Windows 98 security at its best
Oct 2, 2008 Windows
Windows 98 was the operating system on my first computer back in 1998. I had used Windows 3.1 and DOS before it but this was the first time I was able to freely use (read: break and fix) a computer since it was mine. I formatted and installed Windows 98 so many times that I lost count. I could do it in my sleep. Still, its boot up disk came in handy when I needed to get on to a system and repartition it (good old FAT days) or just give it a nice format. I still carry a Windows 98 boot up disk with my rescue and diagnosis CDs.
I found the animation below while reading through articles on Digg. It shows how easy it was to bypass the Windows 98 password prompt. Take a look (click the image for a larger version):
The steps can be watered down to:
- Click the help button “?“
- Enter the print dialog then access the full-blown help from there
- Search for a topic so that you can get a window with a menu bar
- Click File -> Open and navigate to the Desktop
- Right-click My Computer and select Open
- Explorer loads so you can start using the computer without logging in
Just one more reason to move from Windows 98 if you’re still running it (a flight school that will remain nameless just recently moved to Windows XP for its main computer).
Tags: Microsoft, Security, Windows, Windows 98
Windows remote shutdown
May 26, 2008 Windows
Online Tech Tips has an article today about shutting down Windows computers remotely, from the command line. The main use I would have for this is to shutdown or restart computers on which I am logged on using Remote Desktop.
To give you the short of it, open a Command Prompt window (Start -> Run -> “cmd” [Enter]), then type shutdown followed by one of these switches, as required:
-i => GUI interface (see the article for how to use it; it’s not the prompt you get when you click Shutdown in your start menu)
-l => Logoff
-s => Shutdown
-r => Restart
-a => Abort shutdown
-m \\ComputerName => Remote computer shutdown/restart/abort
-t xx => delay xx seconds
Check out the original article for more switches and more information on using remote shutdown. They also show you how to create batch files to automate the process for you.
Tags: command prompt, network, Windows