Changing a linux password, recovering

ref: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLwqGce6AGo

Boot into a shell as root
type 'e' at the grub menu
change the line "ro quiet splash" TO "rw init=/bin/bash"
press CTRL-D to boot

search for home directory to find the username
confirm username by cat /etc/passwd
type 'passwd USER'
type in new password & confirm
type sync
reboot


another option is to boot from a live CD, mount the hard drive (sudo fdisk -l) and edit a character in the /etc/passwd file.
user:x:1000:1000:user,,,:/home/user:/bin/bash
to
user:x:1000:1000:user,,,:/home/user:/bin/bash
umount and reboot

login without a password.  Put a password in by typing
'passwd user'
then
sudo shadowconfig off
sudo shadowconfig on


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compiling crunch 3.3 in ubunut and mint, error in Makefile

Found on Ubuntu forums here

Modify the makefile under build: crunch mode the $? to the left as shown.


val:    crunch.c

    @echo "Building valgrind compatible binary..."

    $(CC) $? $(VCFLAGS) $(LFS)  -o crunch

    @echo "valgrind --leak-check=yes crunch ..."

    @echo ""

crunch: crunch.c

    @echo "Building binary..."

    $(CC) $? $(CFLAGS) $(LFS)  -o $@

    @echo ""


Also note that crunch default install is /pentest/passwords/crunch  you may want to change the location in the make file to suit.


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Migrating from Ubuntu to Linux Mint Mate, important notes

Few things to note when migrating:

• Gedit is now pluma
• Nautilus is now caja
• Things that started with gnome now start with mate, such as Gnome-terminal is now mate-terminal
• The green  theme can be cleaned up to not look not green at all, select appearances under the preferences menu
• The menu bar can be moved back to the top of the screen like the classic gnome 2 Ubuntu.  Another bar can be added to the bottom of the screen for desktop and bun icons.
• Install synaptic, to get the software installing power back

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Linux Mint 13 So much Better than Ubuntu 12.04

Ever since Ubuntu released the Unity desktop, I have been fighting a battle to not be forced into the fucking stupid Unity newfag hipster crap new default interface.

As a PC-Thug, I demand stability, productivity, power use and a customisable interface.

Installing gnome 3 ppa on Ubuntu 12.04 was a waste of time, basically what I got was the bloody leftovers from someone else's backyard abortion.  Not good enough.

Checking the Linux Mint 13 Mate 1.2 looked promising, so I tried it out using a live USB drive.  Burnt the ISO to the hardrive using unetbootin.
I was suprised to see very little extra bloatware installed.  No twitter crap, status updates.  Basically nice clean slate to build on.  Also being built on Ubuntu, it is very easy to pick up.

After installing it on a second partition, a few thing can be tweaked to make it look like the old Ubuntu (11.04), getting rid of the green colour was the first thing, then a few more tweaks to move the panel to the top got things looking familiar.

I suggest you try Mint, and get satisfaction.  Thank you Ubuntu for the memories.



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How to unlock the Vodafone ZTE K3571-Z Dongle to use any SIM

This is a very basic guide on how to unlock your modem.  You will need:
K3571-Z Modem
Non Vofafone sim
Windows PC
DC Unlock
Generic ZTE dashboard (see optional step)

Install the VF (Vodafone) dongle software as per usual.  The drivers need to be installed for the dongle to be read be the computer.

Make sure the VF Dashboard works properly and you can get internet access from the dongle.

Now exit the VF dashboard software and ensure that any other VF Software is killed from task manager and Control Panel > Computer Mangement > Services (Look service starting with Vodafone...), stop and disable.
Make sure that all autoruns on the XP system are turned off as well (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\NoDriveTypeAutorun  Value = FF in Hex

Reboot

Open up Device Manager and have a look at the Ports (Com and LPT).  Insert Modem and see what port comes up as the Diagnostics Port when the modem is plugged in.
Take a note of the port and open up hyperterminal, selecting that com port and choose 9600, N, 8, 1 for setup.

Type ATZ and look for an OK
Now type the following commands and lok to see that you get success prompts.
AT+ZCDRUN=E
AT+ZCDRUN=8

Exit Hyperterminal and unplug the modem / replug the modem.  Open up Device Manager and have a look at the Ports (Com and LPT), you should notice that the description wording for the comports is different.  In my case before it was Vodafone and now it is ZTE.

Now you should be able to open up DC and unlock that sucker, just make sure that you have a non VF sim card in the modem or your DC program will say it is unlocked already.

Optional and really worth it

Uninstall all the VF crap, Go to http://www.dc-unlocker.com/downloads/ZTE/Dashboards and Download the ZTE Dashboard.
Open up the ISO using winrar or simmilar.  Install it on your system and use it with the modem.  The Join Air ZTE dashboard has all the drivers.


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