Everything, Everything

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October 2013
@RobNicholls81
Tuesday 29th October, 2013 21:38
Arsenal lost. Ah well, one less competition to worry about so we can concentrate on winning the league.
@RobNicholls81
Wednesday 23rd October, 2013 17:20
Freedom!
@RobNicholls81
Tuesday 22nd October, 2013 17:13
Grabbing Passwords With Mimikatz on x64 http://t.co/yEoQXvwYhB
Grabbing Passwords With Mimikatz on x64
Tuesday 22nd October, 2013 16:32
This is more of a note to self, but if you've managed to "getsystem" with meterpreter (which generally means you've managed to exploit a system, or you've run something as an Administrator to get around UAC), you might be tempted to run mimikatz to grab the cleartext passwords. This normally works fine... until you get an error message instead of a password. You also probably saw a warning about it running the x86 version on an x64 host. The issue is you're trying to run in a 32-bit process as SYSTEM when you need to be in a 64-bit process as SYSTEM. The easiest way to do that is to migrate to a 64-bit process that's already running as SYSTEM. I chose wlanext.exe (Windows Wireless LAN 802.11 Extensibility Framework), but a server is (hopefully) a lot less likely to have that running. Perhaps spoolsv.exe (Spooler SubSystem App) is a more reliable choice on a server?
@RobNicholls81
Tuesday 22nd October, 2013 13:01
Dinosaurs
Tuesday 22nd October, 2013 12:01
During my commute to work on the train, I go through a couple of patches where my Nexus 4 doesn't get any reception. This has recently resulted in Chrome showing a dinosaur (instead of the old sad face). You can apparently see this if you browse to:

chrome://theme/IDR_ERROR_NETWORK_OFFLINE

I needed to create an avatar at work so I decided to base mine on the dinosaur, but I made him blue (as it's a lovely colour). This has led to a bit of a dinosaur theme, as I then called my local wiki Wikisaurus.

I need to get out more.

RAWR.
Windows 8.1
Monday 21st October, 2013 13:27
One word of warning when you decide to upgrade Windows 8 to 8.1 via the Store: you cannot complete the upgrade using a remote desktop connection.

I had kicked off the download overnight using the Remote Desktop client on my phone (not the official one, which is now available, but probably isn't as good as the Xtralogic one on Android). I then logged back in around lunchtime using my work laptop and began the upgrade. Then I couldn't log back in.

It turns out there's a whole load of mouse clicks and things you have to type in before Windows 8.1 is ready.

It also seems to forget a few settings, and overwrite a few customisations. I ended up having to reconfigure which filters are used for videos, for example. File transfers didn't show the advanced progress information either. I had a new wallpaper and lock screen. Nothing major though (well, not after they fixed the Google search results in IE11).

I also had to connect my local account with my online account, although it was relatively easy to disconnect it afterwards (it seems that disconnecting the network cable during the installation can allow you to skip that part).

But on the plus side, I do have a Start button and I can log into the Desktop rather than the Start Menu. And it didn't lose any of my data (not that the host has anything important on it, it's only used for testing purposes).

I would recommend upgrading (it's free for Windows 8 users!), but you do need to be at the local console to finish it off. Unless you're using a virtual machine so you can gain access to the virtual console, which is next on my list (I like to potentially break one thing at a time, rather than everything all at once). I imagine it'll go even smoother now I know what to expect.
@RobNicholls81
Monday 21st October, 2013 12:38
@RobNicholls81
Friday 18th October, 2013 07:09
Microsoft RDP client for iOS & Android: http://t.co/YUsUKdMkqZ (I suspect the Xtralogic client is still better). http://t.co/L9iNb4xIj6
Random Things
Thursday 17th October, 2013 11:02
Some of the things I've learnt (and remembered and practiced so it's not just theoretical knowledge) over the last fortnight includes:

The PHP passthru function is a reliable way to get more than just the last line (unlike the "exec" or "system" commands).

Running the command "Rundll32 evil.dll, @DllMain1" is a good way to run malicious code a) without the real filename showing up in task Manager b) when Software Restrictions Policy is in place and the default setting "All software files except libraries (such as DLLs)" is enforced. However, it looks a bit dodgy when rundll32.exe is running as SYSTEM if you escalate privileges. But probably less suspect than notepad.exe running as SYSTEM.

Laptop displays using TN panels are rubbish. My phone's screen is better than my work laptop (same resolution, but my phone has an IPS-based display). I'm half tempted to use my Nexus 10 to remote desktop in for a higher resolution display. Except typing would be more awkward. And there would be some lag even over a decent wireless connection.

Outlook 2013 (as well as being blue, white and flat) defaults to displaying replies to emails within Outlook (and new emails in a pop out window). I like consistency, and I dislike change, so I've tracked down the annoying setting and put a tick next to it:

Annoying Outlook 2013 Default Setting - Open replies and forwards in a new window
New Beginnings
Wednesday 16th October, 2013 13:31
So I'm in my second week at my new job and things seem to be going okay. It turns out it wasn't a massive mistake, although the first couple of days were pretty overwhelming (so many names and things to learn).

My only real complaints are that the coffee here isn't freshly ground (but there's a ridiculous number of coffee shops within the vicinity), there doesn't appear to be a vending machine I can raid in the afternoon if I get a bit peckish, it's taking me a while to get used to Outlook being blue and white instead of a nice gold sort of colour, and the laptop doesn't have a 1920x1080 display (which was initially quite annoying, but I'm also getting used to it).
@RobNicholls81
Tuesday 15th October, 2013 09:22
Why is "Christmas" trending on Twitter? It's mid-October! :S
@RobNicholls81
Tuesday 15th October, 2013 09:00
Outlook 2013 is blue and white and flat. I'm not sure I like it.
@RobNicholls81
Sunday 13th October, 2013 10:55
My cat is unhappy with me. He wants me to make the rain stop. He doesn't believe me when I tell him I can't.
@RobNicholls81
Thursday 10th October, 2013 09:46
7 degrees outside? No wonder I'm cold. Need more layers. *shiver*
@RobNicholls81
Tuesday 8th October, 2013 10:51
VT-x was disabled. VirtualBox was a bit cryptic with its error messages, but I got there in the end. Still don't like this work laptop.
@RobNicholls81
Tuesday 8th October, 2013 06:50
On a positive note, we won the pub quiz last night. That's two weeks in a row. We're going to have to do a Grobbelaar next week.
@RobNicholls81
Tuesday 8th October, 2013 06:48
I hope the new work laptop behaves itself today (chkdsk errors already?!?). Still a bit disappointed that the display isn't proper HD.
@RobNicholls81
Friday 4th October, 2013 09:14
Last day of unemployment. It's been a good week. Looking forward to starting my new role on Monday, although I'll miss my lie-ins.
@RobNicholls81
Friday 4th October, 2013 09:01
@RobNicholls81
Friday 4th October, 2013 08:24
Inside job or an APT in Adobe? http://t.co/OEhHATukD1
@RobNicholls81
Thursday 3rd October, 2013 22:27
Finished watching Stewart Lee. He didn't make @Spiderish almost pass out from laughter this time. http://t.co/lEexfXHgtz
@RobNicholls81
Thursday 3rd October, 2013 11:08
"Damn, Africa, what happened?" #meangirls #october3rd #amidoingitright
@RobNicholls81
Thursday 3rd October, 2013 09:05
Can't believe how many hours I wasted playing GTA V yesterday. I wonder how long I'll spend on it today. Might cancel my WoW subscription!
@RobNicholls81
Thursday 3rd October, 2013 09:03
Broke (and fixed) AC3 audio support last night trying to fix an issue that turns out was a problem in the source all along.
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