Weekly technical blah - This week- Password acquisition

Ok, im going to sorta skirt really close to some legalities and morally questionable areas here, so if youre an upright citizen who is not curious about things then ignore this. Today Im going to give you enough info to get started on the most basic of encryption hacks-password acquisition. Again, if youre upright..well..WTF are you doing here anyway? Otherwise, I'll need to explain a few things before going on: -all systems-hardware and software, which use passwords, need to store them somewhere in order to recognize them later. They will use this file to check against your entries when you enter a password in any given instance. You'd be surprised how often its actually labeled "password.whatever.." -this file WILL be stored locally. (local to the system, whatever type it is) -This file, or at least the password..but generally the whole file..will be encrypted. Often you can locate it by the very FACT it IS encrypted when other files at that point are startup ones and otherwise obvious standards. -This encryption will generally be someting you cannot read looking at it. You wont be able to substitute letters for numbers or anything that simple. However, here's a general technique that you can play with in getting started: look for something (again stored locally as BLAH.PSW as a 10 character string, or PASS.blah etc. Make a backup copy first then remove the archive and read-only attributes to gain write access to the file:


copy whatever.psw password.bak
attrib whatever.psw -a -r (NOTE: again, if you know you'll know, and I know im making this hard but Google is your friend AND ITS NOT THAT HARD to see what im referring to--youll need to know it anyway if youre going into this sphere)


Now you can edit the password file using debug (if its a dos-level) or editor, etc with others, this example will go with Dos-level type:


debug blah.psw
-d
OC4B:0100 85 8C 89 9A 8F 83 E9 E9-E9 E9 xx xx xx xx xx xx


The first six bytes in this example are the encrypted password followed by padding (encrypted spaces) and the terminator. Use debug to change all but the first byte to match the padding. For example:


-e101 E9 E9 E9 E9 E9
-d100
OC4B:0100 85 E9 E9 E9 E9 E9 E9 E9-E9 E9 xx xx xx xx xx xx


Now write the edited file back to disk and quit debug:


-w
Writing 00012 bytes
-quit


Start the dos-level or whatever program and try each letter of the alphabet in turn. It will throw you out after 3 invalid entries so simply reload it and continue. In the worst case you will need to reload 8 times. As soon as you discover the new improved single character password you're in.


Whee.
learning.
Note_ if trying on server files or site, often its as easy to locate the file or files as using the site name and adding a "/" (without the quotes) to the end or index. etc (again, simply google 'server file list' etc..youll have to do SOME of the work)

TrueRVA Episode 4 "UCI Lies" We prove the RVA govt and major press lied about 2015 Race Finances and Attendance, etc

Check out my newest documentary about Richmond. This one tackles corruption in government, financial misuse/obfuscation, and major press outlet lying!

NEW AUDIO DEMO OF MULTIMODULAR MUCHODRUM ANALOG SYNTH AND TUBE PRE

https://youtu.be/Q1SjNgXXRZs    https://youtu.be/Q1SjNgXXRZs

Multimodular MuchoDrum is 4 analog drum synths in one box with a vacuum tube preamp AND 4 drum pads. All elements (drums and preamp) have individual outs and can be connected or used separately. External triggers and sequencers can also be employed for each synthesizer. This is the FIRST AUDIO demo test of ONE of the analog drum synths meant mainly to be toms etc

Started a NEW portrait

I wanted to give something really nice to a friend's fiancee since I've known him for more than a decade and she's really great with him-so Im doing a portrait.  Originally my plan was to do one of her, but they would rather it be of them both apparently-so that is what im doing.
Ill probably use the same combined technique style which I used on this one:
 

Anyway, I've just finished the background, and here it is!

FINISHED FRETLESS LES PAUL WITH AIR WHAMMY AND VINTAGE CAPACITOR TONE BANK

Ok kids-I have FINISHED the first of the two (1 of 2) hand made fretless les paul electric guitars:


      

                                                           AIR WHAMMY                                                          

Both will have original artwork as well as fretless necks.  Ive also decided to further  customize them with the addition of "Air Whammy"s-done via, in 1 case Dr Blankenstein's Illumuringer, and my own version of the same-which uses a TOTALLY different means of manipulating the sound.
The end result is similar and the appearance on the guitar is very close, but his circuit employs an (apparently) proprietary program and a microcontroller (looks like an Atmel attiny but could be a PIC etc to manipulate the sound coming from the guitar according to info given it by the sensor (an LDR)

Sensor I used instead

-Also, in both guitars, I used the same LDR sensor-a vintage/rare one with a heavy steel bezel and glass lense cover.

  I made other changes to Blankenstein's module, but they are not major and ointing them out would just detract from the contribution it makes to the project.

illumiringer setup (note type LDR sensor used above-replaced in ours)

His circuit is more of a 'sound mangling' thing and not really meant to emulate the whammy-whereas mine is mainly altering the tuning/pitch ONLY-(as a whammy bar does).
Mine is also all analog, instead of digital.  This is so we can keep the signal path "all analog sound".
Also added were:
-a dial (potentiometer-100kb to be exact) to control the relative volume/amount of the effect
-a switch to turn the effect on and off.
-a red LED to light up and let the player determine when the effect is engaged

Its important to note that the sensor in both cases was further protected (and in keeping with the aesthetics) by a pocketwatch case.  This allows the player to close the cover and protect the sensor which playing-handy especially if playing metal or punk and picking heavily.

cover closed

When the cover is open, the sensor can EASILY be reached by the same picking hand as it is only inches from the strings.  Just as close and easily reached as a whammy-more so since you do not need to actually 'grab' or 'hold' anything.

sensor cover open

As you will see in the demo video, it can be used with the palm or a finger or the whole hand.  Further, you can leave your hand close for smaller changes in the pitch or sound and 
keep your hand farther away for more/bigger
changes in the pitch/tune/sound of the string or note or chord that you happen to have struck or be playing at the time.












                                                     ORIGINAL ARTIST DECORATED FRETLESS NECK______

Important to note (in addition to the info regarding this in the post previous to this one) that a strong layer of polyeurethane protects the artwork AND is waxed (and should continue to be waxed and buffed to be maintained, FYI) -front AND back-to maintain a VERY fast neck.
otherwise the particulars of this are covered below regarding both prototypes.



                                                     VINTAGE TONE BANK                                                    

This is an additional custom element we added to both guitars, although the formulation of the exact tone range differs slightly as we wanted to try two separate combinations of capacitor values(capacitance-usually meansured in Farad, MicroFarads, or PicoFarads)

note: vintage audio-grade polystyrene-silver on L,bumblee on R

It uses a 5-switch DIP switch so that you can change the capacitor (or combo thereof) being employed by the Tone Knob (potentiometer).
There is also a switch to allow the player to turn the entire tone bank off completely.
Some of the capacitors used in the tone bank (can be chosen via one of the buttons on blue switch bank) are :  A vintage "bumblebee" capacitor, A vintage Mica capacitor, Vintage 'tropical fish' cap, Vintage oil/paper capacitor, polystyrene, plastic dip, and ceramic.
Pictured is the ACTUAL tone bank capacitor combo used in the black prototype.
(Both tone banks on the two prototypes have a bumblebee and tropical fish type caps)

thats it for today -check out the YOUTUBE VIDEO of the black prototype describing the various attributes and containing a SHORT audio demo of it in use:

DIY -ing Fretless Les Paul w Custom Artwork on Fretboard:
I had a request by a client for a fretless guitar w specific thematics artistically, and possibly additional mods/options added on after the conversion to fretless (depending on how much it was going to cost him at that point).
It wasnt easy or simple to get done well and right-so I thought Id post the method I developed to hopefully save other people some effort.
This is the finished project (just fretless, the possible later additions hadnt been done at this point):

Step 1: Removing the Frets
Note:-be very careful when doing this, especially if you hve a nicer guitar that has a softwood fretboard like rosewood (what I had here). Its very easy to scar the fretboard and the more stuff you have to fix and fill, the harder it is to end up with a proper slick fretboard.
The method I evolved used a small jewler's flathead screwdriver and small hammer.  Carefully whack the screwdriver under the fret's top ridge on one of the sides of the neck (top or bottom),

 then lever up the fret so that its sufficiently out of the neck to allow you to grab with pliers. Then simply pull it out (straight up-trying to lever at this point will bend the fret and may cause other issues).

Step 2: Fill the frets 
Used MINWAX WOOD PUTTY to fill the fret holes left over after removing the fret wires.  This is a multi-step process. First, you put some in the hole and tamp it down using your finger or some other tool.  Then you leave it to dry or expand..whatever..for a couple hours.  Then you use a scraper or plastic credit card to scrape off any excess outside the holes.  Make sure to also fillany scars or dents made before or during the removal process.

You can stop here if you're not painting..but I was..so
Step 3 : Paint your design
First, sand the previous finish off.  Then, I laid down a coat or two of primer.  Then I painted the dsigns on the 2 guitars I was doing this to.

Design 1

And 2

Step 4: Polyurethane
I used abut 8 coats of it.  Made a nice, thick finish that would protect the wood and allows for smooth sliding up and down the scale (the purpose of fretless guitars I think).  After they all dried, I waxed, polished and finely sanded.
Then ended up with finished fretless customs:

 

LDRs and how to use them in a few easy-but-effective bends

LDR's(Light Dependant Resistors), aka Photoresistors, Light Resistors, Photo Dependant Resistors, Photocell, CdS (Cadmium Sulfide), CdS Cells, Photoconductors, etc are really common in circuit bending.

top down view of LDR and various schematic symbols for LDR

Ive personally noticed that they are exceptionally common in 'circuit bent' devices/instruments offered for sale on various sites, particularly esuckBay.  I believe this is because to the uneducated/initiated, adding 'optical theremin' or 'optical trigger' or 'magic eye' etc to the description makes whatever they are selling appear more impresive.  Normally its simply someone replacing a potentiometer or fixed resistor with a LDR.  With drilling and mounting, its probably something that took them all of 2 minutes to add.  Not particularly impressive if you know what they've really done...but if you know, then you probably arent buying their INCREDIBLY overpriced junk anyway.  I mean, 800$..EIGHT HUNDRED..for an old Alesis Hr-16 they've stuck some RCA jacks connected to the sound ROM & added a pitch bend via bodgy clock oscillator?  crazy.  And it screws everyone else cause now your average retard selling his hr-16 looks at what a search for 'hr-16' on eBay returns and thinks his old drum machine is worth hundreds of dollars! This screws us all because then that guy puts a 300$ reserve on his HR when he sells it and so forth..basically skyrocketing the price of the machines on the used market. Bogus.  Apologies for the digression.

Anyways, we'll cover a few ways to add them to devices/instruments you are contructing as part of the 'easy bits' that I'm demonstrating on the blog.  The idea being if you have enough little tricky bits you can add to a instrument you constructing or bending, you can essentially make a total instrument..mixing and matching different ones for differing outcomes.
A FEW THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND IN RE LDR'S:
-Luckily- CDs and most of the other less common formulations of LDRs operate primarily in response to similar wavelength spectrum as the human eye can discern. In other words, they respond to the same kind of light we can see. So lights we see or see as brighter/darker-they will respond to in response. (lighter-less resistance; darker-more resistance)

-They're cheap: the standard CDs cells (unless they are limited in your country by environmental regulation) can cost as little as .01 USD (a penny), and generally average about .15 USD (fifteen cents)

-They DO respond to temperature: so the amount of resistance varied by the LDR in circuit can vary pretty heavily depending upon temperature variance. So, if youre using an instrument that employs one in a recording situation, you might want to keep the Air Conditioning in mind.

-They have LAG aka Latency: meaning it can take up to 1 second (a lot of time in some situations, less in others) for them to respond to changes in light impacting the cadmium sulfide ribbon.  Most LDRs average quite a bit less, to the point of being difficult to easily discern primarily, but a few can take longer. 

Just keep those things in mind when making the decision to add one to an instrument or circuit you are working on.

1. Replacing existing potentiometer or fixed resistor with LDR:
a) normally LDRs have 2 leads: they are NOT polarized (neither is positive, and doesnt matter which you use in any given situation), so, to replace a fixed resistor in any given circuit or device etc then all you have to do is simply remove the resistor and

various sizes and values of LDR

 put the two leads for the LDR in the places where the resistor's leads formerly were. simple.

b) when replacing a potentiometer, its a bit more complicated as the potentiometer has 3 potential connections (lugs, leads, etc).  However, it is also a variable resistance passive component-just like the LDR-so its not TOO complicated.  Simply determine which of the 3 connections on the potentiometer/trimmer/variable resistor is the 'wiper' (usually the middle connection).  One of the LDR leads will replace this. Then, determine which of the other leads replacement will result in the performance variance you desire via experimentation or investigation of circuit/schematic.  (this means, if you want the LDR to affect the resistance between the wiper and ground, then replace the lead leading to ground and the wiper, if the other connection ..etc)

typical application of LDR replacing potentiometer

c) Easy applications: often in circuit bending cheap toys or instruments, resistors will be used for clocks and you can replace them with the LDR via method A. This means that the amount of light striking the LDR will then determine the pitch alteration of the bent device.

2.Using as a control interface with musician/artist/device user.  This is where you will most commonly see LDRs in circuit bent devices and things like guitar pedals on Ebay.  What happens (im thinking), probably, is that some guy thinks "Well, Ive barely done anything to this toy that I bought for 3$ and I want to charge 700$ for it, but I've already stuck a cheap RCA panel on it (aka 'modular patch bay')...I know what I'll do..I'll stick a LDR in somewhere and put 'Optical control, Light Control, and/or Theremin' in the Ebay description field on the listing!!".  There are lots of options here, most of the bogus ones you'll easily see on those cheap bent Ebay things and guitar pedals are similar to the illustration above left, but you can also :

- use other means to inhibit or project light onto the LDR:  I've seen and done things  like stuck salvaged computer cooling fans in between the light and the LDR, thus creating a "wobbly" or "tremelo" effect .  There are lots of other ideas I'm not going to bother mentioning here, but really let your creativity loose, you know?
-use things like timers, pulses, and oscillators to control the light's emission: you can do things like the below right illustrated circuit which employs a lm1458 to create a repeating fading LED light so that when it hits the LDR there is a drawn-out response creating a 'sustain',  or 'tail' effect. I've also combined this with the fan idea and created a 'sorta-reverb' effect on the synth VCO I was controlling.
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, I've gotta run but we'll return to LDRs later.

image from GetLofi's 'get your fade on' article, link below

http://getlofi.com/get-your-fade-on/