I wanna learn everything!!!

[Encrypted]

Hello,

 

I would like to learn different things about computers and stuff...could you mention some good books, sites, etc. for me to learn from? I can use a computer to do my daily work etc. etc. etc.....but I would also like to learn other things.

 

Many of you must have seen some of the threads i have put on about my computer's security, and i must confess.....i didn't understand quite a lot of what you guys were talking about.For exapmle: /whois, /dns, IRC, plugins, BIOS, the list goes on and on and on and on.

 

I would really, really like to learn. Please help!

 

Encrypted

[5614]

right, im here to help you.....

 

firstly i think it would be helpful to know some stuff about you....

 

if you dont mind me asking, what kinda age are you?

what computer system do you have at home?

what can you do at the moment on a computer?

 

IRC is Internet Relay Chat, it is similar to MSN or any other messenger service, it is instant messenger, like instant emails.... the difference being that anyone in the world can join it and chat... an example is the SFN chatroom, which is an IRC, there are different programs to open IRCs an example is mIRC [http://www.mirc.com]

 

in IRCs you can simply type a message, press enter, and everyone in that 'chat room' sees it, for more advance users there are special commands

/whois and /dns are commands that can be used in any IRC, those two are used to find out more information about the users... although none of it is useful, unfortunately! they arent really needed.

 

if you ever want to find out about computer things try searching in http://google.com it normally has a useful result.

[YT2095]

have you seen the book, "the idiots guide to PCs" it`s a patronising title, but it`s darn good.

 

also "The Internet Bible" is a good book to start with, packed with usefull info!

 

other than that, you`ll get alot of online help when you learn how to use a search engine to it`s fullest potential, google will be a lifesaver

[5614]

stands for: basic input/output system

 

The BIOS is typically placed on a ROM chip that comes with the computer (it is often called a ROM BIOS). This ensures that the BIOS will always be available and will not be damaged by disk failures. The BIOS also makes it possible for a computer to boot itself. So dont edit it if you dont know what you are doing!

 

When a computer is first powered on the BIOS is first thing executed by the system. The BIOS provides a basic set of instructions used to boot the computer.

 

The BIOS performs all the tasks which need to be done at startup including performing self diagnostics and initializing the hardware in the computer (also known as the POST process).

 

BIOS is the set of instructions needed by a computer to boot up, detect the hardware and boot the operating system from a Floppy disk or Hard Disk or even a CD; all these operations are referred to as POST, Power-On Self Test. To get its work done, the BIOS needs to know what kind of hardware is installed on the computer; these settings are stored in a 64-bytes memory, known as CMOS RAM. Data on the CMOS RAM are stored using a small battery, which allows to maintain the information even when the computer is off. The chipset provides a set of instructions for the CPU to communicate with other components on the motherboard (memory, PCI bus, cache, and other); many kind of chipset are available, each with its own BIOS version.

 

Setup is referred to as the set of instructions that allow to change the BIOS settings depending on the installed hardware. Usually every BIOS version allows users to change only some settings; many BIOS deliver several options and allow to optimize the performance by changing the settings, whereas with other BIOS (particularly PC IBM, Compaq, Olivetti, and so on) you can change only the hard disk and power management settings.

 

if you do ruin some BIOS settings then you only need to restart your computer and set the previous settings again the previous parameters in the BIOS Setup (press the DEL key when you start the computer, or sometime F2 or something, im not sure! it varies.)

 

woa, thats a lot, should crack the BIOS thing on the head, normally they do not need changing.

[5614]

these are really simple.

 

they are basically add-ons for a program. i dont what context you saw it in, but just see it as an extension. they can be legal or illegal, they can be good and made by the manufacturer, or a hacking device made by some random any old person..... they can do basically anything.

 

similar to this is a patch: these are an updated version of the original file. containing any updates the manufacturers may want such as additional features, compatability on some operating systems etc etc

 

also a crack: these are generally illegaly re-written files that replace the original and legal file in games and programs which allow the user to run an illegal copy.

[drz]

and dummies book for pc related issues is usually good. Pick up a "Whatever Operating System you have for dummies" book would be a good start. Although it is about outdated, you might want to learn some DOS stuff.

 

Take it one subject at a time, don't try to cram yourself full of info, you'll get burnt out.

 

This appears to be a good resource;

http://www.learnthat.com/courses/

[drz]

lol, was going through the A+ core practice test and come across this question:

 

You have an existing hard drive on your IDE adapter. You are installing a second hard drive and want the first hard drive to still be the bootable hard drive. How should you configure the second hard drive?

 

a master

b beta

c slave

d secondary

e None of the above, it just needs to be installed

 

Now maybe its the episode of Beavis and Butthead I watched last night, but having the choice for B following Choice A has cracked me up. I can't help but wonder if it was intentional.

[alt_f13]

LOL

 

a b, priceless. Funniest letter combination in the dictionary.

[5614]

i had to do this for my computer as this is an explanation thread [and im bored]

 

every HDD [hard drive disk] has a number of pins in it which are exposed to the open air. you then have a few jumpers normally 2 or 3 of them. jumpers connect the pins in different patters. by connecting the pins, you are making that HDD act as different setting. the most common being 'master' and 'slave'.

 

the master is where it boots up from, it stores the OS [operating system] and other crucial parts.

whereas the 'slave' acts as a slave, it stores whatever you want.... but is not needed by the computer.

 

the HDD will always come with an image of how to attach the jumpers, it is very simple.

 

finally, to make the HDD work, you then need to partion it and format it [assuming it is totaly blank when you buy it, some come pre-partioed/formatted.]

[drz]

the HDD will always come with an image of how to attach the jumpers, it is very simple.

 

Not always, some companys like to make you guess. I tend to set mine to cable select, so as to simplfy things. You can sometimes look up the pin settings online.

 

the master is where it boots up from, it stores the OS [operating system] and other crucial parts. whereas the 'slave' acts as a slave, it stores whatever you want.... but is not needed by the computer.

 

While true, dual booting systems can have operating systems installed on slave drives.

 

The master/slave basically tells bios where to look for a boot record first.

 

Did you catch the funny?

a master

b beta

 

I seem to remember hearing a story sometime ago about a guy wishing to sue some harddrive company to change the terms "Master" and "Slave" due to the racial implications. Has anyone else heard anymore on this?

[5614]

Not always, some companys like to make you guess. I tend to set mine to cable select, so as to simplfy things. You can sometimes look up the pin settings online.

yes, manufacturers publish the jumper settings online, i've never seen a HDD without the jumper settings, thats stupid, its variable, you'd never know what combination to put the jumpers in.

 

While true' date=' dual booting systems can have operating systems installed on slave drives.

 

The master/slave basically tells bios where to look for a boot record first.[/quote']

dual booting is an exception, but yes, you're right. you can have an OS on the slave HDD even without dual-booting, just edit the boot.ini file to load the OS from a different HDD.

 

 

Did you catch the funny?

 

 

I seem to remember hearing a story sometime ago about a guy wishing to sue some harddrive company to change the terms "Master" and "Slave" due to the racial implications. Has anyone else heard anymore on this?

i got the funny, and i've never heard of the master/slave thing before... sounds a bit stupid, i mean whats wrong with slave and master, in electronics the negative wire is always black, thats racist.... but master/slave is not racist or anti-anyone, if it were christian and jew or white and black, that would be anti-semitic or racist, master/slave is NOT anti-anyone.

[Encrypted]

lol...i dont get a single thing about what you guys are discussing....

 

Thanks for the references for the books, they really helped, but still....

 

Encrypted

[5614]

what dont you understand, the original stuff in posts #2, 4, 5

 

or the new stuff about HDD [hard drive disks]?

 

i can explain if you wish, but as you didnt ask me to in your last post, i wont yet - just in case! really, i dont mind though

[Encrypted]

The new stuff about HDD...

 

As i said...I WANNA LEARN EVERYTHING!

 

Encrypted

[Encrypted]

Plus, have you seen the site http://www.try2hack.nl ??? How do you do the puzzles in there?

 

I'm completely confused about that too...

 

Encrypted

[5614]

http://www.try2hack.nl

 

firstly, i wouldnt really call this hacking, hacking is gaining unauthorized access to a system, network or computer.... this is more like guessing the password.

to do it click view>source (or 'page source' or 'source code') depedning on your browser.

this allows you to see the coding for the page that is currently displayed. In websites with passwords, it is possible to obtain the password by examining this. normally the password in encrypted... it will not be that easy, especially as you dont know HTML or javascript [the two main languages used in website programing].

incase you suddenly think that every website is hack-able, that is not so. I have seen sites where you type your username and password... which it checks against a server. you cannot access the server without username/password, and as its checked against a database which is not in the coding for the site, i saw no possible way to hack it. [but im not an expert hacker!]

[5614]

firstly, re-read post #9, as that is the basics for HDDs

 

slave/master

 

when you have more than one HDD i.e. two or more! then the computer BIOS may become confused about where to load the OS [operating system] from.

(BIOS see post #4)

To stop this from happening you [normally, there are exceptions and different ways of doing this, but the easiest and most common] is to set one HDD as a master drive and the other as a slave drive.

you do this by moving the jumpers. (remember you have pins sticking outta your HDD which are exposed to the air, you also have connectors or jumpers, you cover certain pins with the jumpers to change whether the drive is master or slave)

then, your computer boots-up or loads windows [or whichever OS you use] from that drive.

but there are exceptions:

 

dual booting

 

this is basically when you have more than one OS, say windows XP and linux [linux is another companies equivilent of windows, like nokia and samsung, theres windows and linux].

what happens is that when you first turn on your computer, you get a choice of which OS you would like to load, it then loads that one.

 

why did this come into this thread?

 

because with dual booting you can have an OS on the slave drive [which isnt normal]

basically it all comes down to exceptions. whilst the slave/master tells the BIOS where to boot from, you can over-ride the settings, even on a single OS system (non-dual-booting) you can load your OS from your slave drive.

however to do this, it is advanced options and for all users there is no need to do it, when you install a 2nd HDD, just make the one with your OS on it the master, there is no need to worry about this... its just and exception which was pointed out!

[Dave]

http://www.try2hack.nl

 

firstly' date=' i wouldnt really call this hacking, hacking is gaining unauthorized access to a system, network or computer...[/quote']

 

Well, "guessing the password" is a form of gaining unauthorized access to a system isn't it? Plus as you get into further levels, the difficulty becomes a lot harder - you start having to do lots of different things and assume things to get into the system.

[5614]

i would call it a password guessing game, hacking is with an intention to do harm or steal something [data], hacking is illegal, this kind of website isnt, when ex-hackers work for the FBI to 'hack' into the FBI's own system, thats hacking with permission, so people call it hacking, but that is a missues of the word.

 

may i point out that is not soley guessing which gets you to the next level, you need to understand and decrypt the coding.

[Encrypted]

Well..how would you do the levels past level 1?

 

Encrytped

[5614]

level 1:

 

[im not going through all the levels, unless your only aim in life is to hack people (a) say so now, (b) i cant help you much!]

 

click; view>'source' or 'source code' or 'page source' (this depends on your browser)

 

bascially you have to understand that: i can read HTML and javascript [both used in this page] very well, im not so good at writing it.

 

its hard to explain, its just like knowing a language:

 

<script language="JavaScript">

<!--

function Try(passwd) {

if (passwd =="h4x0r") {

alert("Alright! On to level 2...");

location.href = "level2-xfdgnh.xhtml";

}

else {

alert("The password is incorrect. Please don't try again.");

location.href = "http://www.disney.com/";

}

}

//-->

</script>

 

is the code you are interested in.

 

explaining the code:

 

<script language="JavaScript"> = start javascript language

<!--

 

function Try(passwd) { = function is to try the password, represented as try(passwd)

 

if (passwd =="h4x0r") { = if the password is h4x0r

 

alert("Alright! On to level 2...");

location.href = "level2-xfdgnh.xhtml";

} = then display alert and go to level2-xfdgnh.xhtml

 

else {

alert("The password is incorrect. Please don't try again.");

location.href = "http://www.disney.com/";

}

}

= if not display alert and go to http://www.disney.com/

 

//-->

</script> = ends script

[Dave]

i would call it a password guessing game' date=' hacking is with an intention to do harm or steal something [data'], hacking is illegal, this kind of website isnt, when ex-hackers work for the FBI to 'hack' into the FBI's own system, thats hacking with permission, so people call it hacking, but that is a missues of the word.

 

may i point out that is not soley guessing which gets you to the next level, you need to understand and decrypt the coding.

 

A lot of hacking is simply done by guessing people's passwords and/or cracking them to a certain extent. I think it's a pretty good test of someone's h4x0r sk1llz myself. Just because it isn't illegal doesn't mean it isn't hacking a system.

[5614]

hacking:

 

1) unauthorized

2) with illegal intentions, such as to steal data or corrupt a system

 

gaining unauthorized entrance to a system with no bad intentions is not hacking. 1 & 2 must both be present for it to be true hacking. however adaptations of the meaning of the word hacking have become around, if i guess your sfn password, log on just to prove i can.... some people call that hacking, its not.... or at least, not in the real, proper, original, dictionary definition of the word hacking sense.

[Dave]

I don't do definition arguments, they get on my nerves. To all extents and purposes, try2hack invites people to gain access to their system - according to my opinion/definition of hacking.

[5614]

ok then, we wont have definition argument, i agree with your view on them, if you want you can delete this post and #23 and #24