With all these new cryto-currencies popping up, I just had to try it. I figured I'd try to use all the extra CPU power in my arsenal of extra unused laptops, servers, unused VPS's, ect, to mine some altcoin (alternative cryto-currency coin). What's the worst thing that could happen?
I really wanted to mine Litecoin, because it's the most valuable second to Bitcoin. Well, it did not take long to figure out that the difficulty on the LTC network is just way too high to ever bother with CPU's again. Next I tried Dogecoin, which is one of the newer ones, and is not worth much. It started as a joke and for some reason got popular and is worth like $0.00002 per coin. I put my really powerful 8 core VPS server to work, along with my unused compaq laptop (dual core amd, useless Nvidia card), and a couple 2ghz cheap VPS servers. I mined in a pool for 2 days and accumulated 30 dogecoin, which is approximately equal to $0.00... (10,000 doge is worth about a $1). During that time the plastic on the bottom of my cheap compaq started to melt from heat, so I had to put it next to my window fan. Then I received an angry email from one of my VPS providers complaining that my CPU had been at 100% for 3 days straight, and told me to stop mining. I pulled the plug on that one and installed cpulimit on my other two VPS's, and set it to only use 75% of the CPU so maybe they would not notice. After two more days of this nonsense, I realized I could trade .005 BTC (worth about $2 or $3) for 21,500 dogecoin. I did that, and shut down all my miners. All in all, I mined about 40 dogecoin, and then realized that the pool would only let me cash out at least 150 at a time, and charge a "50 doge 'transaction' fee." ... pointless.
Well, hopefully the price of dogecoin skyrockets (dubious, but possible). What will I do with them in the meantime? Well, they can be used as bounty rewards for getting answers to questions on Reddit! I don't know, I just had to buy them so I could stop compulsively burning out CPU's for nothing.
What next? Well there's this new really interesting coin, Darkcoin, which is supposed to be an anonymous coin, claims it's 'darksend' feauture fixes some of the problems that Bitcoin has with transactions being easily traced on the blockchain. Not to say that you can't be anonymous with bitcoin, you can be with ease, but it does take some effort and knowledge. Anyway, I'm trying to figure out to mine that. It's supposed to be a good CPU candadite, and if darksend is what it's supposed to be, that coin could have a future. Who knows.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
HP Probook Random Shutdown Update
In my last post I talked about a possible fix for the HP Probook 45xx random shut-down issue. Basically, the computer would shut down randomly, and I was unable to determine the cause for some time. I suggest updating the graphics drivers, as Intel now offers open source driver support for Linux users.
Although the driver update did help, it turns out that the issue was not entirely fixed. About a week after that blog, it started happening again, albeit less often. I've probably had about 12-15 random power-off's since then. I realized that it happens when performing resource-intensive tasks, in particular graphics related tasks. So this led to me to back to the graphics drivers. It turns out the Intel driver is tainted:
anon@linuxpc:~$ dmesg | grep taint
[ 2.134771] drm: module verification failed: signature and/or required key missing - tainting kernel
[ 2.135831] drm: module has bad taint, not creating trace events
[ 2.158791] i915: module has bad taint, not creating trace events
I then realized that my computer has been running a lot hotter than it was a couple months ago when I first acquired it, so I started monitoring the temperature while doing different things. As it turns out, when playing high definition video via Adobe Flash, things started to get really hot, with both processor cores running at 80 degrees Celsius, and the power supply running at about 90C. I figured that the computer was probably simply shutting down due to overheating, as every HP computer I've ever owned had that problem at some point.
Since I don't have any duster cans lying around, I grabbed my trusty little Phillips-head and a vacuum cleaner, then got to work. Following standard procedure, and the service manual , I took the computer apart and simply vacuumed all the dust out of the heat-sink, motherboard, and everywhere else I could see dust. If you attempt this, please be careful and be sure to ground yourself to protect your hardware from static electricity. This I accomplish by wrapping a copper speaker wire around a screw and sticking it into an outlet ground, and then wrapping the other end around my wrist.
After the vacuum treatment, I monitored the temperatures while performing various resource intensive tasks, and the temperatures of either core never got above 60 degrees C, and every other sensor was much lower than it was previously. Here is the current output of sensors:
anon@linuxpc:~$ sensors
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1: +16.0°C (crit = +108.0°C)
temp2: +54.0°C (crit = +105.0°C)
temp3: +50.0°C (crit = +108.0°C)
temp4: +48.0°C (crit = +105.0°C)
temp5: +26.2°C (crit = +108.0°C)
temp6: +45.0°C (crit = +110.0°C)
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0: +51.0°C (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1: +48.0°C (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Definitively in the normal range again! I really hope that this solves the shut-down problem for good. I'll update again in a week or so. By the way, I think it's better to use a vacuum cleaner rather than compressed air, because I once wrecked a computer using duster. All it did was blow the dust further into the internal components, making the problem worse. A vacuum does the opposite. Perhaps this method will become the preferred method for minor dust removal. Happy hacking!
Although the driver update did help, it turns out that the issue was not entirely fixed. About a week after that blog, it started happening again, albeit less often. I've probably had about 12-15 random power-off's since then. I realized that it happens when performing resource-intensive tasks, in particular graphics related tasks. So this led to me to back to the graphics drivers. It turns out the Intel driver is tainted:
anon@linuxpc:~$ dmesg | grep taint
[ 2.134771] drm: module verification failed: signature and/or required key missing - tainting kernel
[ 2.135831] drm: module has bad taint, not creating trace events
[ 2.158791] i915: module has bad taint, not creating trace events
I then realized that my computer has been running a lot hotter than it was a couple months ago when I first acquired it, so I started monitoring the temperature while doing different things. As it turns out, when playing high definition video via Adobe Flash, things started to get really hot, with both processor cores running at 80 degrees Celsius, and the power supply running at about 90C. I figured that the computer was probably simply shutting down due to overheating, as every HP computer I've ever owned had that problem at some point.
Since I don't have any duster cans lying around, I grabbed my trusty little Phillips-head and a vacuum cleaner, then got to work. Following standard procedure, and the service manual , I took the computer apart and simply vacuumed all the dust out of the heat-sink, motherboard, and everywhere else I could see dust. If you attempt this, please be careful and be sure to ground yourself to protect your hardware from static electricity. This I accomplish by wrapping a copper speaker wire around a screw and sticking it into an outlet ground, and then wrapping the other end around my wrist.
After the vacuum treatment, I monitored the temperatures while performing various resource intensive tasks, and the temperatures of either core never got above 60 degrees C, and every other sensor was much lower than it was previously. Here is the current output of sensors:
anon@linuxpc:~$ sensors
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1: +16.0°C (crit = +108.0°C)
temp2: +54.0°C (crit = +105.0°C)
temp3: +50.0°C (crit = +108.0°C)
temp4: +48.0°C (crit = +105.0°C)
temp5: +26.2°C (crit = +108.0°C)
temp6: +45.0°C (crit = +110.0°C)
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0: +51.0°C (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1: +48.0°C (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Definitively in the normal range again! I really hope that this solves the shut-down problem for good. I'll update again in a week or so. By the way, I think it's better to use a vacuum cleaner rather than compressed air, because I once wrecked a computer using duster. All it did was blow the dust further into the internal components, making the problem worse. A vacuum does the opposite. Perhaps this method will become the preferred method for minor dust removal. Happy hacking!
Friday, August 1, 2014
HP Probook 4510s/Linux-- Random Shutdown Fix
I recently aquired an HP Probook 4510s from a friend. It's a couple years old, but it's pretty solid businesslike style laptop, and in my experience business computers tend to be very reliable, despite that most companies will ditch them after only 3 years. This computer originally came with Vista (yuck), and my friend had been running Ubuntu 12.04. Although this model was offered with OpenSuse Linux as well, it seems that there were intentional bugs in the bios, so it would work almost run perfectly on Linux. I say intentional because that's what I've deduced from examining the ACPI tables that the bios gives Linux, and it collaborates with research I've done as well.
When I first received the computer, I had problems with the machine randomly shutting down on me. (I updated it to Ubuntu 14.04). It was not overheating, and upon examining the dmesg logs I was unable to determine what the cause was, except that I kept seeing messages warning me that the bios was broken, and telling to find an ACPI driver. The random shutdowns are seriously irritating, and eventually the hard disc fried on me, so I had to replace it. I bought a new battery, after doing God knows how many software adjustments, and the issue seemed to have resolved, so I attributed it to a bad battery. However, that is not the case.
I recently reinstalled the OS in order to have an encrypted disk setup with LVM, and to put Ubuntu Gnome on it because Unity sucks and the code is cleaner, the system is less glitchy, and the CPU idles around 5% vs 16% running Gnome over a Unity install. But then the random shutdowns started to happen again! So I set out to figure out which software configuration had fixed the problem. I think I found the solution.
This device has an Intel chipset, with a Core2duo processor and Intel integrated graphics processor. There is now an open source tool available from Intel for identifying and upgrading your graphics driver. This is pretty ground-breaking stuff, because although Intel has always been nicer to the open source community than say, AMD, it's still a rough road when you have driver problems with Linux, as you are often left at the compete mercy of the hardware OEM. But Intel is getting with the times. Anyway, I believe that upgrading the GPU driver fixes this problem! Upgrading the bios did not fix it, and the only drivers I've updated have been the GPU. It's been 7 days since I did the reinstall, and about 4 days since I updated the intel driver's again, and I have been running random shutdown free!
I hope that this helps someone. Please do not go back to Windows because of these issues, leave me a message or check the forums and either I or someone will help you. Going back to Windows is exactly what Microsucks wants people to do. I say f--- that.
When I first received the computer, I had problems with the machine randomly shutting down on me. (I updated it to Ubuntu 14.04). It was not overheating, and upon examining the dmesg logs I was unable to determine what the cause was, except that I kept seeing messages warning me that the bios was broken, and telling to find an ACPI driver. The random shutdowns are seriously irritating, and eventually the hard disc fried on me, so I had to replace it. I bought a new battery, after doing God knows how many software adjustments, and the issue seemed to have resolved, so I attributed it to a bad battery. However, that is not the case.
I recently reinstalled the OS in order to have an encrypted disk setup with LVM, and to put Ubuntu Gnome on it because Unity sucks and the code is cleaner, the system is less glitchy, and the CPU idles around 5% vs 16% running Gnome over a Unity install. But then the random shutdowns started to happen again! So I set out to figure out which software configuration had fixed the problem. I think I found the solution.
This device has an Intel chipset, with a Core2duo processor and Intel integrated graphics processor. There is now an open source tool available from Intel for identifying and upgrading your graphics driver. This is pretty ground-breaking stuff, because although Intel has always been nicer to the open source community than say, AMD, it's still a rough road when you have driver problems with Linux, as you are often left at the compete mercy of the hardware OEM. But Intel is getting with the times. Anyway, I believe that upgrading the GPU driver fixes this problem! Upgrading the bios did not fix it, and the only drivers I've updated have been the GPU. It's been 7 days since I did the reinstall, and about 4 days since I updated the intel driver's again, and I have been running random shutdown free!
I hope that this helps someone. Please do not go back to Windows because of these issues, leave me a message or check the forums and either I or someone will help you. Going back to Windows is exactly what Microsucks wants people to do. I say f--- that.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Rediscovering fire...
I bought like three lighters recently and they've all been BIC'D, so I had to figure out a way to get flame from an old dead lighter. Maybe this information will help someone, somewhere.
You need:
-A dead lighter, it only needs a working flint.
-Cotton. I used Q-Tips. (Maybe they'll sponsor me.)
-A piece of dry wood and something to cut it with, like a knife.
Process:
1) Grab a qtip and pull the cotton on one end out, so its really thin and frayed. We need loose fibers, so they catch on fire easily. Then cut a thin long strip wood, like a match, also so that it catches aflame easily.
2) Grab your dead lighter, remove the top piece and safety so that the flint is fully exposed.
3)Hold the frayed cotton right next to the flint and strike the flint repeatedly until the cotton catches on fire. the second it does, light the piece of wood on fire. Hold it upside down so it keeps burning.
And for a few seconds, you've got flame!
You need:
-A dead lighter, it only needs a working flint.
-Cotton. I used Q-Tips. (Maybe they'll sponsor me.)
-A piece of dry wood and something to cut it with, like a knife.
Process:
1) Grab a qtip and pull the cotton on one end out, so its really thin and frayed. We need loose fibers, so they catch on fire easily. Then cut a thin long strip wood, like a match, also so that it catches aflame easily.
2) Grab your dead lighter, remove the top piece and safety so that the flint is fully exposed.
3)Hold the frayed cotton right next to the flint and strike the flint repeatedly until the cotton catches on fire. the second it does, light the piece of wood on fire. Hold it upside down so it keeps burning.
And for a few seconds, you've got flame!
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Resetting the Net: Make the Adversaries Life Harder
Resetting the Net: Make the Adversaries Life Harder
Use Tor or a Secure VPN
The Tor network is one of the best ways to remain anonymous online. I'm not going to get into how it works here, however there is a thorough explanation of Tor's magic here. Yes, Tor is slow and not always convenient to use. That's why I only use it when I'm feeling really paranoid. For most of my other online activities, I use a virtual private network (VPN). VPN's tunnel all of your computers internet traffic through another server, located somewhere else (preferably on the other side of the Earth in a politically neutral country). Although a VPN does not give you nearly the anonymity that Tor does, it provides you with very powerful end-to-end traffic encryption. Our traffic remains encrypted until it exits the VPN server in (for example) Switzerland, then continues to it's final destination. We don't care what Switzerland thinks about our web browsing habits, and they aren't interested, so it's a win-win. A great VPN service with servers in many different geo-political regions is PrivateInternetAccess.com.
Use Open Source Software
It's amazing and sad to me that 90% of personal computers still run Microsoft Windows when there are so many better (and free) options out there. Consider making the switch to Linux, you will be happy you did. However, there's still ways to securely use a Windows system. Consider installing Pigdin Instant Messenger, which allows you to use encrypted instant messaging on services like Facebook Messenger or Google Talk. Use an open source browser like Firefox. Open source=people can read the source code=the software has been scrutinized by thousands of security-minded developers, so you can be pretty sure there are no back-doors/gaping security holes.
Be Smart
Be careful what you send through email. Unless you are using encryption, assume anything sent through email can be intercepted. In fact, assume anything sent over the internet can be intercepted. Therefore, it is best to send as little personally identifying information over the internet as possible, even when using Tor. Install the browser add-on HTTPS Everywhere, which will force use of https whenever available. Pay attention to the warnings that your browser gives you about unverified connections. If an https certificate cannot be verified, either the site you're visiting has not registered it, or you are the victim of a Man in the Middle Attack.
Knowledge is Power
Learn about how technology works so that you can better make educated decisions about your online activities. It is helpful to have a basic understanding of Internet Protocol and Public Key Encryption.
If you are tech savvy, you can configure your own VPN server by renting a cheap VPS somewhere and installing openvpn-server.
Edit: fuck that. They're great for convenience, but for some reason, I just don't trust them anymore. Find an overseas vps and pay for it with mixed up bitcoin.
If you already administer a VPN, rotate your keys right now, and use a
Security Tips for Administering a VPS
The internet is kind of like the wild west. Everything is fair game, there are seldom consequences to anything, and when it comes to sever security it's every man for himself (unless you pay someone to manage your server). Recently it seems that a lot of people are starting to buy their own vps (virtual private server), so there are going to be a lot of people looking for security solutions. Here is some advice I've gathered from my experience as a system administrator.
The golden rule of internet security is to keep a low profile. For example, don't leave port 22 open to the whole internet, even if you have ssh secured with a 4096 bit RSA key. In fact, don't use port 22 at all. Ever. It's like putting a sign on your server that says "hack me". When attackers scan the internet for targets, they use tools like nmap. Nmap by default scans the 1000 most commonly used ports. By avoiding using and filtering those ports you will save yourself a lot of trouble. Notice I said "filter" and not "close". When a port is closed, it sends a reply saying so when someone tries to access it. A filtered port does not acknowledge the request, so you can't be sure whether it's open or closed. It's a good idea to keep the default incoming policy to filtered, as is the standard setting on Linux UFW.
If you are running a web server you are probably going to want to use the default port 80 or 443 (https), so you want to make sure Apache, or whatever you are using is as secure as possible. One thing that I think is really important is to disable CGI if you are not using it. If you are running Debian/Ubuntu than that's as easy as commenting out the cgi bin alias in your main configuration.
#ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
#<Directory "/usr/lib/cgi-bin">
# AllowOverride None
# Options +ExecCGI -MultiViews
# Order allow,deny
# Allow from all
# </directory>
Doing this will prevent people from trying to execute arbitary code on your server. Another things that is cool and very secure is Openvpn. Set up an openvpn server and run it on a random high port like 61500. Use TLS authenification and strong key bit strengths. Then configure your firewall so that ssh or any other administrative/personal services are only accessible from the vpn netmask. This way in order to hack your server you would have to crack the vpn AND the ssh keys, quite a task even for a resourceful, seasoned hacker. Another bennifit here is that if you use UDP for your vpn and close all outside ports than chances are that nobody will ever find that one UDP port because UDP scanning is rare and takes forever. 99 out of 100 times it's TCP ports that they're looking for. Lastly, openvpn is really, really secure!
Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg, but these are some good tips. The good thing about linux is that it rarely will allow anything bad to happen without your consent. So, don't allow root login via ssh, for example. Log into another account, then log in to root if you need to. Close off every port that is not totally necessary for your server to operate. Think blackout zone over London... if they don't see us, they won't bomb us.
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