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By Root 503 0

were so many security issues. One of the main exploits worked by booting XP using an older version of Windows and going into recovery mode. In older versions of Windows when you tried this, you were prompted to type in a password. But in Windows XP, this technique granted the "hacker" unrestricted access to the computer. The "hacker" then could access any of the files and folders on the system and copy them to any removable media. It didn’t matter even if the system was password protected. Mostly, the issue was with holes in Microsoft programs. Remember the Melissa or the ILOVEYOU virus? They were both malicious worms geared for programs like Outlook, Word, Excel. Obviously, Microsoft answered by slowly pushing out updates - service packs, rather. SP1, SP2, and the almighty SP3, which featured some network security like NAP (Network Access Protection). Still, it was not enough. Remember in 26:3, "Microsoft, Please Salt My Hash!"? We found out that Microsoft wasn’t even encrypting their passwords. This meant that stored passwords were not safe. So when a password got stored, there would be no way to encrypt or "hash" it. Salting is just a way of encrypting the passwords, which is a security feature UNIX systems have been using since the late 70s.

Black Edition

Windows XP accounts for over half of the consumer based operating systems out there today. So, if you're still running a 9x box, run Black Edition XP. First off, it's a copyrighted version of Microsoft's Windows XP, and that means it's illegal! So why bother running a pirated version of XP in the first place? Well consider that the original version of Windows XP had numerous security holes, as well as system and compatibility issues. I know what you’re going to say: "I don't feel safe installing an OS that is not legitimate." Neither would I. If you're skeptical of viruses, trojans, becoming a botnet, and other malware, I suggest running Black Edition on a virtual machine. VirtualBox is a free program available at http://www.virtualbox.org/ . If you have installed Black Edition XP on a different virtual machine, it will sometimes overwrite a config file called WINNT.SIF, resulting in the loss of the extra programs and custom settings. Worst of all, you will be asked to enter a key. If you have this problem, just use a key from the .txt file in the "\KEY CHANGER" directory on the disc/ISO. Then run "Auto Setup.bat" in the \OEM\RunOnce\ directory from the disc/ISO. After that, the custom setup will appear. However, you can also burn the ISO to a disc and format it like any other version of Windows XP. If, during the setup, you get a message that your hard drive is not detected or a blue screen pop-up, this usually means that the SATA driver for your hard drive is missing. Try to disable the SATA/ACHI option or set the SATA mode to IDE in your BIOS. If the setup starts, then install your SATA/ACHI driver, restart your computer, and change the BIOS hard drive setting back to SATA.

The setup process is similar to any other version of 9x, except that after it’s finished, a custom message box prompt pops up with a 60 second warning that the preconfigured settings and extra programs will be installed, and, if nothing has been selected after 60 seconds, the option "Yes" will automatically be chosen. Then, a series of shell windows will pop up in dark green lettering, installing the various driver packs, runtimes, applications, patches, and updates.

After the shell-like DOS windows finish, the System Properties window will pop up and the ChaNinja theme will be defaulted along with a cool looking pirate skull background image. The language bar icon will also appear on the taskbar, defaulted to Luxembourg military time. Then suddenly, a dialog box will appear with a 30 second warning, saying that installation has finished and the computer will restart at the end of that duration. After the system reboots, everything should be working properly. You can remove the language bar by simply right clicking on the taskbar>Language Bar>Select Settings, clicking the Language Bar