7 Deadliest Food of the 200x era

Originally extract from:
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/the-7-foods-experts-wont-eat-547963/

Alarming, we are all eating some if not most of these in our day to day. Sad fact is, we are the one killing ourselves.

Here is the 7 foods expert warn against:
1. Canned Tomatoes
2. Corn-Fed Beef
3. Microwave Popcorn
4. Nonorganic Potatoes
5. Farmed Salmon
6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones
7. Conventional Apples

Sorry, your Earth has expired in 2050...

This is not another hoo-haa from the 2012 movie, but a pretty real life situation. Earth can expire in 2050 if this path continues.

As reported by WWF:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=117206

The World Wildlife Fund claims that the Earth will become uninhabitable by 2050. Our planet has been badly abused, and it has been dying a slow death. The Earth will face extinction in roughly forty years, which is sooner than a child born today enters midlife crisis.

So, the news is bleak for those who are working hard to build the future of their children, and for all those ambitious people who have grandiose plans for their future. Why bother about interior decoration if the house is burning? There may not be any future left in the future. The Earth is dying.

Signs are there in escalating global warming. There has been drastic reduction in rainfall. Rivers are shrinking. Satellite photos show Greenland ice sheets in full-fledged meltdown. A large portion of Bangladesh is likely to go under water. In US much of Manhattan and eastern shore of Maryland could be washed into the Atlantic Ocean. Pacific island nations will be blotted out. Hurricanes will ravage the Earth. Rising sea levels and severe droughts will destroy crops. Widespread famine will wreak havoc with starvation and death.

Read more from the link above. But I would like to quote the following:

"Between December 7 and 18, Copenhagen turns into "Hopenhagen" to host the Climate Conference. This could be humanity's last hope to achieve a turning point to cope with climate change. Scientists argue if man and dinosaur ever existed together. But we know why they didn't perish together. The dinosaurs couldn't cope with the Earth. The Earth couldn't cope with us."

Lenovo release System Update 4.0 for Windows 7.0

From:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/TVSU-UPDATE.html

Lenovo has release a new version of System Update for Windows 7. As you recalled, System Update is used to update Lenovo laptops and desktops. It serve as a type of Windows Update alike one stop update for drivers and other application features of the Lenovo. Using System Update, this allow the user to update all their Lenovo drivers, applications such as presentor, hotkey configurators etc.

Lenovo System Update was previously mentioned here:
http://nemesisv.blogspot.com/2009/03/lenovo-thinkvantage-system-update.html

What's new in WHS PP3

Here is the list of What's New in PP3 for Windows Home Server.

Windows 7 Libraries integration

When you install the Windows Home Server Connector and log on a computer running Windows 7, you can access the Windows Home Server shared folders from the Windows 7 libraries.

Windows 7 Action Center backup warning suppression

After you install the Windows Home Server Connector to enable the home server backup for your computer running Windows 7, you can suppress the Action Center warning reminding you that Windows Backup has not been set up.

Windows 7 power settings

You can configure your computer running Windows 7 to wake up at a scheduled backup time and then go back to sleep after the backup finishes.

Console support for Windows 7

Windows 7 is properly displayed as the operating system shown in the Computers & Backup tab.

Windows Search

Windows Search 4 is included to improve query search times, indexing times, and reliability. Extended Remote Discovery increases the efficiency of searching across all your libraries running Windows Search 4. Files encrypted with EFS are now supported.

TV archive

Windows Home Server can automatically archive recorded TV by moving your recordings from a Windows Media Center computer to your home server in the format of your choice. This enables playback in the correct format for your home computers and/or portable devices.

Console view

You can view information about your home server’s storage space, hard drives, backup status, and more from Windows Media Center.

Complete details are available in the Power Pack 3 Release Documentation.

What happened in WHS PP3

As mentioned, PP3 was rolled out on 24 Nov 2009. I had it upgraded ASAP and reboot my Windows Home Server. Although, I did not witness the reboot myself, everything seems normal. Well, that is until I try to connect to it.

Remote Desktop - Does Not Work.
WHS Connector - Does Not Work.
Ping - OK.
Website - OK.

Strange. I have to plug in to my TV and keyboard to troubleshoot. I saw a strange message about WHS Log being full. I did a quick check on my space and I notice there is plenty. I suppose it is the log limit that was set. In any case, I did another reboot.

After the reboot, the log message is still there, but everything else works. Looks like I needed to reboot it twice. I did the recommened steps to go in, backup the logs and clear it and hopefully, the log message will not appear soon again.

After PP3, I notice the backup with my Windows 7 machine is more stable. I had less failure anyway.

Edit : Oh yeah, one more thing I forget to mention. You will need to upgrade all your WHS connector software on your desktops, laptops etc. If you are using a firewall, that has to be updated to the new binaries as well if your firewall is a application binary specific one such as OneCare.

8 Common Issues in Windows 7 Migrations

Technet has published an article about 8 common issues with migration to Windows 7. Many of which you should had avoided if you had gone through hardware upgrades and Vista. So, in a way, this truly benefit those who had kept in touch.

Read more from:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ee652552.aspx

Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 Goes Live on 24 Mov 2009

Paul Thurrott reports that Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 will be released November 24


"We are announcing that the Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 will be available in all shipping languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish) on November 24 2009. Power Pack 3 will be a free update to existing Windows Home Server users via Windows Update.

Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 improves the Windows Home Server experience with Windows 7 and Windows Media Center by providing features like backup and restore of computers running Windows 7, Windows 7 Libraries integration, enhancements for Windows Media Center, and better support for netbook computers. Microsoft released the Beta of the Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 in July 2009 and received positive community support and feedback from Beta testers throughout the testing cycle. We let you know back in September that we were going to continue testing the Beta and would not ship the final release of Power Pack 3 until the community has validated our work. We are pleased to now announce the November 24, 2009 availability."

Firefox 3.5.5 just days after 3.5.4

I did not post this although it has been out for a few days. The previous version 3.5.4 seems to have lots of issues crashing my plugins. I am not sure how much is changed, but according to the change log, this is what is listed:

Firefox 3.5.5 fixes the following issues:

* Fixed several stability issues.

There do not seems to be any security fixes in this release.
Well, needless to say, the place to download the update will be from:
http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/products/download.html?product=firefox-3.5.5&os=win&lang=en-US

Epson TX100 New Windows 7 drivers does not work with Vista

In a previous post, I mentioned the release of new Windows 7 drivers for the Epson TX100:

http://nemesisv.blogspot.com/2009/10/epson-tx100-new-drivers-with-full.html

what I failed to notice was that the Epson scan program (v3.4.9) only list Windows 7 compatibility. So what happen to Vista? I tried to installed it and every time it started, it crashes. At first I thought it was me. So I uninstalled clean and reinstall it. Same thing happened.

I cannot find the download online anymore, but I managed to find my previous files. So, I reinstalled the older version for Vista (v3.4.3a) and it works perfectly. I guess in moving ahead, Epson either has branched out the codes or totally forgotten that they still need to support Windows Vista.

Do take note of this. If you had installed and crashed and needed a old copy of the installation, let me know, maybe I can put it online.

Connection issue with Vodaphone GSM Mobile Broadband

I had this laptop which is full of company issue applications etc. I do not know why, but it just doesn't work with the Vodaphone Tongle properly. The first time I had to install the software and it works. After that, when I plug it in, either the modem cannot be found or something is using the modem. One of the solution for now is to uninstall and reinstall the software everything I plug it in to use, which doesn't make sense.

So, I found another way to solve this issue without the need to uninstall and reinstall. If you had to install the latest firmware and software, do so following my blog previous post. This may already solve your problem in the first place.

http://nemesisv.blogspot.com/2009/10/upgrading-of-mobile-broadband-huawei.html


If that doesn't work, you need to locate this file:
"C:\Program Files\Vodafone\VMCLite\RedetectVodafoneModem.exe"
Of course, this may be in other directories. Basically, you create a shortcut to run this everything you plug in the tongle. It will re-detect the modem and connect.

I hope this helps some of you out there.

2FA on the Windows Home Server - The Planning

I was talking about how I wanted to integrate the 2FA (two factor authentication) into my Windows Home Server. As luck may be, there is a third party plug available from:

TwoFactor WHS
http://twofactorwhs.codeplex.com/

I had evaluated it and concluded that it is nothing more than just changing the index.html on the web server actually. However, the biggest hurdle here is that the solution I wanted to integrate does not work with this plugin:

PhoneFactor
http://www.phonefactor.com/

According to a post. it is "suggested" to the developer by probably another developer from PhoneFactor to integrate this:

http://twofactorwhs.codeplex.com/Thread/View.aspx?ThreadId=61471

Looks like its more work for me. I probably have to to some work to get PhoneFactor working.

Ok, let's take a look why I want to use PhoneFactor.
Firstly, its using Phone as a authentication mechanism, which is OOBA (Out-Of-Band authentiocation). This word is going to get even more popular soon than 2FA. Because ultimately, traditional 2FA (SMS, token etc) still uses the same channel (application, web) to perform the second level authentication. However, PhoneFactor uses the phone. It is kind of a IVS actually. But I never said this require a very complicated solution.

So, secondly, PhoneFactor actually offers a pack for 25 users for FREE. And this fits nicely into WHS, because the cap for the WHS is only 10 users.

Thirdly, it offers FREE calls in some countries listed here:
http://www.phonefactor.com/products/global-services

And well, ok, my country is listed here. So, it is much more cost saving. Actually, to be honest, if I had to pay a cent for 2FA, I probably wont even think about it.

Lastly, it is token free. This is just not so handy (and costly) to have a token etc. The phone, I always have with me.

So, after kinda "selling" for PhoneFactor, maybe you are also interested to try it out for some of your application and share your experience?

New Search

I had change the previous blogger search engine (google) to the google search engine. Whats change? Well, nothing much, except maybe integration with AdSense and of course, it display faster, which I think is more important. The result is being display just below the search. I hope with this search, both you and me can find the relevant post more quickly and effectively. I always see my blog more or less as a repository for solutions and opinion to something.

2FA on the Windows Home Server

With the banks and everyone else tightening up the authentication, it is also no surprise that people like me is also looking at a 2FA solution that log in to my WHS. I had chosen one of the out-of-band solution using the mobile phone. As I see it, this should be the way moving ahead.

I won't say too much about how it is done yet as I am still looking at the implementation, but it is likely I will roll this out this coming weekend and as such all login to the WHS will be disrupted and no longer valid until you have register you handphone with me. :)

I will share out the experience after I complete this exercise.

Truecrypt 6.3 is out!

Truecrypt 6.3 is release mainly with the support for Windows 7 and OSX Snow Leopard.

Grab it from the same place:
http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads

BTW, in case you wondering what is Truecrypt, I had mentioned it before here:
http://nemesisv.blogspot.com/2008/07/true-crypt-60-portable.html

F-Secure to fight malware over the cloud

Epson TX100 new drivers with full support for Windows 7.

You can either download the driver using Windows Update on Windows 7 or get it via:
http://www.epson.com.ph/epson/drivers/driver_download.htm?dc=1&mode=3&m=false&catid=4&pid=1373

Epson Stylus TX100 Driver for Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Version : 6.62
Date Posted : 2009-10-22
Download Url : SX100_TX100_101_106_109_W2K_662Es.exe

Epson Stylus TX100 Driver for Windows x64, Windows Vista x64, Windows 7 x64
Version : 6.62
Date Posted : 2009-10-22
Download Url : SX100_TX100_101_106_109_x64_662Es.exe

Epson Stylus TX100 Epson Scan for Windows
Version : 3.4.9.0
Date Posted : 2009-10-22
Comments : Support Windows 7, Windows 7 x64
Download Url : SX100_EXP_WIN_3490_31.exe

The Mac fiels are there too, but I do not really care.

Windows 7 launches in Singapore at $77

For the first 177 buyer anyway. It is the Home Premium upgrade version.
Read more at:
http://www.yourpcsimplified.com/events.aspx

But I am sure some of you already got it for months. So its nothing new.

Upgrading of Mobile Broadband Huawei E220

I was using this (crappy) mobile broadband t-loaned from the company. The software was incredible frustrating. Well, at least it is on the laptop which has Pointsec Protector. The CD-ROM keep getting block and even after many attempts to install the software, in the end it sometimes cannot detect the modem.

So, I was looking around and found this:
http://m1.com.sg/M1/site/M1Corp/menuitem.e2f30a2a1a1860b609b422103f2000a0/?vgnextoid=6e2a7cfeda9ba110VgnVCM100000695a230aRCRD&vgnextfmt=pdate:0910161234:

Yes, there is a firmware upgrade to Firmware Version 11.117.10.02.00.B268) as well as the software upgrade (which need to be flashed onto the firmware first) for VMC Lite (Version VMC 3.2.1.156).

After the installation, things went a bit more smoothly. If you have similar issues, you can give it a shot. BTW, this firmware supports Vodaphone and other providers as well.

5 New OS from Microsoft

With Windows 7 on the blink of release (its actually RTM...), Microsoft actually has 5 new OS up their sleeves:

1. Windows 8 (Windows 7 Successor)
2. Windows Midori (Written entirely in managed code)
3. Windows Singularity (Basically the same as Windows Midori)
4. Windows Azure (Cloud Computing OS)
5. Barrelfish (Multicore OS)

Windows 8 being the biggest hype. With a new filesystem and totally gone with Windows Explorer, is Windows 8 what we had been waiting for? Btw, there are already lots of fake alpha on torrent site. ALL fake. I doubt any Windows 8 alpha will be out soon since its schedule for 2011. Yes, thats a bit too fast to phase out Windows 7. But well, there are companies still using Windows XP...

Yahoo and Gmail has over 10000 accounts phished too

It was just one day where Hotmail announced it has some thousands of accounts leaked and posted online. Today, we have news that Gmail and Yahoo has accounts phished too. The estimate is about 10000.

In any case, it just means more work (change password) for us. And its about time we do it anyway. When was the last time you change your password? Don' tell me. Most of you should have the answer : NEVER.

Read more about it at:
http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php?id=518427986&rid=-217

Free mount for World of Warcraft (WOW)

Yes, its sound too good to be true, right? Because it is. 

Read about how phishing can be conducted using the WOW:
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00001778.html

Happy Birthday is Copyrighted and you can't sing it for FREE

Apparently, it seems that we are not suppose to sing "Happy Birthday". Well, at least not without paying to the author. It seems that public performance of the song is not allow and is protected by copyright and you need to pay to sing it. In USA, that means until 2030 and EU 2016. Well if it doesn't get extended.

Read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You

and remember not to sing this song at parties. Imagine a kindergarden of little children getting busted by a SWAT team and arrested due to copyright infringement. Now, that makes my day.

Thousands (understatement) of Hotmail passwords leaked online

If you have a LIVE, Hotmail or MSN account, its a good time to change the password now. According to this article, there had been a leak and thousands (just A to B) of accounts posted online. I suspect the hacker has a big big list.

Read the full post at:
http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/10/05/thousands-of-hotmail-passwords-leaked-online

Change your password NOW!

Microsoft Live Messenger Mandatory Update to 14.0.8089

Due to a recent discovered flaw in LIVE Messenger, as detailed here:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/973882.mspx

Microsoft had made it mandatory to update your LIVE Messenger to the latest V9.0 (or version 14.0.8089). Why one says 9.0 and the other says 14.0 beats me. Maybe they should really just merge them somehow to avoid confusion.

If you want to just download it straight away now, do so at:

http://download.live.com/?sku=messenger

In any case, people like me who hates advertisements, you can grab the latest APatch to remove them (partially) from:

Download A-Patch for Windows Live Messenger 9.0 Wave 3 (14.0.8089.0726)

Dual Boot Windows XP (and below) with Linux using Windows MBR

I just noticed that there are 101 FAQ out there to teach you how to dual boot Windows and Linux using LILO, GRUB etc. Maybe its just me, but nobody is happy with Windows Boot Manager? There is a clean and simple way to enable the booting of Linux without choose LILO or Grub. Its just a simple boot sector file added to the Windows Boot Manager and you have it. Why does everyone has to choose LILO or Grub?

Well, so here I am going to talk about this legacy method. Bear in mind that this does not apply to Windows Vista because of the BCD Boot Manager. That you can find it online.

First, figure out a way to get to your Linux. The best thing will be you just finish installing and has not rebooted. Make sure you had chosen to install the Linux Boot sector on the partition itself (sda1 or hda1 etc...) instead of the harddisk (sda or hda etc...). If you had overwritten the bootsector, do a repair with your Windows CD. Its a painful process and I hope you have not come to this. Alternatively, use Super Grub Disk to restore your Windows MBR. You can also us this to boot back into your Linux if you had installed the bootloader into the partition and rebooted (oopps).

UNetbootin Super Grub Disk Loader
Download and run this within Windows:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=198821&package_id=261880

Get back into your Linux. Mount your windows directory. Or USB disc etc.
An example will be:

#mkdir /tmp/windows
#mount /dev/sda6 /tmp/windows

sda6 is your Linux partition. You can use Super Grub Disk to navigate and found out anyway.
Now you will need to extract the bootsector of the Linux using this command as root:

#dd if=/dev/sda2 of=/tmp/windows/linux.bin bs=512 count=1

Thats all there is! Well, not really. Reboot back into your Windows. We still have 1 more line to add. Open your boot.ini on your boot drive. You may need to unhide and un-readonly the file first. Add this line to the end of the file:

c:\linux.bin="Linux"

Save and now you have a boot option to linux anytime from the Windows Boot Manager. This doesn't break when you update your Windows etc. Well, it does if you shift your HDD around (if the sda6 or whatever the naming changes.).

ガッチャマンGatchaman 2009 is being delayed to 2011

It seems that the long awaiting Gatchaman is going to be delayed. The original script writers was changed and also it seems Imagi is involved in Astroboy 2009... I guess its ok to be delayed as long as it is not ruined.

Micosoft Security Essentials Download

The download is finally available from:
http://www.microsoft.com/Security_essentials/default.aspx?mkt=en-us#dlbutton

The RTM version was 1.66 and it has been upgrade to 1.67.188 now.

Microsoft Security Essentials Launches!

On Sep 29, finally Microsoft launches the release final version of codename "Morro" or Microsoft Security Essentials. As mentioned before, this "black horse" had gotten first in VB100 and detects 97.8% of the viruses from AV-Test.org. And its FREE. Do you still want to buy another product. Well, maybe. Because MS Security Essentials does not have a firewall. However, Windows does have a reasonable one.

MS Security Essentials supports Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

There is no full download links yet, but it will appear in a few hours.

Dell launches Latitude Z with wireless charging

Wireless charging of battery is finally possible with the world's first laptop of such capability from Dell.

Read more at:

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/172774/dell_adds_wireless_battery_charging_to_new_laptop.html

Yoriden Samurai Troopers

This is one of those I really miss a lot. Well, actually I kinda never manage to wake up early enough in the morning to watch it at 5:30... Still, I managed to ctahc almost all of the 2nd season.

Nostagic - Kamen Rider

I really missed this...

Microsoft Morro aka Microsoft Security Essential is going final soon!

We all know from the results of VB100 that Microsoft gotten first this month (Aug 09) for antivirus solution. Sad thing was Symantec failed. In any case, the Microsoft product was actually ForeFront, which is not targeted for consumer desktop. However, it is noted that Microsoft Security Essential and probably OneCare is using the same technology.

This is what I got from a email from Microsoft:

Dear Beta User,
Thank you for participating in the Microsoft® Security Essentials Beta. Your participation has been instrumental to ensuring the best possible product release quality.
The final version of Microsoft Security Essentials will be released to the public in the coming weeks. If you are running the older version of the beta (1.0.1407.0), we encourage you to upgrade to a newer version of the beta (1.0.1500.0). To ensure a smoothest possible experience, please follow one of these options:
· Click on the ‘Upgrade Now’ button on the Microsoft Security Essentials Home tab. OR
· Select ‘Upgrade Microsoft Security Essentials’ under the Help drop-down menu
Thank you again for your participation in the Microsoft Security Essentials Beta!
Best regards,
Microsoft Security Essentials Team

After the update, I think I have the RTM version now.

ClustrMaps is back

It took me so long to realized that something was missing from my blog after hte upgrade. Yes, ClustrMap is gone. It is finally back now on the top left sidebar.

Anyway, since I mentioned about ClustrMap, it is a visitor tracker to keep track where people come from. As of Map 2009, here are the top 10 of this site:

United States (US)
United Kingdom (GB)
Australia (AU)
Canada (CA)
Germany (DE)
Singapore (SG)
India (IN)
Italy (IT)
Netherlands (NL)
France (FR)

Fortinet Offers Free FortiClient Endpoint Security Firewall + Anti Malware

Fortinet now is giving away they FortiClient (which works for 2000, XP, 2003, 2008, W7) for FREE. FortiClient basically includes:

Antivirus/Antispyware engine
SSL and IPSec VPN clients
Personal Firewall protection
Intrusion Prevention
Web Filtering
Endpoint Application Detection
Endpoint Monitoring and Control*
WAN Optimization*
Anti-Rootkit Protection
Pre- and Post-Execution Behavioral Analysis
(Heuristics and Antispyware engine)
Real-Time Poisoned Webpage Protection
FortiGuard update services -
Antivirus/Antispyware, Web Filter,
Application Detection, Antispam
Online Forum (self-help)

The only thing which you will be missing out are (which is available in the Premuium Edition):
Antispam Protection
Central Management**
Logging (and centralized reporting)

Download it via (both 64 and 32 bits available):
http://www.forticlient.com/download.html

To be honest, I had only played around for a while, but enough to make me feel its ok. I should need to conduct a more through test before I can conclude on this product. But then again, the only other free Anti Malware which works in Windows Server is Rising Antivirus.

Assassin Creed 2 is in Venice!

Yes, finally its going to come out in Nov 2009. Assassin Creed is not dead!

Video Games | Assassin's Creed II | Visions of Venice Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

OpenDNS Multiple Network Configuration - You cannot add more networks until you complete all fields in the My Info section.

OpenDNS is a Secure DNS solution which is not affected by DNS Poisoning sometimes back. Do check it out at:
http://www.opendns.com

After signing up, I really like it and wish to have all my connections goes through it. However, when I try to set up my second network, it get this error that say:

"You cannot add more networks until you complete all fields in the My Info section."

Basically, I tried to fill it up several times, but it just doesn't update or allow me to do so. Finally, I found out the reason. It is because I had set my account to "Home User". In short, home user is only suppose to have 1 network interface.

Just change your profile to "Work / Business" and update the info. You should be able to update now and add the second network.

Fake Antivirus Goes Green!

http://securitylabs.websense.com/content/Blogs/3469.aspx

If you take a close look at this, you will notice that the box is a rip off of Microsoft's packaging! In any case, be very careful when you start to think about doing your part for the planet.

XP Media and OEM Keys

The secret is all inside a file \i386\setupp.ini.

WinXP's setupp.ini controls how the CD acts. First, find your setupp.ini file in the i386 directory on your WinXP CD. Open it up, it'll look something like this:

ExtraData=707A667567736F696F697911AE7E05
Pid=55034000

The Pid value is what we're interested in. What's there now looks like a standard default. There are special numbers that determine if it's a retail, oem, or volume license edition. First, we break down that number into two parts. The first five digits determines how the CD will behave, ie is it a retail cd that lets you clean install or upgrade, or an oem cd that only lets you perform a clean install? The last three digits determines what CD key it will accept. You are able to mix and match these values. For example you could make a WinXP cd that acted like a retail cd, yet accepted OEM keys.

Now, for the actual values. Remember the first and last values are interchangable, but usually you'd keep them as a pair:

Retail = 51882 335
Volume License = 51883 270
OEM = 82503 OEM

So if you wanted a retail CD that took retail keys, the last line of your setupp.ini file would read:

Pid=51882335

And if you wanted a retail CD that took OEM keys, you'd use:

Pid=51882OEM

Note that this does NOT get rid of WinXP's activation. Changing the Pid to a Volume License will not bypass activation. You must have a volume license (corporate) key to do so.
What is the pid?
Microsoft uses various Product IDs to identify variants of the Windows platform. A Windows product ID (currently, as of XP/2003/Vista) has the following format: xxxxx-yyy-zzzzzzz-zzzzz

'xxxxx' -- the Microsoft Product Code
The xxxxx section is the Microsoft Product Code, which in this case describes the platform, build, and version of Windows. Other product IDs with the same format, such as those found in Microsoft Office (and many other Microsoft products), serve the same purpose.

'yyy' -- the Channel ID
This section of the PID describes the channel (OEM, Volume License, Retail, bundle/Not For Resale) a given XP CD/system has come from.

000 : Other (includes some retail, upgrade and evaluation versions)
006 : MS or Partner promotions
007 : FIXME : Retail
009 : Not for resale - bundle
011 : Upgrade (XP Home?)
083 : Windows Genuine Advantage
OEM : OEM (This does not specify royalty or normal OEM)
270 : Volume License
296 : MSDN
308/347 : Microsoft Action Pack subscription
335 : Retail
640 through 652 : Volume License (usually generated via 270 CID in setupp.ini)
699 : Volume Windows XP Tablet Edition
071 : FIXME : Unknown.
NOTE: According to DjLizard.net visitor Catalyst, newer discs now check to see if the CD's volume label matches the type of CD you have. So if you make a CD with the wrong volume label, then it still won't work. I haven't been able to confirm this because most of my CDs have a custom label and all of them work fine thus far. Visit TACKtech to see a list of volume labels.

MPC list - English locale
55274 : XP Pro generic OEM
55276 : XP Pro (upgrade)
55276 : XP Home (?) †
55277 : XP Home generic OEM
55285 : XP Pro †
55661 : XP Pro (retail)
76475 : XP Home (upgrade) (?)
76477 : XP Home Royalty OEM ‡
76481 : XP Pro Dell OEM
76487 : XP Media Center Edition 2005
76487 : XP Pro Royalty OEM ‡
76487 : XP Pro SP2 (retail)
76487 : XP Pro SP3 (OEM)
76487 : XP Pro volume license (with '640' channel ID)
76500 : XP MCE 2005 (which is XP Pro with no domain capability)
76588 : XP Pro x64 OEM
MPC list - other languages
55372 : XP Home - German (OEM)
55375 : XP Pro - German (VLK)
55677 : XP Home - Dutch
55679 : XP Pro - Dutch
76381 : XP Home - Danish
76392 : XP Pro - Danish
76396 : XP Pro (also Home?) - Dutch
76412 : XP Home - French (OEM)
76413 : XP Pro - French (OEM)
76440 : XP Pro - Norwegian (retail)
76447 : XP Pro - Polish
76460 : XP Home - Spanish (Royalty OEM) ‡
76470 : XP Home - Traditional Chinese (Royalty OEM) ‡
Notes:

‡ : Royalty OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) means manufacturers that are special to Microsoft's endearing heart. They get their own private key and generated product keys that typically don't require activation (or are different than the product key on the COA sticker affixed to the computer). Certain big OEMs [Dell, Gateway, HP, Compaq, and more] are Royalty OEMs, and the little guys (your local mom + pop store) are obviously not. The mom and pop stores get 55277 for Home and 55285 for Pro. Typically, generic OEM discs (such as 55277 and 55274) will work on these systems, but activation will often fail -- you will have to call Microsoft's activation hotline and speak to a representative in order to activate Windows. This usually only takes a few minutes.

Windows XP complete list - English locale
Edition Volume Label File Date (DD-MM-YY) MPC CID
Windows XP Combo Home/Pro WXPHFPP_EN 23-08-01 1:00
Windows XP Home Retail WXHFPP_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55277 000
Windows XP Home Retail SP1 XRMHFPP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55277 000
Windows XP Home Retail SP1a X1AHFPP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55277 000
Windows XP Home Retail SP2 VRMHFPP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55277 000
Windows XP Home Upgrade WXHCCP_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55285 000
Windows XP Home Upgrade SP1 XRMHCCP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55285 000
Windows XP Home Upgrade SP1a X1AHCCP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55285 000
Windows XP Home Upgrade SP2 VRMHCCP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55285 000
Windows XP Home OEM WXHOEM_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55277 OEM
Windows XP Home OEM SP1 XRMHOEM_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55277 OEM
Windows XP Home OEM SP1a X1AHOEM_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55277 OEM
Windows XP Home OEM SP2 VRMHOEM_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55277 OEM
Windows XP Home OEM SP2 VRMHOEM_EN 4-08-04 12:00 76477 OEM
Windows XP Home Volume WXHVOL_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Home Volume SP1 XRMHVOL_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Home Volume SP1a X1AHVOL_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Home Volume SP2 VRMHVOL_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Home (SP2) DELL System Install XP2_PER_ENG
Windows XP Pro (SP2) DELL System Install XP2_PRO_ENG
Windows XP Pro Retail WXPFPP_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Retail SP1 XRMPFPP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Retail SP1a X1APFPP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Retail SP2 VRMPFPP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Retail SP2 VX2PFPP_EN 28-02-2006 5:00AM 76487 000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade WXPCCP_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55276 000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade SP1 XRMPCCP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55276 000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade SP1a X1APCCP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55276 000
Windows XP Pro Academic Upgrade SP1 X1APCCP_EN 31-03-03 23:00 55276 000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade SP2 VRMPCCP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55276 000
Windows XP Pro Academic Upgrade SP2 VRMPCCP_EN 4-08-04 23:00 76488 000
Windows XP Pro OEM WXPOEM_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55274 OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM SP1 XRMPOEM_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM SP1a X1APOEM_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM SP2 VRMPOEM_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM SP3 GRTMPOEM_EN 4-14-08 5:00 76487 OEM
Windows XP Pro Volume WXPVOL_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Pro Volume SP1 XRMPVOL_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Pro Volume SP1a X1APVOL_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Pro Volume SP2 VRMPVOL_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 270
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC SP1 Disc 1 XRMPFPP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC SP1a Disc 1 X1APFPP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC SP2 Disc 1 VRMPFPP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro MSDN WXPFPP_EN 23-08-01 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro MSDN SP1 XRMPFPP_EN 29-08-02 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro MSDN SP1a X1APFPP_EN 31-03-03 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro MSDN SP2 VRMPFPP_EN 4-08-04 8:00 55274 000
Windows XP Pro Evaluation WXPEVL_EN

Note: these Channel IDs (CIDs) were taken from i386\SETUPP.INI. Windows Setup may generate a completely different Product ID than you see here; this is soley based on your product key.

Server 2003 MPC list - English locale
69712 : Standard Edition 32-bit retail
69712 : Standard Edition 32-bit volume licensing
69712 : Standard Edition 32-bit OEM
69763 : Standard Edition 32-bit evaluation
69753 : Web Edition 32-bit retail
69753 : Web Edition 32-bit volume licensing
69753 : Web Edition 32-bit OEM
69763 : Web Edition 32-bit evaluation
69713 : Enterprise Edition 32-bit retail
69713 : Enterprise Edition 32-bit volume licensing
69713 : Enterprise Edition 32-bit OEM
69763 : Enterprise Edition 32-bit evaluation
69713 : Enterprise Edition 32-bit checked build
69754 : Datacenter Edition 32-bit retail
69754 : Datacenter Edition 32-bit OEM
69770 : Enterprise Edition 64-bit retail
69770 : Enterprise Edition 64-bit volume licensing
69770 : Enterprise Edition 64-bit OEM
69763 : Enterprise Edition 64-bit evaluation
69770 : Enterprise Edition 64-bit checked build
69769 : Datacenter Edition 64-bit retail
69769 : Datacenter Edition 64-bit OEM
74995 : Small business server
76868 : Unknown Enterprise Edition 64-bit (FIXME)
Notes
If you have to perform a "repair install" (Microsoft calls this an "in-place upgrade", and DjLizard interchangeably calls it an "overlay" or "repair install") then you MUST know these two things:

1.The MPC of your destination computer, and
2.the MPC of all of your Windows OEM CDs.
If you don't, then you will not be able to activate Windows properly, or in some cases, get the installation to accept your product key.

The MPC of your CDs can be determined by editing the SETUPP.INI in the i386 directory on your disc. You can (in some cases) simply edit this file, change the PID, and recompile the CD to be able to use whatever key you happen to need.

Retrieving your product ID or MPC
The current MPC for a system can be retrieved by various methods:

If the destination computer's operating system works well enough [even in safe mode], you can get it by right-clicking My Computer, clicking Properties, and reading the long ID number that appears under 'Registered to'.
You can use the command reg query "hklm\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion" /v ProductID at a command prompt (Start > Run > cmd.exe).
If the destination computer does not work very well, you can get the ID by attaching the hard drive to a working machine and mounting the appropriate registry hive. Highlight HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE in your local regedit and choose File > Load Hive. Then browse to X:\Windows\System32\config\SOFTWARE (where X:\Windows is the drive letter and path to the Windows installation in question). It will ask you what key to mount; you then give it any name you like, and it will appear under your own HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Drill-down through Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion in this new key. You will see ProductID on the right.
Do not forget to highlight the top key of the mounted hive, and choose File > Unload Hive when you are done.
Finally, you can sometimes find the ID you need if you check for the presence of either X:\i386\setupp.ini (where X: is the system's drive letter) or X:\Windows\i386\setupp.ini (where X:\Windows is the drive letter and path to the Windows installation folder in question).
Once you have the destination ID, it's as simple as inserting your CD that uses the same ID.

Bad Product IDs
As of 2005/10/22, Microsoft states that the following are invalid PIDs:

XXXXX-640-0000356-23XXX
XXXXX-640-2001765-23XXX
The above two product IDs are known as "Devil's Own", and usually have a product key starting with "FCKGW".

XXXXX-640-643718X-23XXX
XXXXX-641-309376X-23XXX
XXXXX-642-064580X-23XXX
XXXXX-642-464364X-23XXX
XXXXX-643-334701X-23XXX
XXXXX-644-081772X-23XXX
XXXXX-644-451265X-23XXX
XXXXX-644-874896X-23XXX
XXXXX-644-933704X-23XXX
XXXXX-644-962396X-23XXX
XXXXX-645-833254X-23XXX
XXXXX-645-994962X-23XXX
XXXXX-646-031843X-23XXX
XXXXX-646-104081X-23XXX
XXXXX-646-105103X-23XXX
XXXXX-647-318838X-23XXX
XXXXX-647-592029X-23XXX
XXXXX-647-677834X-23XXX
XXXXX-648-301691X-23XXX
XXXXX-648-819992X-23XXX
XXXXX-649-106765X-23XXX
XXXXX-649-941392X-23XXX
XXXXX-650-292312X-23XXX
These PIDs are detected when you attempt to install SP1, 2 or 3.

And here are for the other OSs:

CCP = Compliance Checking Program (Upgrades)
FPP = Fully Packaged Product
OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer
SEL = Select (No Key Required)
VOL = Volume License Key Required
EVL = Evaluation Software

MS-DOS 6.22/Windows 3.11 OEM Combo = 05/31/94 2:22 AM / 11/03/93 4:11 AM

Windows 95 Retail = 07/11/95 9:50 AM (09:50:00)
Windows 95 Retail Upgrade = 07/11/95 9:50 AM (09:50:00)
Windows 95 OEM = WINDOWS95 07/11/95 5:50 AM (05:50:00) or 07/11/95 9:50 AM (09:50:00)
Windows 95 OEM OSR1 "A" = WINDOWS95 12/31/95 5:50 AM (05:50:00) or 02/02/96 9:51 AM (09:51:00)
Windows 95 OEM OSR2 "B" = W95_FULL_AR 08/24/96 8:11 AM (08:11:00) or 08/24/96 11:11 AM (11:11:11)
Windows 95 OEM OSR2.1 "B" = W95_FULL_AR 05/01/97 8:14 AM (08:14:00) or 06/25/97 9:07 AM (09:07:10)
Windows 95 OEM OSR2.5 "C" = WIN95_C 11/25/97 10:16 PM (22:16:00) or 11/26/97 12:14 PM (12:14:00)

Windows 98 Retail = Windows 98 05/11/98 8:01 PM (20:01:00)
Windows 98 Retail Upgrade = Windows 98 05/11/98 8:01 PM (20:01:00)
Windows 98 OEM = Windows 98 05/11/98 8:01 PM (20:01:00) or 11/24/98 4:02 AM (04:02:00)
Windows 98 SE Retail = Win98 SE 04/23/99 6:22 PM (18:22:00) or 04/23/99 10:22 PM (22:22:00)
Windows 98 SE Retail Upgrade = Win98 SE 04/23/99 6:22 PM (18:22:00) or 04/23/99 10:22 PM (22:22:00)
Windows 98 SE OEM = Win98 SE 04/23/99 6:22 PM (18:22:00) or 04/23/99 10:22 PM (22:22:00)

Windows ME Retail = Windows Me 06/08/00 1:00 PM (13:00:00) or 06/08/00 3:00 PM (17:00:00)
Windows ME Retail Upgrade = Windows Me 06/08/00 1:00 PM (13:00:00) or 06/08/00 3:00 PM (17:00:00)
Windows ME Retail Step Up = Windows Me 06/08/00 1:00 PM (13:00:00) or 06/08/00 3:00 PM (17:00:00)
Windows ME OEM = Windows Me 06/08/00 1:00 PM (13:00:00) or 06/08/00 3:00 PM (17:00:00)
Windows ME MSDN = Windows Me 06/08/00 1:00 PM (13:00:00)

Windows NT 3.1 Workstation Retail =
Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server Retail =

Windows NT 3.5 Workstation Retail = WORKSTATION xx/xx/xx
Windows NT 3.5 Server Retail = SERVER xx/xx/xx

Windows NT 3.51 Workstation Retail = NTWKS xx/xx/xx
Windows NT 3.51 Server Retail = NTSRV xx/xx/xx

Windows NT 4.0 Workstation = NTWKS40A 10/13/96 9:38 PM (21:38:00) 50036
Windows NT 4.0 Server = NTSRV40A 10/13/96 9:38 PM (21:38:00) 50370
Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Server Disc 1 = NTSE_BASE_D 09/12/97 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 70234
Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Server Disc 2 = NTSE_COMP 09/15/97 8:00 AM (08:00:00) -----
Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server = WINNT-TSE40 07/22/98 2:09 PM (14:09:00) 88090270

Windows 2000 Combo Pro/Svr/Asvr = WIN2000_EN

Windows 2000 Pro OEM = W2POEM_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873OEM
Windows 2000 Pro OEM SP1 = SP1POEM_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873OEM
Windows 2000 Pro OEM SP2 = SP2POEM_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51873OEM
Windows 2000 Pro OEM SP3 = YRMPOEM_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873OEM
Windows 2000 Pro OEM SP4 = ZRMPOEM_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873OEM
Windows 2000 Pro Retail = W2PFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro Retail SP1 = SP1PFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro Retail SP2 = SP2PFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro Retail SP3 = YRMPFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro Retail SP4 = ZRMPFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro Select = W2PSEL_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873270
Windows 2000 Pro Select SP1 = SP1PSEL_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873270
Windows 2000 Pro Select SP2 = SP2PSEL_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51873270
Windows 2000 Pro Select SP3 = YRMPSEL_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873270
Windows 2000 Pro Select SP4 = ZRMPSEL_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873270
Windows 2000 Pro MSDN = W2PFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro MSDN SP1 = SP1PFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro MSDN SP2 = SP2PFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro MSDN SP3 = YRMPFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000
Windows 2000 Pro MSDN SP4 = ZRMPFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51873000

Windows 2000 Server OEM = W2SOEM_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876OEM
Windows 2000 Server OEM SP1 = SP1SOEM_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876OEM
Windows 2000 Server OEM SP2 = SP2SOEM_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51876OEM
Windows 2000 Server OEM SP3 = YRMSOEM_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876OEM
Windows 2000 Server OEM SP4 = ZRMSOEM_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876OEM
Windows 2000 Server Retail = W2SFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server Retail SP1 = SP1SFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server Retail SP2 = SP2SFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server Retail SP3 = YRMSFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server Retail SP4 = ZRMSFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server Select = W2SSEL_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876270
Windows 2000 Server Select SP1 = SP1SSEL_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876270
Windows 2000 Server Select SP2 = SP2SSEL_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51876270
Windows 2000 Server Select SP3 = YRMSSEL_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876270
Windows 2000 Server Select SP4 = ZRMSSEL_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876270
Windows 2000 Server MSDN = W2SFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server MSDN SP1 = SP1SFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server MSDN SP2 = SP2SFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server MSDN SP3 = YRMSFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000
Windows 2000 Server MSDN SP4 = ZRMSFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51876000

Windows 2000 Advanced Server OEM = W2AOEM_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879OEM
Windows 2000 Advanced Server OEM SP1 = SP1AOEM_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879OEM
Windows 2000 Advanced Server OEM SP2 = SP2AOEM_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51879OEM
Windows 2000 Advanced Server OEM SP3 = YRMAOEM_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879OEM
Windows 2000 Advanced Server OEM SP4 = ZRMAOEM_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879OEM
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Retail = W2AFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Retail SP1 = SP1AFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Retail SP2 = SP2AFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Retail SP3 = YRMAFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Retail SP4 = ZRMAFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Select = W2ASEL_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879270
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Select SP1 = SP1ASEL_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879270
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Select SP2 = SP2ASEL_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51879270
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Select SP3 = YRMASEL_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879270
Windows 2000 Advanced Server Select SP4 = ZRMASEL_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879270
Windows 2000 Advanced Server MSDN = W2AFPP_EN 12/07/99 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server MSDN SP1 = SP1AFPP_EN 07/26/00 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server MSDN SP2 = SP2AFPP_EN 05/08/01 3:00 PM (15:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server MSDN SP3 = YRMAFPP_EN 07/24/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000
Windows 2000 Advanced Server MSDN SP4 = ZRMAFPP_EN 06/20/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 51879000

Windows 2000 Datacenter inc. SP1 = W2DFPP_EN

Windows XP Combo Home/Pro = WXPHFPP_EN 08/23/01 1:00 AM (01:00:00)

Windows XP Home Retail = WXHFPP_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277000
Windows XP Home Retail w/ SP1 = XRMHFPP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277000
Windows XP Home Retail w/ SP1a = X1AHFPP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277000
Windows XP Home Retail w/ SP2 = VRMHFPP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277000
Windows XP Home Upgrade = WXHCCP_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55285000
Windows XP Home Upgrade W/SP1 = XRMHCCP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55285000
Windows XP Home Upgrade W/SP1a = X1AHCCP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55285000
Windows XP Home Upgrade W/SP2 = VRMHCCP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55285000
Windows XP Home OEM = WXHOEM_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277OEM
Windows XP Home OEM w/ SP1 = XRMHOEM_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277OEM
Windows XP Home OEM w/ SP1a = X1AHOEM_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277OEM
Windows XP Home OEM w/ SP2 = VRMHOEM_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55277OEM
Windows XP Home Volume = WXHVOL_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Home Volume W/ SP1 = XRMHVOL_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Home Volume W/ SP1a = X1AHVOL_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Home Volume W/ SP2 = VRMHVOL_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270

Windows XP Pro Retail = WXPFPP_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Retail w/ SP1 = XRMPFPP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Retail w/ SP1a = X1APFPP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Retail w/ SP2 = VRMPFPP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade = WXPCCP_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55276000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade w/ SP1 = XRMPCCP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55276000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade w/ SP1a = X1APCCP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55276000
Windows XP Pro Upgrade w/ SP2 = VRMPCCP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55276000
Windows XP Pro OEM = WXPOEM_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM w/ SP1 = XRMPOEM_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM w/ SP1a = X1APOEM_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274OEM
Windows XP Pro OEM w/ SP2 = VRMPOEM_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274OEM
Windows XP Pro Volume = WXPVOL_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Pro Volume w/ SP1 = XRMPVOL_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Pro Volume w/ SP1a = X1APVOL_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Pro Volume w/ SP2 = VRMPVOL_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274270
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC w/SP1 Disc1 = XRMPFPP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC w/SP1a Disc1 = X1APFPP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Tablet PC w/SP2 Disc1 = VRMPFPP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro MSDN = WXPFPP_EN 08/23/01 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro MSDN w/ SP1 = XRMPFPP_EN 08/29/02 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro MSDN w/ SP1a = X1APFPP_EN 03/31/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro MSDN w/ SP2 = VRMPFPP_EN 08/04/04 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 55274000
Windows XP Pro Evaluation = WXPEVL_EN

Windows Server 2003 Combo Std/Ent = EN_WS03 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00)

Windows Server 2003 Standard Retail = NRMSFPP_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69712000
Windows Server 2003 Standard OEM = NRMSOEM_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69712OEM
Windows Server 2003 Standard Volume = NRMSVOL_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69712270
Windows Server 2003 Web Retail = NRMWFPP_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69753000
Windows Server 2003 Web OEM = NRMWOEM_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69753OEM
Windows Server 2003 Web Volume = NRMWVOL_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69753270
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Retail = NRMEFPP_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69713000
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise OEM = NRMEOEM_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69713OEM
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Volume = NRMEVOL_EN 03/25/03 8:00 AM (08:00:00) 69713270
Windows Server 2003 Datacenter = NRMDFPP_EN
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Eval = NRMEEVL_EN 69763000

Vista OEM Product Keys

Definition of OEM:

The term, OEM (original equipment manufacturer) refers to companies that make products for others to repackage and sell. Resellers buy OEM products in bulk, minus the costly retail packaging that comes with individually sold units. The product itself is essentially the same as its more expensive, retail-packaged sibling. OEM products are used in many industries, but are perhaps most prevalent in electronics.

Generally, dealers of OEM products add something of value before reselling the merchandise. An OEM vendor that does this is known as a \"value added reseller\" (VAR). A VAR might build components, sub-systems, or systems from quality OEM parts. OEM goods allow VARs a wide range of creative marketing choices, which permits smaller dealers to be competitive in the marketplace.

OEM software will have different product numbers than retail packages, and support may be provided by the VAR, rather than the maker of the software. Functionally, OEM and retail versions of software should be essentially the same.

Two kinds of OEM Product Keys:

OEM SLP Keys:
* OEM SLP (System-Locked Pre-installation) keys are only issued to the big manufacturers such as Dell, Asus, Sony, etc.

* These are the only keys that are able to bypass activation that is, perform offline activation without contacting Microsoft.

* They will work with any OEM SLP system, regardless of the OEM system's brand i.e. Product Keys are not brand specific.

OEM NONSLP Keys:
* Similar to Retail, but distributed and supported by an OEM. Needs activation by phone or online and they are not brand specific. .

OEM COA Keys:
* OEM COA keys (Certificate of Authentication) are regular OEM keys that require activation, either by phone or online and they are not brand specific.
(you will find the sticker with the key underneath you Laptop or on the side of you PC)

* These keys will work in general same as Retail or Upgrade keys and can be used only once.

OEM SLP Product Keys activation:
* You need is an OEM SLP Product Key that matches the version of Windows Vista you have installed or are going to install.
(Home Basic, Home Premium, Business or Ultimate), plus the OEM certificate matching the SLIC table

* The OEM SLP Product Key does not have to match the OEM-brand certificate nor the OEM-brand BIOS ACPI_SLIC information.
(The only ones that need to match are the OEM-brand certificate and the OEM-brand BIOS ACPI_SLIC information.)

* SLP activation doesn't work with Vista Release Candidates or Vista Beta versions. Only the final version (RTM, Retail or OEM).

i.e.: A+B+C = Vista Activated Offline
OEM SLP Key + OEM Certificate + Full SLIC Table = Vista Activated Offline
If one (A,B or C) is missing, activation will fail!

Note: (the SLIC table can be emulated)

FAQ

Why so many different keys for the same edition of Windows Vista?
I believe it's mainly because different keys are issued to the same brand in different countries.
Also, like Volume Licensing, I believe Microsoft imposes a limit to the number of systems that can be shipped with the same license or OEM SLP key.
When the limit is reached, the Royalty OEM will buy a new license and a new key is then issued .

What is SLP 2.0?
This mechanism referred as 'SLP 2.0' ('system-locked pre-installation 2.0') consists in THREE (3) elements:

1. The OEM's hardware-embedded BIOS ACPI_SLIC information signed by Microsoft

Toshiba = “TOSQCITOSQCI00?
HEX: 54 4F 53 51 43 49 54 4F 53 51 43 49 30 30

2. A certificate issued by Microsoft that corresponds to the specific ACPI_SLIC information.

Something like 'oemname.xrm-ms'.

3. A special type of product key that corresponds to the installed edition of Windows Vista.

Is the OEM SLP license mechanism a crack?
There is no cracking here; the OEM SLP license mechanism was created by MS and is completely legitimate.

Where do these keys come from?
These keys were retrieved from OEM SLP systems that are being sold by the big OEM vendors.

Do I need to activate my Vista online when I use a OEM Product Key?
Yes, if you use an OEM COA Product Key or any other Retail or Upgrade Product Key
No, if you use an OEM SLP Product Key

Is MS going to black list the OEM SLP Product Keys?
No, these keys have been used by the big brands for thousand of computer with legally preinstalled Vista. If they black list those keys all these legal costumers would be affected too.

Why big manufactures can use OEM SLP Product Keys?
Large OEMs tend to ship large numbers of PCs with Windows preinstalled. The keep the process of installing the OS cost effective Microsoft has decided that these companies will be allowed to use the some key to preinstall Vista on their units.

Also, because of the direct relationship Microsoft has with those OEMS, the company has a higher degree of confidence that a genuine COA will be attached to each PC and that there will be accurate reporting of the number of units shipped preinstalled with Microsoft Windows.

I tried those Vista Ultimate keys here but getting an error saying something like to call Microsoft for activation?
Well, OEM SLP Key and/or OEM Certificate and/or Full SLIC Table is missing. Or the installed key is not matching your Vista Edition.

How to change the product key?
Launch command prompt window with elevated privileges (Admin mode)
type:
slmgr -ipk

Gatchaman 2009 Trailer Leaked

Here is the trailer that has been reveal at the Anime Expo in July 2009.

CTUpdate is now WSUS Offline

With the move into V6.1, CTUpdate has been renamed WSUSOffline and has been retaken over by the original author. Basically WSUSOffline allows you to download OS / Offices updates from Microsoft (of different version whether you have them installed or not). There are options to burn to CD/DVD or keep in a portable HDD which you can carry around and patch other system. In short, download once, patch many systems. Not to mention its pretty effective if you go to low bandwidth areas.

Check it out at:
http://download.wsusoffline.net/

Using Gamebooster to perform vulnerability scanning

How often have you tried doing your VA or pentest with a limited system which is slow and extremely lack of resources? Well I have. Especially when I am located in some secured area where I cannot bring in my own laptop and are provided with one from the client. Most client will hardly even be able to offer you something working.

So, with the admin account, usually you will be able to install your scanning tools such as Appscan, Retina or Core Impact. But what happen is that these laptop provided often are in range of <1GB RAM etc. Well, I do not have a solution here. But what I have is a good (and free) tool which can help you regain some of the system resources while you perform the scan.

Introducing IOBit Gamebooster.
http://www.iobit.com/gamebooster.html

Yes, I know it say GAME all over it. But think deeper. How is a game application different from the scanning application? Both of them needs lots of resources. Both of them does not need lots of services and background processes running. So its simple as that. Shutting down the unnecessary services such as BITS, Printer Spooling etc during the scan will save you some resources.

Well, give it a try and see if GameBooster does indeed help you manage you scanning better.

The moment of Zen 2

I recalled I once wrote about a particular moment when I was back in the fields, look at the sun, lying on dirt and soil. And there I was again, same place, same time of the day. The sun was still hot, the wind was less cooling and then nothing...

This time I feel nothing at all. Other than the insect sounds and rotten smell, nothing. I guess the moment to feel completed empty was gone, probably forever. Although I spend a few days there, its simply too hot and too humid to consider anything. Actually, I do not even recall sleeping much there.

I guess, this mean something has changed. Its either me, or the place or simple the moment of time is just no there anymore. Although I wish to find that feeling again, I seriously doubt I would want to visit the place again.

Windows Mobile 5 or 6 Activesync Internet Pass Through

If you had problem connecting to the internet via activesync on Windows Mobile 5 or 6 or simply get a 0x80072f78 from Pocket IE, I found a solution here:

1. 1. Open Registry Editor on your desktop (Start/Run and type "regedit") and locate the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows CE Services.
2. 2. Right-click on the value list and choose New/DWORD value. Type the name "AllowLSP" and leave the value zero.
3. 3. Disconnect and connect your device and Pocket Internet Explorer (and all other applications) will start working.
   

My blog is worth USD$1061

Well, I don't know how true things can be, but according to this website:
http://www.websiteaccountant.com/www.nemesisv.blogspot.com



My blog is kinda worth USD$1061. Well, what do you think?

ATI Catalyst 9.8 is out!

Though these drivers are not yet available on the official download page, Over at Quakecon Ian “Cabrtosr” McNaughton released Catalyst 9.8 drivers.
According to the latest info, with this driver, you should see significant performance increases on AMD platforms.
These improvements are more platform related – you will see gains of up to 50% in some titles (like Far Cry 2) when using a CrossFire solution with 4870 X2 or other 4xxx series in resolutions 16x10 and higher – you’ll see these gains mostly in CPU-bound situations. You will also see significant improvements in titles like HAWX, Crysis, Company of Heroes and World in Conflict.

• ATI Catalyst 9.8 Windows 7 and Vista (64-bit)
• ATI Catalyst 9.8 Windows 7 and Vista (32-bit)
• ATI Catalyst 9.8 Windows XP (32-bit)
• ATI Catalyst 9.8 Windows XP (64-bit)

Windows 7 RTM (RTL) is available on Technet and MSDN

As mentioned at:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/default.aspx

Microsoft has released Windows 7 RTM (Release to Manufacturer) To MSDN users. Under their download, they will see the RTL (Retail) version of Windows 7 as a downloadable link.

Depending on the subscription, MSDN or Technet may have access to these starting from 6th August:

Windows 7 Enterprise (x64) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Enterprise (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Professional (x64) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Professional (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Ultimate (x64) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Ultimate (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Home Basic (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Home Premium (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Starter (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Debugging Symbols Checked Build (x64) - (English)
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Debugging Symbols (x64) - (English)
Windows 7 Debugging Symbols Checked Build (x86) - (English)
Windows 7 Debugging Symbols (x86) - (English)
Windows Driver Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (English)
Windows Software Development Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows Software Development Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (ia64) - DVD (English)
Windows Software Development Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x64) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Language Pack (x86) - DVD (Multiple Languages)
Windows 7 Language Pack (x86) - DVD (Chinese-Traditional)
Windows 7 Language Pack (x64) - DVD (Multiple Languages)
Windows 7 Language Pack (x64) - DVD (Chinese-Traditional)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (English)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Spanish)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Japanese)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (German)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (French)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Italian)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Russian)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Chinese-Simplified)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Portuguese-Brazil)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Dutch)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Polish)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Turkish)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Korean)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Chinese-Traditional)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Czech)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Portuguese-Portugal)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Hungarian)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Swedish)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Danish)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Norwegian)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Finnish)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Arabic)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Hebrew)
Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86, x64, ia64) - DVD (Greek)

红蝴蝶 (TVB 巾幗枭雄主題曲) ~ 吳卓羲

Windows Home Server PP3 Beta Supports Windows 7

Windows 7 is already well on the way, 7.7600.386 is rumored as the voted RTM. And we are looking at Oct 22 as the first day release. WHS is not taking this any slower as PP3 gears up and prepare for the support for Windows 7.

Here is the current breakdown of the beta which already support Windwos 7 RC:

•Windows 7 Compatibility Enhancements
◦Windows 7 Libraries integration: When you install the Windows Home Server Connector and log on a Windows 7 computer, you can access the Windows Home Server shares from Windows 7 libraries.
◦Windows 7 Action Center backup warning suppression: After you install the Windows Home Server Connector and enable the home server backup on your Windows 7 computer, you will not receive the warning from the Action Center which reminds that Windows Backup has not been set up.
◦Windows 7 power settings: You can configure your Windows 7 client computer to wake up at scheduled backup time and be put back to sleep after backup finishes.
◦Windows Search: Windows Search 4 has been included to improve query search times, indexing times and reliability. Extended remote discovery increases the efficiency of searching across all your libraries running Windows Search 4. Files encrypted with Encrypting File System (EFS) are now supported.
•Home Computer Backup & Restore Enhancements
◦File and computer restoration: Helps prevent the issue experienced when restoring files and folders from a Home Computer Backup that stops at 81 or 97 percent complete.
◦Reliability: Improved handling of temporary files helps to ensure necessary system files are backed up more reliably. Improvements to the backup repair process.
•Home Server Console Enhancements
◦Support for low resolution displays: This update enables the Windows Home Server Console to support low-resolution displays. The lowest resolution that is supported after you apply this update is 1024 x 600.
◦This update enables Windows 7 to be properly displayed as the operating system shown in the Computers & Backup tab.
•Windows Media Center Enhancements
◦TV Archive: Enables automatic archiving of recorded TV by moving your recordings from a Windows Media Center computer to your home server in the format of your choice. This enables playback in the correct format for your home computers and/or portable devices.
◦Console View: Allows you to see information about your home server’s storage space, drives, backup status, etc. from Windows Media Center.

Full articles with pictures:
http://blogs.technet.com/homeserver/archive/2009/07/17/windows-home-server-power-pack-3-beta-includes-enhancements-for-windows-7-based-computers.aspx

Download:
https://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer

I Don't Wanna Talk About It ~ Rod Stewart & Amy Belle

Alone Again, Naturally

You heard it in Mansion Ikoku, in Ice Age 3... Now this is the original...

精武英雄 ~ 甄子丹 - 我话俾你地知!我地中国人唔系东亚病夫!!!

以无法为有法, 以无限为有限

无可挡原是我精武英雄
英雄无不冲动
谁阻挡凌辱我怎去遵从
坚持人的尊重
谁瑟缩中偷生我愤怒
我定我的命途
谁哑忍声音不会泄露
我心一生刺着刀

无妥协世局摇荡
甚么东亚病汉
无妥协眼在前望
历史因我被震荡
宁于猛火中灭亡

无担忧无害怕走上惊涛
英雄源于风暴
狂魔者来负我怎需分途
坚持人的骄傲
谁瑟缩中偷生我愤怒
我定我的命途
谁哑忍声音不会泄露
内心一生刺着刀

无妥协世局摇荡
甚么东亚病汉
无妥协眼在前望
历史因我被震荡
宁于猛火中灭亡

我话俾你地知!我地中国人唔系东亚病夫!

身在天边的远方
看沙穿过万里
令心感真理不死

无妥协世局摇荡
甚么东亚病汉
无妥协眼在前望
历史因我被震荡
宁于猛火中...宁于猛火中灭亡

Firefox 3.5 Privacy Mode AKA Porn Browser Mode

This is (In my opinion) the most significant change in Firefox 3.5. Not that its something new. I did remember it was attempted back in the days of Netscape. But now, someone finally give it some serious thoughts (in Firefox anyway).

To turn it on, simply go to Tools>Start Privacy Browsing (or CTRL-SHIFT-P for lazy bumps like me). But first, make sure you are on Firefox 3.5 final. You will notice that it will ask you to confirm. What they failed to tell you (or warn you) is that it will close all your current tabs, cancel all your downloads in the background etc. Anyway, ensure you are all ready to switch off all those, click yes and then you are in.

In the privacy mode (or AKA Porn Browser Mode for good reasons), all your surfing is not tracked. No history, no saving of password etc. Therefore, you can safely visit sites and download stuff that you do not want to leave traces on the machines. However, you need to take note that this can be a false sense of security. Whatever you do can still be tracked on the proxies, firewall or whatever was installed outside your machine. It can still be TRACABLE. So do not let the privacy mode fool you. You do NOT was an email from your boss asking why are you visiting playboy.com daily in the morning. :)

In addition, you will notice that there is a Clear Recent History option right under Tools below the Privacy mode. This does what it says and can be access lazily by CTRL-SHIFT-DEL. But its more than just clearing all history. It allows you to choose what history you wish to destroy. This is based on time though. If you wish to clear history about certain sites (such as porn4free.com etc), you can do so easily by using the History Library from History>Show All History (or lazily CTRL-SHIFT-H). Under the site you wish to purge, right click and select Forget About This Site. If you are in Privacy mode already, you will notice nothing comes up in the History Library obviously.

If you are really very very concern about privacy and press CTRL-SHIFT-P can really hurt you, do not worry. There is even a way to switch off all history completely whether you are in or out of privacy mode. To do that, select Tools>Option. Click on the Privacy tab and you can change it to Never Remeber History. You can also clear your cookies here by clicking on the link "remove individual cookies". Of course, you can also tailor the history behavior by selecting "Use Custom Settings for History" and change whatever options you desire.

Supposely you want to do something about the Location Bar search as well. You can change that in the same place under Tools>Option, Privacy tab. You can change it such that it search from history, bookmarks, both or none. That way you won't accidentally display search results from places you do not want to show your child when doing some homework together.

Normal users still have another option. Its call Firefox portable. I believe 3.5 is out as well. check it out at:
http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable

For U3 and other portable options, check the respective sites. The good thing about portable version is that it does not even cache into the actual system's harddisk, but instead in the portable devices only. The bad point is that portable version are usually not as often updated.

Ok, for normal users. You should stop here. What I am going to say is really advance stuff which can break or damage your Firefox installation. Firefox has a developer mode which has something known as Profile Manager. To access this, you will need to execute :

firefox.exe -ProfileManager

This will allow you to create, delete and manager different profile for use in Firefox. This should be the clean and ideal way to manage bookmarks and history. However, since this is a function that Firefox wish to hide from the users, let's just presumed this is not stable and usable for some reasons. In any case, the documentation for the Profile Manager is here:
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Managing+Profiles

Firefox 3.5

Despite the title bar and many references which says FireFox 3.5 RC, check the About box. Its 3.5 Final. The Transformer look alike start page is cool though.

Firefox 3.5 Final is out

Grab it from softpedia:
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Mozilla-Firefox-Final-Download-5787.html

Some of the enhancements:
New JavaScript engine called TraceMonkey
Porn mode privacy browsing
Location-aware (tracking?) browsing
Support for HTML5 Audio and Video tagging
Enhance scripting which shifts Javascript to background (AJAX?)

Personally, I am very concern about point 2 and 3 for obvious reasons. Oh, btw, this works with Windows 7 (finally).

IObit Security 360

At the same time that Microsoft released Security Essentials, IObits has also release their anti-mlaware solution. Actually, its much earlier, but I had not covered it since its still in beta. Well, its call Security 360. I wonder if Xbox or Symantec is going to kick a big fuss about "360", but of course we all know that nobody can copyright a number.

In any case, IObits solution is a beta and it is free as well. So, do pop by and try it at:
http://www.iobit.com/beta.html

Microsoft Morro is now Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Morro is a highly anticipated Microsoft solution for anti malware. It is officially Microsoft Security Essentials. Just pop by here to download the beta now:
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/support.aspx

The installation is pretty straight forward.

The picture with the castle is quite suitable for a security product.
However, its should be very expected that it can ONLY be installed on a genuine Windows product as you can see from the WGA below:


The install should take only a while.

After which, if you are installing this offline, I strongly suggest you download the updates in advence.

Manually download the definitions:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971606

In then end, I can only conclude that this is not going to be able to replace OneCare in anyway... This is simiply a glorified and updated version of Windows Defender with real time monitoring.

IBTRM v3 Problem

Ok, this is related to my previous post:

http://nemesisv.blogspot.com/2009/06/ibtrm-v3.html

If you had not read that, you should and think about it before reading on.

OK, there is 2 things wrong with the statement. And I do not mean the part in english, whether its 6 characters consisting ONLY of alphabets or ONLY digits. Let's just blame that on bad english and bad interpretation.

The first thing that is wrong is 6 characters. We all know that 8 characters are being recommended even on average security. Its the BANK we are talking about here. 6 is definitely too low. In fact, 8 is too low, by today's standard. For example, common rainbow tables for 8 characters are available and within 10GB. Easily downloaded and executed. That will take 5 seconds to break if the hash is available. Super computer is another way to look at it. With chips like Intel i7 (8 virtual cores), bruteforcing on the maths is not so much a big deal than it used to be. I think 8 is not really enough.

The second thing that is wrong is the restriction on repeated characters. This is the MOST critical mistake. While this seems to be a good idea to avoid combination like "111111" or "abcabc", it is a BAD idea when we come to the cryptoanalysis. Without restriction, we are talking about 10x10x10x10x10x10=1000000 combinations of digits. With the restriction, its 10x9x8x7x6x5=151200 combinations. Thats almost 85% of the space lost. Reducing the combinations space reduces the strength of the PINs / Password. Having this restriction for digits is almost reducing it to only 5 digits instead of 6. In a lame mans term, I probably only need at most 5 tries to get your password if I saw 5 of your digits, instead of 10 I normally need to.

Lets see how much worse / better it is for alphabets. Without restriction, its 26^6=308915776, with restriction its 26x25x24x23x22x21=165765600. Its not so bad, about 50% of the space lost.

For alphanumeric, it will be 36^6=2176782336 for non-restriction. If restricted, it will only be 36x35x34x33x32x31=1402410240, its slightly better, but still about 50% of the space lost.

Therefore you can see, giving such a restriction does not improve anything. In fact, it makes the PINs easier to be cracked in terms of computation.

I strongly urges MAS to rethink the way this restriction should be imposed.

IBTRM v3

Here is an extract from the IBTRM (Internet Banking and Technology Risk Management Guidelines) June 2008 published by MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) :

11.0.3
"PIN should be at least 6 digits or 6 alphanumeric characters, without repeating any digit or character more than once."

Can you see what is wrong with the above recommendation? Well, if you do not get it, I will explain in the next post.

The full guideline is available via:
http://www.mas.gov.sg/legislation_guidelines/banks/guidelines/Internet_Banking_Technology_Risk_Management_Guidelines.html

Truecrypt V6.2a Release

Truecrypt is a FREE and open source encryption software for file or disk based encryption. It has been quiet for a while, but the latest release is now 6.2a. You can download it from:

http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads

Wireshark 1.20 Released

Wireshark is the most commonly used network sniffer. Back in v1.0.7, there was a exploit to allow user to escalate priviledge. Thats all fixed now and the latest release is V1.20. Grab it here:

http://www.wireshark.org/download.html

Sitemeter was broken

Due to the change in the template, I had accidentally removed the Sitemeter tracking. Therefore, for the pass months, the stats for the site has been zero all the way. Just added it back in now.

Going Full Evil with Microsoft Sidewinder X6 Gaming Keyboard

I used to be on the good side with all the blue-ish hardware such as Reclusa and Habu. However, I changed to Sidewinder Mouse some time back. If you had forgotten, this is roughly how the Sidewinder Mouse looks like:

However, its imcomplete with the blue Reclusa keyboard. So therefore, the choice is clear, I got myself the Sidewinder X6:

The feel is very different from the Reclusa and the key positions are slightly different resulting in some retype and typo for now. I also notice that the Sidewinder does not have a USB hub (Reclusa's was 1.1 anyway) and the connector was not gold plated. Despite that, Sidewinder allow me to movethe side paf away and put it on the top of the table. I had yet to try out the macro and other functions. Maybe after a while, I will post again to give you a break down of how I feel about the Sidewinder X6.