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Freelance-script.com – PHP script installations

I’m currently working on a new site that will be geared towards end users and building websites. I find that there are handfuls of users that are interested in having their own sites, but have no idea where to start. The purpose of www.freelance-script.com is to explain (in detail) the work involved in creating and using cpanel and other means of installations.

Users will learn how to find a good hosting company, learn php scripting, and also learn to a bit of freelance php scripts. The beauty of Open Source software is that the utilities are made available FREE and can be modified in any way or fashion. There are some basic elements that a user must be comfortable with to begin however. These include basic html coding and the use of FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

I will make an effort to make these steps available at some point to assist with the ‘building a website‘ effort. Please note that it does take some time and effort before a website is complete and there will be some trial and error. Before making any changes, it is important to have a backup strategy and make use of php scripting resources and other documentation.

Also, depending on the web host, the instructions may vary. Stay posted for more info.

Tags: building a php site, how to make a website, open source, php script, webhosts

Privacy Issues and Social Networking

Over the past 5+ years, social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn have become the biggest and greatest thing since sliced bread. Well, to some people anyways. It really comes down to an individual level and one’s preferences on sharing information on the internet. As the name implies, social networking sites allow users “socialize” or “network” with other peers via the Internet. Often, users with similar interests are able to connect to each other and from there anything goes! The problem herein is that it is a double-edged sword and often too much information is publicly shared on the net.

For example, predators can easily use personal information to stalk or steal one’s identity (in the form of identity theft). It’s ridiculous how much information can be obtained from a “profile”. In fact, you can easily obtain someone’s location, school, work place, and areas where a person can often by found.

Here’s a great video that may make you want to think twice before posting something on the internet:

Personally, I don’t have anything against sharing information on the Internet, however it takes away from the “challenge” or “excitement” from getting to know a person at a face-to-face level.

Hot Topic: Web-Based Computer

‘Remote applications’ seems to be the hot topic with internet technology today and with the fast approaching shift towards IPv6 (IP version 6) companies are extending their websites to a whole new level. This can be explained by examining Google Apps and Microsoft’s Live network.

Both of these companies use web-based applications to store and process content virtually. You can build a Word doc or an excel spreadsheet using Google Apps and you can create photo albums with the Live network. Technically, you don’t even need your own computer or software to create these documents – just use a public one. This is a great budget-friendly alternative than paying retail for various product suites, leading to a potential cost-effective strategy for smaller companies.

Open source has made this all possible: people are willing to share their knowledge (free of cost) to collectively build on a creator’s work. In turn, this allows other users to share their own work and in most cases free of charge as well!

With that all said and done, I came across a very interesting site recently which allows the user to run a computer right in their internet browser. This ‘computer’ includes 15 GB in online storage, 10 GB of email, internet browser, media players, and much more. See below for a screenshot:

http://g.ho.st

As a functional storage medium, the site gives you the freedom to leave that bulky USB flash drive at home and the flexibility to retrieve content from any internet-connected machine. Further, it acts as a proxy and may allow access content which may have been blocked through website filters (I.e. YouTube videos, Flickr photos, and so on).

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Tags: 10 gb email, 15 gb storage, network attached storage, online computer, online storage medium, rdc through browser, remote connection, remote desktop

AirMiles Toolbar Hacking?

I recently made a post explaining how the AirMile toolbar works.  Please refer to it should you require any further background information on the subject:  http://alanwashere.com/articles/airmiles-toolbar-free-airmiles/

From the above link, you should now have an understanding of how the AirMiles toolbar works.  Essentially, AirMiles are awarded based on your search data and FreeCause is compensated accordingly (affiliate marketing).

So what does this mean exactly?  Well, frankly if you are a webmaster and involved with affiliate ads or links, you are potentially being hijacked of your referrals!  It’s time to put matters into your own hands… well sort of.

Before reading any further, please ensure that you have read and acknowledged the Disclaimer.  Under no circumstances is alanwashere.com endorsing nor responsible for any actions or consequences for the material below.  This post is for illustrational purposes only.

USE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION/RISK.  This constituates as Fraud and is for educational purposes only.

Let’s start with the basics: a long time ago when the Internet began to boom, a company called AllAdvantage had dominated the market by paying users to surf the web!  Just imagine:  getting paid to surf the net — sound familiar?  The AirMiles toolbar pretty much does the same job, but you get “paid” in AirMiles instead of receiving a check.

Going back to the whole Alladvantage subject, eventually programmers discovered how the program had actually worked.  The Alladvantage program simply kept track of mouse-clicks and movements.  In turn, these programmers/hackers developed very basic applications to simply automate mouse-clicks and movements.  (This repetition is also known as a macro (or a programmed set of instructions).

With the use of macros, users all across the globe were banking on this ‘loophole’ or flaw with the AllAdvantage software.  People were now getting paid to leave their computers running and letting the Macro run overnight, during the day, or throughout the entire day!

More info:

Fraud and Abuse

Many early AllAdvantage users attempted to utilize spamming techniques to artificially build up their referral numbers. In the first months following the company’s launch, email service providers and anti-spam services identified emails referencing AllAdvantage as spam, resulting in wide-spread blocking. Shortly after hiring an anti-spam expert as the company’s Chief Privacy Officer, the company implemented significant changes in its affiliate promotion and referral policies, including a system to enable quicker reporting and termination of spamming accounts. By 2000, the reported volumes of AllAdvantage-related spam had reduced significantly.

AllAdvantage was also the target of other fraudulent activities, such as attempts to simulate surfing in order to accrue credit. These techniques were based upon the manner in which the AllAdvantage “Viewbar” tracked the time that users actively spent browsing the web, through the detection of which applications were “in focus” as well as keyboard and mouse movements. In an attempt to defraud the company, several client-side applications were created that attempted to simulate surfing-related interactivity, including one called “MyAdvantage.” Initially, such applications were successful at simulating a user’s 20 hours of surfing, however those applications were limited in their negative impact on the company for several reasons: their usage was limited to relatively few “hacker hobbyists”; fraudulent users received no direct compensation beyond the established minimum surfing time while the company received advertising revenues based on average surfing times of the entire user base. The AllAdvantage software was frequently updated with detection algorithms derived from analysis of many of the simulators and was able to flag “suspect” surfing accounts for withholding of any payments while giving users the appearance of still accumulating their fraudulent hours.

Now that all that has been said, the same concept can be applied with the AirMiles toolbar.  The flaw or the loophole with this toolbar is that it simply tracks the volume of searches that a user makes and can easily be manipulated.

How it’s done:

1.  Install the AirMiles Toolbar

2.  Download and install some sort of Macro plug-in for your browser.  For example:  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3863

or http://www.sharewareconnection.com/download-iopus-internet-macros-from-sharecon.html

3.  Restart your browser, open the macro and let it run.  (You may need to do some background reseach on each of the above to understand how to execute them.)

If executed properly, you can easily making 300 searches within a 20 minute time period.  Rinse and repeat every month to earn a very easy 360 AirMiles per month.

Please note:  you may encounter an AirMiles page that prompts that you are running potentially malicious software on your machine.  Simply, pause the activity and resume at a later time.

Tags: affiliate ads hijacking, AirMiles Toolbar hacking, AllAdvantage, FreeCare hijacking, iMacro, referral hijacking

AirMiles Toolbar – Free Airmiles!

AirMiles released a new Yahoo toolbar recently to collect 5 AirMiles per every 50 searches through Yahoo search engine (up to a maximum 30 AirMiles per month or 300 searches/month).  The concept is simple:  collect AirMiles on your everday searches, with a couple of conditions:

• Must install the AirMiles Toolbar
• Must use Yahoo search as your search medium

For full details on how to use the toolbar, please visit:  https://www.airmiles.ca/arrow/ToolbarInstall

Pay particular attention to the FAQ on the above link.  Namely the following:

Q. Who is FreeCause?
A. FreeCause is a private company we have partnered with to bring you the AIR MILES® Toolbar.

Q. Why am I accepting a FreeCause End User License Agreement (EULA) when downloading the AIR MILES® Toolbar?
A. Because AIR MILES® has partnered with a FreeCause, a private company, to bring you the Toolbar, it’s necessary that you accept their End User License Agreement.

This should be an indicator that AirMiles has partnered with a 3rd party company to collect data and send/receive potentially secured information involving everyday searches and/or purchases made online.  The toolbar itself works in an interesting factor:

1. Tracking the number of unique searches made within the cycle (1 month).
2. Alert messages when accessing sites that do not earn AirMiles and suggesting alternatives (partnered companies).
3. Listing your previous month’s AirMiles balance.

This all sounds like a great idea, but what’s the catch?  There has to be a catch, right?

The simple answer is No.  However, more realistically there is a catch.   As I noted earlier, the 3rd party EULA (end-user license agreement) allows FreeCause to collect data which the toolbar is in use.  What this translates to is that your search criteria and habits are all being tracked by the toolbar software.

Other Concerns?  (For webmasters)

The AirMiles toolbar is a nightmare for affiliate marketing.  The problem with the toolbar is that it hijacks all purchases made through various links and/or websites and treats them as their own.  In simpler terms, referral links and affiliate companies will not given credit for links that were used on a pariticular website.  That is, if you have your own website with your own affiliate links, you are not being credited for links that are being clicked on — EVEN on your own site!

In summary, the AirMiles Toolbar is a great tool for everyday consumers that use the Yahoo search engine on a regular basis.  For others that prefer using the Google search engine, the Yahoo search is a bit hard to get used to.  Personally, I found it frustrating to ’switch over’ to the Yahoo search because it does not match my searching needs as much as Google.  However, for earning up to 30 AirMiles per month, this is a small sacrifice to pay.

The disadvantages of the toolbar that I could find are:

1. Hijacking of affiliate links/referrals
2. Alert messages can get irritating after a while
3. Seems to slow down “the interet experience”

Overall, I think it’s a great way to earn AirMiles.  If you maximize your searches each month, you could potentially earn up to 360 AirMiles per calendar year!

Tags: Affiliate Marketing, Airmiles Hijacks referrals, AirMiles toolbar, AirMiles Toolbar hacking, Free AirMiles, Free AirMiles Toolbar, Hijack marketing, iMacro

Re: Major cyber spy network uncovered

I came an interesting article this morning, which comes to show that national security is a threat at the hands of a hacker. In this day and age, technology plays a role in nearly all aspects of the world.

We are all connected, one way or another, through the Internet. This also explains why social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace have become ever so popular. This brings me to the larger picture: privacy data is being stored on an online medium.

Let’s examine Facebook.

Upon signing up, a user must agree to Facebook’s EULA (End User License Agreement) which specially states that all content on the social networking site is property of Facebook and can be shared with 3rd parties. Now, if you think about it, most Facebook users tend to list their personal information, educational background, work history, websites, and even their contact numbers.

This in turn makes them great candidates for identity theft. If the above information had been filled in, an indentity thief could easily use a person’s information in applying for obtaining information on a specific account. Let’s say for example that you are looking for billing information on your phone bill. Your phone provider will likely as you for your date of birth and postal code.

What worries me about the article is that there tends to be a degree of separation when it comes to tech savvy individuals and the rest of society. The level of comfort and understanding on security is one area that people tend to disregard. For instance a tech savvy person tends to create strong passwod; whereas a non-techie may pick something as simple as their own last name!

With that said, if a political leader has highly classified information on his/her laptop and uses a poor password schema, this potentially could be troublesome and dangerous!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7970471.stm

“Major cyber spy network uncovered”

An electronic spy network, based mainly in China, has infiltrated computers from government offices around the world, Canadian researchers say.

They said the network had infiltrated 1,295 computers in 103 countries.

They included computers belonging to foreign ministries and embassies and those linked with the Dalai Lama – Tibet’s spiritual leader.

There is no conclusive evidence China’s government was behind it, researchers say. Beijing also denied involvement.

The report comes after a 10-month investigation by the Information Warfare Monitor (IWM), which comprises researchers from Ottawa-based think tank SecDev Group and the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies.

They were acting on a request from the Tibetan spiritual leader’s office to check whether the computers of his Tibetan exile network had been infiltrated.

Researchers found that ministries of foreign affairs of Iran, Bangladesh, Latvia, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Barbados and Bhutan appear to had been targeted.

Hacked systems were also discovered in the embassies of India, South Korea, Indonesia, Romania, Cyprus, Malta, Thailand, Taiwan, Portugal, Germany and Pakistan.

Analysts say the attacks are in effect industrial espionage, with hackers showing an interest in the activities of lawmakers and major companies.

Compromised

The researchers said hackers were apparently able to take control of computers belonging to several foreign ministries and embassies across the world using malicious software, or malware.

“We uncovered real-time evidence of malware that had penetrated Tibetan computer systems, extracting sensitive documents from the private office of the Dalai Lama,” investigator Greg Walton was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.

They say they believe the system, which they called GhostNet, was focused on governments in Asia.

By installing malware on compromised computers, hackers were able to take control of them to send and receive classified data.

In this case, the software also gave hackers the ability to use audio and video recording devices to monitor the rooms the computers were in. But investigators said they did not know whether or not this element had been used.

According to the New York Times, the spying operation is the largest to have been uncovered in terms of the number of countries affected.

In an abstract for the report entitled The Snooping Dragon: Social Malware Surveillance of the Tibetan Movement – posted on the IWM website – investigators said while such attacks were not new, these particularly stood out for their ability to collect “actionable intelligence for use by the police and security services of a repressive state, with potentially fatal consequences for those exposed”.

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Tags: cyber spy network, identity theft, security, social networking sites

How to Unlock iPhone 2G/3G Jailbreak 2.2.1 Windows Tutorial

Apple’s iPhone has definately taken the world by storm. The demand for a handheld, all-in-one, iPod and phone has created the “need” to unlock the phone using various techniques. The most notorious of these is known as “Jailbreak”.

This tutorial outlines step-by-step instructions on how to Jailbreak an iPhone using QuickPWN on firmware 2.2.1 using a Windows OS.

*** Please note that the content on this page is AT YOUR RISK ONLY. I will not be held responsible for any damage or problems associated with the QuickPWN software. Also note: unlocking a cell phone will also void any manufacturer’s warranty. You have been warned.***

If you have read the above and understand the risks, please see below.

First and foremost, there are a few requirements in order to Jailbreak an iPhone using QuickPWN.

You will need the following components:

Requirement #1. QuickPWN v2.2.5-2

Requirement #2. iTunes 2.2.1 Firmware

For 2G iPhones: 2.2.1 Firmware for 2G iPhones
For 3G iPhones: 2.2.1 Firmware for 3G iPhones

Requirement #3. Bootloader (BIN) Files:

BL-39
BL-46

Now that you have have the requirements to Jailbreak/unlock your iPhone, you are good to go. In the event that you need to revert back to your original firmware, I highly recommend visiting www.quickpwn.com and following the in-depth instructions.

Step 1: Restore iPhone to factory defaults

* Connect your iPhone to your Mac or PC and select your iPhone from the list of devices in iTunes. If things had gone horribly wrong while hacking your iPhone and iTunes does not detect your iPhone then you will need to put it in DFU (Device Firmware Upgrade) mode.

You can follow these steps to put your iPhone in DFU mode (this is required only if iTunes does not recognize your iPhone):
+ Connect your iPhone to your computer.
+ Turn iPhone off.
+ Hold power and home together for 10 seconds (exactly).
+ Release power but keep holding home until the computers beeps (observed on a PC) as a USB device is recognized.
+ A few seconds later iTunes should detect your iPhone.

* In the Summary Tab, Hold down Option and press the “Restore” button. If you are using Windows hold down Shift and press the Restore button. (This is an important step as just pressing the “Restore” button will result in restoring your iPhone with the latest firmware which is firmware 2.2 currently, by holding down Option in case of Mac or Shift in case of Windows, allows you choose the firmware file that you want to downgrade to.)

Step 2: Extract and run QuickPWN (from Requirement #1

Double-click the QuickPWN.exe

You will be prompted with another warning. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

You will now be prompted to plug in your iPhone. If successful, the arrow will highlight in blue as shown here. (Click on the arrow to proceed.)

On the next screen, you will be asked to locate the firmware to be used. Use the browse button to search for the firmware that you had downloaded from Requirement #2. A green checkmark will appear if successful. (Click on the arrow to proceed.)

Now, you should be given the options to select which applications to install. Ensure that you check off the Unlock phone option at this point. I recommend that you leave Cydia and Installer checked off so that you have the option to install 3rd party applications. (Click on the arrow to proceed.)

You will be brought to the following screen:

From Requirement #3 Browse for the appropriate BIN files. Associate the corresponding BIN files to the descriptions as shown. then click on the arrow to proceed.

Follow the on-screen instructions: (Click on the arrow to proceed.)

Pay particular attention to this screen. You will be asked to perform a sequence of activities on your iPhone:

Wait for your iPhone to connect in Recovery Mode…

Hold down the Home button for 10 seconds…

Hold down the Home and Power buttons together for 30 seconds… do notlet go of Home

Release the Power button and continue to hold Home for 30 seconds…

If you had followed the instructions correctly, you should now see:

Step 3: Sit back and relax

Finally, sit back and let your iPhone finish up with the installer. This should take 2-5 minutes.

Now, your iPhone should be Jailbroken and unlocked to be used with any phone carrier!

Tags: How to unlock iphone, iPhone Jailbreak, Iphone Unlock tutorial, Jailbreak 2.2, Jailbreak tutorial, Unlock Iphone, Upgrade Firmware 2.2

How to increase Wireless Internet signal

Tags: Boost wireless signal, How Increase signal strength, WIFI signal booster