling certain components. Well The Picture and Fax Viewer, is one of these programs which can cause problems if removed incorrectly. It can be disabled safely as follows:

[Start] [Run] type regedit and click [OK]

Navigate to :

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/ SystemFileAssociations/ image/ ShellEx/ ContextMenuHandlers

then delete the Folder ShellImagePreview under ContextMenuHandlers

Note: If you want to restore the Picture and Fax Viewer :

Create the ShellImagePreview folder and create the String Value (Default)
Assign it the value {e84fda7c-1d6a-45f6-b725-cb260c236066}

NOTE: This tweak doesnt uninstall the program. It removes the association and therefore it cannot be run.

Missing Administrator Account

Once you have created regular user accounts, the default Administrator account vanishes from the Welcome screen, which you see when the computer starts up. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete twice at the Welcome screen to retrieve the standard logon dialog. You can log on as Administrator from here. To switch among accounts, just click the Log Off button on the Start menu. You'll then see the Log Off Windows dialog box. Click the Switch User button, and you'll be taken to the Welcome screen where you can select and log on to other accounts.

Untold Windows Tips and Secrets By Ankit Fadia


Welcome to another Hacking Truths Manual. This time I have a collection of Tips and Tricks which no body normally knows, the secrets which Microsoft is afraid to tell the people, the information which you will seldom find all gathered up and arranged in a single file. To fully reap this Manual you need to have a basic understanding of the Windows Registry, as almost all the Tricks and Tips involve this file.

****************

Important Note: Before you read on, you need to keep one thing in mind. Whenever you make changes to the Windows Registry you need to Refresh it before the changes take place. Simply press F5 to refresh the registry and enable the changes. If this does not work Restart your system

****************

Exiting Windows the Cool and Quick Way

Normally it takes a hell lot of time just Shutting down Windows, you have to move your mouse to the Start Button, click on it, move it again over Shut Down, click, then move it over the necessary option and click, then move the cursor over the OK button and once again (you guessed it) click.This whole process can be shortened by creating shortcuts on the Desktop which will shut down Windows at the click of a button. Start by creating a new shortcut( right click and select New> Shortcut). Then in the command line box, type (without the quotes.)

'C:\windows\rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindowsexec'

This Shortcut on clicking will restart Windows immediately without any Warning. To create a Shortcut to Restarting Windows, type the following in the Command Line box:

'c:\windows\rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindows'

This Shortcut on clicking will shut down Windows immediately without any Warning.

Ban Shutdowns : A trick to Play on Lamers

This is a neat trick you can play on that lamer that has a huge ego, in this section I teach you, how to disable the Shut Down option in the Shut Down Dialog Box. This trick involves editing the registry, so please make backups. Launch regedit.exe and go to :

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

In the right pane look for the NoClose Key. If it is not already there then create it by right clicking in the right pane and selecting New > String Value.(Name it NoCloseKey ) Now once you see the NoCloseKey in the right pane, right click on it and select Modify. Then Type 1 in the Value Data Box.

Doing the above on a Win98 system disables the Shut Down option in the Shut Down Dialog Box. But on a Win95 machine if the value of NoCloseKey is set to 1 then click on the Start > Shut Down button displays the following error message:

This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator.

You can enable the shut down option by changing the value of NoCloseKey to 0 or simply deleting the particular entry i.e. deleting NoCloseKey.

Instead of performing the above difficult to remember process, simply save the following with an extension of .reg and add it's contents to the registry by double clicking on it.

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]

"NoClose"="1"

Disabling Display of Drives in My Computer

This is yet another trick you can play on your geek friend. To disable the display of local or networked drives when you click My Computer go to :

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Now in the right pane create a new DWORD item and name it NoDrives. Now modify it's value and set it to 3FFFFFF (Hexadecimal) Now press F5 to refresh. When you click on My Computer, no drives will be shown. To enable display of drives in My Computer, simply delete this DWORD item. It's .reg file is as follows:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]

"NoDrives"=dword:03ffffff

Take Over the Screen Saver

To activate and deactivate the screen saver whenever you want, goto the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ScreenSavers

Now add a new string value and name it Mouse Corners. Edit this new value to -Y-N. Press F5 to refresh the registry. Voila! Now you can activate your screensaver by simply placing the mouse cursor at the top right corner of the screen and if you take the mouse to the bottom left corner of the screen, the screensaver will deactivate.

Pop a banner each time Windows Boots

To pop a banner which can contain any message you want to display just before a user is going to log on, go to the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WinLogon

Now create a new string Value in the right pane named LegalNoticeCaption and enter the value that you want to see in the Menu Bar. Now create yet another new string value and name it: LegalNoticeText. Modify it and insert the message you want to display each time Windows boots. This can be effectively used to display the company's private policy each time the user logs on to his NT box. It's .reg file would be:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]

"LegalNoticeCaption"="Caption here."

Delete the Tips of the Day to save 5KB

Windows 95 had these tips of the day which appeared on a system running a newly installed Windows OS. These tips of the day are stored in the Windows Registry and consume 5K of space. For those of you who are really concerned about how much free space your hard disk has, I have the perfect trick.

To save 5K go to the following key in Regedit:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Tips

Now simply delete these tricks by selecting and pressing the DEL key.

Change the Default Locations

To change the default drive or path where Windows will look for it's installation files, go to the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\SourcePath

Now you can edit as you wish.

Secure your Desktop Icons and Settings

You can save your desktop settings and secure it from your nerdy friend by playing with the registry. Simply launch the Registry Editor go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

In the right pane create a new DWORD Value named NoSaveSettings and modify it's value to 1. Refresh and restart for the settings to get saved.

CLSID Folders Explained

Don't you just hate those stubborn stupid icons that refuse to leave the desktop, like the Network Neighborhood icon. I am sure you want to know how you can delete them. You may say, that is really simple, simply right click on the concerned icon and select Delete. Well not exactly, you see when you right click on these special folders( see entire list below)neither the rename nor the delete option does not appear. To delete these folders, there are two methods, the first one is using the System Policy Editor(Poledit in the Windows installation CD)and the second is using the Registry.

Before we go on, you need to understand what CLSID values are. These folders, like the Control Panel, Inbox, The Microsoft Network, Dial Up Networking etc are system folders. Each system folder has a unique CLSID key or the Class ID which is a 16-byte value which identifies an individual object that points to a corresponding key in the registry.

To delete these system Folders from the desktop simply go to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\Namespace{xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx}

To delete an icon simply delete the 16 byte CLSID value within "NameSpace". The following are the CLSID values of the most commonly used icons:

My Briefcase:{85BBD920-42AO-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D}

Desktop: {00021400-0000-0000-C000-0000000000046}

Control Panel:{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

Dial-Up-Networking:{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD01CCC48}

Fonts: {BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948534}

Inbox :{00020D76-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

My Computer :{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

Network Neighborhood:{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-O8002B30309D}

Printers :{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-O8002B30309D}

Recycle Bin :{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

The Microsoft Network:{00028B00-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

History: {FF393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000}

Winzip :{E0D79300-84BE-11CE-9641-444553540000}

For example, to delete the Recycle Bin, first note down it's CLSID value, which is: 645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E. Now go to the Namespace key in the registry and delete the corresponding key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

Similarly to delete the History folder, delete the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}

Sometimes, you may need to play a trick on your brother or friend, well this one teaches you how to hide all icons from the Desktop. Go to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

In the right pane create a new DWORD value by the name: NoDesktop and set its value to: 1. Reboot and you will find no icons on the desktop.

Till now you simply learnt how to delete the special system folders by deleting a registry key, but the hack would have been better if there was a way of adding the DELETE and RENAME option to the right click context menus of these special folders. You can actually change the right click context menu of any system folder and add any of the following options: RENAME, DELETE, CUT, COPY, PASTE and lots more.

This hack too requires you to know the CLSID value of the system folder whose menu you want to customize. In this section, I have taken up Recycle Bin as the folder whose context menu I am going to edit.

Firstly launch the registry editor and open the following registry key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder.

In Case you want to edit some other folder like say the FONTS folder, then you will open the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CLSID VALUE HERE}\ShellFolder.

In the right pane there will be a DWORD value names attributes. Now consider the following options:

To add the Rename option to the menu, change the value of Attributes to
50 01 00 20

To add the Delete option to the menu, change the value of Attributes to
60 01 00 20

3. To add both the Rename & Delete options to the menu, change the value of Attributes to 70,01,00,20

4. Add Copy to the menu, change Attributes to 41 01 00 20

5. Add Cut to the menu, change Attributes to 42 01 00 20

6. Add Copy & Cut to the menu, change Attributes to 43 01 00 20

7. Add Paste to the menu, change Attributes to 44 01 00 20

8. Add Copy & Paste to the menu, change Attributes to 45 01 00 20

9. Add Cut & Paste to the menu, change Attributes to 46 01 00 20

10.Add all Cut, Copy & Paste to the menu, change Attributes to 47 01 00 20

We want to add only the Rename option to the right click context menu of the Recycle Bin, so change the value of attributes to: 50 01 00 20. Press F5 to refresh and then after rebooting you will find that when you right click on the Recycle Bin a RENAME option pops up too.

To reset the default Windows options change the value of Attributes back to

40 01 00 20

The Registry File which one can create for the above process would be something like the below:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\Shell-Folder]

"Attributes"=hex:50,01,00,20

To access say the Modem Properties in the Control Panel Folder, the normal procedure is: Click on Start, Click on Settings> Control Panel and then wait for the Control Panel window to pop up and then ultimately click on the Modems icon.

Wouldn't it be lovely if you could shorten the process to: Click on Start> Control Panel>Modems. Yes you can add the Control Panel and also all other Special System Folders directly to the first level Start Menu. Firstly collect the CLSID value of the folder you want to add to the start menu. I want to add Control Panel hence the CLSID value is: 21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D

Now right click on the Start Button and select Open. Now create a new folder and name it: Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

NOTE: Do not forget the period after the 'l' in Panel. Similarly all system folders can be added to the Start Menu.(accept My Briefcase, I think)

Deleting System Options from the Start menu

You can actually remove the Find and Run options from the start menu by performing a simple registry hack. Again like always Launch the registry editor and scroll down to the below key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Right-click on the right pane and select New, DWORD Value. Name it NoFind.(To remove the RUN option name it NoRun). Double-click the newly create DWORD to edit it's value and enter 1 as its value. This will disable the FIND option of the Start Menu and will also disable the default Shortcut key(F3 for Find.)

To restore the Run or find command modify the value of the DWORD to 0 or simply Delete the DWORD value.

Fed Up of the boring Old Yellow Folder Icons?[Drive Icons Included]

NOTE: This trick hasn't been tried on Win98.

You can easily change the boring yellow folder icons to your own personalized icons. Simply create a text file and copy the following lines into it:

[.ShellClassInfo]

ICONFILE=Drive:\Path\Icon_name.extension

Save this text file by the name, desktop.ini in the folder, whose icon you want to change. Now to prevent this file from getting deleted change it's attributes to Hidden and Read Only by using the ATTRIB command.

To change the icon of a drive, create a text file containing the following lines:

[Autorun]

ICON=Drive:\Path\Icon_name.extension

Save this file in the root of the drive whose icon you want to change and name it autorun.inf For Example, if you want to change the icon of a floppy, SAVE THE icon in a:\icon_name.ico One can also create a kewl icon for the Hard Disk and create a text file [autorun.inf] and store it in "c:\".

 Securing NT

By default, NT 4.0 displays the last person who logged onto the system. This can be considered to be a security threat, especially in the case of those who choose their password to be same as their Username. To disable this bug which actually is a feature, go to the following key in the registry editor:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Click and select the ReportBookOK item and create a new string value called DontDisplayLastUserName. Modify it and set it's value to 1.

As a system administrator, you can ensure that the passwords chosen by the users are not too lame or too easy to guess. NT has this lovely utility called the User Manager which allows the administrator to set the age limit of the password which forces the users to change the password after a certain number of days. You can also set the minimum length of passwords and prevent users to use passwords which already have been used earlier and also enable account lockouts which will deactivate an account after a specified number of failed login attempts.

When you log on to Win NT, you should disable Password Caching, this ensures Single NT Domain login and also prevents secondary Windows Logon screen.

Simply copy the following lines to a plain text ASCII editor like: Notepad and save it with an extension, .reg

----------------DISABLE.reg-----------------

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network]

"DisablePwdCaching"=dword:00000001

----------------DISABLE.reg-----------------

To Enable Password Caching use the following .reg file:

--------------Enable.reg-----------------

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network]

"DisablePwdCaching"=dword:00000000

--------------Enable.reg-----------------



Cleaning Recent Docs Menu and the RUN MRU

The Recent Docs menu can be easily disabled by editing the Registry. To do this go to the following Key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Now in the right pane, create a new DWORD value by the name: NoRecentDocsMenu and set it's value to 1. Restart Explorer to save the changes.

You can also clear the RUN MRU history. All the listings are stored in the key:

HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU

You can delete individual listings or the entire listing. To delete History of Find listings go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Doc Find Spec MRU

and delete.

Customizing the Right Click Context Menu of the Start Menu

When you right click on the start menu, only 3 options pop up: Open, Explore, and Find. You can add your own programs to this pop up menu( which comes up when we right click on it.) Open Regedit and go to the following registry key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Shell

Right click on the shell and create a new Sub Key (You can create a new SubKey by right clicking on the Shell Key and selecting New > Key.). Type in the name of the application you want to add to the start menu. I want to add Notepad to the Start Menu and hence I name this new sub key, Notepad. Now right click on the new registry key that you just created and create yet another new key named Command. Enter the full path of the application, in this case Notepad in the default value of Command in the right

pane. So I Modify the value of the default string value and enter the full pathname of Notepad:

c:\wndows\notepad.exe.

Now press F5 to refresh. Now if you right click on the Start Button you will find a new addition to the Pop Up Menu called Notepad. Clicking on it will launch Notepad.

We can not only add but also remove the existing options in this pop up box.

To delete the Find option, go to the following registry key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Shell\Find

Delete Find. DO NOT delete Open else you will not be able to open any folders in the Start Menu like Programs, Accessories etc. 

BMP Thumbnail As Icon

You can actually change the default BMP icon to a thumbnail version of the actual BMP file. To do this simply go to HKCU\Paint.Picture\Default. In the right pane change the value of default to %1. Please note however that this will slow down the display rate in explorer if there are too many BMP thumbnails to display. You can use other icons too, simply enter the pathname.To restore back to the normal change the vale of default back to: C:\Progra~1\Access~1\MSPAINT.EXE,1.

Customizing The Shortcut Arrow

All shortcuts have a tiny black arrow attached to it's icon to distinguish from normal files. This arrow can sometimes be pretty annoying and as a Hacker should know how to change each and everything, here goes another trick. Launch the Registry Editor and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Shell Icons.

Now, on the right pane is a list of icons ( we found out that on some systems, Windows 98 especially, the right pane is blank. Don't worry, just add the value as required ). Find the value 29. If it isn't there, just add it. The value of this string should be C:\Windows\system\shell32.dll, 29 ( which means the 30th icon in shell32.dll - the first one begins with 0 ). Now, we need blank icon to do this. Just create one with white as the whole icon. Go here to learn how to create an icon. Once done just change the value to C:\xxx.ico, 0 where "xxx" is the full path of the icon file and "0" is the icon in it.

Now for some fun. If the blank icon is a bit boring, change it again. You will find that under shell32.dll there is a gear icon, a shared folder ( the hand ) and much more. Experiment for yourself!

Use Perl to Get List or Services Running on your NT box

Use the following Perl Script to get a list of Services running on your NT system

--------------script.pl-----------------

#!c:\per\bin\perl.exe

use Win32::Service;

my ($key, %service, %status, $part);

Win32::Service::GetServices(' ',\%services);

foreach $key (sort keys %services) {

print "Print Name\t: $key, $services{$key}\n";

Win32::Service::GetStatus( ' ',$services{$key};

\%status);

foreach $part (keys %status) {

print "\t$part : $status{$part}\n" if($part eq "CurrentState");

}

}

-------------script.pl-------------------

Internet Explorer Tricks and Tips

Resizable Full Screen Toolbar

The Full Screen option increases the viewable area and makes surfing more enjoyable but sometimes we need the Toolbar but also need to have extra viewing area. Now this hack teaches you how to change the size of the Internet Explorer toolbar. This registry hack is a bit complicated as it involves Binary values, so to make it simple, I have included the following registry file which will enable the resizable option of the Internet Explorer toolbar which was present in the beta version of IE.

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar]

"Theater"=hex:0c,00,00,00,4c,00,00,00,74,00,00,00,18,00,00,00,1b,00,00,00,5c,\

00,00,00,01,00,00,00,e0,00,00,00,a0,0f,00,00,05,00,00,00,22,00,00,00,26,00,\

00,00,02,00,00,00,21,00,00,00,a0,0f,00,00,04,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,a0,0f,00,\

00,03,00,00,00,08,00,00,00,00,00,00,00

*******************

HACKING TRUTH: Internet Explorer 5 displays the friendly version of HTTP errors like NOT FOUND etc . They are aimed at making things easier for newbies. If you would rather prefer to see the proper error pages for the web server you're using, go to Tools, Internet Options and select the Advanced tab. Then scroll down and uncheck the Show friendly http errors box.

*******************

Making the Internet Explorer & the Explorer Toolbars Fancy

The Internet Explorer toolbar looks pretty simple. Want to make it fancy and kewl? Why not add a background image to it. To do this kewl hack launch the Windows Registry Editor and go to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ Internet Explorer\Toolbar\.

Now in the right pane create a new String Value and name it BackBitmap and modify it's value to the path of the Bitmap you want to dress it up with by rightclicking on it and choosing Modify. When you reboot the Internet Explorer and the Windows Explorer toolbars will have a new look.

Change Internet Explorer's Caption

Don't like the caption of Internet Explorer caption? Want to change it? Open the registry editor and go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main.

In the right pane create a new String Value names Window Title (Note the space between Window and Title). Right click on this newly created String Value and select Modify. Type in the new caption you want to be displayed. Restart for the settings to take place.

Now let's move on to some Outlook Express Tricks.

Colorful Background

Don't like the boring background colors of Outlook Express? To change it launch the Windows Registry Editor and scroll down to the

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Mail And News key.

On the left pane, click on ColorCycle or select Edit and Modify in the menu. Now change the value to 1. Close and restart. Now, launch Outlook Express and whenever you open up a New Message, hold down ctrl-shift and tap the z key to scroll to change the background color. Repeat the keystroke to cycle through the colors.

Internet Explorer 5 Hidden Features


Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 has several hidden features which can be controlled using the Windows Registry. Open your registry and scroll down to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Restrictions

Create a new DWORD value named x(See complete list of values of x below) and modify it's value to 1 to enable it and to 0 to disable it.

NoBrowserClose : Disable the option of closing Internet Explorer.

NoBrowserContextMenu : Disable right-click context menu.

NoBrowserOptions : Disable the Tools / Internet Options menu.

NoBrowserSaveAs : Disable the ability to Save As.

NoFavorites : Disable the Favorites.

NoFileNew : Disable the File / New command.

NoFileOpen : Disable the File / Open command.

NoFindFiles : Disable the Find Files command.

NoSelectDownloadDir : Disable the option of selecting a download directory.

NoTheaterMode : Disable the Full Screen view option.

Hacking Secrets

Almost all system administrators make certain changes and make the system restricted. System Administrators can hide the RUN option, the FIND command, the entire Control Panel, drives in My Computer like D: A: etc. They can even restrict activities of a hacker my disabling or hiding, even the tiniest options or tools.

Most commonly these restrictions are imposed locally and are controlled by the Windows Registry. But sometimes the smart system administrators control the activities of the hacker by imposing restrictions remotely through the main server.

Poledit or Policy Editor is a small kewl tool which is being commonly used by system administrators to alter the settings of a system. This utility is not installed by default by Windows. You need to install in manually from the Windows 98 Installation Kit from the Resource Kit folder. user.dat file that we saw earlier.

The Policy Editor tool imposes restrictions on the user's system by editing the user.dat file which in turn means that it edits the Windows Registry to change the settings. It can be used to control or restrict access to each and every folder and option you could ever think of. It has the power to even restrict access to individual folders, files, the Control Panel, MS DOS, the drives available etc. Sometimes this software does make life really hard for a Hacker. So how can we remove the restrictions imposed by the Policy Editor? Well read ahead to learn more.

You see the Policy Editor is not the only way to restrict a user's activities. As we already know that the Policy Editor edits the Windows Registry(user.dat) file to impose such restrictions. So this in turn would mean that we can directly make changes to the Windows Registry using a .reg file or directly to remove or add restrictions.

Launch Regedit and go to the following Registry Key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/CurrentVersion/Policies

Under this key, there will definitely be a key named explorer. Now under this explorer key we can create new DWORD values and modify it's value to 1 in order to impose the restriction. If you want to remove the Restriction, then you can simply delete the respective DWORD values or instead change their values to 0. The following is a list of DWORD values that can be created under the Explorer Key-:

NoDeletePrinter: Disables Deletion of already installed Printers

NoAddPrinter: Disables Addition of new Printers

NoRun : Disables or hides the Run Command

NoSetFolders: Removes Folders from the Settings option on Start Menu (Control Panel, Printers, Taskbar)

NoSetTaskbar: Removes Taskbar system folder from the Settings option on Start Menu

NoFind: Removes the Find Tool (Start >Find)

NoDrives: Hides and does not display any Drives in My Computer

NoNetHood: Hides or removes the Network Neighborhood icon from the desktop

NoDesktop: Hides all items including, file, folders and system folders from the Desktop

NoClose: Disables Shutdown and prevents the user from normally shutting down Windows.

NoSaveSettings: Means to say, 'Don't save settings on exit'

DisableRegistryTools: Disable Registry Editing Tools (If you disable this option, the Windows Registry Editor(regedit.exe) too

will not work.)

NoRecentDocsHistory: Removes Recent Document system folder from the Start Menu (IE 4 and above)

ClearRecentDocsOnExit: Clears the Recent Documents system folder on Exit.

Nolnternetlcon: Removes the Internet (system folder) icon from the Desktop

Under the same key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/CurrentVersion/Policies you can create new subkeys other than the already existing Explorer key. Now create a new key and name it System. Under this new key, system we can create the following new DWORD values(1 for enabling the particular option and 0 for disabling the particular option):

NODispCPL: Hides Control Panel

NoDispBackgroundPage: Hides Background page.

NoDispScrsavPage: Hides Screen Saver Page

NoDispAppearancePage: Hides Appearance Page

NoDispSettingsPage: Hides Settings Page

NoSecCPL: Disables Password Control Panel

NoPwdPage: Hides Password Change Page

NoAdminPaqe: Hides Remote Administration Page

NoProfilePage: Hides User Profiles Page

NoDevMgrPage: Hides Device Manager Page

NoConfigPage: Hides Hardware Profiles Page

NoFileSysPage: Hides File System Button

NoVirtMemPage: Hides Virtual Memory Button

Similarly, if we create a new subkey named Network, we can add the following DWORD values under it(1 for enabling the particular option and 0 for disabling the particular option):

NoNetSetupSecurityPage: Hides Network Security Page

NoNelSetup: Hides or disables the Network option in the Control Panel

NoNetSetupIDPage: Hides the Identification Page

NoNetSetupSecurityPage: Hides the Access Control Page

NoFileSharingControl: Disables File Sharing Controls

NoPrintSharing: Disables Print Sharing Controls

Similarly, if we create a new subkey named WinOldApp, we can add the following DWORD values under it(1 for enabling the particular option and 0 for disabling the particular option):

Disabled: Disable MS-DOS Prompt

NoRealMode: Disable Single-Mode MS-DOS.

So you see if you have access to the Windows Registry, then you can easily create new DWORD values and set heir value to 1 for enabling the particular option and 0 for disabling the particular option. But Sometimes, access to the Windows Registry is blocked. So what do you do? Go to the Windows Directory and delete either user.dat or system.dat (These 2 files constitute the Windows Registry.) and reboot. As soon as Windows logs in, it will display a Warning Message informing you about an error in the Windows Registry. Simply ignore this Warning Message and Press CTRL+DEL+ALT to get out of this warning message.(Do not press OK) You will find that all restrictions have been removed.

The most kind of restriction found quite commonly is the Specific Folder Restriction, in which users are not allowed access to specific folders, the most common being the Windows folder, or sometimes even access to My Computer is blocked. In effect, you simply cannot seem to access the important kewl files which are needed by you to do remove restrictions. What do you? Well use the RUN command. (START >RUN). But unfortunately a system administrator who is intelligent enough to block access to specific folder, would definitely have blocked access to the RUN command. Again we are stuck.

Windows is supposed to be the most User Friendly Operating System on earth. (At least Microsoft Says so.)

It gives the User an option to do the same thing in various ways. You see the RUN command is only the most convenient option of launching applications, but not the only way. In Windows you can create shortcuts to almost anything from a file, folder to a Web URL. So say your system administrator has blocked access to the c:\windows\system folder and you need to access it. What do you do? Simply create a Shortcut to it. To do this right click anywhere on the desktop and select New > Shortcut. A new window titled Create Shortcut pops up. Type in the path of the restricted folder you wish to access, in this case c:\windows\system. Click Next, Enter the friendly name of the Shortcut and then click Finish. Now you can access the restricted folder by simply double clicking on the shortcut icon. Well that shows how protected and secure *ahem Windows *ahem is.

****************

HACKING TRUTH: Sometimes when you try to delete a file or a folder, Windows displays an error message saying that the file is protected. This simply means that the file is write protected, or in other words the R option is +. Get it? Anyway, you can stop Windows from displaying this error message and straightaway delete this file by changing its attributes to Non Read Only. This can be done by Right Clicking on the file, selecting Properties and then

unselecting the Read Only Option.

***************

There is yet another way of accessing restricted folders. Use see, DOS has a lovely command known as START. Its general syntax is:

START application_path

It does do what it seems to do, start applications. So in you have access to DOS then you can type in the START command to get access to the restricted folder. Now mostly access to DOS too would be blocked. So again you can use the shortcut trick to launch, c:\command.com or c:\windows\command.com. (Command.com is the file which launches MS DOS).

Accessing Restricted Drives.

The problem with most system administrators is that they think that the users or Hackers too are stupid. Almost all system administrators use the Registry Trick (Explained Earlier) to hide all drives in My Computer. So in order to unhide or display all drives, simply delete that particular key.(Refer to beginning of Untold Secrets Section.)

Some systems have the floppy disk disabled through the BIOS. On those systems if the BIOS is protected, you may need to crack the BIOS password. (For that Refer to the Windows Hacking Chapter). Sometimes making drives readable (Removing R +) and then creating Shortcuts to them also helps us to get access to them.

Further Changing your Operating System's Looks by editing .htt files

If you have installed Windows Desktop Update and have the view as Web Page option enabled, you can customise the way the folder looks by selecting View > Customise this folder. Here you can change the background and other things about that particular folder. Well that is pretty lame, right? We hackers already know things as lame as that. Read on for some kewl stuff.

Well, you could also change the default that is stored in a Hidden HTML Template file (I think so..) which is nothing but a HTML document with a .htt extension. This .htt file is found at: %systemroot%\web\folder.htt.

The %systemroot% stands for the drive in which Windows is Installed, which is normally C:

You can edit these .htt files almost just like you edit normal .HTM or .HTML files. Simply open them in an ASCII editor like Notepad. The following is a list of .htt files on your system which control various folders and which can be edited to customise the way various folders look.

controlp.htt Control Panel

printers.htt Printers

mycomp.htt My Computer

safemode.htt Safe Mode

All these files are found in the web folder in %systemfolder%. The folder.htt file has a line:

'Here's a good place to add a few lines of your own"

which is the place where you can add your own A HREF links. These links would then appear in the folder whose folder.htt file you edited. All this might sound really easy and simple, but you see these .htt files do not contain normal HTML code, instead they contain a mixture of HTML and web bots. Hence they can be difficult for newbies to understand.














Hacking VoiceMail Systems

                              

                   Volume Two, Issue Eleven, Phile #4 of 12

             +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
             +=+         Hacking Voice Mail Systems          +=+
             +=+           Written for Phrack XI             +=+
             +=+         by:-> Black Knight from 713         +=+
             +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+


Voice Mail is a relatively new concept and not much has been said about it.
It is a very useful tool for the business person and the phreak.  The way it
works is that somebody wishing to get in touch with you calls a number,
usually a 1-800, and punches in on his touch-pad your mailbox number and then
he is able to leave a message for you.  Business experts report that this
almost totally eliminates telephone tag.  When a person wishes to pick up his
message all he needs to do is call the number enter a certain code and he can
hear his messages, transfer them, and do other misc. mailbox utilities.

Most VMSs are similar in the way they work.  There are a few different ways
the VMSs store the voice.  One way is that the voice is recorded digitally and
compressed and when heard it is reproduced back into the voice that recorded
it. Another method that is slower and uses more space, but costs less, stores
the voice on magnetic tape, the same type that is used to store data on a
computer, and then runs the tape at a slow speed.  Using this method the voice
does not need to be reproduced in any way and will sound normal as long as the
tape is running at a constant speed.  On some of the newer VMSs the voice is
digitally recorded and is transformed from the magnetic tape at about 2400
bits per second.

There are many different types and versions of voice mail systems.  Some of
the best and easiest to get on will be discussed.

Centagram
---------
These are direct dial (you don't have to enter a box number).  To get on one
of these, first have a number to any box on the system.  All of the other
boxes will be on the same prefix; just start scanning them until you find one
that has a message saying that person you are calling is not available.  This
usually means that the box has not been assigned to anybody yet.  Before the
nice lady's voice tells you to leave the message, hit #.  You will then be
prompted for your password.  The password will usually be the same as the last
four digits of the box's number or a simple number like 1000, 2000, etc.  Once
you get on, they are very user friendly and will prompt you with a menu of
options.  If you can't find any empty boxes or want to do more, you can hack
but the system administrators box, which will usually be 9999 on the same
prefix as the other boxes, will allow you to hear anybody's messages and
create and delete boxes.

Sperry Link
-----------
These systems are very nice.  They will usually be found on an 800 number.
These are one of the hardest to get a box on because you must hack out a user
ID (different from the person's box number) and a password.  When it answers,
if it says, "This is a Sperry Link voice station.  Please enter your user ID,"
you will have to start trying to find a valid user ID.  On most Sperrys it
will be a five digit number.  If it answers and says, "This is an X answering
service," you first have to hit *# to get the user number prompt.  Once you
get a valid user number will have oKVWV.."! password on most systems, it
will be 4 digits.  Once you get in, these are also very user friendly and have
many different options available.

RSVP
----
This is probably one of the worst VMSs but it is by far the easiest to get
yourself a box.  When it answers you can hit * for a directory of the boxes on
it (it will only hold 23).  If you hit # you will be given a menu of options
and when you choose an option you will then be prompted for your ID number.
The ID number on an RSVP system will just about always be the same as the
mailbox number, which are always only 2 digits.

A.S.P.E.N.
----------
The Aspen voice message systems made by Octel Telecommunications is in my
opinion the BEST VMS made.  To get a box on an Aspen, you need to find an
empty box.  To find an empty box, scan the box numbers and if one says, "You
entered XXXX.  Please leave a message at the tone," then this is an empty box.
You next just press # and when prompted for your box number enter the number
of the empty box and friendly voice of the nice lady will guide you through
all of the steps of setting up your box.  She first tells you what you can do
with the box and then will prompt you with, "Please enter the temporary
password assigned to you by your system manager."  This password will usually
be 4 digits long and the same as the box number like 1000, etc.  Once you get
on their are many things you can do.  You can make a distribution list where
if you want to leave a certain message to more than one person, you can enter
the list number and all of the boxes on the list will get the message. You can
also have the system call you and notify you that you have new messages. These
systems also have what they call "Information center mailboxes" that are
listen only and can also have a password on them so the person calling has to
enter the password before he hears the greeting message.  Aspen VMSs have a
system managers mailbox that will just about give you total control of the
whole system and let you listen to people's mail, create and delete boxes, and
many other things.

Thank you for reading this file and if you would like to get in touch with me
VIA VOICE MAIL call 1-800-222-0311 and hit *2155.

                        //--Black Knight from 713--\\
                        |     for PHRACK XI (1987)  |
                        \\--++--++--++--++--++--++-//

==========================================================================
                             Mailbox Systems
==========================================================================
   Mailbox systems are the link between information and the underworld. If
you have ever called one, then you will know the advantages of having one,
especially the ones that are  open to whole underworld, rather than just a
select few.  There are two types  of mailbox systems that are widely used.
   The first  type we will  talk about is the multiple mailbox systems, or
commonly referred to  as  message  systems.  These  systems  have  several
mailboxes set up on one number.  Usually, you  can access other  mailboxes
from that  number  by  pressing '*' or '#'.  Sometimes you  just enter the
mailbox number and you are connected.  These are the safest systems to use
to protect information from US Sprint and other  long distance  companies.
Since US Sprint and other companies  call  the destination  numbers, it is
safer to  have 800 mailbox systems, and  most  of  the time, the  multiple
mailbox systems  are on 800 numbers.  The  passcode on  these  systems can
vary in length and can be accessed by several  different methods, so it is
impossible to explain exactly how to hack these systems.
   The other type is the single mailbox system.  These  are usually set up
in a reserved  prefix in an area  code.  (Ex: 713-684-6xxx)  These systems
are usually  controlled by the  same type of hardware/software.  To access
the area  where you  enter the  passcode, just hit '0' for a second or so.
The passcodes are  four (4)  digits  long.  The only way to hack  these is
manually.  The best thing you could do is to  find one that does not  have
a recording from a person, but just the  digitized voice.  If you hack one
that  someone already  owns, they will  report it and  it will not last as
long.

       Here is a list mailboxes or prefixes to help you get started
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Single                          Multiple                        Digits
------------                     ------------                     --------
213-281-8xxx                     212-714-2770                         3
213-285-8xxx                     216-586-5000                         4
213-515-2xxx                     415-338-7000 Aspen Message System    3
214-733-5xxx                     714-474-2033 Western Digital
214-855-6xxx                     800-222-0651 Vincent and Elkins      4
214-978-2xxx                     800-233-8488                         3
215-949-2xxx                     800-447-8477 Fairylink               7
312-450-8xxx                     800-521-5344                         3
313-768-1xxx                     800-524-2133 RCA                     4
405-557-8xxx                     800-527-0027 TTE TeleMessager        6
602-230-4xxx                     800-632-7777 Asynk                   6
619-492-8xxx                     800-645-7778 SoftCell Computers      4
713-684-6xxx                     800-648-9675 Zoykon                  4
                                 800-847-0003 Communications World    3
==========================================================================


                                ==Phrack Inc.==

                Volume Three, Issue Thirty-four, File #6 of 11


                           HACKING VOICE MAIL SYSTEMS



DISCLAIMER

I, Night Ranger, or anyone else associated with Phrack, am not responsible
for anything the readers of this text may do.  This file is for informational
and educational purposes only and should not be used on any system or network
without written permission of the authorized persons in charge.


INTRODUCTION

I decided to write this text file because I received numerous requests for
vmbs from people.  Vmbs are quite easy to hack, but if one doesn't know where
to start it can be hard.  Since there aren't any decent text files on this
subject, I couldn't refer them to read anything, and decided to write one
myself.  To the best of my knowledge, this is the most complete text on
hacking vmb systems.  If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me
know.

Voice Mail Boxes (vmbs) have become a very popular way for hackers to get in
touch with each other and share information.  Probably the main reason for
this is their simplicity and availability.  Anyone can call a vmb regardless
of their location or computer type.  Vmbs are easily accessible because most
are toll free numbers, unlike bulletin boards.  Along with their advantages,
they do have their disadvantages.  Since they are easily accessible this
means not only hackers and phreaks can get information from them, but feds
and narcs as well.  Often they do not last longer than a week when taken
improperly.  After reading this file and practicing the methods described,
you should be able to hack voice mail systems with ease.  With these thoughts
in mind, let's get started.


FINDING A VMB SYSTEM

The first thing you need to do is find a VIRGIN (unhacked) vmb system.  If
you hack on a system that already has hackers on it, your chance of finding
a box is considerably less and it increases the chance that the system
administrator will find the hacked boxes.  To find a virgin system, you need
to SCAN some 800 numbers until you find a vmb.  A good idea is to take the
number of a voice mail system you know, and scan the same exchange but not
close to the number you have.


FINDING VALID BOXES ON THE SYSTEM

If you get a high quality recording (not an answering machine) then it is
probably a vmb system.  Try entering the number 100, the recording should
stop.  If it does not, you may have to enter a special key (such as '*' '#'
'8' or '9') to enter the voice mail system.  After entering 100 it should
either connect you to something or do nothing.  If it does nothing, keep
entering (0)'s until it does something.  Count the number of digits you
entered and this will tell you how many digits the boxes on the system are.
You should note that many systems can have more than one box length depending
on the first number you enter, Eg. Boxes starting with a six can be five
digits while boxes starting with a seven can only be four.  For this file we
will assume you have found a four digit system, which is pretty common.  It
should do one of the following things...

1)  Give you an error message, Eg. 'Mailbox xxxx is invalid.'
2)  Ring the extension and then one of the following..
    1)  Someone or no one answers.
    2)  Connects you to a box.
3)  Connect you to mailbox xxxx.

If you get #1 then try some more numbers.  If you get #2 or #3 then you have
found a valid vmb (or extension in the case of 2-1).  Extensions usually have
a vmb for when they are not at their extension.  If you get an extension,
move on.  Where you find one box you will probably find more surrounding it.
Sometimes a system will try to be sneaky and put one valid vmb per 10 numbers.
Eg. Boxes would be at 105, 116, 121, ... with none in between.  Some systems
start boxes at either 10 after a round number or 100 after, depending on
whether it is a three or four box system.  For example, if you do not find
any around 100, try 110 and if you do not find any around 1000 try 1100.  The
only way to be sure is to try EVERY possible box number.  This takes time but
can be worth it.

Once you find a valid box (even if you do not know the passcode) there is a
simple trick to use when scanning for boxes outside of a vmb so that it does
not disconnect you after three invalid attempts.  What you do is try two box
numbers and then the third time enter a box number you know is valid.  Then
abort ( usually by pressing (*) or (#) ) and it will start over again.  From
there you can keep repeating this until you find a box you can hack on.


FINDING THE LOGIN SEQUENCE

Different vmb systems have different login sequences (the way the vmb owner
gets into his box).  The most common way is to hit the pound (#) key from the
main menu.  This pound method works on most systems, including Aspens (more
on specific systems later).  It should respond with something like 'Enter
your mailbox.' and then 'Enter your passcode.'  Some systems have the
asterisk (*) key perform this function.  Another login method is hitting a
special key during the greeting (opening message) of the vmb.  On a Cindy or
Q Voice Mail system you hit the zero (0) key during the greet and since
you've already entered your mailbox number it will respond with 'Enter your
passcode.'  If (0) doesn't do anything try (#) or (*).  These previous two
methods of login are the most common, but it is possible some systems will
not respond to these commands.  If this should happen, keep playing around
with it and trying different keys.   If for some reason you cannot find the
login sequence, then save this system for later and move on.


GETTING IN

This is where the basic hacking skills come to use.  When a system
administrator creates a box for someone, they use what's called a default
passcode.  This same code is used for all the new boxes on the system, and
often on other systems too.  Once the legitimate owner logs into his new vmb,
they are usually prompted to change the passcode, but not everyone realizes
that someone will be trying to get into their mailbox and quite a few people
leave their box with the default passcode or no passcode at all.  You should
try ALL the defaults I have listed first.


DEFAULTS           BOX NUMBER      TRY       

box number (bn)    3234            3234        Most Popular
bn backwards       2351            1532        Popular
bn+'0'             323             3230        Popular With Aspens

Some additional defaults in order of most to least common are:

4d        5d        6d
0000      00000     000000    *MOST POPULAR*
9999      99999     999999    *POPULAR*
1111      11111     111111    *POPULAR*
1234      12345     123456    *VERY POPULAR WITH OWNERS*
4321      54321     654321
6789      56789     456789
9876      98765     987654
2222      22222     222222       
3333      33333     333333
4444      44444     444444
5555      55555     555555
6666      66666     666666
7777      77777     777777       
8888      88888     888888
1991


It is important to try ALL of these before giving up on a system.  If none of
these defaults work, try anything you think may be their passcode.  Also
remember that just because the system can have a four digit passcode the vmb
owner does not have to have use all four digits.  If you still cannot get
into the box, either the box owner has a good passcode or the system uses a
different default.  In either case, move on to another box.  If you seem to
be having no luck, then come back to this system later.  There are so many
vmb systems you should not spend too much time on one hard system.

If there's one thing I hate, it's a text file that says 'Hack into the
system.  Once you get in...' but unlike computer systems, vmb systems really
are easy to get into.  If you didn't get in, don't give up!  Try another
system and soon you will be in.  I would say that 90% of all voice mail
systems have a default listed above.  All you have to do is find a box with
one of the defaults.


ONCE YOU'RE IN

The first thing you should do is listen to the messages in the box, if there
are any.  Take note of the dates the messages were left.  If they are more
than four weeks old, then it is pretty safe to assume the owner is not using
his box.  If there are any recent messages on it, you can assume he is
currently using his box.  NEVER take a box in use.  It will be deleted soon,
and will alert the system administrator that people are hacking the system.
This is the main reason vmb systems either go down, or tighten security.  If
you take a box that is not being used, it's probable no one will notice for
quite a while.


SCANNING BOXES FROM THE INSIDE

>From the main menu, see if there is an option to either send a message to
another user or check receipt of a message.  If there is you can search for
VIRGIN (unused) boxes) without being disconnected like you would from
outside of a box.  Virgin boxes have a 'generic' greeting and name.  Eg.
'Mailbox xxx' or 'Please leave your message for mailbox xxx...'   Write down
any boxes you find with a generic greeting or name, because they will
probably have the default passcode.  Another sign of a virgin box is a name
or greeting like 'This mailbox is for ...' or a women's voice saying a man's
name and vice versa, which is the system administrator's voice.  If the box
does not have this feature, simply use the previous method of scanning boxes
from the outside.  For an example of interior scanning, when inside an Aspen
box, chose (3) from the main menu to check for receipt.  It will respond with
'Enter box number.'  It is a good idea to start at a location you know there
are boxes present and scan consecutively, noting any boxes with a 'generic'
greeting.  If you enter an invalid box it will alert you and allow you to
enter another.  You can enter invalid box numbers forever, instead of the
usual three incorrect attempts from outside a box.


TAKING A BOX

Now you need to find a box you can take over.  NEVER take a box in use; it
simply won't last.  Deserted boxes (with messages from months ago) are the
best and last the longest.  Take these first.  New boxes have a chance of
lasting, but if the person for whom the box was created tries to login,
you'll probably lose it.  If you find a box with the system administrator's
voice saying either the greeting or name (quite common), keeping it that way
will prolong the box life, especially the name.

This is the most important step in taking over a box!  Once you pick a box take over, watch it for at least three days BEFORE changing anything!  Once
you think it's not in use, then change only the passcode, nothing else!
Then login frequently for two to three days to monitor the box and make sure
no one is leaving messages in it.  Once you are pretty sure it is deserted,
change your greeting to something like 'Sorry I'm not in right now, please
leave your name and number and I'll get back to you.'  DO NOT say 'This is
Night Ranger dudes...' because if someone hears that it's good as gone.  Keep
your generic greeting for one week.  After that week, if there are no
messages from legitimate people, you can make your greeting say whatever you
want.  The whole process of getting a good vmb (that will last) takes about
7-10 days, the more time you take the better chance you have of keeping it
for long time.  If you take it over as soon as you get in, it'll probably
last you less than a week.  If you follow these instructions, chances are it
will last for months.  When you take some boxes, do not take too many at one
time.  You may need some to scan from later.  Plus listening to the messages
of the legitimate users can supply you with needed information, such as the
company's name, type of company, security measures, etc.


SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION

After you have become familiar with various systems, you will recognize them
by their characteristic female (or male) voice and will know what defaults
are most common and what tricks you can use.  The following is a few of a few
popular vmb systems.

ASPEN is one of the best vmb systems with the most features.  Many of them
will allow you to have two greetings (a regular and an extended absence
greeting), guest accounts, urgent or regular messages, and numerous other
features.  Aspens are easy to recognize because the female voice is very
annoying and often identifies herself as Aspen.  When you dial up an Aspen
system, sometimes you have to enter an (*) to get into the vmb system.  Once
you're in you hit (#) to login.  The system will respond with 'Mailbox number
please?'  If you enter an invalid mailbox the first time it will say 'Mailbox
xxx is invalid...' and the second time it will say 'You dialed xxx, there is
no such number...'  and after a third incorrect entry it will hang up.  If
you enter a valid box, it will say the box owner's name and 'Please enter
your passcode.'  The most common default for Aspens is either box number or
box number + (0).  You only get three attempts to enter a correct box number
and then three attempts to enter a correct passcode until it will disconnect
you.  From the main menu of an Aspen box you can enter (3) to scan for other
boxes so you won't be hung up like you would from outside the box.

CINDY is another popular system.  The system will start by saying 'Good
Morning/Afternoon/Evening.  Please enter the mailbox number you wish...' and
is easy to identify.  After three invalid box entries the system will say
'Good Day/Evening!' and hang up.  To login, enter the box number and during
the greet press (0) then your passcode.  The default for ALL Cindy systems is
(0).  From the main menu you can enter (6) to scan for other boxes so you
won't be hung up.  Cindy voice mail systems also have a guest feature, like
Aspens.  You can make a guest account for someone, and give them
password, and leave them messages.  To access their guest account, they just
login as you would except they enter their guest passcode.  Cindy systems
also have a feature where you can have it call a particular number and
deliver a recorded message.  However, I have yet to get this feature to work
on any Cindy boxes that I have.

MESSAGE CENTER is also very popular, especially with direct dials.  To login
on a Message Center, hit the (*) key during the greet and the system will
respond with 'Hello <name>.  Please enter your passcode.'  These vmbs are
very tricky with their passcode methods.  The first trick is when you enter
an invalid passcode it will stop you one digit AFTER the maximum passcode
length.  Eg. If you enter 1-2-3-4-5 and it gives you an error message you enter the fifth digit, that means the system uses a four digit passcode,
which is most common on Message Centers.  The second trick is that if you enter
an invalid code the first time, no matter what you enter as the second passcode
it will give you an error message and ask again.  Then if you entered the
correct passcode the second and third time it will let you login.  Also, most
Message Centers do not have a default, instead the new boxes are 'open' and
when you hit (*) it will let you in.  After hitting (*) the first time to
login a box you can hit (*) again and it will say 'Welcome to the Message
Center.' and from there you can dial other extensions.  This last feature can
be useful for scanning outside a box.  To find a new box, just keep entering
box numbers and hitting (*) to login.  If it doesn't say something to the
effect of welcome to your new mailbox then just hit (*) again and it will
send you back to the main system so you can enter another box.  This way you
will not be disconnected.  Once you find a box, you can enter (6) 'M'ake a
message to scan for other boxes with generic names.  After hitting (6) it
will ask for a mailbox number.  You can keep entering mailbox numbers until
you find a generic one.  Then you can cancel your message and go hack it out.


Q VOICE MAIL is a rather nice system but not as common.  It identifies itself
'Welcome to Q Voice Mail Paging' so there is no question about what system it
is.  The box numbers are usually five digits and to login you enter (0) like
a Cindy system.  From the main menu you can enter (3) to scan other boxes.

There are many more systems I recognize but do not know the name for them.
You will become familiar with these systems too.


CONCLUSION

You can use someone else's vmb system to practice the methods outlined above,
but if you want a box that will last you need to scan out a virgin system.
If you did everything above and could not get a vmb, try again on another
system.  If you follow everything correctly, I guarantee you will have more
vmbs than you know what to do with.  When you start getting a lot of them, if
you are having trouble, or just want to say hi be sure to drop me a line on
either of my internet addresses, or leave me a voice mail message.

NOTE:  Some information was purposely not included in this file to prevent
abuse to various systems.


_______________________________________________________________________________