Diary of a Network Geek

No, not a cad program by the flat-pack king.

Rather cad files of 21 of IKEA’s designs.  Yep, now you can suck those ubiquitous IKEA designs right into your high-end architect’s cad program and use them to design your house.  ‘Cause, you know, after paying for an architect in this economy, how much money are you going to have left over for fancy furniture?

No, seriously, I just thought it was fun that someone had made cad drawings of IKEA stuff in 3D so you can use it to lay out your house or apartment.  The files are actually in Google Sketchup format, for guys like me who are always trying to do more with less, especially less expensive software!

I was going to share this right before Halloween, but something better came up, so consider this a “Halloween Chaser” to clear your palate.

If you’re like me, you have a lot of computer systems floating around and the one thing they all have in common is that they could use some more drive space.  So, again, if you’re like me, that means you end up buying all kinds of storage space, in one form or another, to meet that need.  Now, you can do it as economically as possible thanks to Gigs4Less.  No matter what kind of storage you need, from compact flash to hard drives, they list everything they can find on the web and sort it by price, price per megabyte, and any other way you can think of sorting it.
So stop wasting money and hit this site to find the biggest drive you can afford, for less!

And be safe out there trick or treating, okay, kids?

Though this is funny, to me, it’s not quite a joke.

Once upon a time, back in the Old Days, before there was an internet and people kept their blogs in analog format on paper, by hand, there was a nasty, old occultist by the name of Aleister Crowly.  His own mother nick-named him the Beast because he was so contrary and irreverent and hard to control as a child.  In fact, in certain circles he’s quite infamous for being, among other things, quite an outspoken hedonist.
Apparently, in addition to the many other things he was and was famous for doing, he was also a bit of a chef and was famous for a spicy, Indian rice recipe.

No, seriously!  And, now, thanks to the relentless digging of somewhat unusual researcher, you, too, can make the near-legendary Rice of the Beast! (Page 2 is here…)
And for those of you who have all started praying for my immortal soul, which is surely now in danger, don’t worry.  I never cared much for Crowley and I don’t plan to make his rice, but, since it is about to be Halloween, I thought I’d share this, even though I don’t really celebrate Halloween since I don’t have kids any more.
I mean, I really only had one and she was on the “lease to own” program, but it turns out the lender wasn’t willing to let me pay the balloon payment at the end, so I had to turn her in, so to speak.
Also, I really hate how people bus their kids into my neighborhood because they think they’re going to get better candy.  Seriously, I’ve seen this.  People who I have never, ever seen anywhere near my street before, ever, following along in trucks with their kids on the sidewalk.  And, you know, I would have been okay with that except for the year I saw the guy, apparently drunk out of his mind, driving along with a smug look on his face like he was sticking it to all of us.  That pretty much tore it for me.

In any case, all that aside, enjoy the rice if that’s your bent.  Mostly, I just shared it because, well, it was too good to pass up.
Happy Halloween everybody!

So, with all the posts in the past couple weeks about the end of the world, I thought I should share some things about shelters.

No, seriously.
So, here’s a link to an article Wired ran on the latest and greatest disaster shelters.  And, yes, they’re called “disaster survival shelters” now, because we worry about more than fallout.  They’re not cheap, incidentally, but buying one will help pay taxes here in Texas, so I think you should buy one.  Also, they have the advantage of being private.  You get to stock it with whatever, and whoever, you think you need to survive the coming apocalypse.
On the other hand, if you’d prefer a more upscale solution, you can buy space in the Terra Vivos underground community.  Again, not kidding about this.  Discussed quite extensively on Boing Boing, this guy is selling what amount to doomsday timeshares.  Could be snake oil, or the smartest deal since the end of the Cold War.  You’ve got about a 50/50 shot of guessing right.

Of course, you could do what they did in the ’60’s and build your own!

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones."
   --Phillips Brooks

Speaking of survivalism and the coming zombie apocalypse…

Okay, so last week I was sharing links about survival rations to keep you going through some “worst case” scenarios.  Well, this week, I think I have found the ultimate in fear marketing for the survival market.  Seriously.  The Mossberg “Just-In-Case” line.
You get, in an air-tight tube complete with carry strap, a Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun with pistol grip in a resealable water-proof bag, and either a “survival kit in a tin” or, for the marine models, a multitool with serrated, lock-back knife.  I assume you have to buy your own ammo, but, still, that’s pretty much the last thing every long-term survival kit needs, right?  Stock up on those rations, then fend off the zombies with the shotgun.  That should pretty much cover it.

No, this is not a joke.
Yes, a friend told me about this, so their word-of-mouth campaign is working.

Most of you don’t realize that I’m a closet survivalist.

No, really, it’s true.
Back in high-school I read books about surviving the coming nuclear apocalypse.  For real!  All about how to hide in the sewers until after the fallout was safe and all that stuff.  Oddly, much of that comes in handy during hurricane season here in Texas.  Strange, but true.  Okay, not so much the part about hiding in the sewers, but a lot of the other stuff.  Like how to get drinkable water and stocking up on canned goods and the like.
Which brings me to the links I’m about to share with you.  If you’re from disaster prone areas, you probably hear all sorts of things about making sure you have enough survival rations to last for at least seven days, until help can arrive.  So, how about longer?  I mean, what if the zombie plague pops up one day and you, thinking strategically, don’t really want to leave the house for groceries?  What’s a survivalist to do?  Apparently, go to Costco, where they offer a 1-year supply of dehydrated and freeze-dried food, with a shelf-life of roughly 25 years, for $799, plus tax.  No, I’m not kidding.  In fact, Costco knows their market so well they offer an entire range of emergency food kits and supplies.  For real.  And, honestly, the pseudo-survivalist in me really wants to buy some of this stuff, just in case.  I especially like that 55-gallon emergency water drum.
And, if you don’t like the look of what you’re getting for your money, just compare them to what the troops are eating in Afghanistan in their MREs!  Trust me, this selection is way better than mil-spec!

Well, hurricane season is basically over for us here in the Gulf Coast, but, it never hurts to stock up for next year!
Also?  There is no season for zombie plagues.
I’m just sayin’…

Though I rarely post twice in one day, and frankly I post more than once a week these days, I present this link:
Extruding Chicken Nuggets at Gizmodo

Go look, and remember, that’s not bubble gum they’re making.  That your future chicken nuggets and chicken patties.
Enjoy your lunch!

…for teens?

Okay, so according to LifeHacker, Microsoft has released an on-line book about internet safety and security aimed at kids and teens.  It’s called “Own Your Space – Keep Yourself and Your Stuff Safe Online“.  No, seriously.  They describe it as a way to “…[h]elp teens ‘own their space’ online.”  Apparently, also meant for adults to help their “tweens” and teens “… keep up with the latest computer and online safety issues and help kids learn to avoid them.”  The book was written in “partnership” with security expert and author Linda McCarthy, who I honestly have never heard of before.

So, it’s hard to argue with the alleged intent behind this free, downloadable book, but I’m wary of anything from Microsoft that claims to be related to “security”.  On the other hand, what little I actually saw of the book was okay and had fun illustrations, so it may not be all bad.  I mean, at least it’s a starting point for parents to talk to their kids about on-line safety and security.  But, Microsoft has a long way to go to make up for Internet Explorer and holes it created in so many systems over the years.

In any case, it’s a fun looking book and you’re obviously not doing anything important or you wouldn’t be here reading my blog this Friday, so why not check it out for yourself?

No, this is not a surreal, drug-induced alternate reality.

No, seriously, back in the late 60’s, before the term “graphic novel” had even been coined, William S. Burroughs worked with artist Malcolm McNeill to make the experimental Ah, Pook Is Here.  It was a multi-year collaboration that flashed briefly on the literary scene of the time, then disappeared.  However, Fantagraphics has plans to resurrect this lost treasure as a two volume set.

I’m not familiar with the artist, though there are some samples at that link above, and the book itself seems to be yet another of Burroughs’ experiments.  In fact, the article describes it as an extension of the “cut-up method” that Burroughs is famous for and liked so well.  Personally, I think it’s just interesting as a piece of history.  Alan Moore may have all the pretensions he cares to about his graphic novel work, but he can’t possibly hold a candle to this genius.

Anyway, it’s Friday, so take a mental health break and go read about this crazy experiment that was well before its time.

Remember, these are “administrator utilities” not “hacker tools”.

In my business, it pays to make the distinction.
When people call me for help outside the office, the calls usually fall into a couple categories; a virus, a slow computer, a lost password and “how do I do X?”  Sadly, I’ve been doing a lot of virus and spyware removal, but, also, lately, I’ve had a couple of “lost password” calls.  I actually love getting those, for a couple reasons.
First, lost passwords are surprisingly easy to recover if you have physical access to the machine.  It’s funny to me how few people get that.
Secondly, I find recovering passwords fun.  In a way, it was one of the first things that drew me into the business.  I was one of those guys who got hooked by the security bug not by War Games, but by Sneakers.  Yeah, I know, most guys my age especially will tell you it was War Games that really got them hooked.  What can I tell you?  I’ve always been kind of a late bloomer.  And, my dirty, little secret is that after seeing Sneakers, I wanted to be Marty Bishop.  Seriously.

Anyway, my recent experience with Windows password recovery requests gave me an opportunity to refresh my tools.  After Googling a bit, I found a handy About.com page titled “Top 6 Free Windows Password Recovery Tools“.  I downloaded several, most of which were based on bootable CDs of one kind or another.  I like those kinds of toolkits because they don’t require even limited access to operating system, just the ability to reboot the machine from the CD toolkit.
In the end, I tried two; 0phcrack and the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor.

Now, I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure that 0phcrack is the free, opensource fork of l0phtcrack.  Now, for an old-timer like me, l0phtcrack was THE password cracker to have, back in the day.  Created by a group of well-known hackers, some of whom famously testified before Congress, it was not free.  At least, theoretically.  If you knew where to look, you could get copies.  And, yes, I  them.  But, this version IS free and seems like it had some improvements.
For one thing, the old version had a slightly clumsy text-based interface.  This version has a much nicer interface that seems to use X-Windows.  It’s also far more intuitive to use.  It ran pretty fast, really, though, sadly, didn’t seem to be able to crack the non-dictionary word used as a password on the Windows 7 box I was using it against.

On the other hand, the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor has been around for several years, and had several updates, though it retains the text-based interface.  I don’t remember when I used this the first time, but, so far, it hasn’t let me down in a pinch.  This time was no different.  So, yes, even though it has “NT” in the name, I’ve used it on everything from Windows 2000 through Windows 7 without a hitch.  Of course, your results may vary.  The bonus of this product is also it’s most potentially dangerous drawback; it directly edits the registry and password files.  This is dangerous, in a way, because if something goes wrong, this could, theoretically, lock you out of your machine permanently.  In practice, this has never actually happened to me.
One advantage of this utility is that you can change or simply remove the password for any active user on the system.  Also, you can use it to promote an active user to being an administrator equivalent.  Now, by “active user” what the developers mean is any account that is not disabled.  Though, I think there may be the option to activate a deactivated account.  I’m not positive, though, because I’ve never had to look for it or try to use it.  And, yes, this worked like a charm to simply blank the password on the Windows 7 machine that had apparently forgotten its own password.

So, there you have it.  Two tools to recover lost Windows passwords.
Oh, and, just a quick disclaimer here.  I’m not responsible for any damage you might accidentally do to your machines with these utilities.  Nor am I advocating using them to break into your ex-spouse’s computer to read their adulterous e-mail to their lover.
I’m just sayin’….