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10276

Developer's Corner / TCP/IP Builder : a Windows Sockets test/debug tool

« Last post by 40hz on May 11, 2009, 05:50 PM »

Here's a nice utility for anything you're testing (or coding!) that uses Windows sockets. Very cool tool.

Thx to the folks over at xtort.net for identifying this useful little gem.


Main link: http://www.drk.com.ar/builder.php

TCP/IP Builder 1.8

TCP/IP Builder is a Windows Socket testing tool. You will be able to create a socket manually, connect it (or listen for connections), send and receive data through it.

You may setup local IP and Port, TCP/UDP protocol, keep alive, out-of-band data, DNS Resolver, System info, on-line help, RAW Packet Detail.

Features:

    * Act as client or server.
    * Select local IP address and port.
    * Build TCP or UDP sockets.
    * Detect remote IP address and port on incoming UDP packets.
    * Send and receive normal and Out of Band data.
    * Use 'keep-alive' and 'no-delay' socket options.
    * View incoming data in Hexadecimal representation.
    * Send arbitrary bytes by writting its ASCII number.
    * ASCII parser option for writting bytes in the format 0x<nn> (i.e: 0x4F)
    * Resolve IP addresses usign DNS.
    * IP, Protocol, Port and send flags configuration is persistent now.
    * TCP/IP Builder is open source, under GNU General Public License.

Also check out these two short articles under the docs tab for further details and instructions on how to use:

http://www.drk.com.a...Protocol-Debugging-1

http://www.drk.com.a...Protocol-Debugging-2

TCP/IP High-Level Protocol Debugging

How come TCP/IP Builder idea?

When developing a TCP/IP related application, programmers usually face the lack of a proper debugging tool. Since most of the times the programmer must build both client and server applications, starting a development can be a painful task, especially if it is the first networking development. Even for an experienced programmer, having a TCP/IP debugging tool is a useful help for testing purposes.

As a programmer strongly involved in networking applications, I have faced this problem many times. Maybe too many times, therefore two months ago I decided to start developing a solution for this problem, TCP/IP Builder.

TCP/IP Builder as a debugging tool

If you have used TCP/IP Builder before reading this document, you could be asking yourself why do I call it a debugging tool. Well, it is not a debugging tool from a strict point of view. Anyway, it is used as a debugging tool 90% of the time. To be more specific I would like to say it is a 'Black Box' debugging tool, because it doesn't need internal information about the application being debugged. It will work as long as the application uses sockets to communicate with the outside world. (And as long as you know how to 'talk' with this application, of course).

 

10277

General Software Discussion / Re: Would you recommend friends to use XP or Vista?

« Last post by 40hz on May 08, 2009, 10:12 PM »

I would recommend XP to my best friends, Vista to my worst enemies

-kartal (May 08, 2009, 10:06 PM)

 

I used to feel that way about Milennium Edition!
(Or at least I did until I realized I didn't really have any enemies.)

But in all fairness, for all its flaws, Vista will never be as bad as Me.

Deo gratias et Wilmo Gates!

10278

General Software Discussion / Re: Would you recommend friends to use XP or Vista?

« Last post by 40hz on May 08, 2009, 09:53 PM »

however, it doesn't quite tell you what to tell someone who is considering a new system and doesn't know whether to use vista or xp.

-mouser (May 08, 2009, 07:59 PM)

Ooooo...excellent point! In that case, buy Vista with an XP downgrade option - and run XP.

However, I'd also advise them to put off buying a new system (if at all possible) until either:

• Windows 7 has been released - or -
  
  
• The purchase date would make them eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7

Last I heard, Microsoft was considering giving free Win 7 upgrades to people who bought new machines on/after July 1, 2009 - but the actual date and details had not been finalized by Microsoft.

Some manufacturers said they planned to offer their own free upgrade program to entice people who are currently holding off on buying a new machine to not wait until July to do so.

Best bet is to check with the people you're buying a machine from to see what they can do for you on that score.

And make sure you get it in writing!

10279

General Software Discussion / Re: Would you recommend friends to use XP or Vista?

« Last post by 40hz on May 08, 2009, 04:48 PM »

Here's what I tell my friends:

1. If you are currently running XP, stick with it until you decide you need to switch to Windows 7. This late in the game there's no point in migrating to Vista if you haven't already done so.

2. If you are currently running Vista, switch to Windows 7 when it become available.

For good reasons and bad, Vista is now a 'lame duck' release. The past and 'near term' belong to XP. The future belongs to Windows 7. There's no real place for Vista in that scenario.

I'd suggest waiting about 3-4 months after Windows 7 gets released to let the inevitable "early release issues" get worked out.

----

Re: Easy for end-users

Every OS has a learning curve. The sooner an end-user stops hoping for a "no brain" OS the better. Because no matter how "easy" it is intended to be, they'll still have to learn how to use it.

Re: Linux

I happen to use Linux and I like it very much. That being said, you are correct in saying it is not any 'better' than any other operating system. Each OS brings specific advantages and benefits to the party. And each has its own quirks, annoyances, and design flaws. In the end, your choice of OS should be determined by what you're most comfortable using, provided it gets your work done.


Re: downloading Microsoft's latest

Assuming you mean Windows 7, I only know five reasons why most people would want to download a Windows release candidate:

• They're curious about it (possibly the best reason of all)
• They want to get a head start on using it so they'll be ready (and able to help their friends) when it comes out
• They enjoy testing new products and hope to make suggestions for improving it
• They want to accrue "geek bragging rights" for being in on the beta of a major product release
• They absolutely hate Microsoft -and they're hoping to find a show-stopper flaw that will derail the whole thing and make the boys in Redmond look like a bunch of idiots. (This is possibly the worst reason of all, but there are people like that out there.)

If your friends don't subscribe to any of the above, they shouldn't bother.

Just my 2¢

10280

Living Room / Re: Any idea how to fix my friend's mms problem?

« Last post by 40hz on May 07, 2009, 10:22 PM »

I suspect it's more an issue with his cell phone plan than a technical issue with his Razr.

Has he ever been able to send MMS with his account? Have him check with AT&T (which I also use) and see if he is allowed to send multimedia messages with the service plan he has. Not all plans include them.

Putting your SIM into his phone switches his device to use your account, so I'm guessing that's what the problem is.

10281

Living Room / Re: The Geek's "100 things to do before you die" list

« Last post by 40hz on May 06, 2009, 11:06 PM »

I read that list to Gothic and he was getting really agitated. He has done more then half of that list by a long shot... and then plainly said that  the list is not "Geeky".  

Then again, this is gothic we are talking about... the geekiest of all geeks. LOL.

-Dell[a] (May 06, 2009, 09:50 PM)

Way cool! If that's true, maybe we should get Gothic to put together The Real Geek's Real Geek List for Donation Coder.

How 'bout it G-Man?

10282

Living Room / Re: The entitled generation....Are they right?

« Last post by 40hz on May 06, 2009, 10:42 PM »

I'm beginning to think this entire debate is a "generation thing."

-40hz (May 03, 2009, 04:03 PM)

Don't. It does not have anything to do with new vs. old generations, and more with what each person considers the 'right thing to do'.

-Lashiec (May 06, 2009, 06:34 PM)

Possibly true, hence my post just above yours.

10283

General Software Discussion / Re: WINDOWS 7 THREAD (ongoing)

« Last post by 40hz on May 06, 2009, 06:31 PM »

Ed Bott has posted a list of Intel processors identifying which do (and don't) support the new XP Mode.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=946

Interesting read.

10284

Living Room / Re: The Geek's "100 things to do before you die" list

« Last post by 40hz on May 06, 2009, 05:40 PM »

33 done

I wonder does using analog camera usage counts as "98.   Use a Camera in Manual Mode"?

In my entire life, I've made maybe 20 pictures using digital one in opposite to hundreds with analog.

-fenixproductions (May 06, 2009, 05:29 PM)

Yes it does. I still swear by my trusty Canon F1!

"f22 and be there."

10285

Living Room / The Geek's "100 things to do before you die" list

« Last post by 40hz on May 06, 2009, 05:00 PM »

From our friends over at the Daily Cup of Tech blog - a first pass at a 'bucket list' for us folks!



Link: http://www.dailycupo...e-you-die-checklist/

Some of my favorites from the list:

• Do Cool Things to Altoids Tins
• Survive in a Linux Argument
• Run Operating System inside a Virtual Computer
• Put Open Source Firmware on a Router
• Move Completely To Open Source
• Setup a Computer in the Cloud

and especially: Unleash a Laser Pointer’s full potential

I'd add: Do at least one PXE diskless OS installation for Windows, BSD, and Linux  (Muy Macho!)

10286

General Software Discussion / Re: Space Management : there is a new competitor - SpaceSniffer

« Last post by 40hz on May 06, 2009, 12:45 PM »

Very cool app. Fascinating to watch in action too!

10287

Living Room / Re: The entitled generation....Are they right?

« Last post by 40hz on May 05, 2009, 10:26 PM »

Illiad got me thinking (see below)...

Call it theft, liberation, entitlement, borrowing, or what have you - is the rate at which such activities occur fairly constant? And if so, does that indicate that there's a certain (relatively fixed) percentage of the population that's comfortable with 'just taking' something if they can? Because if that's the case, the reasons given for 'why' almost become moot.

My Grandfather used to say that there are basically three types of people that make up the general population

• The Makers
• The Takers
• The Fakers

Maybe this debate is just another example of the dichotomy between those who actually make things as opposed to those who merely use things?

10288

Living Room / Re: Revolutionary Keyboard

« Last post by 40hz on May 03, 2009, 09:47 PM »

also good in situations where the user may spread saliva on the desk,

-kip (May 03, 2009, 01:52 PM)

Looks like you met the client I saw last Friday... 

10289

Living Room / Re: The Hunt For Gollum - 40 Min. Fan-Made Movie

« Last post by 40hz on May 03, 2009, 09:41 PM »

Meh.  

-40hz (May 03, 2009, 04:10 PM)

Care to elaborate hertz man?

Ehtyar.

-Ehtyar (May 03, 2009, 05:56 PM)

Sorry E. Just me being crotchety.

Visuals were nice, and bits of it were good, but I just didn't care for it overall. I felt the screenplay was lacking, even if the CG work was impressive. Amazing length for a fan piece however! Most of these things only run about 3 minutes.

On a positive note, these folks didn't mangle any elements in the original story. Which is more than I can say for Walsh, Boyens, and Jackson. (I'm still irked by what they did to several key plot points and story elements in the New Line Cinema release - and I don't buy their reasons for why they believed such changes were necessary. )

---

P.S. This link seems to work just fine: http://www.dailymotion.com/huntforgollum

This HD link works:

http://www.dailymoti...d-version_shortfilms   

If you're using Firefox, Download Helper and FlashGot add-ons also seem to work with this link if you wanted to grab all 289MBs of it.

10290

Living Room / Re: The Hunt For Gollum - 40 Min. Fan-Made Movie

« Last post by 40hz on May 03, 2009, 04:10 PM »

Meh.  

10291

Living Room / Re: The entitled generation....Are they right?

« Last post by 40hz on May 03, 2009, 04:03 PM »

I'm beginning to think this entire debate is a "generation thing."

I was discussing this issue with a friend over his house. His 16-year old daughter eventually got into the conversation. After a while, she went out and came back with her laptop, with the browser open to a webpage. The page was showing a blog at wordpress.com posted by someone (allegedly a high school student) who tackles the twin issues of copyright and 'fair use.'

After giving it a critical read, I reached the conclusion that the article displayed some of the sloppiest thinking imaginable. My friend's daughter, on the other hand, thought that the blogger cut through "all the B.S." and put the issue to rest "once and for all. "

"I thought his post was brilliant! I'd love to see THEM try and come up with an intelligent rebuttal to that!" she told us.

I shrugged and told her that despite the fact it was a fairly well-written posting, it didn't really make the point she thought it did. The arguments were weak, contained several logical fallacies, and the author's understanding of ethics was marginal at best.

Since she looked confused, I asked her if she wanted me to explain. When she said yes, I began to go over the the posting line by line to see if we were in agreement as to what the blogger was saying. Once we agreed we were both reading the same thing, I started to analyze the arguments.

Unfortunately, when I then began to systematically take the blogger's 'argument' apart, she first became defensive, then frustrated, and finally very angry. "Your generation will never understand," she said. "Because you're all just too in-doctrinated to see how THEY control the way you think."

(Sorry for all the italics. My friend's daughter is an absolute master of inflection, and I though it too good to let it go waste. )

Well...when I went to school, it is true that I was 'indoctrinated' in logic, rhetoric, grammar, rules of debate, techniques of propaganda, basic citizenship, history, and philosophy.

So now I'm wondering if maybe I might have missed something in this "brilliant argument" she pointed me to:

Link to blog: http://trombonechamp...e-fear-of-knowledge/

...

Copyright infringement should not be based on fear.  Fear is a very powerful tool that is all to often exploited by governments and those in power to get the information they want stuffed into people’s minds.  Where do you think Mrs. Smith learned this information?  Was it a credible source?  Chances are it was, which brings up the question of who you can really trust.  If people stopped blindly trusting the government, what would happen to fear as a propaganda technique?  When discussing copyright, it is best to decide where your ethics are.  “Should I share an ogg (or mp3) of this out of print CD with my friend?”  “Should I consider a small violation of the DMCA a crime if I will only be using the content for what used to be called ‘fair use’?”  “Should I cite this public domain resource?”  “Should I tell my friends about this artist and give them this audio file to get them interested?”  “Should I download this BBC documentary I found on BitTorrent so I can learn about Elephant migration patterns for my report on African mammals?”  There are so many possibilities.  The government has drawn an unreasonably inhibitory line in the dirt, and used fear to enforce it.  As a result, the only way to figure out what is right or wrong is to make the ethical decision yourself.

 

10292

Living Room / Re: Revolutionary Keyboard

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2009, 01:49 PM »

If you saw the film Live Free or Die Hard you might have noticed the bad-guy hackers using flex keyboards in several scenes. Unfortunately, that doesn't really make a lot of sense. (Come to think of it, all of the portrayed 'hacking' scenes were so technically clueless that most of what went down in the film didn't make much sense either, but let's confine the discussion to keyboards for now. )

Here's the problem with  flex keyboards. You can't exactly touch type rapidly on one of these rubber 'bathmats'. (At least not any that I've ever used.) And the right software combined with raw typing speed is essential to pull off several well known exploits.

Or at least so I've read.

 

<Edit: fixed spelling. >

10293

General Software Discussion / Re: Rubber Ducky - a small, fun resource monitor

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2009, 07:12 AM »

(Hey, I'll take any excuse to get Milla Jovovich's lovely visage on my screen. )

-40hz (April 30, 2009, 08:51 PM)

In that case I would have thought you'd go for the changing clothes scene from The Fifth Element...................then again, imagine how many CPUs you'd burn out 

-4wd (May 02, 2009, 05:48 AM)

Hey! I didn't say I wanted to see her naked. I'm primarily impressed with the way her face is put together. It's one of the few that looks good from every angle. Photographers dream of getting to work with a face like that. Plus, she has one of those rare smiles...

(And yes...the rest of her is rather nice* too! )

*Although IMHO she's looks a bit too thin for a woman her age. Sign of the times I suppose. "De gustibus non est disputandum."

10294

Living Room / Re: Interesting Discovery Involving Rented Servers

« Last post by 40hz on May 01, 2009, 11:10 PM »

Personally, I wouldn't bother with anything but a simple single-pass wipe, which is good enough to prevent any software based recovery attempt.

-f0dder (May 01, 2009, 08:28 AM)

Agree. A single-pass zero write should be more than sufficient.

A tech buddy of mine pointed me to this link: http://www.somacon.com/p336.php

Erase Disk Free Space Script


Use this script to erase all the free space on your disk drive by filling it with blank, zeroed files. The WSF script runs on Windows and is freeware licensed under GPL. Just copy it to the drive you want to fill up, and double-click on it.

This script is handy when you want to sell or give away an old flash or hard disk drive, and you want some certainty that files on the drive are not easily recoverable. First erase all the files on the drive, then run this script. After it finishes, all user-writeable areas of the disk will have been written over with zeroes. With a 7200 rpm drive, it takes approximately one hour to fill up one hundred gigabytes. Because it does not overwrite or delete any existing files, the script is safer to use for novices.

This script is useful for the casual Windows users who want to clear out their disk with minimal fuss. You should be transferring ownership of the drive to someone who is unlikely to attempt to recover files from the drive, and you should not have highly sensitive information on the disk.

If you need something more secure, try the freeware Eraser program. You can read the source code for more details. This script can also be used as a crude benchmark to measure the raw write speed of your disk. The Western Digital 7200 rpm drives on my system wrote the files at 32-36 MB/second.

I can't vouch for it since I haven't tested it yet. But I did read through the script, and it does look like it's a workable solution. (Didn't spot anything malicious in it either - which is always a plus. )

10295

General Software Discussion / Re: Is AnyDVD actually necessary for copying DVD's?

« Last post by 40hz on May 01, 2009, 05:00 PM »

I have...um... a friend who uses a freebie called DVDSmith Movie Backup. My ...um...friend been very satisfied with the results obtained.

This is strictly for copying a movie to your media center for...um...backup purposes.

You can't burn the copy to another disk with this particular product. But you wouldn't really be wanting to do that would you?

Link: http://www.dvdsmith.com/

 

10296

Living Room / Re: Interesting Discovery Involving Rented Servers

« Last post by 40hz on May 01, 2009, 01:26 PM »

Doesn't plain ol' fdisk do this?

If that doesn't work, just post your email to a disreputable website, turn off your anti-virus, and you'll get MBR-corrupting software delivered right to your inbox! 

-Edvard (May 01, 2009, 10:21 AM)

10297

General Software Discussion / Re: Time Clock Software

« Last post by 40hz on May 01, 2009, 01:22 PM »

Are you talking about tracking employee payroll hours or employee billable time - or both?

10298

Living Room / Re: Interesting Discovery Involving Rented Servers

« Last post by 40hz on May 01, 2009, 08:01 AM »

Windows XP includes a command that will do what you want, (also available to Win2000):

cipher

Administrators can use Cipher.exe to encrypt and decrypt data on drives that use the NTFS file system and to view the encryption status of files and folders from a command prompt. An updated version of the Cipher tool has been released for Windows 2000, and is included with Windows XP. The updated version adds another security option. This new option is the ability to overwrite data that you have deleted so that it cannot be recovered and accessed.

eg.  cipher /w:C:\  should wipe all unused space on the C: drive.

Otherwise there's always DBAN.

-4wd (May 01, 2009, 02:30 AM)

The only problem with the Cipher command is that it uses three write passes and can't be changed. We used to use Cipher until drive capacities go too big for it to be practical for us. That's when we switched over to using Eraser, which does allow for a single pass.

From what I've been reading, the consensus among most security experts is that a single-pass overwrite is every bit as effective as a multipass wipe. Or at least it is with today's forensic recovery software.

10299

Living Room / Re: how to improve DC's usability: the stackOverflow model

« Last post by 40hz on April 30, 2009, 11:17 PM »

Then maybe instead of a post count, there should just be a "new user" tag added under certain conditions. (e.g., if post count is less than 5 and user registered less than 1 month ago).

-Gothi[c] (April 30, 2009, 11:04 PM)

Alternatively, how about doing the "AMEX thing": Member since mm/yy

10300

Living Room / Re: Interesting Discovery Involving Rented Servers

« Last post by 40hz on April 30, 2009, 10:59 PM »

Perhaps someone can give some tips on what to use on windows servers to properly wipe data.

-Gothi[c] (April 29, 2009, 09:13 AM)

If you have physical access to the machine and you want to be really secure, the best bet is to first completely wipe the drives with a utility like DBAN and then reinstall your OS. Since that's not usually doable with a rented server, the next  best bet is to run a  utility to overwrite the free space on your disks.

I'd suggest installing Eraser ( http://eraser.heidi.ie/ ) on your server. It's what we use. The latest stable release (ver5.86a)  is compatible with Server 2k3 and 2k8  - and it's free under GPL!

Set it to overwrite the drive's freespace using a single pseudorandom pass. That would leave your files intact while nuking any traces left behind from previous usage.

It's a time consuming process with a slow machine or a large hard drive, but it works quite well. Defragging and consolidating the freespace on the target drive before overwriting can help speed things up a bit. Fortunately, you'll really only need to do it once on a rented server.

There's a nice illustrated step-by-step on using Eraser at this link:

http://www.afterdawn...ely_delete_files.cfm