COMPUTER HELP AND TIPS.

Showing posts with label usb. Show all posts

Boot From USB/CD-ROM Without BIOS Support

PLoP Boot Manager can launch from floppy, CD, network or existing boot manager like LILO, GRUB, Windows boot menu and DOS, once launched you can use PLoP to boot from USB and CD-ROM even if BIOS does not support these options.
To use PLoP from existing Windows Boot Manager on Windows 2K, XP and VISTA, Download PLoP Boot Manager and follow the procedure described inside the zip file or at the official website here .

Track Flash Drive Users

While there is no fool proof way of doing it, you could try a combination of autorun.inf files and batch file.

Create an autorun.inf file on the root of your flash drive with the following contents:

[autorun] open=getusers.bat action=Open folder to view files

Next, create a batch file called getusers.bat with the following contents:

@echo off
echo %username%>>users.txt

When a user puts your flash drive into their computer, it pop up with an autoplay option indicating that they are to click on the icon to open the folder to view files. A small black box will pop up briefly and then disappear. If you go into the root of the drive, you will find a new file called users.txt. If you open this file, it wil contain the user names of all the users who have accessed your drive by clicking on the icon.

This is, of course, not a fool proof method as all someone has to do is bypass the autoplay feature and their name is not recorded or they can delete the users.txt file but this is at least a proof of concept.

Remove ‘Yannh.cmd Trojan’

Tr0jan

“yannh.cmd” is a Trojan that often spreads from external storage medias like USB, CD, DVD widely

by injecting into the autorun.inf file.

When i explored my autorun.inf, i found the few autorun entries made by “Yannh.cmd” like this,

open=yannh.cmd
shell\open\Command=yannh.cmd
shell\explore\Command=yannh.cmd

You can’t directly edit the autorun.inf file while it is currently running, another thing you have to notice is, this file attribute is set to read only mode, hence you have to revoke it first to proceed further.

How can i Identify whether my computer got infected ?

open up your command prompt and type

cd\
dir /a

dir /a - will clearly display all the hidden files in the drives.

This “Yannh.cmd” makes some registry entries in the following path…
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\kamsoft
and has its source file in the system32 directory with the name Kamsoft.

Here are the ways that helps you get rid of this Trojan.

Step 1:

Its is always recommended to back-up your registry before touching it, after a successful backup,
goto the below path

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\kamsoft
and delete Kamsoft.

Step 2:

Open up the command prompt and type the following

cd\
attrib -r -s -h yannh.cmd
del yannh.cmd

This will delete the yannh.cmd file.

Step 3:

Now you have to delete the kamsoft folder from your system32 directory, just type the below commands in the command prompt.

cd\
cd C:\WINDOWS\system32
attrib -r -s -h kamsoft.exe
del kamsoft.exe

Step 4:

Now you can edit the autorun.inf file to remove the entried added by yannh.cmd

cd\
attrib -r -h -s autorun.inf
edit attrib.inf

Now delete where ever it says yannh.cmd and save changes.
Now you are done with it.

Here are the similar files that you must be aware of,

refsanvn.inf
Zidan vs Tito.exe
desktop.exe
omsirutnarg.exe
Alisa.exe
blazzers.exe
burimi.exe
nfd.exe
repppp.exe
wax.exe
wny.exe
msv2008.exe
GETBOOTD.BAT
tbm9.bat
08dgu.com
1t6yxlxx.cmd
2h60k.cmd
3rl3lqbq.bat
ewatr.cmd
Maradona.exe
iw.bat
m2nl.bat
ov.cmd
pnt.com
t1ypkh.exe
grgarevn.inf
microsvn.inf
Installer.exe
fvbk.exe
snaoc9i.exe
bt8vuaw.com
wjlc.exe
6fnlpetp.exe
g8rruyw.exe
o1.com
Secret.exe
hupxj.bat
fphj6j31.bat
shell.exe

Protect your Computer from USB Virus

Have you ever attached a USB to a computer and later found out that the Computer is infected by a virus? I have definitely faced this situation many times. If you attach your infected USB drive to the infected computer the virus is transferred to the Computer in no time infecting all the important documents. But now you don’t have to worry about any USB Virus because USB Disk Security provides 100% protection against any threats via USB drive.

USB Disk Security provides 100% protection against any threats via USB drive, however, the majority of other products are unable even to guarantee 90% protection. USB Disk Security is the best antivirus software to permanently protect offline computer without the need for signature updates, but other antivirus software should update signature database regularly, and they cannot effectively protect offline computer. This light and easy to use solution is 100% compatible with all software and doesn’t slow down your computer at all. You pay USB Disk Security once and get it all, however, other antivirus products should be paid for updates every year.

Product Highlights:

100% protection against any malicious programs via USB storage

USB Disk Security uses innovative proactive technology to block any threats via USB drive. There are relatively few products available in shops or on the Internet which offer even close to 100% protection against any malicious programs via USB drive. The majority of products are unable even to guarantee 90% protection. USB Disk Security is the world’s best software to block threats via USB drive.

The best solution to protect offline computer

Other antivirus software should update signature database regularly, and they cannot effectively protect offline computer that is not connected to the Internet. When new viruses, worms and other malicious attacks strike, traditional signatures are insufficient. Every minute one waits for a virus signature update creates a window of vulnerability that could have devastating consequences. USB Disk Security uses advanced proactive detection techniques, requires no signature updates, and closes the window of vulnerability left open by other reactive, signature-based responses.

The world’s fastest and smallest antivirus software

With USB Disk Security, it’s not necessary to sacrifice speed for detection and scanning. Compare antivirus software and you’ll discover that USB Disk Security is by far one of the smallest applications in the industry. For example, the v5.0 of USB Disk Security installer is just 1 MB. The program utilizes approximately 1 to 7 MB of RAM.

100% compatible with all software

Incompatibility between antivirus programs is an issue. In the vast majority of cases, installing two antivirus programs from different vendors on one machine (for increased protection) is technically impossible, as the two programs will disrupt each other’s functioning. However, USB Disk Security is 100% compatible with all software, including Windows Vista.

Simple to use

USB Disk Security has been specifically designed to perform effectively regardless of the user’s level of computer expertise. Just install and forget it.

System Requirement

100MHz Processor or more, 16MB RAM or more. The operating system should be Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows NT 4.0, Windows ME, or Vista.

Download

http://w17.easy-share.com/1702778903.html

Outstanding Uses for your Old USB Drives

With 8GB sticks coming out for less than $20, it’s no wonder why our old 128mb sticks have been stuffed away in drawers, never to me used again. Learn to resurrect your old USBs and make them into a physical “key” for your computer, portable OS, and more.

Create a physical key for your computer, so it only boots when your USB is inserted.
Turn them into portable NES, SNES, Game Boy, Genesis, and arcade emulators.
Carry your own portable Linux operating systems.

For an entire list of how to reuse your old drives, see the full guide and our USB projects.

Get back your lost USB drive

Own a pen drive (USB stick) and have fear about losing it? Usually if a USB flash drive is lost or missing, there’s no hope of getting it back unless you have a note inside the drive or you use a marker to write down your contact on the USB drive.
The note inside may or may not capture finders attention because people generally gloss over and ignore text files. Hence, you need something to catch finder’s eye to let him know the contact information of it’s owner.

USB Lost And Found is a software program that provides an interesting way to inform a finder of an USB stick about the rightful owner. Something that might come in quite handy for British government officials and citizens working in IT. The free version can be configured to display a message that is linked to the devices autoplay mechanism.
The free version has only one method of protecting, the message method. The PRO version which comes for $3.49 has another method called lock down.
Everything about the software is pretty well but it will be your hard luck if it’s found by some Linux or Mac OS X user because it only supports Windows.
Download USB Lost and Found Free

Install Linux(Portable) in Usb Drive

At one time or another, you would surely have felt the need for a portable Operating System that you could carry around with you and to help troubleshoot and backup your friends’ crashed PCs or just carry your complete Office with you. There are several Live CD based Linux Distributions(distros) where you just boot from it and enjoy the new OS. But what if you need your Data and settings to be remembered. A good alternative is to use a “LIVE USB” based OS.

Three things should be considered first.

Size of USB drive
Type of Distribution
Usage

Distros like Damn Small Linux and Puppy Linux will perform well in 256MB drives. Some OS’es section off a portion of your computer’s memory[RAM] and use that as a drive, in addition to the flash drive.

We will use an application called UNetbootin to install the Linux into the flash drive. We can let the program download a distro or select the image file(.iso) of an already downloaded distro. Download UNetbootin here: http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ and install it.

‘m using the Boxpup version of Puppy Linux as my distro.Get it from the official site here: http://www.puppylinux.org/ . Download for Boxpup version: http://www.puppylinux.org/downloads/puplets/boxpup

The downloaded file will be an .ISO file. The important thing to note here is to make sure that you have downloaded the file correctly. Thats why we’re going to verify the authenticity of the downloaded iso.So get the MD5 hash from the place you downloaded.it will be listed in the download page itself. Select the whole MD5 hash and copy it using ctrl-c.

Now install this MD5 hash checker called HashTab from here: http://beeblebrox.org/hashtab/. After you finish installing HashTab, right click the downloaded iso file, select properties.

MD5 checkers

You’ll see a tab called file hashes. Select the tab and wait for it to calculate the file hashes. Select MD5 and paste the MD5 hash, that you copied earlier, into the box that reads “Hash Comparison”. If your downloaded file in not tampered, you will see a green tick mark in the hash comparison box. If the downloaded iso file is tampered with or has been incorrectly downloaded, you will see a red cross. You should then attempt to re-download the file from another source.

As your iso file has been verified, it’s time to install the OS . Open UNetbootin and select the Diskimage Radio button and select the downloaded iso file. Please make sure the correct drive letter for your USB drive is selected below.
*It is very important to re-check this because a mistake will format one of the partitions in your hard disk.*

UNetBootin

Select Ok and let the program work for some time. After a few minutes you’ll see a dialog box asking to reboot. Click No. Save all your work, eject the USB drive but leave it in the USB port and restart the computer.

Now when your system is restarted, just boot your system with USB(change boot order frm BIOS). You’ll see the UNetbootin menu. Select Puppy.You’ll be asked a one-time set of questions to determine the setup of your computer.Thats it,you can customize your Linux as you want!

Further Read:

Install Windows 7 from USB/Flash Drive

Is your PC’s DVD Drive down or doesn’t exist? and you have to install Windows 7? Yes you can! Dennis Chung of TechNet tells a way to install Windows 7 on your PC using a USB stick or thumb drive:

In this this video, Dennis Chung shows you how you can install Win7 on netbooks, which do not normally come with a DVD Drive. The video shows you how to prepare a USB drive with the installation bits and install off it.

Follow these steps for preparing the USB Disk:

1. Diskpart
2. List Disk
3. Select Disk 1 (Replace 1 with number reflecting your USB Drive)
4. clean
5. create partition primary
6. active
7. format fs=fat32 quick
8. assign
Now, a drive letter reflecting the drive should appear. Copy the bits from the DVD to the USB Stick.

[via TechNet]

Further Read:

What is Double Password?

Disclaimer

These articles are intended for IT Professionals and systems administrators with experience servicing computer hardware. Please do not attempt any of these procedures if you are unfamiliar with computer hardware, and please use this information responsibly. We are not responsible for the use or misuse of this material, including loss of data, damage to hardware, or personal injury.The article is soley for educational purpose only.

Strong passwords should have a significant length and cannot contain normal words. Only random digits and letters of different case. Such passwords are extremely hard to remember and it takes time to enter. But, even strong passwords have their weaknesses. When you type a password, it can be intercepted by a spy program that logs all your keystrokes. Others can see what you type (even if the password field on the screen is masked, the password can be read by buttons you hit on your keyboard.)

Until now, the only solution was to buy a secure token. A secure token is a hardware key that is used instead of or in addition to your normal password authentication. There are two main problems with the hardware solution, though. First, it is expensive. And second, you can use them only with software that has built-in support for this method of authentication.

But, from now on, you can turn any USB flash drive into a secure token! No need to purchase an additional expensive device. All you need is about 2 megabytes of free space on your flash drive or other USB gadget, such as an MP3 player, PDA or even a USB-pluggable mobile handset.

How does it work? Our software, Double Password, installs onto your flash drive. When you type a password, the program intercepts it and converts it into a super-strong password string on-the-fly. You can use simple, easy-to-remember passwords without the risk of being cracked.

Another benefit of using Double Password is that nobody can steal your passwords. Spy programs are useless. Even if someone gets the "weak" password that you type on the keyboard, it means nothing. This password will only work when your USB flash is inserted.

While typical hardware locks will work only with software that supports secure tokens, Double Password works with any software. It simply substitutes your weak password with a strong one.

Double Password can be effectively used to securely lock your Windows account, to protect your laptop and to bring a new level of security to all software that uses password authentication.

Download Double Password For Free

Create a password reset disk

If you're running Microsoft Windows XP Professional, you can create a password reset disk that—if you ever forget your password—you can use to log on to your computer. If you forget your password but don’t have a password reset disk, you'll have to reinstall Windows XP to use your computer.

To create a password reset disk

1.	Log on to your computer as an administrator.
2.	Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3.	Under Pick a category, click User Accounts.
4.	In the User Accounts window, click the account name that you want to create a password reset disk for.
5.	Under the Related Tasks section, click Prevent a forgotten password.
6.	On the Welcome to the Forgotten Password Wizard page, click Next.
7.	Insert a floppy disk into your disk drive. If necessary, select the disk drive you want to use, and then click Next. Note: If your computer doesn’t have a floppy disk drive, you won’t be able to use this wizard. If you cannot install a floppy disk drive on your computer or laptop, you could consider using a USB-connected floppy disk drive.
8.	Type your password, and then click Next.
9.	After the Forgotten Password Wizard creates your password reset disk, click Next.
10.	Click Finish.

Remove your password reset disk and store it in a safe, secure place. Storing your disk in a secure place is very important because anyone who uses the disk can access your computer without knowing your password. If you ever forget your password, you can use this disk to reset and change your password.