Best Lab Ever
Definitions:
ISA Server - Windows’ Firewall utility thing
Server 2003 - Microsoft Windows Server 2003. An operating system for servers and masochists.
Anyway, on to the story. Last week when I left lab, everything was working properly. This week, my ISA server was crapping out. It was blocking all traffic, meaning I couldn’t get online or do anything from it. After about half an hour of pounding my head against the table, I decided to just forget it and start over. I started uninstalling ISA, and then my server locked up and crashed. Ok, no problem. Windows crashes all the time, right? I decide to reboot and try again.
…Except Windows won’t boot up. I try again, except this time I go into safe mode. I got into safe mode and tell Windows to uninstall ISA. Windows says that ISA isn’t installed (even though it shows up on the Add/Remove program list). Fine. I tell it to reinstall. It says it can’t because ISA server is already installed .
I called it a day.
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Wiiware What
I downloaded a couple of new Wiiware games today. I am not pleased.
Mega Man 9
I love Megaman games. I love the original Megaman games. I do not love this new ‘original’ game.
If you’re not aware of the current status of Megaman, Capcom decided to save themselves a bunch of money and just spit out an 8-bit version for all of the new systems. Pretty much the same old crap, except now it’s 1980 again. I don’t really have a problem with that though. My problem is with the game’s insane difficulty.
It’s not that it’s challenging - that’s a good thing. What I can’t stand is that the levels are basically designed to make you want to throw your controller through the nearest window. Screen too easy? Just add spikes. Moving platforms not tough enough? Add spikes. Mini boss not challenging enough? Add spikes.
That and even small enemies seem to take about 1/4 of your total life bar when you get hit. I dunno, maybe I’m just losing my touch.
Helix
Helix is a game that’s trying really hard to be DDR. On the surface it looks good: You dance in time with the song that’s being played while trying to mimic the avatar on screen. It’s got a ton of moves to make you look like an idiot (uppercut! disco poses! karate chop!), and it even suggests that you play with two wiimotes at once (very cool idea for a single player game).
The game has a lot of good ideas, but the technology just isn’t there. All of those moves you have to mimic? It’s not very strict on grading. In fact, I’ve found that you can just flail around in time with the song and it doesn’t matter what move you end up doing. Good idea, bad execution, not worth $10.
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Couch Acquired!
I bought a couch from a group or redneck gypsies today. They had six or seven couches out in a parking lot, and all of them were structurally unsound except for the one I ended up buying. It’s a hideous brown color, and parts of it have torn fabric, but for $20 I can’t really complain.
Now I can finally bum around in front of my TV in comfort.
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The Internet is Timeless
Ever look back at a profile or webpage you made 6-8 years ago?
Man, I was weird.
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Something I’m Working On
One of the classes I’m taking (small scale digital device forensics) has two ways to get an A in the course:
- Show up to all of the classes and do excellent on all labs, quizzes, homeworks, and tests.
- Show up to all of the classes and take on a project to advance the field of SSDD forensics.
I’m trying for option 2 right now. My project is pretty simple: Find a way to expedite the process of retrieving digital evidence from a Nintendo Wii.
Right now, the established method is pretty lame - You basically have to sit there with a camera and take pictures of every screen. My method would be a lot quicker: Stick an SD card with a special program in the slot, execute the Twilight Hack, and pull all of the data off the system. My goal is to do that, and then develop a program that categorizes all of that data into relevant categories:
- Messages
- Photos
- Play logs
- Browser history?
- Friend lists
My thought is that the Wii is a very closed system with the ability to exchange pictures, meaning it’d be perfect for child pornographers to swap their illicit wares. That, and little Jimmy might make a new friend online, put his friend code into his console, and then receive all kinds of interesting messages. Basically, I want to make it easier for law enforcement officials to get relevant data from the Wii quickly and easily.
I’m in the final stages of planning the project right now. All I need to do at this point is figure out how to get an MD5 hash of the system before dumping the data, and then my procedure is off to the professor and then some guys in New York for review.
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