Saturday, January 28, 2012
Latest Posts

Permanent Link to Two MS Employees Fired over Win 8 Leaks Two MS Employees Fired over Win 8 Leaks

Published by Chris123NT on Monday, May 9th, 2011 at 12:40 pm under Windows.

Saw this over at winrumors, a lot of talk going around that there is truth to this.  Also some talk that a few more are being closely watched due to newer builds being shared among a small group of people.  Here is the excerp from winrumors:

Two full time Microsoft employees have allegedly had their employment terminated due to Windows 8 leaks.

Microsoft’s next-generation of Windows, named 8 internally, is currently in development and has seen a large amount of leaks recently. Several builds have been made available on file sharing websites thanks to leaks from inside Microsoft. Canouna, a well known leaker, is now claiming that two Microsoft employees have been fired due to the recent leaks. WinRumors is unable to immediately verify the claims and Microsoft does not comment on employee terminations. One of the two employees is reportedly part of Microsoft’s Redmond based team, the other based in Russia.

Microsoft is currently compiling different versions of Windows 8 that require a “red pill” licensing check to enable certain features. WinRumors understands that most of the publicly leaked builds are from branches of Microsoft’s build process that do not contain a specific DLL required for loading a number of new Windows 8 features. It is understood that certain branches of Windows 8 contain extra components that activate with a specific Windows key. The components likely unlock the full Tablet immersive UI of Windows 8, one that the company is working hard to keep under wraps.

Regardless of the checks, if the reports of employee termination are genuine then it’s further proof that Microsoft has something special that it wants to share with the world later this year. Microsoft is expected to reveal Windows 8 at its Windows Developer Conference (a rumored name) in September.

Source: WinRumors

   View Comments    

Permanent Link to Remove Hash from Windows 8 Desktop Remove Hash from Windows 8 Desktop

Published by Chris123NT on Friday, May 6th, 2011 at 1:04 am under Windows.

A few of you have been asking about this so I’ve decided to go ahead and post this.  The following instructions will remove the hash that appears after the build string on your windows 8 7955 and 7959 desktop.

What you will need:

  1. Windows 8
  2. Hex Editor (I use XVI32)
  3. A few minutes to perform this procedure

The procedure itself is very easy to perform.  Here’s how to do it:

  1. Copy shell32.dll from the system32 folder to the desktop
  2. Open XVI32
  3. Open shell32.dll in the hex editor
  4. Go to Search –> Find
  5. Under Hex string, search for “34 00 37 00 38 00 43” (without quotes)
  6. Replace 34 with 35
  7. Save the dll
  8. Take ownership of shell32 in your system32 folder and rename it to shell32.dll.old
  9. Copy your newly saved shell32.dll into the system32 folder
  10. Reboot and enjoy no more hash on your desktop!

Hope this helps everybody who wants to accomplish this on their Windows 8 install.  Post in the comments and let me know how the procedure went for you!

   View Comments    

Permanent Link to Windows 8 Build 7959 has Leaked Windows 8 Build 7959 has Leaked

Published by Chris123NT on Sunday, May 1st, 2011 at 11:36 pm under Windows.

As many of you undoubtedly know by now, Windows 8 Build 7959 has leaked on BetaArchive today.  This build is largely similar to 7955, but the main differences are that it is a Server SKU and that it is 64 bit, which should make all the folks with modern PC’s very happy since you can now utilize all that ram you have if you choose to run this build on a regular basis.

The fact that it is a server SKU means that it will require a bit of work to get all the client features working.  So that’s where this blog comes in, the real purpose of this post is to announce that within the next 2 days I will be publishing a full guide covering everything about this build.  I will also post some nice tips like how to get rid of the hash that appears after the build tag on the desktop Smile.

   View Comments    

Permanent Link to Windows 8 To Support Drag and Drop in Address Bar Windows 8 To Support Drag and Drop in Address Bar

Published by Chris123NT on Thursday, April 28th, 2011 at 11:19 am under Windows.

Windows 8 will allow the user to drag a folder into the breadcrumb bar to move a file or folder into a parent of the folder they are currently in.  This feature has been discovered by MDL forum member ff7fan4eva.  He also posted a screenshot illustrating this feature, which I am posting below.  Personally I think this is one of those great little features that will make things easier for quick organization.

   View Comments    

Permanent Link to Windows 8 Big Bad Hash Explained Windows 8 Big Bad Hash Explained

Published by Chris123NT on Monday, April 25th, 2011 at 8:22 pm under Windows.

One of the big discussions revolving around Windows 8 lately has been a “hash” that appears on the desktop after the build string.  Many people have speculated on blogs and forums that this hash is used to trace the origins of the build.  Right from the start I had a feeling that this was not the case, at least not in a direct oh this hash is for this employee regard.  So I decided to look into the hash and how it is calculated with a little help from a few friends.  So let’s dive in shall we?

In the screenshot below, you will notice the build string of build 7959, immediately followed by the “hash” that everyone has been talking about:

lol

So now for the huge question, how is this hash calculated?

Well after some looking into it, it was discovered that this hash is calculated by the data located in HKLM\SYSTEM\WPA.  Within this key you will see a GUID key, and inside this you will see 3 binary values.  So I got the idea to play with this key, which required me loading the system hive from outside Windows 8 since WPA is a protected key.  Removing the GUID key resulted in the following:

lol2

Notice that the hash is gone?  So this is proof positive that the hash depends on the data within HKLM\SYSTEM\WPA.  I’m willing to bet that if the values in that key are changed then the hash itself will change as well.

NOTE: Deleting the data in the WPA key, while removing the hash, will cause a BSOD (Black screen of metro loving death Smile with tongue out) after some time of the system running.  There is another way to remove the hash that doesn’t have this side effect, and if I receive enough requests, I’ll think about disclosing that method.

So in a nutshell, the hash is not a means of tracking the origin of the build, as every Microsoft employee that gets a build has the same ISO as whoever else gets that build.  But this hash does however identify the WPA data, and it does have some dependance on the product key used during installation, although it’s hard to test that theory as none of the M3 builds floating around have original installers (which require you to enter a key during setup).

So there you have it, the hash is not a means of tracking you.  Using Windows 8 will not have the Sinofsky secret police knocking on your door, and no leaks will be traceable back to any single employee.  Anything suggesting otherwise is pure speculation.

   View Comments    

Permanent Link to Windows 8 M3 Build 7955 Leaked Windows 8 M3 Build 7955 Leaked

Published by Chris123NT on Monday, April 25th, 2011 at 12:11 pm under Windows.

Yes that’s right, another build of Windows 8 has made it out into the wild, this time it’s 7955.flb_srv_wdacxml.110228-1930.  This build is considered M3 as it is newer than the final M2 build which was 7950.  It is available on the betaarchive FTP currently but will no doubt be all over torrent sites later for consumption by all.

Here is the quoted post by Andy on BA:

Afternoon all,

We have another leak!  Anonymous again as you can expect. This could be the one you’ve all been waiting for.

Microsoft Windows 8 (”Windows 8” 6.2.7955.0) (Ultimate) (m2)
ISO Size: 2.47GB (2,657,079,296 bytes)
ISO MD5: 40861A02CB14B0D2D7930910DB6CC6E4

It is now available on the FTP. Enjoy!

Notes provided by the leaker:
You can unlock the following:
- Ribbon UI
- Application Folder (now working, in 7850 it was broken)
- Full DWM (hideblur)

The following requires the ”red pill”:
- Webcam
- Login (that ugly guy with ctrl+alt+del, the fishy wallpaper, pattern login)
- TaskUI (new taskmanager)
- PDF Reader
- Immersive Browser

Enjoy the new build.  And may I offer a challenge to someone willing to undertake it… Try and remove the July 1st timebomb ;)

 

   View Comments    

Permanent Link to Windows 8 OOBE Screenshots Windows 8 OOBE Screenshots

Published by Chris123NT on Sunday, April 24th, 2011 at 6:16 pm under Windows.

So recently people have been posting many things about various things about Windows 8.  Today I noticed that someone posted a screenshot of the locked OOBE routine in early M3 builds of Windows 8.  Thanks to an anonymous source, I have an array of screenshots of this OOBE routine from one of these early M3 builds of Windows 8.  I am posting below for your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy!

210420110672104201106821042011069210420110702104201107121042011072210420110732104201107421042011075210420110762104201107721042011078210420110792104201108021042011081

   View Comments    

Permanent Link to I’m Back! I’m Back!

Published by Chris123NT on Sunday, April 24th, 2011 at 6:10 pm under General.

Well hello everyone!  Been a while since you’ve all seen this blog online, but now I’m back.  I will be posting an array of things here, from tweaks and tips all the way up to the latest and greatest news I receive on anything.  I hope you all enjoy reading this blog and feel free to subscribe to the RSS feed.  The updates will be plentiful and often Smile

-Chris

   View Comments    
This design is not to be copied, reproduced, or modified in any way by 3rd parties.
Exclusively designed for chris123nt.com only. THIS THEME IS COPYRIGHTED WORK, AND IS NOT TO BE REPRODUCED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Designed by Kristan M. Kenney, http://www.chris123nt.com EXCLUSIVELY FOR chris123nt.com