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  • Virtualization - The new technology evelution

    Virtualization, in computing, is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as a hardware platform, operating system, a storage device or network resources.....

  • http://ittechnologies.blogspot.com/2011/04/common-security-vulnerabilities-in-e.html

    Security Vulnerabilities in E-Commerce Systemin

    Most of these attacks have utilized vulnerabilities that have been published in reusable third-party components utilized by websites, such as shopping cart software and poor design of such websites. Other factor is user awareness of security vulnerabilities.

  • VPN - Virtual Private Network

    VPN is a technology which is making secure private network through the public accessible network infrastructure. Virtual Private Network represent by the short name VPN. ...

  • Saas - Cloud Computing

    The cloud computing : is based on this three concepts. IaaS (Infrastructure as a service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) and SaaS (Software as a Service).

Posted by Priyan Fernando - - 0 comments

What is APN?
APN stands for Access Point Name and it is a gateway or protocol that allows people to gain access to the web by using the services of mobile phone networks. These networks may be 2G, 3G, or GPRS among others. But before someone can get access to the internet, the proper settings must be configured.



Access Point Name (APN) acts like an identification number for a cellular phone to have a data session with a particular network. But one must know what type of APN is needed as there are various different types. Each of the different types of APN has unique properties, so care must be taken on which one to choose to have a successfulinternet connection. In using mobile phones, one may be prompted of different APN options. Different APNs for “internet” and “WAP” options may be available. Both of these have different setups and functions, so the user must choose which service to avail. If the wrong option is taken, one might be prompted that no network service is available.
APN’s structure has two parts. The first part is called the network identifier. This part simply identifies which network is connected to the GGSN or Gateway GPRS Support Node. This network identifier is a required part of APNs. The next part is called the operator identifier and is not required in the APN structure. This part is able to locate the GGSN on


Through APN, a particular user can communicate with a specific IP PDN or packet data network. APNs also allow the identification of a particular service wanted by the user. Services that can be identified may be in the form of multimedia messaging (MMS) or wireless application protocol (WAP) services.
Access Point Names (APN) is written through a series of labels with periods or dots acting as separators, just like the DNS convention.
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Posted by Priyan Fernando - - 0 comments

Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) provides a mechanism for forwarding packets for any network protocol. It was originally developed in the late 1990s to provide faster packet forwarding for IP routers (see RFC 3031). Since then its capabilities have expanded massively, for example to support service creation (VPNs), traffic engineering, network convergence, and increased resiliency.
MPLS is now the de-facto standard for many carrier and service provider networks and its deployment scenarios continue to grow.
Traditional IP networks are connectionless: when a packet is received, the router determines the next hop using the destination IP address on the packet alongside information from its own forwarding table. The router's forwarding tables contain information on the network topology, obtained via an IP routing protocol, such as OSPF, IS-IS, BGP, RIP or static configuration, which keeps that information synchronized with changes in the network.
MPLS similarly uses IP addresses, either IPv4 or IPv6, to identify end points and intermediate switches and routers. This makes MPLS networks IP-compatible and easily integrated with traditional IP networks. However, unlike traditional IP, MPLS flows are connection-oriented and packets are routed along pre-configured Label Switched Paths (LSPs).
The evident power of the basic MPLS concepts led the industry to define generalized extensions to MPLS, or Generalized MPLS (GMPLS). This work extended the MPLS concept of a label to include implicit values defined by the medium that is being provisioned, for example a wavelength for a DWDM system or a timeslot for a SONET/SDH device. So with GMPLS, there is no need for a switch to "read" the label in each packet header. The label is an inherent part of the switch fabric and the switching operations depend on wavelength, or timeslot etc. This permits the benefits of MPLS to be shared by many different types of switching platform.


How Does MPLS Work?

MPLS works by tagging the traffic, in this example packets, with an identifier (a label) to distinguish the LSPs. When a packet is received, the router uses this label (and sometimes also the link over which it was received) to identify the LSP. It then looks up the LSP in its own forwarding table to determine the best link over which to forward the packet, and the label to use on this next hop.
A different label is used for each hop, and it is chosen by the router or switch performing the forwarding operation. This allows the use of very fast and simple forwarding engines, which are often implemented in hardware.
Ingress routers at the edge of the MPLS network classify each packet potentially using a range of attributes, not just the packet's destination address, to determine which LSP to use. Inside the network, the MPLS routers use only the LSP labels to forward the packet to the egress router.
Router A uses the destination IP address on each packet to select the LSP, determining the initial label and hop for each packet, then router B uses these labels to determine the next hops and labels.  Lastly the egress routers strip off the final label and route the packet out of the network.
The diagram above shows a simple example of forwarding IP packets using MPLS, where the forwarding is based only on packet destination IP address. LSR (Label Switched Router) A uses the destination IP address on each packet to select the LSP, which determines the next hop and initial label for each packet (21 and 17). When LSR B receives the packets, it uses these labels to identify the LSPs, from which it determines the next hops (LSRs D and C) and labels (47 and 11). The egress routers (LSRs D and C) strip off the final label and route the packet out of the network.
The above is only one use of MPLS. Since MPLS uses only the label to forward packets, it is protocol-independent, hence the term "Multi-Protocol" in MPLS. It can be used to carry any content (not only packets) over any link technology (using different label encoding for each layer 2 link type).


How Does GMPLS Work?

GMPLS is conceptually similar to MPLS, but instead of using an explicit label to distinguish an LSP at each LSR, some physical property of the received data stream is used to deduce which LSP it belongs to. The most commonly used schemes are
  • using the timeslot to identify the LSP, on a Time Division Multiplexed (TDM) link
  • using the wavelength to identify the LSP, on a Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) link
  • using the fiber or port on which a packet is received.
LSPs are therefore implicitly labeled in a GMPLS network.
GMPLS can be used to establish LSPs for circuit traffic (in addition to packet traffic). Using the TDM and WDM examples above, the LSP traffic is switched based on a continuous, constant property of the data stream – the data stream is not switched one packet at a time. This allows for a very efficient implementation in the data plane with zero per-packet lookups, making GMPLS a highly suitable protocol to run in high bandwidth networks.
Other than this, the forwarding operation of the LSRs in a GMPLS network is similar to the MPLS example discussed above. At each LSR, the implicit label on received data determines the outgoing interface and the implicit label with which to transmit onwards data.


MPLS and GMPLS Protocols

MPLS defines only the forwarding mechanism; it uses other protocols to establish the LSPs. Two separate protocols are needed to perform this task: a routing protocol and a signaling protocol. These are described below.
It is also possible to establish MPLS LSPs with static provisioning. This involves configuring each network element along the LSP route with the appropriate ingress / transit / egress information. Static provisioning has not been very widely deployed to date, but it can have a role in the access network. It is also likely to be one of the operating modes for MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP).

MPLS and GMPLS Routing Protocols

The routing protocol distributes network topology information through the network so that the route of an LSP can be calculated automatically. An interior gateway protocol, such as OSPF or IS-IS, is normally used, as MPLS networks typically cover a single administrative domain.
However, these routing protocols only distribute network topology. When traffic engineering is required to establish LSPs with guaranteed QoS characteristics and backup LSPs that avoid any single point of failure, the traffic engineering (TE) extensions to these protocols are used. These extensions distribute QoS and Shared Risk Link Group (SRLG) information on each link in the network. This information enables the route calculator to determine routes through the network with guaranteed QoS parameters, and backup LSPs that traverse different links and/or network elements from the primary path.
Various mechanisms to extend this traffic engineering to inter-area and inter-carrier routing have been proposed, but none is yet universally accepted. Our White Paper on "Inter-Area Routing, Path Selection and Traffic Engineering" provides a detailed discussion of this topic.

MPLS and GMPLS Signaling Protocols

The signaling protocol informs the switches along the route which labels and links to use for each LSP. This information is used to program the switching fabric. For MPLS, one of three main signaling protocols is used, depending on the application.
  • LDP is used for
    • MPLS transport where traffic engineering is not required
    • certain MPLS services, for example pseudowires
  • RSVP-TE is used for
    • MPLS transport where traffic engineering is required
    • all GMPLS transport
  • BGP is used (as a signaling protocol) for certain MPLS services, for example BGP/MPLS Layer 3 VPNs.
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Posted by Priyan Fernando - - 0 comments

HibernationEnabling or Disabling the “Hibernate” option in Windows 7 or Vista is not as simple as it used to be in Windows XP. For Windows 7 a different approach has to be followed to accomplish the same job. In this post you will find how to enable or disable the Hibernate option in Windows 7.
Hibernation is a power saving option which was designed primarily for laptops. Unlike “sleep mode” which puts the open documents and files into the memory, hibernation puts all the open files and documents on to the hard disk and shuts down the computer without drawing even a small amount of power. Thus hibernation becomes an excellent way to save power and resume Windows back to the state where it was left off. If you really want to use this feature on Windows 7 then you need to enable this option. This can be done as follows.
1. Open the Command Prompt with “Administrator rights”. To do so, type cmd in Start menu and then hit Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
2. Now type the following command in the command prompt and hit Enter.
powercfg /hibernate on
3. Type exit and hit Enter to close the Command Prompt. Now you should see the “Hibernate” option in the Start menu. If not then perform the following steps.
A. Type Power Options in the Start menu and hit Enter.
B. In the left pane, open the link labeled “Change when the computer sleeps” and then open the link “Change advanced power settings”.
Now a small window will pop-up as shown below:
Enable Hibernation
C. Now expand the Sleep tree and turn off Allow Hybrid Sleep as shown in the above screenshot.
D. Now you should see the Hibernate option in the Start menu.
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Posted by Priyan Fernando - - 0 comments


Most of you are familiar with the telnet command. It is one of the well known Windows IP Utilities. In fact the telnet command is most important for sending a fake email which i have discussed in my previous post. If you are using Windows XP the telnet command is available by default.But if you use Windows Vista the telnet command is disabled by default.
So when you try to use the telnet command in Windows Vista you get the following error message.
‘telnet’ is not recognized as an internal or external command,operable program or batch file.
 
You get this error in Vista because unlike XP, Vista does not support telnet command by default. So, for this you have to manually enable/turn on the telnet feature in Vista.
Here’s the step by step procedure to enable telnet feature (telnet command) in Windows Vista.
 
1. Goto the Control Panel.
2. Click on the sub heading Uninstall a program under the main heading Programs.
NOTE: IF you are in the Classic View click on Programs and Features.

3. Now in the left panel under the Tasks select the option Turn Windows features on or off.
4. Now a new window opens. In the new window select the following
Telnet Client
Telnet Server (optional)
5. After selecting click on OK.
Now wait for few minutes till the telnet feature is installed. Once the telnet feature is installed you can goto the command prompt and use the telnet command. System restart is not required.
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Posted by Priyan Fernando - - 0 comments

Most of us are very curious to know a method to send anonymous emails to our friends for fun. But the question is, is it possible to send anonymous emails in spite of the advanced spam filtering technology adopted by email service provides like Gmail, Yahoo etc? The answer is YES, it is still possible to bypass their spam filters and send anonymous emails to your friends. For example, you can send an email to your friend with the following sender details.
From: Bill Gates <billg@microsoft.com>
The art of sending this kind emails is known as Email Spoofing. In my previous post on How to Send Fake Email I insisted on using your own SMTP server to send anonymous emails. This method used to work successfully in the past, but today it has a very low success rate since Gmail and Yahoo(all major email service providers) blocks the emails that are sent directly from a PC. In this post I have come up with a new way to send anonymous emails (spoofed emails) that has 100% success rate. If you have to successfully send an anonymous email or spoofed email, you should send it using a relay server.
What is a Relay Server?
In simple words, a relay server is an SMTP Server that is trusted by Google or Yahoo as an authorised sender of the email. So, when you send an email using a relay server, the email service providers like Yahoo and Gmail blindly accept the emails and deliver it to the inbox of the recipient. If the SMTP server is not authorised, Google and Yahoo will reject all the emails sent from this SMTP server. This is the reason for which using our own SMTP server to send emails fail.
So What’s Next?
Now all we have to do is, find a trusted SMTP server to Send Spoofed Emails. Usually all the emails that are sent from web hosting providers are trusted and authorised. So, you have to find a free web hosting provider that allows you to send emails. But, most of the free Web Hosts disable the Mail feature and do not allow the users to send emails. This is done just to avoid spamming. However all the paid hosting plans allow you to send any number of emails. Once you find a hosting service that allows to send emails from their servers, it’s just a cakewalk to send anonymous emails. All we have to do is just modify the email headers to insert the spoofed From address field into it.
I have created a PHP script that allows you to send emails from any name and email address of your choice. Here is a step-by-step procedure to setup your own Anonymous Email Sender Script
1. Goto X10 Hosting  and register a new account.
2. Download my Anonymous Email Sender Script (sendmail.rar).
3. Login to your FreeWebHostingArea Account and click on File Manager.
4. Upload the sendmail.php, pngimg.php and bg1.PNG files to the server.
5. Set permissions for sendmail.php, pngimg.php and bg1.PNG to 777.
6. Now type the following URL
http://yoursite.x10hosting.com/sendmail.php
NOTE: yoursite must be substituted by the name of the subdomain that you have chosen during the registration process.
7. Use the script to send Anonymous Emails. Enjoy!!!
Tell me whether it worked or not. Please pass your comments…

WARNING: ALL THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS POST ARE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISUSE.
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Posted by Priyan Fernando - - 0 comments

Most of you may be curious to know about how to make a Trojan or Virus on your own. Here is an answer for your curiosity. In this post I’ll show you how to make a simple Trojan on your own using C programming language. This Trojan when executed will eat up the hard disk space on the root drive (The drive on which Windows is installed, usually C: Drive) of the computer on which it is run. Also this Trojan works pretty quickly and is capable of eating up approximately 1 GB of hard disk space for every minute it is run. So, I’ll call this as Space Eater Trojan. Since this Trojan is written using a high level programming language it is often undetected by antivirus. The source code for this Trojan is available for download at the end of this post. Let’s see how this Trojan works…
Before I move to explain the features of this Trojan you need to know what exactly is a Trojan horse and how it works. As most of us think a Trojan or a Trojan horse is not a virus. In simple words a Trojan horse is a program that appears to perform a desirable function but in fact performs undisclosed malicious functions that allow unauthorized access to the host machine or create a damage to the computer.
Now lets move to the working of our Trojan
The Trojan horse which I have made appears itself as an antivirus program that scans the computer and removes the threats. But in reality it does nothing but occupy the hard disk space on the root drive by just filling it up with a huge junk file. The rate at which it fills up the hard disk space it too high. As a result the the disk gets filled up to 100% with in minutes of running this Trojan. Once the disk space is full, the Trojan reports that the scan is complete. The victim will not be able to clean up the hard disk space using any cleanup program. This is because the Trojan intelligently creates a huge file in the Windows\System32 folder with the .dll extension. Since the junk file has the .dll extention it is often ignored by disk cleanup softwares. So for the victim, there is now way to recover the hard disk space unless reformatting his drive.
How to Make a Trojan

The algorithm of the Trojan is as follows
1. Search for the root drive
2. Navigate to WindowsSystem32 on the root drive
3. Create the file named “spceshot.dll
4. Start dumping the junk data onto the above file and keep increasing it’s size until the drive is full
5. Once the drive is full, stop the process.
You can download the Trojan source code HERE. Please note that I have not included the executabe for security reasons. You need to compile it to obtain the executable.

How to compile, test and remove the damage?

Compilation:
For step-by-step compilation guide, refer my post How to compile C Programs.
Testing:
To test the Trojan,  just run the SpaceEater.exe file on your computer. It’ll generate a warning message at the beginning. Once you accept it, the Trojan runs and eats up hard disk space.
NOTE: To remove the warning message you’ve to edit the source code and then re-compile it.
How to remove the Damage and free up the space?
To remove the damage and free up the space, just type the following in the “run” dialog box.
%systemroot%\system32

Now search for the file “spceshot.dll“. Just delete it and you’re done. No need to re-format the hard disk.
 NOTE: You can also change the ICON of the virus to make it look like a legitimate program. This method is described in the post: How to Change the ICON of an EXE file ?
Please pass your comments and tell me your opinion. I am just waiting for your comments…
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Posted by Priyan Fernando - - 0 comments

This hack will show you how to reset Windows administrator password (for Win 2000, XP, Vista and Win 7) at times when you forget it or when you want to gain access to a computer for which you do not know the password.
Most of us have experienced a situation where in we need to gain access to a computer which is password protected or at times we may forget the administrator password without which it becomes impossible to login to the computer. So here is an excellent hack using which you can reset the password or make the password empty (remove the password) so that you can gain administrator access to the computer. You can do this with a small tool called  Offline NT Password & Registry Editor. This utility works offline, that means you need to shut down your computer and boot off your using a floppy disk, CD or USB device (such as pen drive). The tool has the following features.
  • You do not need to know the old password to set a new one
  • Will detect and offer to unlock locked or disabled out user accounts!
  • There is also a registry editor and other registry utilities that works under linux/unix, and can be used for other things than password editing.
 

How it works?

 
Most Windows operating systems stores the login passwords and other encrypted passwords in a file called sam (Security Accounts Manager). This file can be usually found in \windows\system32\config. This file is a part of Windows registry and remains inaccessible as long as the OS is active. Hence it is necessary that you need to boot off your computer and access this sam file via boot. This tool intelligently gains access to this file and will reset/remove the password associated with administrator or any other account.
The download link for both CD and floppy drives along with the complete instructions is given below
Offline NT Password & Reg Editor Download
It is recommended that you download the CD version of the tool since floppy drive is outdated and doesn’t exist in today’s computer. Once you download you’ll get a bootable image which you need to burn it onto your CD. Now boot your computer from this CD and follow the screen instructions to reset the password.
 

Another simple way to reset non-administrator account passwords

 
Here is another simple way through which you can reset the password of any non-administrator accounts. The only requirement for this is that you need to have administrator privileges. Here is a step-by-step instruction to accomplish this task.
1. Open the command prompt (Start->Run->type cmd->Enter)
2. Now type net user and hit Enter
3. Now the system will show you a list of user accounts on the computer. Say for example you need to reset the password of the account by name John, then do as follows
4. Type net user John * and hit Enter. Now the system will ask you to enter the new password for the account. That’s it. Now you’ve successfully reset the password for John without knowing his old password.
So in this way you can reset the password of any Windows account at times when you forget it so that you need not re-install your OS for any reason. I hope this helps.
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Posted by Priyan Fernando - - 0 comments

Almost every user on the Internet sends/receives hundreds of emails per day. However only a handful of them know what is BCC and what are the advantages of using BCC while sending an email. If you are one such Internet user who is unaware of BCC then this is the post that you should definitely read!
 

What is BCC?

 
BCC stands Blind Carbon Copy. It refers to the practice of sending an email to multiple recipients without disclosing the individual emails addresses. While sending the same email/message to multiple recipients, it is a common practice for most users to separate the email addresses by using comma or semi-colon and insert all those addresses in the To: filed. When emails are sent in this way, each receiver is able to see the complete list of recipient email addresses to which the same message if being sent to. Unlike To:, the BCC: option allows you to hide the recipients in email messages. In other words, when emails are sent using BCC:,  the receiver will not be able to see the list of recipient email addresses. Thus using BCC is a smart way to protect the privacy of the recipients.
 

Why should you use BCC?

 
Here are the reasons for using BCC:
Privacy – BCC provides an easy and simple option for protecting the privacy of your recipients. Under many circumstances it is necessary for us send an email without letting the recipients know who else is receiving the same message. Also it is highly recommended that you use the BCC: while forwarding a joke or a funny email to a list of your friends.  If you are sending email on behalf of a business or organization, it may be especially important to keep lists of clients, members, or associates confidential. So don’t forget to use BCC: in instances wherever privacy matters.
Respect for you recipients- While forwarding email messages, people often do not bother to remove the list of previous recipients.  As a result, messages that are repeatedly sent to many recipients may contain long lists of email addresses.  This makes it easy for the spammers to collect and target those emails for spamming.
In order to avoid the risk of spammers, it is necessary that you encourage people/friends to use BCC: while forwarding any message to you. This prevents your email address from appearing in other people’s inboxes thereby keeping yourself less exposed to spammers. You may also refer How to Protect an Email Account from SPAM for more information on spamming.
 

How to BCC an email message?

 
Most email clients provide the BCC: option under a few lines below the To: field. All you have to do is just enter the list of recipients in the BCC: field instead of entering in the To: field. You may enter only your own email address in the To: field. Once you do this just hit the Send button.
The moral is that you should use BCC: while sending bulk messages so as to protect the privacy of your recipients.
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Posted by Priyan Fernando - - 0 comments

Win 7 Customized Logon Screen

How would you like to change the logon screen background in Windows 7 so as to give your Windows a customized look and feel? With a small tweak it is possible to customize the Windows 7 logon screen and set your own picture/wallpaper as the background. Changing logon screen background in Windows 7 is as simple as changing your desktop wallpaper. Well here is a step by step instruction to customize the logon screen background.
 
1. The image you need to set as the background should be a .jpg file and it’s size should not exceed 245KB.

2. The image resolution can be anything of your choice. However I prefer 1440 x 900 or 1024 x 768. You can use any of the photo editing software such as Photoshop to compress and set the resolution for your image. Once you’re done, save this image as backgroundDefault.jpg.

3. You will need to copy this image to
C:\Windows\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds
You will need to create that path if it does not already exist on your computer.


4. Now open the Registry Editor (Start -> Run -> Type regedit) and navigate to the following key
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\
LogonUI\Background
If Background does not exist rightclick LogonUI, select New and then Key, and then name it Background. Now locate OEMBackground (listed on the right side). If it does not exist, right-click Background and select New and then DWORD and name it OEMBackground.

5. Double-click on OEMBackground and set the Value Data to 1.


6. Now log-off to see the new logon screen background. If you would like to revert back to the default 


background, just set the Value Data back to 0.
I hope you like this trick. Just try out and give your feedback!
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Posted by Priyan Fernando - - 0 comments


Windows Product Activation or WPA is a license validation procedure introduced by Microsoft Corporation in all versions of it’s Windows operating system. WPA was first introduced in Windows XP and continues to exist in Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 as well. WPA enforces each end user to activate their copy of Windows so as to prevent unauthorized usage beyond the specific period of time until it is verified as genuine by Microsoft. How WPA really works was a closely guarded secret until GmbH analyzed WPA using a copy of Windows XP RC1 and published a paper on their findings.
In this post you will find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Windows Product Activation..
Windows Product Activation

Why activation?

Microsoft’s intention behind the activation is to limit the usage of it’s Windows operating system to only one machine for which the retail license is issued. Any other computer which runs on the same license must be disallowed from using the software. Thus WPA demands for activation of the product within 30 days of it’s installation so as to ensure that it is genuine.

What does “Genuine Windows” means?

The copy of Windows is said to be genuine only if the product key used during the installation is genuine. It means that a given product key (retail license) must be used to install Windows only on one computer for which the license was purchased. Thus if the same key is used for the installation on another computer, then it is said to be a pirated copy.

Exactly what information is transmitted during the activation?

When you activate your copy of Windows you are transmitting an Installation ID code to the Microsoft either by phone or Internet depending on the method you choose to activate. Based on this, the Microsoft’s licensing system can determine whether or not the installed OS is genuine. If it is said to be genuine, then the system will receive the Activation ID which completes the activation process. If the activation is done via telephone then the Activation ID needs to be entered manually to complete the activation process.

What information does the Installation ID contain?

This Installation ID is a 50-digit number which is derived from the following two data.
1. Product ID – It is actually derived from the 25-digit product key (the alphanumeric value that is printed on the sticker over the Windows CD/DVD case) that is entered during the installation of the operating system. The Product ID is used to uniquely identify your copy of Windows.
2. Hardware ID – This value is derived based on the hardware configuration of your computer.
The WPA system checks the following 10 categories of the computer hardware to derive the Hardware ID:
  • Display Adapter
  • SCSI Adapter
  • IDE Adapter (effectively the motherboard)
  • Network Adapter (NIC) and its MAC Address
  • RAM Amount Range (i.e., 0-64mb, 64-128mb, etc.)
  • Processor Type
  • Processor Serial Number
  • Hard Drive Device
  • Hard Drive Volume Serial Number (VSN)
  • CD-ROM / CD-RW / DVD-ROM
Thus the Installation ID which is a combination of Product ID and Hardware ID is finally derived and sent to Microsoft during the activation process.

How is the Installation ID validated?

The Installation ID needs to be validated to confirm the authenticity of the installed copy of Windows. So after the Installation ID is received by Microsoft, it is decoded back so as to obtain the actual product key and the hardware details of the computer involved in the activation process.
The Microsoft’s system will now look to see if this is the first time the product key is being used for the activation. This happens when the user is trying to activate his Windows for the first time after purchase. If this is the case then the Installation ID is validated and the corresponding Activation ID is issued which completes the activation process.
However Microsoft system will now associate this product key with the hardware ID of the computer and stores this information on their servers. In simple words, during the first use of the product key, it is paired together with the Hardware ID and this information is stored up on the Microsoft servers.

What if a computer running a pirated copy of Windows attempts to activate?

The activation fails whenever the copy of Windows installed is not said to be genuine. This usually happens when the product key used for the installation is said to have been used earlier on a different computer. This is determined during the activation process as follows:
During the validation of the Installation ID, the Microsoft’s system checks to see if the same product key was used in any of the previous activation processes. If yes then it looks to see the Hardware ID associated with it. The computer running a pirated copy of Windows will obviously have a different hardware configuration and hence the Hardware ID will mismatch. In this case the activation process will fail.
Thus for a successful activation, either of the following two cases must be satisfied:
  1. The product key must have been used for the first time. ie: The product key should not have been used for earlier activations on any other computer.
  2. If the product key is said to have been used earlier, then the Hardware ID should match. This happens only if the same computer for which the license was genuinely purchased is attempting for subsequent activation.

What about formatting the hard disk?

Each time the hard disk is reformatted and Windows is re-installed, it needs to be re-activated. However the activation process will be completed smoothly since the same computer is attempting for subsequent activation. In this case both the product key and the Hardware ID will match and hence the activation becomes successful.

What if I upgrade or make changes to my hardware?

In the above mentioned 10 categories of hardware, at least 7 should be the same. Thus you are allowed to make changes to not more than 3 categories of hardware. If you make too many changes then your activation will fail. In this case, it is necessary to contact the customer service representative via phone and explain about your problem. If he is convinced he may re-issue a new product key for your computer using which you can re-activate your Windows.

Some things WPA does not do

  • WPA does not send any personal information at all about you to Microsoft. There is still an option to register the product with Microsoft, but that is separate and entirely voluntary.
  • If you prefer to activate via phone, you are not required to give any personal information to Microsoft.
  • WPA does not provide a means for Microsoft to turn off your machine or damage your data/hardware. (Nor do they even have access to your data). This is a common myth that many people have about Microsoft products.
  • WPA is not a “lease” system requiring more payments after two years or any other period. You may use the product as licensed in perpetuity.
I have tried my best to uncover the secret behind the WPA. For further details and more technical information you can read the actual paper by Fully Licensed GmbH at http://www.licenturion.com/xp/fully-licensed-wpa.txt. I hope you like this post. Pass your comments.
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How antivirus works

Due to ever increasing threat from virus and other malicious programs, almost every computer today comes with a pre-installed antivirus software on it. In fact, an antivirus has become one of the most essential software package for every computer. Even though every one of us have an antivirus software installed on our computers, only a few really bother to understand how it actually works! Well if you are one among those few who would really bother to understand how an antivirus works, then this article is for you.
 

How Antivirus Works

 
An antivirus software typically uses a variety of strategies in detecting and removing viruses, worms and other malware programs. The following are the two most widely employed identification methods:
 

1. Signature-based dectection (Dictionary approach)

 
This is the most commonly employed method which involves searching for known patterns of virus within a given file. Every antivirus software will have a dictionary of sample malware codes called signatures in it’s database. Whenever a file is examined, the antivirus refers to the dictionary of sample codes present within it’s database and compares the same with the current file. If the piece of code within the file matches with the one in it’s dictionary then it is flagged and proper action is taken immediately so as to stop the virus from further replicating. The antivirus may choose to repair the file, quarantine or delete it permanently based on it’s potential risk. 
As new viruses and malwares are created and released every day, this method of detection cannot defend against new malwares unless their samples are collected and signatures are released by the antivirus software company. Some companies may also encourage the users to upload new viruses or variants, so that the virus can be analyzed and the signature can be added to the dictionary.
Signature based detection can be very effective, but requires frequent updates of the virus signature dictionary. Hence the users must update their antivirus software on a regular basis so as to defend against new threats that are released daily.
 

2. Heuristic-based detection (Suspicious behaviour approach)

 
Heuristic-based detection involves identifying suspicious behaviour from any given program which might indicate a potential risk. This approach is used by some of the sophisticated antivirus softwares to identify new malware and variants of known malware. Unlike the signature based approach, here the antivirus doesn’t attempt to identify known viruses, but instead monitors the behavior of all programs.
For example, malicious behaviours like a program trying to write data to an executable program is flagged and the user is alerted about this action. This method of detection gives an additional level of security from unidentified threats.
File emulation: This is another type of heuristic-based approach where a given program is executed in a virtual environment and the actions performed by it are logged. Based on the actions logged, the antivirus software can determine if the program is malicious or not and carry out necessary actions in order to clean the infection.
Most commercial antivirus softwares use a combination of both signature-based and heuristic-based approaches to combat malware.
 

Issues of concern

 
Zero-day threats: A zero-day (zero-hour ) threat or attack is where a malware tries to exploit computer application vulnerabilities that are yet unidentified by the antivirus software companies. These attacks are used to cause damage to the computer even before they are identified. Since patches are not yet released for these kind of new threats, they can easily manage to bypass the antivirus software and carry out malicious actions. However most of the threats are identified after a day or two of it’s release, but damage caused by them before identification is quite inevitable.
Daily Updates: Since new viruses and threats are released everyday, it is most essential to update the antivirus software so as to keep the virus definitions up-to-date. Most softwares will have an auto-update feature so that the virus definitions are updated whenever the computer is connected to the Internet.
Effectiveness: Even though an antivirus software can catch almost every malware, it is still not 100% foolproof against all kinds of threats. As explained earlier, a zero-day threat can easily bypass the protective shield of the antivirus software. Also virus authors have tried to stay a step ahead by writing “oligomorphic“, “polymorphic” and, more recently, “metamorphic” virus codes, which will encrypt parts of themselves or otherwise modify themselves as a method of disguise, so as to not match virus signatures in the dictionary.
Thus user education is as important as antivirus software; users must be trained to practice safe surfing habits such as downloading files only from trusted websites and not blindly executing a program that is unknown or obtained from an untrusted source. I hope this article will help you understand the working of an antivirus software.
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How Firewalls WorkIf you have been usin Internet on a regular basis or working in a large company and surf the Internet while you are at work, you must have surely come across the term firewall. You might have also heard of people saying “firewalls protect their computer from web attacks and hackers” or “a certain website has been blocked by firewall in their work place”. If you have ever wondered to know what exactly is this firewall and how it works, here we go. In this post I will try to explain “How firewalls work” in a layman’s terms.

How Firewalls Work

 
Firewalls are basically a barrier between your computer (or a network) and the Internet (outside world). A firewall can be simply compared to a security guard who stands at the entrance of your house and filters the visitors coming to your place. He may allow some visitors to enter while denying others whom he suspects of being intruders. Similarly a firewall is a software program or a hardware device that filters the information (packets) coming through the Internet to your personal computer or a computer network.
How Firewalls Work
Firewalls may decide to allow or block network traffic between devices based on the rules that are pre-configured or set by the firewall administrator. Most personal firewalls such as Windows firewall operate on a set of pre-configured rules that are most suitable under normal circumstances so that the user need not worry much about configuring the firewall.
Personal firewalls are easy to install and use and hence preferred by end-users for use on their personal computers.  However large networks and companies prefer those firewalls that have plenty of options to configure so as to meet their customized needs. For example, a company may set up different firewall rules for FTP servers, Telnet servers and Web servers. In addition the company can even control how the employees connect to the Internet by blocking access to certain websites or restricting the transfer of files to other networks. Thus in addition to security, a firewall can give the company a tremendous control over how people use the network.
Firewalls use one or more of the following methods to control the incoming and outgoing traffic in a network:
1. Packet Filtering: In this method packets (small chunks of data) are analyzed against a set of filters. Packet filters has a set of rules that come with accept and deny actions which are pre-configured or can be configured manually by the firewall administrator. If the packet manages to make it through these filters then it is allowed to reach the destination; otherwise it is discarded.
2. Stateful Inspection: This is a newer method that doesn’t analyze the contents of the packets. Instead it compares certain key aspects of each packet to a database of trusted source. Both incoming and outgoing packets are compared against this database and if the comparison yields a reasonable match, then the packets are allowed to travel further. Otherwise they are discarded.
 

Firewall Configuration

 
Firewalls can be configured by adding one or more filters based on several conditions as mentioned below:
1. IP addresses: In any case if an IP address outside the network is said to be unfavorable, then it is possible to set  filter to block all the traffic to and from that IP address. For example, if a cetain IP address is found to be making too many connections to a server, the administrator may decide to block traffic from this IP using the firewall.
2. Domain names: Since it is difficult to remember the IP addresses, it is an easier and smarter way to configure the firewalls by adding filters based on domain names. By setting up a domain filter, a company may decide to block all access to certain domain names, or may provide access only to a list of selected domain names.
3. Ports/Protocols: Every service running on a server is made available to the Internet using numbered ports, one for each service. In simple words, ports can be compared to virtual doors of the server through which services are made available. For example, if a server is running a Web (HTTP) service then it will be typically available on port 80. In order to avail this service, the client needs to connect to the server via port 80. Similarly different services such as Telnet (Port 23), FTP (port 21) and SMTP (port 25) services may be running on the server. If the services are intended for the public, they are usually kept open. Otherwise they are blocked using the firewall so as to prevent intruders from using the open ports for making unauthorized connections.
4. Specific words or phrases: A firewall can be configured to filter one or more specific words or phrases so that, both the incoming and outgoing packets are scanned for the words in the filter. For example, you may set up a firewall rule to filter any packet that contains an offensive term or a phrase that you may decide to block from entering or leaving your network.
 

Hardware vs. Software Firewall

 
Hardware firewalls provide higher level of security and hence preferred for servers where security has the top most priority whereas, the software firewalls are less expensive and are most preferred in home computers and laptops. Hardware firewalls usually come as an in-built unit of a router and provide maximum security as it filters each packet in the hardware level itself even before it manages to enter your computer. A good example is the Linksys Cable/DSL router.
 

Why Firewall?

 
Firewalls provide security over a number of online threats such as Remote login, Trojan backdoors, Session hijacking, DOS & DDOS attacks, viruses, cookie stealing and many more. The effectiveness of the security depends on the way you configure the firewall and how you set up the filter rules. However major threats such as DOS and DDOS attacks may sometimes manage to bypass the firewalls and do the damage to the server. Even though firewall is not a complete answer to online threats, it can most effectively handle the attacks and provide security to the computer up to the maximum possible extent.
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ADSL-RoutersAlmost half of the Internet users across the globe use ADSL routers/modems to connect to the Internet however, most of them are unaware of the fact that it has a serious vulnerability which can easily be exploited even by a noob hacker just like you. In this post I will show you how to exploit a common vulnerability that lies in most ADSL routers so as to gain complete access to the router settings and ISP login details.
Every router comes with a username and password using which it is possible to gain access to the router settings and configure the device. The vulnerability actually lies in the Default username and password that comes with the factory settings. Usually the routers come preconfigured from the Internet Service provider and hence the users do not bother to change the password later. This makes it possible for the attackers to gain unauthorized access and modify the router settings using a common set of default usernames and passwords. Here is how you can do it.
Before you proceed, you need the following tool in the process
Angry IP Scanner
Here is a detailed information on how to exploit the vulnerability of an ADSL router.
Step-1: Go to www.whatismyipaddress.com. Once the page is loaded you will find your IP address. Note it down.
Step-2: Open Angry IP Scanner, here you will see an option called IP Range: where you need to enter the range of IP address to scan for.
Suppose your IP is 117.192.195.101, you can set the range something as 117.192.194.0 to 117.192.200.255 so that there exists atleast 200-300 IP addresses in the range.
 
Step-3: Go to Tools->Preferences and select the Ports tab. Under Port selection enter 80 (we need to scan for port 80). Now switch to the Display tab, select the option “Hosts with open ports only” and click on OK.
IP Scanner
I have used Angry IP Scanner v3.0 beta-4. If you are using a different version, you need to Go to Options instead of Tools
 
Step-4: Now click on Start. After a few minutes, the IP scanner will show a list of IPs with Port 80 open as shown in the below image.
IP Scanner
 
Step-5: Now copy any of the IP from the list, paste it in your browser’s address bar and hit enter. A window will popup asking for username and password. Since most users do not change the passwords, it should most likely work with the default username and password. For most routers the default username-password pair will be admin-admin or admin-password.
Just enter the username-password as specified above and hit enter. If you are lucky you should gain access to the router settings page where you can modify any of the router settings. The settings page can vary from router to router. A sample router settings page is shown below.
Router Settings Page
 
If you do not succeed to gain access, select another IP from the list and repeat the step-5. Atleast 1 out of 5 IPs will have a default password and hence you will surely be able to gain access.
 

What can an Attacker do by Gaining Access to the Router Settings?

By gaining access to the router settings, it is possible for an attacker to modify any of the router settings which results in the malfunction of the router. As a result the target user’s computer will be disconnected from the Internet. In the worst case the attacker can copy the ISP login details from the router to steal the Internet connection or play any kind of prank with the router settings. So the victim has to reconfigure the router in order to bring it back to action.
 

The Verdict:

If you are using an ADSL router to connect to the Internet, it is highly recommended that you immediately change your password to prevent any such attacks in the future. Who knows, you may be the next victim of such an attack. 
Since the configuration varies from router to router, you need to contact your ISP for details on how to change the password for your model.

Warning


All the information provided in this post are for educational purposes only. Please do not use this information for illegal purposes.
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Protect from Keyloggers
Keyloggers have been a major problem today as it does not require any prior knowledge of computers to use it. So hackers mainly use keyloggers to steal your passwords, credit card numbers and other confidential data. Below are some methods through which you can protect your computer from keyloggers:
 

Use a Good Antivirus

This is the first and basic step that you need to take in order to protect your computer from keyloggers. Use a Good antivirus such as Kaspersky, Norton or Mcafee and update it regularly.
 

Use a Good Antispyware

Since keyloggers are basically spywares, if you are a frequent user of Internet then you could be exposed to thousands of keyloggers and spywares. So you should use a good antispyware such as NoAdware.
 

Antilogger can be Handy

Antiloggers are programs that detect the presence of keyloggers on a given computer. Over past few years, I have tested a lot of anti-logging programs and have found Zemana Antilogger as the best antilogger.
Zemana
Normally a keylogger can be easily detected by a Good Antivirus program, but hackers use some methods such as hexing, binding, crypting and similar techniques to make it harder to be detected by antivirus programs. In this case Zemana Antilogger comes handy as the program is specially developed to protect your system against harmful keyloggers.
Zemana Antilogger
 

Online Scanning

When ever you receive a suspicious file, you scan it with online scanners such as Multi engine antivirus scanner which scans your file with 24 antivirus engines and reports it back to you if the file is recognized as a virus or spyware. This ensures that none of the malicious programs can escape from being detected as there are 24 different antivirus engines are involved in the scanning process.
 

Sandboxie

Sandboxie is another great program to help you protect your computer against harmful keyloggers and spywares. Sandboxie runs your computer in an isolated space which prevents your program from making permanent changes to other programs in your computer.
When ever you receive a file that looks suspicious, just run the program with Sandboxie so even if it is a keylogger or any other virus it will not make permanent changes to your computer system.
Sandboxie
To run a program in Sandboxie follow the steps as mentioned below:
1. Open sandboxie and click on sandbox menu on the top
2. Now goto Default sandbox
3. Then click on run any program
4. Now select the file you wish to run in sandboxie and click open
 

Keyscrambler

Keyscrambler is one of the best protection against keyloggers that you can have, Keyscrambler is a small program which encrypts your typed keystrokes so even if the victim has installed a keylogger on your system, he or she will get encrypted keys. Keyscrambler currently supports Firefox, Internet explorer and other applications, however its premium version supports more than 160 applications.
Hope you liked my post! Pass the comments.
This is a guest post by Rafay baloch who is an 18 year Computer engineering student, Ethical hacker, Tech blogger and an Internet marketer, He blogs at his blog Learn How to Hack and he is the writer of the book “A Beginners Guide To Ethical Hacking
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How to get face book Hack






 Wondering to know how to hack Facebook password? Well, before you can do that, it is very much necessary to understand the real ways of hacking that actually work and also those that are simply scam and do not work. So in this post, we’ll look at some of the possible ways to hack Facebook password!
Every day I get a lot of emails from people requesting me to hack Facebook passwords of their spouse, girlfriend or boyfriend so as to reveal their secret relationships (if any). Most of them are even willing to pay for the service. However, I strongly deny any such requests since I do not provide any paid hacking service. But anyhow, I have decided to write down this post so that you can learn the tricks for yourself and implement everything at your own risk.
With my experience of over 7 years in the field of ethical hacking and security, all I can tell you is that there are only two ways to successfully hack Facebook password.

Possible Ways to Hack Facebook Password


1. Keylogging – The Easiest Way!

Keylogging refers to simply recording each and every keystroke that is  typed on a specific computer’s keyboard. This is possible with the use of a small computer program called keylogger (also known as spy software). Once installed, this program will automatically load from the start-up, runs in the invisible mode and start capturing each and every keystroke that was typed on the computer. 
Some keyloggers with advanced features can also capture screenshots and monitor every activity of the computer. One doesn’t need to have any special knowledge in order to install and use a keylogger. That means, anyone with a basic knowledge of computer can install and use this software with ease. Hence for a novice computer user this method is the easiest way to hack Facebook password. I recommend the following keylogger as the best for gaining access to Facebook account.
Easily Access any Email
SniperSpy (TESTED) is a revolutionary product that will allow you to easily access *ANY* online account or password protected material such as MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail. There are absolutely *NO* limitations to what accounts or websites this software can access!
Why SniperSpy is the best?
Today there exists hundreds of keyloggers on the market but most of them are no more than a crap. However, there are only a few that stand out of the crowd and SniperSpy is the best among them. I personally like SniperSpy for it’s REMOTE INSTALLATION FEATURE. With this, you can install it on a remote computer without the need for having physical access to it. It operates in a complete stealth mode so that it remains undetected.
Here is a summary of benefits that you will receive with Sniperspy software:
1. Access ANY Password
With SniperSpy you can hack any password and gain access to Facebook or any other online account.
2. Monitor Every Activity
You can monitor every activity of the target computer, take screenshots and record chats & IM conversations.
3. Never Get Caught!
SniperSpy operates in a total stealth mode and thus remains undetectable. Therefore you need not have the fear of being traced or getting caught.
4. Remote Installation Feature
With the Remote Install feature, it is possible to install it even on computers for which you do not have physical access. However, it can also be installed on a local computer.
5. Extremely Easy to Use
Installing and using SniperSpy is simple and needs no extra skill to manage.
6. Completely Safe to Use
This software is 100% safe to use since it does not collect any personal information from your computer. SniperSpy is a reputed, trustworthy and reliable company which offers 100% privacy for it’s users.
7. Works on both Windows and Mac
Fully compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 and Mac.
So what are you waiting for? If you are really serious to hack Facebook password then SniperSpy is for you. Go grab it now and expose the truth!

2. Phishing – The Difficult Way

The other common way to hack passwords or online accounts is via Phishing. This is the most widely used technique by many hackers to gain access to Facebook and other social networking websites. This method will make use of a fake login page (often called as spoofeed webpage) which will exactly resemble the original one. Say for example, a spoofed webpage of Facebook looks exactly same as that of the original page. This page is actually created by the hacker and is hosted on his own server. Once the victim enters his/her password in such a fake login page, the login details are stolen away by the hacker.
Most Internet users would easily fall prey to such online phishing scams. Thus phishing scams trick users in such a way that, they themselves give away their passwords. But phishing requires specialized knowledge and high level skills to implement. Hence it would not be possible for a noob user (perhaps like you) to attempt this trick. It is a punishable offense too. So, I would recommend that you stay away from phishing and make use of the keyloggers to hack Facebook password since it is the easiest and the safest way.

Facebook Hacking Methods that Do Not Work! 


Today, there are hundreds of scam websites out there that are waiting to rip off your pockets by making false promises. These websites claim to be the experts in the field of hacking and boast to instantly obtain any password for you. Most people fall victim to these websites and lose their hard earned money. Thus the idea behind this post is to expose the truth behind hacking the Facebook (or any email password) so that you can learn how to do it for yourself and stay away from all those scam websites. The following are some of the hacking methods that actually do not work:
1. Many scam websites claim to exploit a certain vulnerability of Facebook website as a means to crack the password. Unfortunately, there is no such vulnerability in Facebook (or any other online account) that can be exploited to crack the password. I advise you to stay away from such scam websites.
2. There is no ready-made software program that is available to hack Facebook password except the keylogger (spy software). In fact, keyloggers are pretty generic and meant to record the keystrokes of a computer which obviously includes the password also. Keep in mind that apart from the keylogger, there is no such program that is specifically designed to gain access to Facebook accounts. Stay away from any website that claim to sell such program.
3. Beware! On many websites and Internet forums you will often see fake articles about Facebook hacking. Most of them will tell you something like this: “you need to send an email to passwordretrieve@facebook.com along with your username and password” (or something similar). Never give away your password to anyone nor send it to any email address. If you do so, you will lose your password itself in attempt to hack somebody else’s password.
I hope this post will help you avoid scams and choose the right approach to accomplish your goal.
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