My custom adblock filters

Some filters to add to your machine...  Block google instant, plus one facebook likes and other crap

|http://www.google.com/extern_js/*.js
||google-analytics.com^
||static.ning.com/socialnetworkmain/widgets/index/gfx/themes/Black%20Gloss/*
http://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js
https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js
https://plusone.google.com/u/
*s7.addthis.com/static/*
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php*
https://clients1.google.com/complete/search?*

Blocking google instant

I hate google instant

here is the best way to block it.

source: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Web%20Search/thread?tid=08addac785c13495&hl=en


Download AdBlock Plus. Add this filter

https://clients1.google.com/

complete/search?*

Google auto complete and preview is die.

Firefox 5 is here

FF4 is old, and FF5 is here, rumor is going around that Mozilla is going to release a new version ever three months...

This means that after every release some more of your plugins will fail to work.

I you hate that, I wont suggest going into synaptic and locking the version to 5 or 4.

DOB wordlist generation script

Here is a script on how to make a list of dates between X and Y in the format of DDMMYYYY

Great for bruting.  Nice 8 character numeric.

Source http://adaywithtape.blogspot.com/2011/03/creating-date-wordlist.html

#!/bin/bash
#
#
# Create a wordlist based on dates in the format
# ddmmyyyy
# date doesnt seem to like certain dates before 1940..
# so test as from 1941 ;)
#
# Although the input needs to be yyyy-mm-dd
# the output with the below script will be ddmmyyyy
# Its slow and suppose it would be quicker if it wasnt
# 'teed' to screen, but what else are you gonna stare at..
#
echo "Enter the starting date"
echo "must be in the format yyyy-mm-dd"
(tput bold && tput setaf 1)
read START_DATE
(tput sgr 0)
echo "Enter the ending date"
echo "must be in the format yyyy-mm-dd"
(tput bold && tput setaf 1)
read END_DATE
(tput sgr 0)
# List all dates in between the above dates

echo $START_DATE | tee r_dates.txt
while true
do
START_DATE=$( date +%Y-%m-%d -d "$START_DATE -d 1day" )
echo $START_DATE | tee -a r_dates.txt
if [ "$START_DATE" == "$END_DATE" ]
then
awk -F- '{print $3 $2 $1}' r_dates.txt > datelist.txt
rm r_dates.txt
(tput bold && tput setaf 1)
echo "wordlist 'datelist.txt' created"
(tput sgr 0)
exit
fi
done






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Crunch Tutorial - Featuring a day with tape

Crunch is a great word generator.  It allows you to make customizable word lists.

It is a free download on sourceforge.

The complete bible for crunch is here: http://adaywithtape.blogspot.com/

source: adaywithtape.blogspot.com

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The Jaycar Story, How Australians are being ripped off

In Australia it is customary for businesses to rip off their customers.

This is usually done in a number of ways:

• Unnecessary increasing prices of products
• Forcing/conditioning customers to purchase “extended warranties” on products
• Charging inflated amounts for accessories, which are quietly bundled with the item at point of sale
• Charging inflated amounts for services such as instillation or commissioning

The pathetic retailer blames their high prices by:

• Justifying their inflated prices on overheads such as rent and employment of inefficient “customer service” staff
• Justifying their inflated prices on the geographical isolation that Australia is within
• Endearing to promote Australian jobs even though the majority of goods sold are manufactured in China
• Blaming fixed variables such as local taxes put on goods and services

A current example of the price mark-up Australians experience becomes apparent when goods are purchased from a Australian reatiler, Jaycar.

Wholly integrated and operated from New South Whales, Australia; this company also sells the same products to the USA through the American Jaycar online retail website.

Below is two screenshots of a Helicopter toy, one from the AU site and the other from the US site. Exactly the same item, same order number...

As you can see, the US price is $112USD and the AU price is $179AU respectively.

Given that the Australian exchange rate is currently $0.93AU to $1.00USD, there seems to be approximately a $75 difference between the same products being dispatched from the same location.

Given these facts, a point of truth has been realised and it is simply not to shop at Jaycar any-more.

You call yourself a Australian company? You fail, rip off!!!

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How to block ads on your android ZTE V9

This is the easiest way to block ads on the ZTE V9 or any other android device.


We are going to make a hosts file to redirect ant ad servers to 127.0.0.1 a.k.a localhost.

Why

• Free
• No app download
• Saves on bandwidth - BIG TIME
• Works on all apps on the device i.e. system wide
• Safe and easy hack!

Prerequisite:

• Root your device using z4root or similar
• Install terminal app from the android marketplace
• Download a hosts file WITH Unix character formatting to the sdcard

How to:

• Open the terminal emulator
• Type 'su' to get root access
• Navigate to etc folder  'cd /etc'
• rename hosts to hosts.old  'mv hosts hosts.old'
• Navigate to the sd card  'cd /sdcard'
• Copy hosts file dowloaded to /etc  'cat hosts > /etc/hosts'
• Exit the terminal (you should not receive any errors)

Why cat?
"cat filename1 > filename2" - For some reason, the Droid does not come with a copy (cp) command. This works in the exact same way

Does it work...

Page with a Ad

Ad gone!

Page with too many ads...

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Pics of the Zte V9 taken apart, disassembled

Thanks to the guy who did this, direct link.

 

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Getting rid of the Optus icons from MyTab aka ZTE v9

Too many people have posted articles on how to root the ZTE V9 just to install the latest version of Android with mods.  While this could be a good thing, many users are reporting that they are having to reload their apps and are loosing functions such as the FM radio.  Some users have also bricked their devices and are struggling to find a solution.

All I wanted to do with my ZTE v9 is to remove the stupid Optus apps from the device. 

Here how to remove the Optus apps and keep your android stock:


Upgrade to Android 2.2 using the Optus Upgrade exe

Download and install z4root_blade_perm_root_v2.apk (search google)

• Install the apk (put on sd-card)


• Enable "USB debugging"


• Start app and tell it to do a permanent root.


• Wait for it to reboot your phone.

Install  "Root App Remover" from the Android Marker - free

Run the Root App Remover and click the menu key to find the optus apps to delete.   Superuser will prompt one time that you are going to uninstall.

Z4Root and Root App Remover installed!

Running Root App Uninstaller

Deleting the crap!

Make sure you empty the recycling bin to flush them for ever.

BTW, you can delete apps that your system requires, it will warn you...

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new changes in freight on ebay au

Check this out on ebay au.

"Starting in August, you will have to specify postage details, handling time and return policy. In addition, insurance options will be removed."

We all know that ebay likes to finger people, so this is nothing really new.  From what I gather, ebay and Australia post are getting into bed together, making it impossible for sellers to make money on postage.
This can be qualified by the recent introduction of ebay branded Australia post satchels.  All which offer a chump change in savings....





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Huawei k3765 repair and unlock

One of these 3G dongles suffered some damage the other day, when it got kneed slightly bending the USB connector.

Removing two screws near the USB connector allowed disassembly.

There was visible damage on the USB connector outer, the surface mounted leads and the board.  The leads were straightened and resoldered.

 

A few more pics of the insides of the modem.

 

Unlocking was simple as well:

• Install the device driver, using the Mobile partner software, Setup_Mobile_Partner_v.16.001.06.01.500.exe
• Flash the device using the hacked firmware UTPS16.001.06.01.500_VDF.exe
• Go to this address subsitute the url to your imei
  http://bb5.at/huawei.php?imei=123456789012347
• Get the unlock code by installing a nonstandard sim.
• Done

 

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Installing Prey on the ZTE V9 - Theft Recovery

In my opinion this is cheap insurance for a even cheaper Android tablet.

Prey is a program that allows the owner to remotely track, control and disable a stolen computer or tablet.

It is free and runs on Linux, Android and Windows.

Go to Prey Project Contol Panel and sign up, you will receive a confirmation email and once confirmed you can log in.

On your tablet, go to Android market and install the Prey app, it is free.

Prey on Android Market

What it could do?

Initial setup, we have already registered!

You need to escalate Prey's privileges to allow it to be controlled remotely

Active SIM detection, causes the device to alarm if the SIM is swapped!

All installed

Once Prey is installed on the Android device, go back to the Prey Control Panel on the internet and check that it is there.

If it does get stolen, you can send you device a secret activation SMS to initialise Prey.



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How to remove exif tags using Ubuntu

Exif data provides a interesting insight to how and possibly where a photo was taken, however sometimes you may want to remove the data embedded in your jpg files.

I will be using two lightweight console programs:

exif - Displays the exif data using a console

mogrify - Amongst other things, strips exif data (part of imagemagick package)

Shown below is a screen dump of exif in action.  The command to show machine readable exif information is 'exif -m picture.jpg'

Now use mogrify to strip the tags 'mogrify -strip *.jpg'
Note:  morgrify will overwrite/append all files, which is what we want most of the time.

A retest with exif, shows the tags are gone!

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USB tethering ZTE V9 with Ubuntu 11.04

No Problems experience here. 

• Plug in the USB connection
• Hit 'back' to get out of the data storage screen
• Go to settings > Wireless & networks > Tethering & portable hotspot > USB tethering
• Network manager will now auto connect

The bonus here is that the tablet will be charged from the USB port while you are surfing using your laptop and you can surf the web on the tablet while tethered.

lsusb

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Reclaiming space taken by plugpacks

I was pissed off the other day with the plug pack from my WD USB hard drive taking up so much space.  This time it was not the body of the plugpack, but rather the adapter for the multiple clip-on plug for various countries.

The 'ears' on this device were much wider than expected and needed to be lopped.

Taking a pair of side-cutters to it, did the trick.

If I collect enough, I will make a necklace just like Dolpf from Universal Solider.

I'm all ears.

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Disable the Libreoffice Spash Screen for good!

LibreOffice is the best, heaps better than paying for crappy Microsoft Products, but the splash screen gets in the way when it loads.

There are a few ways to defeat this, one involves having LibreOffice quickstarter running on startup. No, sorry that would be a unnecessary memory hog and something I would expect from a M$ product.

Here is the best way to prevent the splash from being visible.

In Linux, sudo gedit the file /etc/libreoffice/sofficerc

and change Logo=1 to Logo=0
Save the file.






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FetchTV Ethernet ports open

These are the ports open on the FetchTV box.

Port 80,111 and 8000

Not much chop from port 80 in Firefox





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FetchTV Box Filesystem is XFS

Examining the hard drive of the FetchTV box is a easy, just unplug the SATA cable and connect it to a USB to SATA adapter.
The hard drive can be powered from the FetchTV box directly with it's internal SATA cable disconnected with no problems.

The file system is one partition containing a XFS file system, it is no problem to mount this drive using Ubuntu..

There is three directories on the drive; DATASTORE, PVOD and PVR.  The root directory contains some interesting large files such as logs and settings.

In the DATASTORE directory there is some configuration files including the ISP specific config, all in plain text and easy to mod.  Will post these files soon...

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