Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Baby Steps - A simpler way to convert video for portable devices




Videora Converter - FREE (no skill required)
http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/

"It allows you to convert your regular PC video files (avi, mpeg, etc) into the proper video format that your mobile or fixed video device understands. Each version is tailored specifically to the device in question."

This is a suite of applications specifically tuned to the device you want to create video for. So there is a seperate download for each application depending on your device.

This covers the IPOD, IPhone, PSP, XBox 360, Tivo, and PMP.


For more advanced options and in many cases better quality results, check out my post for MPLAYER and the MeWiG GUI (some PC skill required)
http://thinkbiggar.blogspot.com/2007/10/get-it-while-it-lasts-powerful-media.html

ophcrack, all is not lost

Remember Lophtcrack, that's all that's left, a memory. Symantec stopped development. I ran into a few situations where customers needed access to PCs where they didn't have access to the admin password. In both cases an employee left the company and did not pass on the admin passwords. I have 2 solutions that may help.


This is essentially a 2 step process.

1.) get the SAM file from the machine you are locked out of.

2.) Use one of the 2 methods below to crack the file.

A third method involves just replacing the ADMIN password.











» Runs on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X (intel).
» Cracks LM and NTLM hashes.
» Free tables available for alphanumeric LM hashes.
» Loads hashes from local SAM, remote SAM.
» Loads hashes from encrypted SAM recovered from a Windows partition, Vista included.




LC5 attacks your Windows machine with a combination of dictionary and brute force attacks.
LC5 can crack almost all common passwords in seconds. More advanced passwords with numbers and characters takes longer.
The main purpose of the LCP program is user account passwords auditing and recovery in Windows NT/2000/XP.


Another alternative is to simply reset the Admin password:

Your my favorite, I wish I could remember your name

Favorites Plus
http://www.borngeek.com/software/favoritesplus/

The is a free bookmark export tool similar to the one that comes with IE but with some very nice features.
The feature I find most beneficial is the ability to create drop down lists.

My brother recently wanted to show me some pictures of his sons baseball team on the Internet. The problem is he couldn't remember the URL. Even when he found the site hosting the pictures he couldn't locate what he was looking for. If he exported the bookmarks to a web site he could have navigated right to it.



Many times you don't want to share company internal bookmarks. Favorites Plus is a nice way for you to seperate it out.

There are other ways to achieve the same results using social bookmarking sites such as site bar.

Here is a list from WikiPedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking

Monday, November 26, 2007

When your bad your bad, when your good your good

...... FREE
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/benefits.html?currency=USD&region=North%20America&country=US

COMODO Firewall PRO - security from the inside out
For all practical purposes you don't need a 3rd party firewall to protect yourself from outside threats. The problem is if you do run into a security problem you likely invited them in.

If you downloaded or installed software or possibly loaded that new codex to a media player from a less than reputable site you could be compromised.

COMODO can help (lets just say, can be the bearer of bad news).

Clean PC Mode takes a snap shot of your installation and alerts you we something new is installed.

Host Intrusion Prevention System does exactly that, prevents modifications of key operating files and prevents access to key systems. This is nice in that when you install new applications if they try to run astray you are aware of what it is trying to modify.

Application Behavior Analysis alerts you when something is trying to call home.

The program even has a very large application recognition database to help minimize the fatigue caused by other firewalls when you have to respond to false alarms.

For a complete list of features please see the web site.



Smart Pop-up Alerts – Tell you what you need to know, fast!!

Smell something bad. It's not from this onion.



Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet.

It also enables software developers to create new communication tools with built-in privacy features. Tor provides the foundation for a range of applications that allow organizations and individuals to share information over public networks without compromising their privacy.
http://www.torproject.org/overview.html.en

Tor allows clients and relays to offer hidden services. That is, you can offer a web server, SSH server, etc., without revealing your IP address to its users. In fact, because you don't use any public address, you can run a hidden service from behind your firewall.
http://www.torproject.org/docs/tor-hidden-service.html.en




Staying anonymous
Tor can't solve all anonymity problems. It focuses only on protecting the transport of data. You need to use protocol-specific support software if you don't want the sites you visit to see your identifying information. For example, you can use web proxies such as Privoxy while web browsing to block cookies and withhold information about your browser type.

Also, to protect your anonymity, be smart. Don't provide your name or other revealing information in web forms. Be aware that, like all anonymizing networks that are fast enough for web browsing, Tor does not provide protection against end-to-end timing attacks: If your attacker can watch the traffic coming out of your computer, and also the traffic arriving at your chosen destination, he can use statistical analysis to discover that they are part of the same circuit.

I am far from a security expert. My understanding of TOR is that it creates a tunnel where the data is encrypted once it hits the first router and is passed to multiple routers and handed back off to the destination unencrypted of course. The TOR web site shows you are encypted leaving your browser. I need to run some tests to see if this is true and I will update the blog later with the results. Read the link below for more details. I will include a article later on testing your TOR as well.

Warning: Want Tor to really work?

Basically this ensures your privacy from the far end web site. Your data and URL history (Destination IPaddress and or DNSname) still passes through your corprate network and DNS servers or local internet service provider unencrypted. You aren't hiding anything,this is simply securing your privacy from the far end. Privoxy will also help to ensure your privacy by blocking browser info and cookies.

The bad thing is that all of your internet traffic will use the TOR network and you don't know who the owners of the TOR routers are. In the work environment this is a serious problem because you could be compromising your companys security and your own. I take pride in my work and who I work for.

Monday, November 19, 2007

I better way to install software safely and securely

Have you ever download a application and weren't sure if you can trust it? Now you can take the worry out of the process.

Altiris Software Virtualization Solution 2.0

This software allows you to create something similar to VMware where you can install your software in a virtual environment without the complexity of a VMware. VMware is an entire virtual computer where Altiris is a virtual software environment. This also allows you to move software installations between PCs or across networks.

PC magazine Review:
"Anybody can use Altiris Software Virtualization Solution 2.0 to put a safety wrapper around software installations and to package installations for import on other computers."

The software is free and simple to use. The explanation on the web site is complex and really focused towards a professional IT guy.

Free personal download:
http://www.altiris.com/Download/svsPersonal.aspx

Life comes full circle - ORB personal media broadcasting - FREE


Broadcast your movies, TV, and other media content anywhere for FREE.

What VLC does ORB does well and is easy to setup. ORB is dependent on a Streaming media source to make it work.

The Orb application is free. There are no fees for MyCasting. You need a home pc to get setup, and can use any web-enabled media player with streaming capabilities to remotely play the media. VLC is a good start.

Your computer broadcasts the media you choose that is stored on your PC. You can stream content through any internet device. This works with mobile phones, PDAs, laptops or any other computer.

There is no software installation required on the receiving web device. You can broadcast photos, music, videos, and even live TV. You can use this to view documents as well.

ORB instructions and recommendations.


Download:
http://corp.orb.com/download_orb