So there I was playing StarCraft 2 in a ranked match and my PC suddenly shut down.
It was those damn Windows Updates messages that give you a five minute ultimatum before restarting, but gives you an option to postpone it if you were lucky enough to catch it.
For whatever reason, I didn't see the notification, I was fullscreened and it didn't tab me out.
Anyway, here is a registry file for Windows 7 that will prevent it from shutting down your PC. You will still get the warning message and your PC will still update and download updates as normal, but it will never force restart on you.
Download
Just download the zip, and run the reg file inside to apply the fix.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Wardriving and GPS Tracking
It’s not a new idea by any means, but I decided to try to wardrive and GPS track my findings with the equipment I had at my disposal.
Namely a laptop that can run Aircrack and a Nokia N95 with built in GPS.
The laptop took me a long time to set up, Months fiddling with a closed source Intel driver setup, and eventually a method of compiling a custom kernal with the promiscuous drivers installed. I wanted to use my n95 as an external Bluetooth device so I could use a sophisticated tracking suite and run it all off Linux. But alas, the very drivers that allow me to use promiscuous Wi-Fi, hinder my Bluetooth chip, which is integrated into my Wi-Fi card. So a little research later, I found a free java based (GPSED) software that can track positions and store the data on the memory card. Unfortunately, the format it saved the files to was almost proprietary. Luckily I can convert the .gpsed files to the more common GPX files with www.gpsvisualizer.com. Meanwhile, kismet stores sniffing data in csv format, so that was perfect. The CSV contaions lots of juicy data such as the time when an SSID is first discovered, the name, mac, security type and tons more info.
I did a small trial run with the laptop and the phone running in parallel and got enough data to write a quick C# app. The app takes the data from both and tries to match up the closest times for the discovery of Wi-Fi and the plotted GPS points. Its quite accurate, even without filtering (linear interpolation etc.). It takes these coordinates and plots them on Google maps using the JavaScript API, Each point is named after the Wi-Fi SSID. However it would be very simple to allow the user to preview the full information by clicking on the SSID.
I did a 20 mile drive and got some data, but the chart looked wrong. Turns out my phone was in GMT+1 while my laptop was in GMT+0. So I added a Time correction option to compensate (For quick reference; my one hour offset was 3600 Seconds). All I did before my trip, was to stop and activate the N95 Tracker and the Wi-Fi sniffer, and make sure that I came to a full stop when I Deactivated both of them.
Finally I decided to do a real test with the program (which you can see in the video below). I took the laptop and phone across country for a near 2 hour drive. From Enniskillen to Newry. My GPX file (Tracking Data) ended up being 661KB, and my CSV file (SSID Data) was 94KB.
The programs name is Koitus, why? Because I was told to call it that. The sloppy source code is available as a Visual Studio 2008 Solution if you email me requesting it. The data was gathered legally and I am by no means responsible for the misuse of the information in this blog post. Let me remind you, it is illegal to even connect to many wardriven access points.
" Don't look. Don't touch. Don't play through.
In other words, 1) don't examine the contents of a network; 2) don't add, delete, or change anything on the network, and 3) don't even use the network's Internet connection for Web surfing, email, chat, FTP, or anything else."
~ Jeff Duntemann's Drive-By Wi-Fi Guide
Namely a laptop that can run Aircrack and a Nokia N95 with built in GPS.
The laptop took me a long time to set up, Months fiddling with a closed source Intel driver setup, and eventually a method of compiling a custom kernal with the promiscuous drivers installed. I wanted to use my n95 as an external Bluetooth device so I could use a sophisticated tracking suite and run it all off Linux. But alas, the very drivers that allow me to use promiscuous Wi-Fi, hinder my Bluetooth chip, which is integrated into my Wi-Fi card. So a little research later, I found a free java based (GPSED) software that can track positions and store the data on the memory card. Unfortunately, the format it saved the files to was almost proprietary. Luckily I can convert the .gpsed files to the more common GPX files with www.gpsvisualizer.com. Meanwhile, kismet stores sniffing data in csv format, so that was perfect. The CSV contaions lots of juicy data such as the time when an SSID is first discovered, the name, mac, security type and tons more info.
I did a small trial run with the laptop and the phone running in parallel and got enough data to write a quick C# app. The app takes the data from both and tries to match up the closest times for the discovery of Wi-Fi and the plotted GPS points. Its quite accurate, even without filtering (linear interpolation etc.). It takes these coordinates and plots them on Google maps using the JavaScript API, Each point is named after the Wi-Fi SSID. However it would be very simple to allow the user to preview the full information by clicking on the SSID.
I did a 20 mile drive and got some data, but the chart looked wrong. Turns out my phone was in GMT+1 while my laptop was in GMT+0. So I added a Time correction option to compensate (For quick reference; my one hour offset was 3600 Seconds). All I did before my trip, was to stop and activate the N95 Tracker and the Wi-Fi sniffer, and make sure that I came to a full stop when I Deactivated both of them.
Finally I decided to do a real test with the program (which you can see in the video below). I took the laptop and phone across country for a near 2 hour drive. From Enniskillen to Newry. My GPX file (Tracking Data) ended up being 661KB, and my CSV file (SSID Data) was 94KB.
The programs name is Koitus, why? Because I was told to call it that. The sloppy source code is available as a Visual Studio 2008 Solution if you email me requesting it. The data was gathered legally and I am by no means responsible for the misuse of the information in this blog post. Let me remind you, it is illegal to even connect to many wardriven access points.
" Don't look. Don't touch. Don't play through.
In other words, 1) don't examine the contents of a network; 2) don't add, delete, or change anything on the network, and 3) don't even use the network's Internet connection for Web surfing, email, chat, FTP, or anything else."
~ Jeff Duntemann's Drive-By Wi-Fi Guide
Archos 605 Web Browser Hack
I used a simple DNS redirect allowing me to use the Content Portal to browse similar to the built in Opera web browser.
It’s pretty easy to change your DNS settings on a windows machine by editing your hosts file.
But on an Archos, it’s a different matter. With the Archos GFT3 root hack, its possible not only to modify the aliases, but to completely hack full webrowser functionality.
As far as normal DNS hacks go, there are 2 solutions available. Install a small Linux based DNS system, or get custom firmware for your router.
I fortunately am using a Netgear WNR834B which allows me to install the Talisman operating system. I would recommend of course openWRT if you can use it.
The procedure was very simple; I redirected all outgoing communications from archos.euronews.com to my server.
On my server I put some PHP code in
to detect if the Archos had connected and if it had, print out a form for it to fill in.
The form has one Google search box and a box at allows you to put in HTML code.
The disadvantage of this is mobility, the Archos will only every work this way behind the router.
However you can set up your own Linux DNS server and have your Archos point to it and redirect you to Google.
Overall this shows some bad design decisions on Archos's behalf. Notice how I redirect Euronews instead of the main Archos portal, There is a prevention method implemented, just not very well.
When the browser connects to the Archos portal it sends the GUID. The code below displays the ID and write some forms for the Content Portal to derail from the portal.
The Archos portal validates the ID and sends a confirmation string.
If we redirected the portal, and didn’t send the string (which we don’t know how to generate) then the Content Portal would fail to operate.
None of the other sites worry about the validation, so it allows you to derail from the portal if one redirects to an external site.
It’s pretty easy to change your DNS settings on a windows machine by editing your hosts file.
But on an Archos, it’s a different matter. With the Archos GFT3 root hack, its possible not only to modify the aliases, but to completely hack full webrowser functionality.
As far as normal DNS hacks go, there are 2 solutions available. Install a small Linux based DNS system, or get custom firmware for your router.
I fortunately am using a Netgear WNR834B which allows me to install the Talisman operating system. I would recommend of course openWRT if you can use it.
The procedure was very simple; I redirected all outgoing communications from archos.euronews.com to my server.
On my server I put some PHP code in
to detect if the Archos had connected and if it had, print out a form for it to fill in.The form has one Google search box and a box at allows you to put in HTML code.
The disadvantage of this is mobility, the Archos will only every work this way behind the router.
However you can set up your own Linux DNS server and have your Archos point to it and redirect you to Google.
Overall this shows some bad design decisions on Archos's behalf. Notice how I redirect Euronews instead of the main Archos portal, There is a prevention method implemented, just not very well.
When the browser connects to the Archos portal it sends the GUID. The code below displays the ID and write some forms for the Content Portal to derail from the portal.
The Archos portal validates the ID and sends a confirmation string.
If we redirected the portal, and didn’t send the string (which we don’t know how to generate) then the Content Portal would fail to operate.
None of the other sites worry about the validation, so it allows you to derail from the portal if one redirects to an external site.
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