GTU Website Hacked...!

The Website got Hacked yesterday. It was not so late when I received a message in my group that GTU Website got Hacked..! At first I didn't believe as when I opened the site, it seemed to work well. But then I started geetting links and found that this was true. But still I had some doubts so I didn't post the NEWS yesterday. But as I got to read about this in newspaper, I thought of writing about it.

UPDATE: GTU website was hacked another time recently. But this is different... As it is me who performed the hack and no worries as I reported them and applied the patch. This time I got into GTU Exams site which contained all exam related stuffs. You can read it here..

Yesterday, I received a message in my group about this. At first I didn't believe that it was true. Then after some time, I received a screenshot from my friend who notified me about it. I was so curious that I started searching on the internet about it.

Click to view full size image

The screenshot I received is here...

Click to view full size image

After this thing happened, I started searching on the internet about the whole matter. I saw only one link which reported about the website getting hacked. But when I tried to open it, it blocked me saying I was unauthorized to access that site.

The link which reported about this is : http://www.zone-h.org/mirror/id/28829271 You can too try to access it, but it will block you saying that you are unauthorized. This link will also be soon removed from Google Results.

Also, I was able to get a YouTube video which showed the website got Hacked. But this was too removed from YouTube's Server. It seemed like all the traces were removed. I don't know who removed these traces, either the Hacker - to prevent from getting caught OR the GTU - to maintain its respect in the society.

The YouTube video link was : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR1RBf2nzus

Click to view full size image

Click to view full size image

Then I started searching on Web-Crawlers to get the idea whether the site was really Hacked..! Or was it Just a scam. But no data was available by the Internet Archives. It seemed like the data was removed from Internet Archives.

To learn what is Internet Archive and How to use it, click here...

But as we know, Google always helps in this kind of tasks. As it records each task that happens online. I then tried accessing the blocked link from the Google Server's Cached Data. And I didn't believe that I was successful. And then I was able to see the webpage that was blocked earlier.

To learn how to use Google Cache for retriving lost data, click here...

Click to view full size image

You can also access the cached web version here : http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:RE6OgcVbmr0J:www.zone-h.org/mirror/id/28829271+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in&client=firefox-b-ab

And then I was sure that the website was Hacked. But still I waited for the Offical NEWS to come. And then, today I got the Official NEWS in our local NewsPaper (Its in Gujarati Language).

Click to view full size image

It is not so late when GTU has achieved an International Reputation in the society. Also, GTU is working on many projects, one of which is CyberSecurity. Therefore, at this time it became very hard for the officials to maintain the Hack. The site was Hacked at about 1:00 PM IST. And was recovered within a few hours. The Hacker notified the University to upgrade its security and warned that he/she will return soon.

You can see the projects on which GTU is carrying the research work here : http://www.gturesearchcentres.edu.in

Also, the media is saying that a Pakastani Hacker did this job. But still it is hard to believe till the cyberforce don't catch the real culprit. Its the Indian nature that we blame Pakistan for all the shits that happen here.. 

I will be notifying you all about the updates I get on this topic. Till then, stay connected. And share your views in the comment box provided below. Thank you..

Read More

Concept of SuperUser in Linux

You might have read my last article which explained the steps of installing Linux with the help of VirtualBox. Now, we are going to see some tricky stuff on Linux. Linux is mainly used in creating servers and building different OS like Android. But before we go that deep, our concepts about an Operating System must be clear. Don't worry as we are not going so hard with Operating Systems but the clearance of basics is must..!

You might have heard about rooting your Android device gives you much extra features on your device. Also, after installing Linux on your PC, one might have a question about how to install Linux on Android device. To learn all these, the knowledge about the concept of superuser is important. So, let's start.

You might have seen the phrase - "Install (as superuser)" written on top-left of the screen when installing Linux. That means that when you are installing an OS, the OS is first installed as superuser mode and then you create separate accounts as per your use. You might be aware about the word "administrator" when using windows OS. The admin account is the one, which has a complete control over the system and files in the system. Though Windows doesn't permit a total control to an admin account too as it is not an open-source project. But this is not the case with Linux.

In computing, the superuser is a special user account used for system administration. Depending on the operating system (OS), the actual name of this account might be root, administrator, admin or supervisor. In some cases, the actual name of the account is not the determining factor; on Unix-like systems, for example, the user with a user identifier (UID) of zero is the superuser, regardless of the name of that account. That means, in Unix-like systems, we can rename a superuser account name (generally named root) to the name we want. Its because, the name of account is not of prime importance. The system identifies a user account by a unique identification number called UID. Hence, renaming the account will not change its ID.

The word root also has several additional, related meanings when used as part of other terms, and thus it can be a source of confusion to people new to Unix-like systems.

One of these is the root directory, which is the top level directory on a system. That is, it is the directory in which all other directories, including their subdirectories, and files reside. The root directory is designated by a forward slash ( / ). 

Another is /root (pronounced slash root), which is the root user's home directory. A home directory is the primary repository of a user's files, including that user's configuration files, and it is usually the directory in which a user finds itself when it logs into a system. /root is a subdirectory of the root directory, as indicated by the forward slash that begins its name, and should not to be confused with that directory. Home directories for users other than root are by default created in the /home directory, which is another standard subdirectory of the root directory.

Click to view full size image

After trying to open the root user's home directory, you might be having a question that why aren't you able to open the directory even if you are logged in as the administrator. As I said before, admin and root are two different terms with same meaning. Hence, you should be able to open the /root subdirectory, but it is not happening. This is because, linux also cares about its security when providing you control over it. Messing with the files inside /root directory may be harmful for the system and leave a negative impact. That is why Linux has blocked you from accessing the /root directory. You will know about it more when we study shell scripting in Linux. There are two commands namely "su" (SuperUser) and "sudo" (Superuser Do). The su command is used by the root users having access to /root directory while the sudo command is used by the admin who hasn't granted root privileges.

Root privileges are the powers that the root account has on the system. The root account is the most privileged on the system and has absolute power over it (i.e., complete access to all files and commands). Among root's powers are the ability to modify the system in any way desired and to grant and revoke access permissions (i.e., the ability to read, modify and execute specific files and directories) for other users, including any of those that are by default reserved for root. 

The root account with root privileges assigned has the power to access /root directory. Here, the whole case is similar to admin account in Windows. Though you are the admin, you will be prompted to open any file with admin privileges. Or else, you have to right-click on the file and select "run as administrator" to grant the file administrator privileges. But when you activate a separate administrator account in windows (it is always hidden by default for the case of security), you will never be prompted or you never have to grant any file administrator permission. This is because, the system trust all the tasks performed by the administrator. There is always a difference between your account type "admin" and the administrator account itself.

Click to view full size image

A rootkit is a set of software tools secretly installed by an intruder into a computer that allows such intruder to use that computer for its own, usually nefarious, purposes when desired. Well designed rootkits are able to obtain root access (i.e., access to the root account rather than just to a user account) and to hide most or all traces of their presence and activities. 

The use of the term root for the all-powerful administrative user may have arisen from the fact that root is the only account having write permissions (i.e., permission to modify files) in the root directory. The root directory, in turn, takes its name from the fact that the filesystems (i.e., the entire hierarchy of directories that is used to organize files) in Unix-like operating systems have been designed with a tree-like (although inverted) structure in which all directories branch off from a single directory that is analogous to the root of a tree.

These things aren't easily understandable. You might be still having doubts like difference between gaining root access and having an administrator (root) account. Also, you might be wondering about how to gain root privileges by activating the hidden root account. All such questions will be cleared in my next article where I will show you how to activate the root account to get root pemissions. And then we will try to open the /root directory with that account.

Still having questions..! Ask your questions in the comment box provided below..

Read More

Footprinting and Reconnaissance - Monitoring target using Alerts, Groups, Forums and Blogs

We have seen many methods of gathering information about the target system. But still some of them are left. Here, we are going to discuss about two new methods to spy on target in a complete legitimate way.

The first method includes spying on target system using alert services while the second one includes spying using online groups, forums and blogs.

Monitoring Target using Online Alert Service :

Before going into deep, I will tell you what actually an alert service means.! An alert service works the same way as a subscription service. Suppose that you have subscribed my blog for free articles (see the subscription box on the right side on window), then you will get daily updates of my posts in this blog. But the thing is, you will not get instant updates all the time.

An alert service works the same. You can see an alert in the way you place reminders in your mobile. When the time comes, it provides you with a reminder (alert) about whatever the task is to be done. An alert service provides you instant update when the server data gets modified in any way. Suppose that admin posted new data on the website, then you will get an immediate alert about the change.

In short, we can say that :

Alerts are content monitoring services that provide up-to-date information based on your preference, usually via email or SMS in an automated manner.

So, now as you know what is an alert, let us see how to use such services. Generally, an alert service works differently depending on the server that provides the service. That means, if we have two services available, one from Google and other from Yahoo, there is a lot of difference between the way they provide us with service. Also, some of the alert providing services are charged while the others are free.

Here are a few examples of Alert Services :

• Google Alerts - https://www.google.com/alerts
• Giga Alerts - http://gigaalert.com/

Information Gathering using Groups, Forums and Blogs :

Gorups, Forums and Blog provide sensitive information about a target such as public network information, system information, personal information, etc. Hence, it also becomes a part of Information Gathering though of a very little importance.

So, you need to gather this type of information. For that, Register with fake profiles in Google groups, Yahoo groups, etc. and try to join target organisation's employee groups when they share personal and company information.

Search for information like Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs), IP addresses and usernames in groups, forums or blogs.

Read More

Cisco's Research : Malware uses DNS Queres to receive PowerShell Commands

It is no secret that cybercriminals are becoming dramatically more adept, innovative, and stealthy with each passing day. While new forms of cybercrime are on the rise, traditional activities seem to be shifting towards more clandestine techniques that involve the exploitation of standard system tools and protocols, which are not always monitored.

The latest example of such attack is DNSMessenger – a new Remote Access Trojan (RAT) that uses DNS queries to conduct malicious PowerShell commands on compromised computers – a technique that makes the RAT difficult to detect onto targeted systems.

The Trojan came to the attention of Cisco's Talos threat research group by a security researcher named Simpo, who highlighted a tweet that encoded text in a PowerShell script that said 'SourceFireSux.' SourceFire is one of Cisco's corporate security products.

DNSMessenger attack is completely Fileless...!

Further analysis of the malware ultimately led Talos researchers to discover a sophisticated attack comprising a malicious Word document and a PowerShell backdoor communicating with its command-and-control servers via DNS requests.

Distributed through an email phishing campaign, the DNSMessenger attack is completely Fileless, as it does not involve writing files to the targeted system; instead, it uses DNS TXT messaging capabilities to fetch malicious PowerShell commands stored remotely as DNS TXT records.

This feature makes it invisible to standard anti-malware defenses.

PowerShell is a powerful scripting language built into Windows that allows for the automation of system administration tasks.

Click to view full size image

The malicious Word document has been crafted "to appear as if it were associated with a secure e-mail service that is secured by McAfee," according to a blog post published by Talos researchers Edmund Brumaghin and Colin Grady on Thursday.

Here is How the DNSMessenger attack works : 

When opened, the document launches a Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro to execute a self-contained PowerShell script in an attempt to run the backdoor onto the target system.

What's interesting? Everything, until this point, is done in memory, without writing any malicious files to the system's disk.

Next, the VBA script unpacks a compressed and sophisticated second stage of PowerShell, which involves checking for several parameters of the target environment, like the privileges of the logged-in user and the version of PowerShell installed on the target system.

This information is then used to ensure persistence on the infected host by changing the Windows Registry and installing a third stage PowerShell script that contains a simple backdoor.

The backdoor is being added to the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) database, if the victim does have administrative access, allowing the malware backdoor to stay persistent on the system even after a reboot.

The backdoor is an additional script that establishes a sophisticated 2-way communications channel over the Domain Name System (DNS) – usually used to look up the IP addresses associated with domain names, but has support for different types of records.

The DNSMessenger malware backdoor uses DNS TXT records that, by definition, allows a DNS server to attach unformatted text to a response.

The backdoor periodically sends DNS queries to one of a series of domains hard-coded in its source code. As part of those requests, it retrieves the domain's DNS TXT record, which contains further PowerShell commands that are executed but never written to the local system.

Now, this "fourth stage" Powershell script is the actual remote control tool used by the malware attacker.

This script queries the command-and-control servers via DNS TXT message requests to ask what commands to execute. Any command received is then executed, and the output is communicated back to the C&C server, allowing the attacker to execute any Windows or application commands on the infected system.

All attackers need to do is leave malicious commands and instructions inside the TXT records of their domains, which, when queried, is executed via the Windows Command Line Processor, and the output is sent back as another DNS query.

The domains registered by the DNSMessenger RAT are all down, so till now, it is not known that what types of commands the attackers relayed to infected systems. However, the researchers say this particular RAT was used in a small number of targeted attacks. 

"This malware sample is an excellent example of the length attackers are willing to go to stay undetected while operating within the environments that they are targeting," the Talos researchers said.

"It also illustrates the importance that in addition to inspecting and filtering network protocols such as HTTP/HTTPS, SMTP/POP3, etc. DNS traffic within corporate networks should also be considered a channel that an attacker can use to implement a fully functional, bidirectional C2 infrastructure."

This is not the first time when the researchers came across a Fileless malware. At early last month, Kaspersky researchers also discovered fileless malware, that resides solely in the memory of the compromised computers, targeting banks, telecommunication companies, and government organizations in 40 countries.

Read More

How to extract Text from Images..!

Here, we are going to see methods to extract text from images. Not only methods but also some information about how is it done.

Why generally we need to learn this trick?

We need this trick in our daily life. We see many images on facebook or instagram or anywhere else. Many a times it happens that the image contains the text of our imporatnce. Suppose that you asked you asked someone to send you details of any assignment. And he/she sends you images in order to prevent any changes in the assignment or with a view that you cannot copy it.

Other problem we face is, when we download any E-book from Internet. We generally get a scanned copy of it, which makes hard for us to complete our task. Many a time such things happens where we want the text to be extracted from an image. So, here we are going to see how is it done.!

How is text extracted from an image?

All operating systems come with Copy and Paste ability and the power it holds, is truly amazing. If you have huge text of 5000 or 10000 words, all you have to do is highlight all and press Ctrl+C to copy and now you can paste that text anywhere you like, otherwise you would have to type the whole text again! And that’s just one of its uses out of many.

However, this little trick doesn’t work on Images, you can’t just highlight text on an Image and copy it. There are situations where you need to copy text from a picture, like you have a screenshot of some text that you need to extract. For this purpose, there are specific Optical Character Recognition (OCR) softwares that can extract text from these images. 

Optical character recognition (also optical character reader, OCR) is the mechanical or electronic conversion of images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned document, a photo of a document, a scene-photo (for example the text on signs and billboards in a landscape photo) or from subtitle text superimposed on an image (for example from a television broadcast).

You can use these OCR softwares to extract text from images. In the past these softwares came with a price and mostly still do, but you can also get a free OCR software now. There is a chance you already have one right now, but you don’t know about it.

Early versions needed to be trained with images of each character, and worked on one font at a time. Advanced systems capable of producing a high degree of recognition accuracy for most fonts are now common, and with support for a variety of digital image file format inputs.

The accuracy of these softwares is not 100% correct, however, it is quite good, better than typing the whole text again. The accuracy basically depends on how the text is written in the picture, such as format, size, and other colors and designs, etc.

In this tutorial, we are going to discuss two tools which you can use to extract text from images.

Method #1: Copy Text from Picture Using Microsoft OneNote

As I mentioned above, many of you might have an OCR software but you might be unaware about it. Most of you guys already have Microsoft OneNote, but you didn’t know that it came with OCR capabilities since 2007. You can just upload the image in OneNote and extract text from it. If you don’t have Microsoft OneNote, then you can download it free from Here (you must also have a Microsoft account or create a new one to use it).

Step 1 : Open OneNote.

Step 2 : Click on Instert > Pictures. Insert the pictures you want to extract text from. (You can also copy the picture by moving to its location and then paste it in OneNote.)

Click to view full size image

Step 3 : Now, right click on the image inserted, and click on "Copy text from Picture".

Click to view full size image

Step 4 : Now that the text is copied from picture, we just need to paste it somewhere. You can paste it beside the picture in OneNote only or-else you can open a new Word or Notepad file and paste the text there. (I have pasted the text in notepad.)

Click to view full size image

Click to view full size image

Step 5 : Just enjoy...!

Method #2: Copy Text from Picture Using an OCR Website

There may be sometimes reasons that you don't want to use OneNote. The one of it is that, you require a login to microsoft account to use OneNote. So, here is an alternative where no login is required. But it need your device connected to internet as it is an online service.

You can use a dedicated OCR website that will let you upload the image and will extract the text for you. For this tutorial, we have chosen Online OCR, but there are also many other websites which you can try if you are not comfortable with this one.

In the Privacy Policy they did mention that they will never see the content of the file which the user uploads, however, we will still not recommend using such services for extremely sensitive files.

Step 1 : Visit :- http://www.free-ocr.com/

Step 2 : Upload an image by clicking on 'Browse' button. If the image is from any hosted website, copy the link of image and paste it in the "Enter a URL" inputbox. Also, select a language in which you want the output. (NOTE : It does not work as a translator.)

Click to view full size image

Step 3 : After uploading an image and selecting a language, click on 'Start' button.

Click to view full size image

Step 4 : Wait for the processing to complete. It may take 5-10 seconds. After completion, you will be provided with results, below which all the text will be written.

Click to view full size image

Step 5 : Copy the text from there and paste it in Notepad or Word for further use.

Step 6 : Enjoy..

If you have more than just one image, then you will have to Sign Up to take advantage of additional features which involves extracting text from more than one image and some other useful features.

To get a video tutorial on this trick, click here..

If there are any questions or you would like to add another method to extract text from image, let us know in the comments below.

Read More

How to install Linux via VirtualBox on windows..!

You might have seen my previous posts on What are the methods available to install Linux on windows and Why is VirtualBox the best option to install Linux. So, in this article I am going to explain you how to use virtualbox and install Linux OS on it. Let's Start..

First of all, we need to install VirtualBox on windows. For that, you can search Google for "VirtuaBox for Windows download" or else follow the below steps :

• Visit : Official VirtualBox Website
• In this page, you will find : VirtualBox x.x.xx platform packages (where x.x.xx says the latest version of virtual box that you are going to download)
• Under this text, you will be provided with 4 labels namely; Windows hosts, OS X hosts, Linux Distributions and Solaris hosts.
• As we are going to install it on windows, we click on the first link (first label).
• Download will start automatically.

Click to see full size image

Now that the download is complete, install VirtualBox in you PC. I don't think that you need any help for this. But still if there is any problem, ask for solutions in the comment box provided below.

After installation of VirtualBox gets completed, follow these steps to start installing Linux system. Note that before you move forward, you will need a Linux system iso file. Also it depends on the distribution you want to install. I am going to install Ubuntu on my virtualbox, so I am having Ubuntu iso with me. You can easily download iso from the official sites. If you are confused with which distribution to install, visit this article.

Now, the installation is divided into two parts. One includes creating a new virtual drive on your HDD using virtualbox and the second part includes installing linux system on that virtual drive. If you know who to install a Linux system, the second part can be neglected. Also I am telling you clearly that the second part is dependent on the Linux Distro you are going to install. Here, I am going to install Ubuntu, so the second part will constitute the topic : How to install Ubuntu linux. If you want to install any other linux distro, just search Google for How to install xyz linux.

A complete information about the prerequisites is made above. Now let us start with installation. (I think you all are ready with you VirtualBox installed and a linux iso downloaded.)

Part-1 : Creating a new virtual drive using virtualbox

Step 1 : Open VirtualBox. On the toolbar, click on New.

Click to view full size image

Step 2 : A new window will pop-up. In that fill in the name you want to give to this virtual drive and select the OS that you are going to install on that drive. Generally, virtualbox is smart enough to decide the OS based on its name but the version part needs to be modified manually. As in my case, I am going to install 64-bit OS but virtualbox takes the 32-bit version by default. So set the values manually as per my preference. After setting values, click on Next.

Click to view full size image

Step 3 : Here, you will be asked to select an amount of RAM you want to allocate to this virtual OS. Make sure that you allocate enough RAM for virtual OS to run but also note that there is enough RAM left for our host OS (here Windows) to run. If you want to use Linux for general purpose, 512MB of RAM will work. But if you have 8GB of total RAM, I recommend you to provide this system atleast 1GB for better performance. After allocating proper amount of RAM, click Next.

Click to view full size image

Step 4 : Here, you will be provided with options to create a new virtual drive or use an existing virtual drive. If you have used virtualbox and created a virtual drive before, you can select that option to use an existing virtual drive. But as we are new, we will create a new virtual drive for this process. Select "Create a virtual hard drive now" and click on Create button.

Click to view full size image

Step 5 : Now, you will be asked to select a file type for this newly created virtual hard disk. I recommend you to select "VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image)" in this step. (Don't try to mess with partitions unless you are an expert.) Select the type and click Next.

Click to view full size image

Step 6 : Now you will be asked to select type of storage on your physical hard drive. Static will allow you to give a fixed memory location to your virtual drive. While dynamic will allow machine to dynamically allocate storage when necessary. Generally, we must allow the virtual machine to allocate storage location. So, select "Dynamic" in this window and click Next.

Click to view full size image

Step 7 : In the last step, you gave type of location to the virtual drive while here you will be providing a name and the size of that virtual drive. (If you are familiar with dynamic memory allocation in C language, this step would be easily understandable by you. Its similar creating a pointer variable and allocating it memory dynamically.) Also, note that the size that should be allocated depends on the type and version of OS you want to install. As I am going to install Ubuntu Linux, I am allocating it 8GB of size because the developers of Ubuntu say that 6.6GB is enough for the OS to give its best performance. After allocating size, click Create.

Click to view full size image

Step 8 : Wait for a sec and then you will see that the virtual drive is created.

Click to view full size image

You can see the newly created drive on the left side of the window. You can select it and modify its settings and much more. But it is not a part of this tutorial. Now, let us see how to install Ubuntu on this drive.

Part-2 : Installing Ubuntu on newly created virtual drive

Step 1 : Double click on the newly created virtual drive to open it. Or else select the drive and click on Start button in the toolbar. Now, you will be asked to select an iso to boot the drive with. If you are asked to select an iso file, goto step 3 and then jump to step 5. But if you are not asked to select a file or you messed up with this selection, just close the virtual drive and restart it. You will see something like this. (Note that steps 2 and 4 are only used when you messed up with file selection in starting.)

Click to view full size image

Step 2 : Now, click on Devices tab in the menu bar and the click on CD/DVD Devices. Then select "Choose a virtual CD/DVD disk file..".

Click to view full size image

Step 3 : Now, a file-explorer window will pop-up. Select the iso file from the particular location and click Open.

Click to view full size image

Step 4 : Now, after selecting the disk, restart the virtual drive and press F12 repeatdly as soon as it starts to open the Boot Manager. Now, select option "CD-ROM" from the list provided. Here, I am pressing "c" to select that option.

Click to view full size image

Step 5 : Now, wait for some time for disk to load. Then in the window shown, select "Install Ubuntu".

Click to view full size image

Step 6 : Click "Continue" in the next window shown.

Click to view full size image

Step 7 : In the next step, select "Erase disk and install Ubuntu" and press the Install now button.

Click to view full size image

Step 8 : Here, you will be displayed with a warning message "Write changes to the disks?". Just click on Continue.

Click to view full size image

Step 9 : Type the country you are in and click Continue.

Click to view full size image

Step 10 : Select the keyboard layout you are using. By default, we all are using English(US). Select it and click on Continue.

Click to view full size image

Step 11 : Now, set a username and password for your virtual-PC. And click on Continue.

Click to view full size image

Step 12 : Wait for about 10-15 minutes and then you will be prompted that the installation is complete. Also you will be asked to restart the virtual-PC but do not restart it. Just close the dialogue box and select shut down. Then restart. If you clicked on "restart now", do not worry about the errors it shows, just close the virtual-PC and restart it as mentioned above.

Click to view full size image

Step 13 : After restarting, you will be asked for password to login the user account you created. And then, the Ubuntu starts...Enjoy.

Click to view full size image

If you still have any queries, post it in the comment box provided below..

Read More

Why use Virtual Box - The Best way to Run and Use Linux..!

In my previous articles, I explained some of the methods used to install Linux system on Windows OS. So, today in this article, I will just tell you why to use VMWare instead of any other method. Why is using Virtual Machine the best method?

We have seen so far many methods and the main or the basic methods of installing Linux are :

• Dual Boot
• Running Live
• Using VirtualBox

The other methods are very less used due to its limited functionality. Here, I will tell you why VirtualBox is best compared to the remaining two.

Dual Boot :-

Dual Boot is the method where you have to create separate partitions for Windows installation and Linux installation. This method includes creating and formatting partitions on HardDisk. Formatting a partition does not only mean to format it and clear all the data. But it also includes specifying Partition Type, Size and other things.

The hardest of all is Partition Type. As new versions are launched, the type of HDD partition they use are also changed. Example : Windows 10 uses GPT type partition while older versions used FAT and NTFS type system partition. Also, Linux uses EXT type partitions. Not only that but different versions of EXT are also launched like EXT1, EXT2, EXT3 and EXT4.

Also, sometimes problems occur when installing different OS on other partition type. Many have faced a problem when installing Windows 10 on old HDD partitions.

Disadvantages :

• Messing with partitions (Only experts can handle this)
• A Disk Partition is always occupied whether you use that OS or not. 
• Only one OS can run at a time.
• You cannot do simultaneous job on both Operating Systems.
• Need to install separate device drivers on both the partitions for both the OS.
• And many more...

Running Live :- 

Running Live is an option available when installing Linux from a CD or a bootable USB. It helps us to run Linux without installing it.

Just insert the bootable drive and choose Live option. Wait for a few seconds for initialization to take place. And you are done.

Disadvantages :

• Cannot be used for permanent job to be done. Helps only when you want to use Linux tempoarily about an hour.
• Your previous work - that you did before system was shut down, will not be saved.
• You need to install drivers every time you use it if device doesn't work properly.
• Sometimes, you need to mount your other partitions of HDD to access data of that partition.
• And many more...

Using VirtualBox :-

Using VirtualBox will eliminate all the limitations listed above. So, it the best as per my suggestion.

But as I told previously, all the methods have its unique importance and so other methods are not bad. Instead they are the best when it comes to their field of work. 

But VirtualBox is the best when it comes to use Linux along with Windows everyday.

Below are the Official Links to Download VirtualBox :

Link 1

Link 2

Read More

How to send Blank/Empty Message on Whatsapp..!

Many of you might be knowing this trick. But there are also some who don't know this trick. Also if you know the trick, you will not know what actually is happening..! So, here is a short guide on how to send blank messages in whatsapp.

Method-1:

Update: This method has been expired since last WhatsApp update. Scroll down for new working methods.

There is a key on your keyboard with the help of which you can do this trick easily. This key is ` . Note that it is not the single quote sign but is really the apostrophe sign. Note the difference between ' and `. The first one is single quote and the second one is apostrophe.

Below are the images which will make the difference clear.

Click to view full size image

Click to view full size image

Now, as we know the key which we have to use, let us start. Follow these simple steps :

1. Type three apostrophe in a sequence. E.g. : ```
2. Now hit space or enter depending on the length and width of the message you want to send. Hitting SPACE increases width while hitting ENTER increases length of the message.
3. Now, at the end, type three apostrophe as you did in step one.
4. The final result would be something like : ```    ```
5. Done..!

Below are some of the examples with the help of images.

Click to view full size image

Click to view full size image

Some of the examples are given below.

First : 
```            ```

Second : 
```



```

Third : 
```



                          ```

You can just copy one of the above examples and try pasting in whatsapp. So, I guess you have learned. Now, to know what really it does, type some text in between of starting ``` and ending ``` . Below is an image showing what it does.

Click to view full size image

Here, what I did is, I typed ``` The Hackers' Library ``` . You can use any of your text instead. So, the general syntax is : ``` Your Text ```

So, now you know what this 3 apostrophe does is..! They are used as a combination to use monospace character fonts. And using that we are sending blank messages in Whatsapp.

Method-2:

This method gives you a way to send blank message without the use of any third party application.

Step 1 -: Firstly you need to copy Solution exist whatsapp blank character given below, You can use screenshot for better understanding.

Solution Exist Special Whatsapp Blank Character

Select the white space (character) between the brackets [Don’t select the brackets]

>>> <<<

Step 2 -: Now after copying that whatsapp blank character open your whatsapp and open your whatsapp contact to whom you what to send empty message.
Step 3 -:  Now paste that blank character in whatsapp chat and click on send.
Step 4 -:  Done…!! You had successfully send blank whatsapp message to your contact.

Method-3:

This method allows you to send blank message in whatsapp using another application.

1. Download and Install Noword App – NOWORD APP
2. Now Open Noword App in your android phone.
3. Tap on “Send” and by that you will get option to choose from messengers installed in your phone.
4. Now Select “Whatsapp” and choose the contact or group to whom you want to send blank message.

Post your comments below if you like my post..!

Read More

Google Open-Sources End-to-End Encrypted Email Code

You all might be knowing about End-to-End Encryption as it has become a part of Whatsapp feature for a long time and we all use it. So, there is no need to provide much guidance on end-to-end encryption.

Google has announced that their E2EMail, an end-to-end encryption system, is now given to the open-source community.

Whether you are concerned about man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attacks by threat actors or government surveillance and spying or you are an enterprise with a high need to keep the communications as secure as possible, end-to-end encryption is the best-known method to prevent snooping

Not all email service providers offer the end-to-end encryption. The best-known being PGP although, in wake of former NSA contractor the Edward Snowden’s disclosures concerning mass-spying efforts of US government, more services have popped up and increased in popularity, including the ProtonMail, WhatsApp, Wire, and Signal.

Since we became concerned with digital threats and the surveillance, everything from the email services to the apps and the social network chats are being locked up with the cryptographic methods. But, end-to-end encryption is still not available to a wider audience and this is where the Google intends to make a difference.

Last week, some Google engineers Eduardo Vela Nava, KB Sriram, and Stephan Somogyi told in a blog post that as part of the company’s End-to-End research efforts, E2EMail will be open-sourced.

It is built on the Javascript crypto library developed at Google, E2EMail offers a better way to integrate OpenPGP into Gmail using a Chrome Extension while keeping all the cleartext of messages exclusively on client.

Google is keen to emphasise that the E2EMail is not a Google product, but thanks to their efforts on security from across the spectrum, it has now become a “fully community-driven open-source project.”

The current form of E2EMail is rather bare when it comes to keyserver testing. However, Google’s Key Transparency, made available earlier this year, may improve the security of the service far beyond its current incarnation.

The source code this open source project is available on GitHub. There are still many small issues with this project which the developers are trying to solve out. Information available :

• Introduction to E2EMail.
• Why to use E2EMail?
• How is it made?
• Current issues with it.
• And more...

All such information about this project is available on GitHub. To visit the GitHub Official Site, click here..

Read More