RapidShare Cats CAPTCHA Hacked and Auto Recognized by CryptLoad

Nearly 2 months ago RapidShare implemented a new and difficult to beat CAPTCHA system. The CAPTCHAs are displayed as up to 8 warped alphanumeric characters, each with a dog or a cat printed over them. The user then is instructed to type in the 4 letters (although technically some "letters" are actually numbers) with the cat on them.

As you can see that it is tough to us humans for recognize which characters has cats at the sample RapidShare CAPTCHA image above! This new update has gone a little too far just because they want to break CryptLoad, USDownloader, (E)lephant and RSD auto CAPTCHA decryption. All those tools were unable to auto recognized RapidShare CAPTCHA codes for more than a month but now CryptLoad has managed to find a way to decode and auto recognize RapidShare CAPTCHA with cats! Unlimited RapidShare downloading is AGAIN possible with CryptLoad.

When I got to know that latest CryptLoad is able to auto recognized RapidShare CAPTCHA, I was very excited to test it but wasn't able to because RapidShare happy hours were still active. I had wait until at night when the happy hours are deactivated. I ran CryptLoad, added a rapidshare link, and the 4 letters containing cats were instantly and automatically entered without feeling that it had to go through some kind of OCR program.

CryptLoad has improved a lot since the last time I've written about it. One of the biggest update is the online CryptLoad CLR-Creator. Previously if we want CryptLoad to support our router for reconnect, we'll have to contact one of the creator of Cryptload to help us create the CLR file. But now, we can do it ourselves. Just install Live HTTP Headers plugin for Firefox and capture the text data when you manually reconnect the Internet from your router. Paste the text data into the online Cryptload CLR-Creator and it will create a CLR file that supports your router. You can refer to CryptLoad WIKI on how to do that.

Other than that, everything else is pretty much the same. Their next major update CryptLoad version 2 will be much lighter and support Mac OS, Linux and possibly PS3! Keep up the good work Apokalyser, Borka and Shira! Although some people say that other tools are better, I personally felt that CryptLoad is the best!

I just want to clarify that CryptLoad is a download manager for file hosting websites that supports a lot of powerful features and it is NOT a hacking tool.

[ Download CryptLoad 1.1.0 ]

Microsoft Offers Free Hard Drive Virtualization for Windows

Hard drive virtualization is very important when you're managing hundreds of computers at a library, cybercafe or a school institute. One of the place where I am working at has more than 500 workstations and is used by students. Even though the students are on restricted limited account, some smart virus still manage to infect the whole computer. I've spent countless of hours just by scanning and removing virus. Some virus even made it impossible to clean that I had to reinstall the whole system.

Antivirus don't really help much because new undetected virus can still infect the computer. So the best is to use a virtualization software. Previously I've mentioned about Returnil Virtual System which is able to restore everything to its original state by a reboot. They have a free version but it is only for personal use, not commercial use. The finance people checked the price and told me that they couldn't afford it. So I had to use another solution…

Windows SteadyState is a tool developed by Microsoft that gives administrators enhanced options for configuring shared computers, such as hard drive protection and advanced user management. It is primarily designed for use on computers shared by multiple people, such as internet cafes, schools, libraries etc. SteadyState is the successor to the Shared Computer Toolkit. SteadyState is available free of charge from Microsoft for computers running genuine copies of Windows XP and Vista.

There are Global Computer Settings and User Settings. For global computer settings, you can set computer restrictions, schedule software updates and protect the hard disk using Windows Disk Protection. When Windows Disk Protection is turned on, it has the ability to revert a computer to a previously stored state every time it reboots, or when an administrator sets it to. The good thing about it is the user's My Document would not be affected by the virtualization, which allows the user to save their work there.

As for User Settings, you can find 4 tabs which is General, Windows Restrictions, Feature Restrictions and Block Programs. In General, you're able to configure session timers to define the duration of a logon session or of the idle time before a session terminates. On the Windows Restrictions tab, you can set restriction levels that define the content of menus and the Windows XP or Windows Vista tools and features that a user has access to. As for the Feature Restriction tab, you can select restrictions that will prevent users from accessing a program attributes that could damage or clutter the computer. Finally on the Block Programs tab, you can select the software you want to prevent the user from accessing.

Actually I got to know about Windows SteadyState early this year. Tried it and it made my computer really slow. Other than that, my computer takes more time to boot in Windows. Well, I was using Windows SteadyState 2.5 Beta back then which is unstable. Few days ago Microsoft released stable final version of Windows SteadyState 2.5, which adds support for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3. I believe they've fixed the "hang" problem as well.

I've tested the latest SteadyState 2.5, it is much better than the BETA version and I noticed it increased my computer's boot up time by a few seconds. I am willing to give up the few seconds rather than spending hours in scanning and cleaning up virus. Here's how a high restrictions limited account desktop looks like.

One important note, any administrator is able to run Windows SteadyState because it doesn't have the ability to password protect itself. So make sure you create a limited user account and let them log in as limited user, not administrator.

[ Download Windows SteadyState 2.5 ]

How To Create Full Windows Backup by Imaging Without Using Norton Ghost

I have desktop system that is only used for testing purposes. I install and test lots of software, play around with Windows configuration and system files, infect my test system with trojans to test the efficiency of an antivirus software, and many more! Because I mess around with my test system so much, I had to restore Windows at least once a week, or sometimes even up to a few times!

Reinstalling Windows is a time consuming task and I never like doing that. Fortunately I've known about Norton Ghost many years ago and I've been using it to create an image of my hard drive, so I can easily restore everything back to the original clean state within minutes. However, Norton Ghost is not free. There are other freeware that is able to create disk image but I am never satisfied with it, so I am stuck with Norton Ghost for nearly 10 years…

I think I am going to make a change starting from today because I discovered a very powerful disk imaging software which is FREE!

Macrium Reflect is a backup and disk imaging software program for Microsoft Windows developed by Paramount Software UK Ltd in 2006. It creates disk images and file backup archives using Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service to ensure 'point in time' data accuracy. This means that you can create a full backup of your hard drive through imaging even when you're logged on in Windows.

There are 2 versions of Macrium Reflect. The free and full version. The free version can only be used on Windows XP and Vista. You're able to create disk or partition images and access them from Windows Explorer. It has a scheduler where you can create backup from the defined time. Finally it can also create Linux Rescue CD or BartPE Rescue CD, which has network support so you can save the created image to another computer. You can directly burn the Live CD from the software.

As for the full version, it has all the features in free version plus the following: Windows Server 2003 compatibility, File and Folder backup and restore, Differential disk images and backups, Incremental disk images and backups, VBScript Generator, Email notifications, Run programs before or after backup, Shut down PC after backup, Windows system event log support, Windows PE 2.0 Rescue CD with RAID support, Windows boot menu, Technical support by email and forum access.

Although it'd be nice to have all the features in the full version, the free version is good enough to help me easily restore Windows within minutes.

Let me take you through a simple step-by-step disk imaging with Macrium Reflect FREE Edition. Let's say Windows is installed at C: drive and D: would be your CD/DVD drive. I'd advice you to create another partition (E: drive) to save the backup image.

1. Run Macrium Reflect
2. Click Backup from the menu bar and select Create Image.

3. Create Backup Wizard will appear. Click Next, and select the partition that you want to backup. Select C: drive and click Next.

4. Now select Local Hard Disk and browse to E: drive. Click Next
5. Click Finish to begin imaging.
When the imaging completes, you should have a file with random letters and numbers with the extension .mrimg at your E: drive. That's the image of your C: drive.

Next, you'll have to create a Rescue CD.
1. Run Macrium Reflect
2. Click Other Tasks from menu bar and select Create Rescue CD.
I'd prefer to use Linux, so select Linux and click Next.

3. Put in a blank CDR disc into your CD/DVD drive and click Finish.

When your Windows system goes haywire or refuse to boot up, then you will have to start your PC using a rescue CD. Just boot up your computer with the Linux Rescue CD that you just created. Follow the on-screen instructions from Restore Wizard to recover partitions from your saved image file.

When your computer has a system or software that is hard to configure and get it right, it'd be best to create an image of your partition as a precaution. Whenever the system or software doesn't work and you can't get people to help you to fix it, the easiest way to fix it yourself is by restoring from the image that you created while it is still working. There you go, no need to use Norton Ghost because Macrium Reflect can do the job.

[ Download Macrium Reflect FREE EDition ]

Free Avira AntiVir Rescue System CD to Clean Unremovable Virus

The Avira AntiVir Rescue System is a linux-based application that allows accessing computers that cannot be booted anymore. Thus it is possible to repair a damaged system, to rescue data or to scan the system for virus infections. Just double-click on the rescue system package to burn it to a CD/DVD. You can then use this CD/DVD to boot your computer. The Avira AntiVir Rescue System is updated several times a day (contains the current virus definitions VDF) so that the most recent security updates are always available.

Once you've booted up your computer with Avira Rescue System, you get a boot option to either boot from hard drive or AntiVir Rescue System. Press the number 2 on your keyboard to boot into AntiVir Rescue System. It will start loading linux and you get to select either deutsch or english. Next, drivers will be loaded, and when it completes, the Rescue System main menu will show.

To scan a computer, select the second option "Scan" and hit enter. You get to select whether to scan all files, only program files or only boot sectors. You can then select either to log scanning events or try to repair infected files. If Rescue System is unable to repair infected files, you have the option to rename the files. Finally, you can select additional file types to scan such as dialers, jokes, games, and security privacy risk software. The whole process simplifies the command-line arguments so you don't need to manually type the commands.

The open command at the main menu will launch Linux console, not DOS command prompt. Unless you're familiar with Linux commands, I wouldn't recommend you selecting that option. If you've accidentally got into the linux console, press CTRL+F1 simultaneously to go back to Rescue System Main Menu.

According to the latest report rom AV-Comparatives, Avira AntiVir scored the highest points for Retrospective / ProActive test on May 2008. It has the least false positives and fast on demand scanning speed.

[ Download Avira AntiVir Rescue System ]

File Recovery with Undelete My Files

File Recovery tools are flooding the software market these days and it takes more than to provide a way to recover files to stick out of the masses. Undelete My Files offers several features that make it at least an interesting application to try. The file recovery is obviously the dominating component of the software. Hard Disks can be scanned which usually does not take longer than a few seconds - depending on the size of the hard drive - and the results are displayed afterward. One interesting aspect of this procedure is that multiple hard disks can be selected at once. Most other tools scan hard disks on a per disk basis only.

Another interesting aspect of that scan for deleted files is the option to preview items before they are recovered. Every file can be marked and a click on the preview button opens the file in the default viewer. It becomes pretty obvious if a file can be recovered, chances are slim if the default viewer cannot open it. If the file displays fine on the other hand chances are good that it can be recovered without difficulties.

Undelete My Files provides access to two specialized recovery operations: Media and Mail Recovery. Both target specific files and try to recover them. The advantage of using Media Recovery is that it specifically targets multimedia files offering a preview pane for quick file previews.

Mail Rescue tries to recover Microsoft Outlook Express, MS Outlook, Eudora and Netscape mails. The software automatically tries to locate the installation folders and proposes a system scan if none can be found.

Another function provided by Undelete My Files is the Advanced File Search. That's a nice function if you know what you are looking for. You can pinpoint the tool to search specific folders, look for certain names and file types, sizes and attributes. Pretty convenient if you want to recover specific files.

The last two functions are not related to file recovery. The first is a disk wiper that deleted existing files on the disk securely so that they cannot be recovered by normal means. The other the creation of a Emergency Disk Image which creates a snapshot of a disk to work with later on. That's actually a great idea to prevent that deleted files are overwritten by new files and the same way professionals are handling this issue.

Email Large Documents with Docstoc OneClick

Docstoc OneClick is an easy way to email large documents without attaching the files. Instead of sending the files, you can send the link to the document, where it can be viewed or downloaded. OneClick is an application by which you can instantly send files to any email, without having the pain of uploading the document.

How to send large documents

1. Download Docstoc OneClick and create a profile on Docstoc.
2. Now select the documents you want to send as email. You can select document with formats like .doc, .pdf, .xls etc. The size of the attactment can be a maximum of 50MB.
3. Right click on the selected files and select "Email as Private" or "Email as Public" option. The difference between these two option is that Email as Private will not show your uploaded documents in Docstoc to public.

4. An email is generated with the links to download the files. The default email client is used to generate the email.
5. The documents will be uploaded automatically by the application in the background.

You can access all your uploaded documents in "My Documents" section in Docstoc.

Docstoc OneClick

Edit PDF Documents Online

If you are looking for an online solution to edit PDFs, then PDF Hammer is a great website to Edit, rearrange and merge PDF files and all these services FREE of cost. With PDF Hammer you can quickly and easily edit PDF files online, without the need to install anything. Upload your PDF files to PDF Hammer from your Web browser, perform your edits, and then download back to your computer.

Features of PDF Hammer;

• Merge/combine PDF files together.
• Rearrange, reorder and delete pages.
• Lock your PDF files with password-based security.
• Add and edit document information (metadata) fields, including author, title, subject
  and keywords.

First you need to upload the PDF file from your computer. Once uploaded all the pages in the PDF are shown and you can start re-arranging the pages, delete or merge with other PDF documents.

Once you finish editing, you can change the Title, Author, Subject and Keywords of the document. You can also enable password protection for the PDF file.

Once you are done with editing, you can download it back to your desktop as PDF file with Export PDF option.

PDF Hammer is simple and free solution to edit documents online without having to install any softwares on your computer.

PDF Hammer

Startup Manager

When a computer starts up and boots into Windows, there are a bundle of other programs that load up with it. Some of them are needed, but others are unnecessary and do little more than slow down a computer.

When I am told that a computer is running slow, the first thing I do is look in the locations that call these programs to load, and I cull the programs that are not necessary. There are numerous locations (registry, startup folders and win.ini) where these programs are called from, so the process can take quite a while.

Startup Manager is a free utility that shows you each of these locations in a single, easy to use interface. Just check out the screenshot of it. This is certainly a no nonsense program.

Startup Manager shows you what is going to be loaded at startup. All you need to do is untick the items that you no longer want to be part of your daily life.

The startup programs should probably be checked every 6 or so months to keep your computer running lean. The list can expand very quickly, often without the users knowledge. Using this utility can save a lot of time. It is one of those useful programs to keep on a USB disk, so that you can load it up quickly in the case a friend is in need.

Get your copy of Startup Manager for free from StartupManager.org.

PC Login Now 2.0

Ever been unable to log into Windows due to a lost password? This used to require a reinstall of the operating system to regain access. This often meant some data would be lost, as it could no longer be accessed.

Because of this common need to recover passwords, a few tools have been created to get past this problem. I once heard of a program called Ophcrack, but it looked a bit tricky to use.

A tool called PC Login Now was recently made available as freeware, so I tried it out. The download is an iso file that needs to be burnt to a CD, using just about any CD burning software. The result is a Linux Live CD. Restart your computer and ensure that the computer will boot from your CD drive first (most will by default). Watch the Linux Live CD boot to life.

PC Login Now will work with any Windows install, and it can even handle dual boot machines. The opening screen shows you the operating systems available on the computer. Select the operating system you want to tinker with and press next. You should now be able to see all of the user accounts for that system.

You can then reset the password of any account, as well as enable or disable accounts. You can pretty much perform any of the basic user account options available in Windows. This program does not show you the old password as some tools do, but resetting the password is just as useful in most circumstances.

Once your computer reboots, a disk check will be run. When prompted, try to login leaving the password blank. You should be able to get into the system. PC Login Now claims a 100% success rate, and so far I have had no failures on the 3 machines I have tested. It couldn't be quicker or easier to use.

This will not work for computers which login to a domain, but there is normally a local user account on these computers, which you can use to gain access.

Take some caution using this in the workplace as many companies don't like these tools.

PC Login Now 2.0 is available for free from pcloginnow.com.

Recover Deleted Files with Freeware Recuva

Recuva is a freeware for recovering deleted files from you hard disk or USB drive. Recuva is a Windows utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses.

Using the application is pretty simple, you need to select the drive and click on the Scan button.

Once you get the list of files, you can select on files which need to be recovered and then specify the target folder.

The application also allows secure delete files.

Download Recuva

Backup Files When Computer is Idle with IdleBackup

Many time we forget to back up files because we may not like to run another program in the background for backing up data as this could reduce the speed of your computer. IdleBackup is a free Windows application which can back up your personal files and folders when the computer is idle. The best feature of this software is that it checks if the computer is idle for more than 1 min before starting the back up process.

You can select the files and folders which needs to be backed up and also the back up path. The location can be on the same hard drive, an external drive (memory card, USB drive), or another computer on the network.

Next you need to select the automatic backup option on the top right hand corner. Here set the countdown time for back up to start after the computer has been in idle state. The minimum time that can be set is 60 sec. You can also tell the software to check for any CPU activity before ensuring that the computer is idle.

IdleBackup is a simple to use and totally free software for backing up data.

Download IdleBackup

How to Write Protect your USB Drive

The spread of viruses is mainly due to the incorrect use of internet and the misuse of external media like the USB or Pen Drives. Windows has an auto-run function enabled by default so whenever a USB drive is plugged in, Windows automatically recognizes it and performs a default action like opening the contents of the drive.

Viruses and malware use this method to propagate. When an infected USB drive is plugged into the system, the malware automatically starts up using the auto-run of the drive. This way the malware spreads very quickly.

Today I found out a neat utility which can write protect your USB drive. This comes in handy when you have a virus in your system and you have some fixing tools in your USB drive. You just write protect the USB drive, plug it in and then use the tools on it. In this way, your USB drive will not be affected by any kind of additional viruses which are on the infected system where you plugged in the USB drive.

The name of the utility is Thumbscrew. It sits in system try from where you can enable or disable the write protect function of the USB drive.

USB Write Enabled

USB Write Disabled

Download Thumbscrew (233 KB)