Archive for April 2013
DNA as Digital Data Storage Device
Forget about your portable hard drive. Scientists have successfully stored computer files on a strand of DNA.
Scientists
Storing information is what DNA does best. DNA holds the genetic code of each species, and spells out the exact instructions required to create a particular organism. The information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). The information stored on computers is binary, meaning the data is represented by 1s and 0s. Scientists have long tried to replicate nature’s way of storing information, but it’s been elusive until now.
The European Bioinformatics Institute generates a huge amount of data, and data storage is a real concern. Goldman and his colleague, Ewan Birney, dreamed up the solution over a few beers one evening. Previous attempts at encoding data onto DNA failed because those methods tried to translate a computer’s binary data directly onto the DNA – and binary repetition caused errors in retrieval. The team was able to translate the binary information into ternary information (that uses 0, 1, and 2), and then encode that into the DNA. The researchers think their system might be able to store the roughly 3 zettabytes (a zettabyte is one billion trillion bytes) of digital data thought to presently exist in the world! DNA double
Android Hidden Secret Codes (Cheat Sheet)
This code can give you access to a whole multitude of hidden menus, diagnostic tests and much more. Smartphones don’t hake exclusivity though – these codes can be found on both dumb and feature phones as well. Android devices have codes that are capable of being shared across a whole range of devices. Here we are going to tell you what some of these codes are. All are entered in the same way – input the code into the phone dialer and away you go. As there are so many different manufacturers though there is no guarantee that all codes will work on all android devices but feel free to try them on Samsung, HTC, Sony, LG and Motorola devices, among others.
Before we give you the codes though, a word of warning. Do not attempt to put these in unless you know what you are doing. Some of these codes will make substantial changes to your phone’s configuration and we will take no liability for any damage that occurs:
*#06# – IMEI number
*#0*# – Enter the service menu on newer phones like Galaxy S III
*#*#4636#*#* – Phone information, usage statistics and battery
*#*#34971539#*#* – Detailed camera information
*#*#273282*255*663282*#*#* – Immediate backup of all media files
*#*#197328640#*#* – Enable test mode for service
*#*#232339#*#* – Wireless LAN tests
*#*#0842#*#* – Backlight/vibration test
*#*#2664#*#* – Test the touchscreen
*#*#1111#*#* – FTA software version (1234 in the same code will give PDA and firmware version)
*#12580*369# – Software and hardware info
*#9090# – Diagnostic configuration
*#872564# – USB logging control
*#9900# – System dump mode
*#301279# – HSDPA/HSUPA Control Menu
*#7465625# – View phone lock status
*#*#7780#*#* – Reset the /data partition to factory state
*2767*3855# – Format device to factory state (will delete everything on phone)
##7764726 – Hidden service menu for Motorola Droid
There are plenty more of these to be found on the internet, these are just some of the more common ones.
Wordlist: Creating your own WordList using Backtrack
Having a big and a good wordlists always help but as a penetration tester you must be able to create your own custom wordlists depending on the situation.
Here in this tutorial I am going to show you that how you can make your own wordlist according to your situation. We are going to use a tool in Backtrack named as ‘Crunch’. So here we go :
Step 1: Open your terminal and navigate to crunch directory using this command
Now we will make a wordlist which will contains all the combination having these characters ‘password’.
So we will execute the following command :
Now it will create a wordlist that will have minimum length of characters 8, maximum length of characters 8 with the characters of ‘password’. You can see it in below image :
Now you can also create a wordlist which will contain only numbers for that you can use this command :
For alphanumeric you can use this
Steganography (A Data Hiding Technique)
This technique is used for secure communication as cryptography but It is different from cryptography in various manner as described below :
- Steganography hides text in plain sight, while cryptography scrambles plaintext (original message) into ciphertext (coded message)
- Even though a message is hidden, you should always encrypt it as well (my opinion, anyway)
- You can easily hide messages in digital images with the most basic software out there (Hex editors, MS Paint, etc)
- Other media types lend themselves to Steganography too. Messages can be hidden in audio/video files, or even plain text!
Basically there are many methods to implement Steganography but here I am going to show you two methods which are very basic and easy to get back.
Method 1 :
In this method we will use simple command prompt to implement Steganography.
Step 1 : Select any image and write your message in to any text editor and save it with the image.
Here I am selecting image img.jpg and my text file is message.txt and in this file the message is “Hey This is a secret message”.
Here I am selecting image img.jpg and my text file is message.txt and in this file the message is “Hey This is a secret message”.
Step 2 : Now open command prompt and navigate to the directory where both image file and txt file are and then type a simple command to merge both files.
copy /B img.jpg + message.txt new.jpg
and now a new image file named as new.jpg will create.
you can merge any file with images file by this command. For example if you merge a rar/compressed file with this image file then when you will open your output file with image viewer then it will show an image and when you will open that output file with winrar or any similar software then it will show you the content of rar file.
Method 2: You can also use a tool named as MP3Stego which is used to hide your message into an mp3 file.
First download is from here.
Go to command prompt and type following command to hide your message into the mp3 file.
encode -E hidden_text.txt -P pass audio_file.wav done.mp3
It will compress audio_file.wav (mono, 44.1 kHz, 16bit encoded) and hides hidden_text.txt. The hidden text is encrypted using pass as a password. This produces the output called done.mp3.
Use the following command to get the hidden message (file) from the mp3
decode -X -P pass done.mp3
it will uncompress done.mp3 into done.mp3.pcm and attempts to extract hidden information. The hidden message is decrypted, uncompressed and saved into done.mp3.txt.
Note: Here hidden_text.txt is a file which contains your secret message. Audio_file.wav is a audio file which will contains our secret message in it. Done.mp3 file is a output file which is a combination of our secret message and the audio_file.wav.
Method 3: You can use a tool named as edjpgcom which is used for adding a comment in a image file.
Download this from here.
1: Copy the image in folder where you have extracted this tool.
2: Now open command prompt and type
Edjpgcom.exe filename.jpeg
You will get a new window here like this one :
Now add your secret message here and click ok. Now send the file to the recipient and tell him to open this image via this tool.
Mac OS BASH and TERMINAL
A very powerful tool included with every Mac computer, Terminal is a command line interface that can be accessed using the terminal application at Applications/Terminal.app. The terminal originated in the predecessors of Mac OS X, called NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP. When you open terminal it automatically prompts you with a bash shell. Bash is a unix based shell created by a programmer named Brian Fox while he worked for the Free Software Foundation.
Bash is an acronym for Bourne-again shell. It is a reference to its initial purpose, to serve as a free open-source version of the Bourne Shell. However, bash has grown into its own shell, and is currently the default shell for most Linux kernels, Mac OS X, and Darwin. Additionally, it is possible to have a bash shell on Windows by using a program such as Cygwin and MSYS. Bash combines and improves the functionality of the Bourne shell, Korn Shell, and C shell.
While Bash is not perfect, it is still a very important and powerful tool for all, at least all Mac, users to understand. Using bash and terminal you can greatly improve the functions your computer can perform. You can trace network connections, perform searches, change preferences on your system, perform backups and many other varied and useful functions. While it takes a long time and lots of practice to become an expert at using and navigating a command line interface, every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
How to open Administrator-level command prompt in windows
Many people face problems while using command prompt, they execute commands and they may not get expected results (error reports), this happens because of the difference between administrator –level and user level permissions. In order to make suitable changes on your computer you need to open administrator –level command prompt. Which may not possible to make changes using user level command prompt.
In order to open an Administrator-level command prompt in Vista and 7, do the following:
Click Start
In the Search Programs and Files box, type
While holding ctrl and shift, press enter.
Windows UAC (User Account Control) prompt may appear, depending on your settings. Click yes.
How to root/unroot your Android phone
What does rooting means for Android?
Android rooting is the process of allowing users of Smartphone’s, tablets, and other devices running the Android mobile operating system to attain privileged control (known as “root access”) within Android’s subsystem.
What are the reasons for rooting Android ?
“Rooting” your Android phone does afford you numerous benefits, including :
Running special applications-Superuser is an app that can only be run on a rooted Android phone. This allows you to control which apps have access to the “root” system. Another popular application that “rooting” affords is the ability to tether a computer to your Android phone so that the computer can access the Internet using the phone’s data connection. Another program can allow your Android to be used as a WiFi Hotspot without having to pay your provider for the feature.
Freeing up memory-When you install an app on your phone, it is stored on the phone’s memory. “Rooting” allows you to move installed applications to your SD card, thus freeing up system memory for additional files or apps.
Custom ROM’s-This is the most powerful feature of “rooted” phones. There are hundreds of custom ROM’s that can do anything from speeding up the processing speed of your phone to changing the entire look and feel of your phone.
Note : Rooting immediately voids your phone’s warranty so once rooted, don’t try to bring your phone back for service or warranty work. You are on your own!
So Now the real Game begins.. Simple steps are here for rooting android.
Note: Here I am rooting my Samsung Galaxy Ace Gt-s5830i.
Note: Before trying any such type of techniques make sure you have taken all your mobile phone’s data backup.
Step 1: Download this root file from here. (only for Ace GT-s5830i users)
If you are not using Ace GT-s5830i then you have to download different file. (google it or type your model number in comment I’ll try my best to provide you root file for your model).
It will be a zip file. Leave it as it is and don’t extract it. Just put this file in your sd card (Memory Card).
Step 2: Now switch off your phone and boot in recovery mode by pressing : ‘POWER+VOLUME UP+HOME’ buttons.
Now after 4-5 second you can leave home button.
Step 3: Now in recovery mode you will see some options from all those options select ‘Install Zip From SD’.
Now you will see all your SD’s files and folders here.
Step 4: Now choose the file you downloaded and put in your sd card i.e. ‘RootS5830i.zip’
Now it will process for some time and then done.. !!
Step 5: Reboot your phone and it’s ready. And yeah..!! You have rooted your android successfully. 
How would I know that my phone/tablet is rooted or not ?
To verify that your android is rooted or not simply check your Apps and you will found a Superuser icon in your apps.
No, I don’t wanna be root users anymore what to do ?
If you have rooted your android and now want to unroot it then all process will be same you just have to replace the file ‘RootS5830i.zip’ by this file: ‘unroot.zip’ [Download from here].
