gadget news and reviews

Video: Install WordPress In 40 Seconds 2

I happen to be someone who constantly installs and re-installs WordPress for this blog, to test plugins, and for clients. I found that the critically acclaimed “Famous 5-Minute Install” took just a bit too long for me. The process eats up quite a bit of time, especially if find yourself installing WordPress constantly. So to speed things up, I wrote a quick shell script that does just about all the work in just a few commands.

Things you’ll need:

• SSH Server Access
• SSH Client

If you need an SSH Client, on Windows machines I recommend PuTTY. It’s less than 1MB and doesn’t even need to be installed. If you are on Linux or Macintosh, you are fortunate enough to have a Terminal built right in. Now connect to your web server, login, and watch the video for the rest!

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Turn Your Webcam Into A Security Cam 15

Just about every new laptop purchased today is bundled with a built-in web cam. It’s a great accessory for video conferencing, but there are also plenty of other useful things to do with them. This tutorial will demonstrate how to turn just about any web camera into a security camera which will capture any movement it sees using motion technology. No extra components or tools required!

What’s Needed:

• Windows XP or Vista Computer
• A USB or built-in Camera
• Java Runtime Environment 6 +
• Windows Media Player 9 +

Quick Install Process:
1) Download yawcam.zip and unzip it
2) Click on yawcam.exe and install it
3) Start Menu -> Start up Yawcam

Note: If you have a USB camera, plug it in before starting up yawcam. If yawcam says “No Device Selected”, go to Settings -> Device -> Change to -> [select your camera]. If you are able to view your camera in the Yawcam Preview window, proceed to the next step.

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IronKey: Hardware Encrypted Flash Drive 1

What happens if you were to loose flash drive? Unless someone is kind enough to return it, your data is probably available for just about anyone to view. One great solution to safeguarding data on the go is the IronKey. The folks over at IronKey, which is the name of the product as well, have created a flash drive with “military-grade” encryption. This means that your data is just about as safe as it could possibly be if it were stolen or found by a hacker. (This encryption technology hasn’t been broken, yet.)

Unlike a standard flash drive which brings up a window with your files, the IronKey will prompt the user for a password when plugged in. No data will be accessible without the right password. The IronKey’s security software is located right on the flash memory and runs right off it, therefore requiring no additional programs to be installed. The flash drive’s encryption is both hardware and software based. The Cryptochip on board automatically encrypts any type of files copied onto the flash memory. If a hacker were to extract the data, it would be encrypted and unreadable anyways. The drive itself is quite rugged, it is encased in metal housing which is strong enough to withstand just about any drops, being run over by a car, from high pressure, and is even waterproof. If someone was trying to guess the password and failed ten times or managed to break open the casing, the Cryptochip automatically initiates a self-destruct sequence, destroying ALL data! (The password limit prevents brute force.) Read More

Master Lock Hack +

This tutorial will explain how to open up a master lock with out any additional equipment. All you need is the lock and your head! Also note that this should only be used in the case that you forget your own combination, do not use it for stealing or illegal activities.

Step 1: Get a regular Master Lock, which you already know the combination for. You can later use another lock, for which you don’t know the combo, to test your skills.

Step 2: First goal is the find the last number of the combination. To do this pull down the “U” latch away from the lock. It helps if it’s attached to something (a locker?) While pulling, start to rotate the dial from ‘0′? so you know where to end. You will immediately notice that the dial will stick on certain numbers. You may have to slightly loosen your grip on the “U”? each time it sticks so you can rotate.

Step 3: While proceeding with “step 2″? be sure to note down all the numbers where the dial got “stuck” at. When complete and if done correctly, you should have found 12 different spots.

Step 4: To begin eliminating items, go back and underline all the numbers where the dial stopped in between two numbers. If the dial moved to the left/right of a number, but the number was still in the center leave it in. However cross off all the numbers that were in between two numbers.

Step 5: You should have crossed off 7 numbers, meaning that 5 are left on your list. Now looking at the list you should notice that 4 of the 5 items have the same digit for the one’s place digit. (ex: 05, 15, 25, 35 or 03, 07, 13, 27) Cross off the four items who’s one’s place digit matches with at least one other number’s one’s place digit.

Step 6: The last number you have left should in fact be the last number of you 3-part combination. (ex ?? ?? 25) Now looking at the combinations you now only have 10 possibilities for the first slot and 10 for the second leaving you with a max of a 100 combos to try out. Don’t think that’s a lot because with out the last digit you would have 64,000 combos to deal with.

Please remember that this should only be used for opening up locks for which you have forgotten the password for. And also note that this only works for Master Lock brand locks and doesn’t work on others such as “American” locks because they have a different mechanism.

Here are some downloads to help narrow down the 100 combos:
Downloads: Masterlock.xls (Spread Sheet) | Masterlock.exe (Applications)

UPDATE (01/22/07): New Video Tutorial!

Stream iTunes Library To PSP 173

Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a very popular device and has sold a few million units, but when compared to Apple’s iPod, the PSP lacks storage space. Luckily, the PSP has a built in WiFi card to make up for this disadvantage. With a few simple steps, all of which are included in this tutorial, anyone can stream any non-copyright music from their iTunes library to their PSP. To get started, you will need to have the following:

• PSP With Firmware v2.60
• Networked XP Home/Pro Comp.
• WiFi (802.11b) Network Router
• Apple iTunes v6.0.4 Installed
• Songs in iTunes Music Library
• At Least 1 Playlist With Music

The 5-Step Setup Procedure:

1) Download iTunes-PSP-Server.exe and save it to your desktop.
2) Disable any firewalls and/or keep port 8080 open.
3) Launch iTunes and then click on the iTunes-PSP-Server after.
4) In IE/Firefox open the page “http://localhost:8080″
5) Setup is complete if an “iTunes RSS Server” page appeared.

If the iTunes RSS Server page didn’t appear make sure your firewall has authorized “iTunes-PSP-Server.exe” to access the internet completely. You may also want to add a rule into your firewall to keep port 8080 open. The “black box” is the server, DO NOT close it. Read More

Soda Machine Hack 12

Most modern soda machines have little computers in them. The tiny RED LCD usually displays the data. The computer can be controlled by using certain buttons on the soda machine in different combinations. This can be used to check the temperature, see the amount of money (load and dump), and dump certain sodas. Will usually only work on newer machines that look like the one on the right. They need to have an LCD and also need to have some type of message on it “ICE COLD SODAS” This tells you it is running something.

1) Accessing the Menu: Press the buttons [4][2][3][1] one after another. It will be left to right in some machines and up and down in some so try both methods. Once you press these keys you will be in the “debug menu.� It should display ERROR or something similar.

2) Once you are in, button [1] becomes the back/exit type of command. Button [2] becomes scroll up. Button [3] becomes scroll down. And Button [4] becomes select/enter. You can now scroll through the features.

3) As you scroll through the menus you will see items such as SALE, CASH, VER, ERROR, and RTN.

4) What each item means: Cash- displays the amount of money in the machine. You will also be able to find more info on what was purchased how much for each item and are arranged by slot #s. SALE- shows how many drinks have been sold and how many from each slot. (slots are in same order as buttons so if button 1 is coke then slot 1 is coke as well.) VER- the machine firmware version. (pointless) ERROR- COLJ (Column Jam), VEnd (Vend Mechanism), Door (Door Switch), Sels (Selection Switch), CHAR (Changer Errors), Acce (Acceptor Errors), Sts (Space 2 Sales), and bVal (Vill Validators). (can’t do anything w/ this either, except clear the errors!) RTN- Returns back to normal menus, you can also do this by pressing on the coin return button or the back button. Also by holding a coin at the tip of the coin slot it will display the current temperature of the inside of the soda machine.

5) There above are the options that are usually enabled, but most other options are usually disabled if the owner (or maintenance dude) is smart. But if they happen to be enabled here they are: CPO- Coin payment mode, which will dump coins out of the machine. You will be able to specify the type (dime, nickel, ect.) and the amount. tvFL- tube fill mode, which lets you fill the machine w/ coins. (retarded huh) PASS- allows you to change the default password from 4231 to something else. PrlC- change the price of a drink! (1 cent!) StOS change what each button links to (so if some1 presses coke you can make it go 2 sprite.) COn- are machine configuration settings too much to tell just experiment. TIME- Set TIME. LANG- change language.

Page last edited November 2005.

PSP v2.60 HomeBrew 138

The PSP can finally run homebrew games and applications on firmware 2.60. It previously only worked on 1.50 units and on PSPs that were downgraded from 2.00 to 1.50. There was minimal support on 2.00+, but with this tutorial most homebew applications should function. We should expect to see a new update very soon from Sony, possibly 2.70 or a minor “security” update to v2.60. If a new update is released, obviously do not update for a while untill information about what exactly it does is available. The homebrew on 2.60 PSPs will be able to run Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Atari Lynx, and many other applications.To run homebrew applications:

• PSP with v2.60 installed
• Memory Card with enough space
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
• USB Cable or MS Pro Duo Reader

To install homebrew applications:

• Download “homebrew260.zip” and extract content
• Connect and open media storage device
• Copy contents of GAME & paste them in X:\PSP\GAME\
• Copy folder “ULUS10041S5″ and paste in X:\PSP\SAVEDATA\
• Place all the homebrew application files in GAME
• Start GTA & load profile 5 to get to the homebrew menu
• To quit the homebrew menu just hit the “start” button

Links: US PlayStation | GTA: LCS | PSP Updates
Related: PSP 2.60 Info | DownGrade 2.0 to 1.5

Note: At the momment standard homebrew applications can only be run on PSPs with either 1.50 or 2.60. (nothing in between). If you have 2.60 only way to run these apps is with the retail edition of GTA. (not a UMD rip) Also downgrading PSPs can only be downgraded from 2.00 to 1.50. (no other combos will work!) P.S. Don’t ask us how to find UMD rips.

Downgrade PSP v2.0 to v1.5 132

After a long awaited time, the a PSP downgrader is finally available! This will allow all PSP owners who have upgraded their PSP to v2.0 to downgrade all the way back to v1.5. (this version will allow using homebrew applications) Also if you have v1.51 or v1.52, you will need to upgrade up to v2.0 and then you will be able to downgrade. If you do downgrade from v2.0 you will always be able to bring back v2.0 by doing the standard update procedure once again.

To downgrade do the following: (read entire post first! notes @ bottom)

• Create the X://PSP/GAME/UPDATE directory if it doesn’t exisit.
• Copy EBOOT.PBP (v1.50) into X://PSP/GAME/UPDATE folder.
• Unzip the PSPdowngrade.zip package and open the folder.
• Copy overflow.tif into X://PSP/PHOTO/ folder.
• Then copy h.bin into the root folder. (X://h.bin)
• Finally copy index.dat into root folder as well (X://index.dat)
• Make sure your AC adaptor is connected.
• In your PSP enter the Photos section, which will launch a little app.
• You will need to wait ~30 seconds and then restart your PSP.
• Then finally Game Menu and launch the v1.5 updater (downgrade).
• Follow instructions and then at 99% an error should popup.
• Thats normal so just restart the PSP and it should show an error.
• Now restart the unit one more time and the PSP should be ready.

Notes: Make sure there are no other Photos other than the overflow image present in the photos folder during this “downgrade” procedure. To restart hold the power button for about 10 seconds once it is off wait 10 seconds and turn it back on. All credit goes to MPH for creating this hack to downgrade PSPs. Please do not use this for illegal purposes (piracy), but use it to use legal homebrew apps and opensource type games. The PSPdowngrade.zip will inculde all of the files required to downgrade your PSP.
Warning: Skatter Tech is only providing information on how to downgrade the PSP. If you PSP does by chance get damaged due to something you tried on this site, we are not going to be responsible so do these at your own risk.

Download: PSPdowngrade.zip
Links: PSP Updates | Toc2rta Wiki
Affilate: HackMyPSP (Plenty of great PSP Hacks!)

UPDATE: RUN HOMEBREW ON PSP v2.60

Multiplayer PSP Hack Video 61

In April 2005, I wrote the “PSP Multiplayer With One Game” article. It was an extreme hit, which drew over 30,000 views. The article simple explained the step-by-step procedure to play a multiplayer game on a PSP when only one copy of the game is available. (link provided below) Recently, many have claimed that the procedure written is no longer applicable to firmware v1.52., and that players can no longer see eachother in the game. This isn’t true it’s still possible and this video will demonstrate it. To make this easier for everyone I have created a 3-minute long video which goes through the process. The video demonstrates how to perform this “hack” with Twisted Metal. Please feel free to download this video and spread it as you would like. A summarized procedure is at the bottom of this post.

Download: PSPMultiPlayerHack.wmv
Mirror 1 | Mirror 2 (USE MIRROR 2 Only if 1 Does Not Work!)
(Note: Right-Click Save Link As… )
Update: Now On Google Video
Update: Now On Yahoo! Video

Format: Windows Media Video (WMV)
Size: ~25MB
Resolution: 640×480
Copyright: Creative Commons Liscense

Step-By-Step Procedure: (Twisted Metal w/ 2 PSPs)

1) Startup both PSPs and place the game into PSP #1.
2) Start an Ad Hoc game, create a server, and choose your settings.
3) Set time limit to unlimited (recommended), only because it takes a while to load the game in to PSPs since we only have 1 copy of the game.
4) Choose your car, but don’t start the game.
5) Remove the UMD & say no to quitting game.
6) Start the game in PSP #2 and go to multiplayer.
7) Enter the Ad Hoc mode and enter the server created by PSP #1.
8) Choose your car, but don’t start the game.
9) Remove the UMD & say not 2 exit game.
10) Place it back into PSP #1 and enter game
11) Once loaded take it out & and say no 2 quitting.
12) Put it back into PSP #2 and enter the game.
13) You should now be able to play eachother.

Link: Original PSP Multiplayer With One Game Article

Notice: If this for some reason does happen to damage or brick your PSP, Skatter Tech is not responsible. As always follow this guide at your own risk. From our experience we use this method all the time and have never had any issues. No complains received yet either.

AIM Crashin’ Exploit 5

A new AIM exploit/bug will allow anyone to crash anyone’s AIM client by just chatting with them. It works by using buddy icon which is modified, so that when the person chatting with you views the icon their client instantly crashes. Luckily for those smart enought to be using Trillian or Gaim to avoid all the adware, it wil not affect you. To crash your friend’s computer do the following:
1) Download this icon. (right-click -> save as)
2) Set it as your budding icon.
3) Say “hi” to who ever’s AIM client you want 2 crash.
4) They should log off within a few seconds.
Note: You can only crash other people’s clients if you are using either Trillian or Gaim. Also site not responsible if AIM accounts are suspended or any damage to any computers. This hack was found on multiple websites, each claiming credit as their own, so if anyone wants credit place a link to the article in the comments.
Link: Trillian | Gaim | AIM

Warning: Please do not use this to crash other people’s computers or clients without their consent. This is just causing harm to the AIM community. This has only been posted as a way of spreading techology news and for testing purposes. Users who have used this hack multiple times will have their account suspended or eventually closed.