Dual Boot Windows XP and Mandrake Linux 10.1 Powerpack

Well I had a busy night yesterday building a dual boot laptop. After a long night of work, I have a dual boot laptop with the following specs:

10 Gigabyte partition for Windows XP SP2
10 Gigabyte partition for Mandrake 10.1 Powerpack Linux
1 Gigabyte partition for the Linux Swap File
Two 15 Gigabyte partitions formatted FAT32 and mounted by both OS’s (shared storage)

I’m using the Grub boot loader which is going to cut down on the way LILO wigs out Windows Antivirus Programs due to the way it messes with the Master Boot Record. I plan on putting up a tutorial on how to do this. I realized that there is a great need for this information since I was not able to find any legitimate instructions for it on the net.

The main purpose of this laptop is to allow me to perform my normal windows administration at work while letting me play with Linux on the side. Lately I have wanted to experiment with wireless penetration testing and I now have wireless Linux laptop to do that with. I also want to take time to brag on the new Mandrake 10.1 Powerpack. It has basically everything you could possible need from a desktop and also includes several server side programs. The GUI interface is extremely nice and I really like the Control Center (similar to windows control panel) but better. If your dual booting soon, feel free to leave a comment if you have any problems.

New computer gear and mud addiction!!

I recently set a new record in the Dmac world. I went three days without touching a computer. I was starting to have withdrawal symptoms and thus here I am. Christmas has been good. I got a new mobile keyboard and mouse. I needed a tiny keyboard (courtesy of my beautiful wife) for my home computer and the mouse is awesome. The response time on the mouse is great for wireless. Both of them also work up to 100ft away from the computer. Not that I would ever browse the net from the back yard with a telescope, but hey, it’s a thought. The mouse also works in the air with wrist motions, and you can set different motions to open up applications. I don’t know that I will use this feature, but once again, it is cool. I also want to take some time to brag on my wife for buying me a tech toy. She hates the way I spend so much time on a computer, but she still buys me something to encourage it.

I have started playing a mud (multi user dungeon) which gets me one step closer to reaching the most ultimate scale of computer nerdom. If you haven’t ever played a text based game, this would be the one to try. Check it out at www.avpmud.com. It’s based off of the Alien vs. Predators movies. You have a choice of building a human, alien, or predator character. Each race is unique in its own way. This mud also escapes the normal 2 dimensional mud by adding a 3rd dimension. You can travel up, down, north, south, east, and west. I started playing it because it was dial-up friendly and now I love it. Give it a try!!!

I am also looking to make some changes on this site. I would like to add some neat features and possibly even some additional pages. I know that I want to include a page with a list of all the RegHacks that I post. If you have any suggestions for this site, please make a comment. I’m looking for ideas.

Forcing Windows Explorer To User Firefox

Ok, so I was bored and came up with a way to make the Windows Explorer icon (located in Start > Programs > Accesories) to bring up Firefox to the current logged in users documents and settings folder. Copy and paste the follwing VBscript into notepad and save it to the C:\Windows folder as winexplorer.vbs.

‘**********************************************
‘Changing Win Explorer to use Firefox
‘***************by dmac*********************

‘Declares variable for network script to retrieve UserName
Set objNet = CreateObject(“WScript.NetWork”)

‘Declares variable to run shell commands
Set WShell = CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)

‘run command to bring firefox at current logged in users documents ‘and settings folder
WShell.Run “firefox file:///c:/Documents%20and%20Settings/” & (objNet.UserName)

After you have completed this, browse to the the Windows Explorer icon (located in Start > Programs > Accesories) and rigt click then go to properties. Change the target to point to C:\windows\winexplorer.vbs. Apply the canges and you are done.

Windows Remote Printer Installations Made Easy

A big part of my job is installing printers. Yesterday, out of curiosity, I researched the possibilities of remote printer installations on a Windows Network. For some strange reason, I never came across the remote printer installation command. Once I found the command I created a small VBscript so that it would prompt me for the comptuer name of a remote computer. Once I enter the name and hit enter, an add printer wizard will pop up for the remote comptuer. I wish I would have found this sooner. One more way to get the job done from my desk! The printer will show up ready to use immediately upon completion of the script and the add printer wizard. There are no logouts, reboots, or shutdowns required.

‘**********************************************
‘Remote Printer Installation Script
‘***************by dmac*********************

Dim compName
compName = Inputbox(“Enter the computer name of the remote computer you would like to install a printer on.”,”Enter Name”)

Set WShell = CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)
WShell.Run “rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /il /c\\” & (compName)

Security Professionals Ask For Larger Focus On Cybersecurity From Bush Administration

I just read article about security experts and past employees of the Department of Homeland security pressing for the Bush administration to devote a larger focus on the Nation’s cybersecurity. This situation should seem all too familiar to anyone in the technical field. We are all standing with a puckered lip and our hand out saying, “If you could please give us a little more we promise it will be worth it.” It definitely isn’t surprising that security professionals would have to beg the President for more aid as well. Bottom line, people in administration only understand the need for technology funding when something extremely bad happens. Unfortunately for those of us who are responsible for protecting a slice of the cyberworld, we know that there is potential for catastrophe beyond a worm or virus. When this catastrophe happens, it could be too late. SO THROW A FEW DIMES OUR WAY!!!!!!!!!!!

This just in. And even more a reason to THROW A FEW DIMES OUR WAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Bali bomber’s new book teaches hacking, fraud