Author: Dave Farquhar

How to clean an MBR and recover drive partitions

Dave Farquhar security , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sometimes it’s necessary to recover drive partitions because you accidentally repartitioned a drive you didn’t mean to, or because your MBR got infected or otherwise trashed. Here’s how to recover them, for free.

Infecting MBRs with malware is popular with virus writers again. And I fully expect chaos to ensue, because that’s what happened the last time there was more than one virus floating around that infected MBRs. They quit doing it for a good reason.

So here’s how to clean up the mess when an MBR gets infected, or when multiple infections blitzes the MBR and the hard drive loses the ability to boot, just displaying a message like Missing Operating System or Operating System Not Found.

We’ll be using the Gparted Live CD. Many Linux live CDs have the proper tools, but GParted works well and it’s a small download. You can try to use another Linux live CD, and it will work fine, but the icons might not all be where I say they are.

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Using ATA Security eXtension BIOS to add hard drive password protection

Dave Farquhar Hardware, security , ,

Most desktop PCs don’t have the ability to set an ATA password in the BIOS, precluding you from enabling the onboard AES-128 encryption in a drive like the Intel 320 SSD.

If you’re willing to hack your BIOS or burn a boot ROM to put in a network card, Arne Fitzenreiter has ATA Security eXtension (ATASX, or ATA SX)–a way for you to add that support to computers that lack it. Read more

Don’t follow Dvorak’s password advice

Dave Farquhar security , , ,

I mostly agree with Dvorak’s Permanence of Posting Online, but I take serious, serious issue with what he says in that piece about passwords.
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Meet the new malcontents. Same as the old malcontents.

Dave Farquhar security , , , , ,

The Guardian presents an interesting perspective, that hacktivists are bored teenagers driven by their hatred of government policy.

If that’s the case, it’s nothing new. They’re just able to make bigger messes today than their counterparts could 20 years ago. Read more

What we do with historic buildings in St. Louis

Dave Farquhar St. Louis

Why, we do the only logical thing you do with a building that’s 15 years old or older, of course. We tear them down to make way for a strip mall! Or a gas station!

I don’t know what those stupid Europeans are thinking. You can’t have progress when you keep your buildings for hundreds of years.

I’m going to write up a proposal that we redevelop the site of the Gateway Arch. It’s old and rusty, after all. Imagine all of the vacant office space we could put there!

MBR rootkits don’t mean you have to wipe the drive

Dave Farquhar security, Software , , , , , ,
MBR rootkits don’t mean you have to wipe the drive

There’s a nasty rumor going around that if your computer gets infected with the Popureb rootkit, your only recourse is to wipe your MBR, reformat your hard drive, and reinstall (or run your factory recovery disk, which is essentially the same thing).

Not so fast.

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If you’re concerned that Lulzsec may have leaked data about you…

Dave Farquhar security

If you’re concerned that you might have been included in the massive data leak perpetrated by the short-lived hacking group Lulzsec, I have a couple of web sites for you to visit.

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Slipstream drivers into Windows XP

Dave Farquhar Windows , , , , , , ,
Slipstream drivers into Windows XP

For about a month after a new version of Windows is released, it supports just about any hardware you’re likely to throw at it. And after that, it’s not quite that easy. And once the version is end of life, it’s harder still. So here’s an easy way to slipstream drivers into Windows XP. For your retro PC that you use offline, of course. Don’t go online with this system.

I stumbled across Driverpacks back in March, and I’ve finally had a chance to spend some serious time working with them. What they mean is that if you’re willing to do some work, you can make a disc that will install Windows with functional drivers for virtually any computer in existence.

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What a week…

Dave Farquhar Personal

It’s been a whirlwind week, for the blog and (especially) for me, personally.

I had surgery on Tuesday. A gym-class injury I sustained in January 1989 caught up with me. Several front teeth were horribly displaced, and it took a lot of work to save them and get them back to where they’re supposed to be, including two years of braces. Ultimately I needed root canals in three of them (two in 1993 and another in 1997), but that allowed me to lead a normal life. But more recently, the tooth most severely injured started failing. I got several opinions, and all said it needed to come out. So that, along with a bone graft, a gum graft, and a temporary implant, all happened Tuesday.

Not knowing what I’d be up to doing after the procedure, I wrote a bunch of material in advance.

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Review: GT Max Playstation-USB converter

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , , , , , , ,

After my disappointing experience with an inexpensive–perhaps I should just say cheap— X-Kim USB gamepad, I decided to give the GT Max Playstation-USB converter a try. This inexpensive (under $5) adapter lets you use Playstation and Playstation 2 (PS2) controllers with a PC.

I’m just interested in being able to use it with emulators for older systems, so I can’t comment on its suitability for using Playstation dance pads with PC games, or using inexpensive PS2 controllers with PS3s. Other users report some degree of success for that.

I’m happy to report that I can now play five or six levels of Jumpman or 9 innings of Baseball Stars without my hands hurting.

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