EEVblog #1279 - Best Dumpster PC Find Yet!

[EEVblog]

The best dumpster PC find yet!
Some software hacking required to defeat Windows 10 security though.

[johnlsenchak]

The camera is  "NSA  Spy  enabled " that's awesome  !

That flat  screen   would be a good starter computer   for Sagan with his school work, It needs  a  fast  SSD  drive   none of that mechanical hard drive rubbish.   


I found   a  ASUS   flat  screen  computer in a dumpster years ago. It has a   quad   core  I7  Intel Processor .  To make a long  story  short here whoever
owned   it ,  realized  that Windows  10  ( 1709)  tried to upgrade  from  Windows 8.1.  The install failed  and  corrupted the Windows  file system  I brought
the  computer to a   repair  store, they just  reinstalled  Windows  8.1 and the  computer was  like brand new  I  could have   got between  eight to 
nine hundred  dollars  on ebay  for  it.

[amspire]

Dave may have been very lucky the Utilman trick worked.

Just recently tried that trick on a Windows 7 PC and it appeared that none of the tricks like renaming Utilman or Sethc worked anymore, and people were saying that there was an update about September last year that blocked all the easy tricks. On boot, the files are all restored to the original files. I assumed they would also do the same updates to Windows 8.1 and 10.

I wouldn't recommend renaming cmd.exe - copy it instead. You might lose your cmd.exe file when Windows boots and resets Ultiman to the original file.

Another way in was to get into safe mode and select the console safe mode, but Microsoft now requires an administrator login first.

This method was always a big flaw in Windows security that I think was left there because the Microsoft Tech's loved it, but I think some viruses started using the flaw.

[lowimpedance]

Dave,
 Finally found a good use for one of the Julie 'precision' resistors I gave you at Electronex a few years back    lol.

Nice score though, ...have dumpster envy 

[Brumby]

Dave ... just an offer to keep in mind.....

If you would ever like to shed any of your dumpster finds or old lab gear, just drop me a line and I'll swing by the lab and save you the trouble of having to go out of your way to dispose of it
                                                                   


(Yes, I like living dangerously.)

[johnlsenchak]

Yes  you are right,   their is a way  to  get into the DOS  prompt  via the  Windows login page . From there you  do a  bunch of DOS commands to reset and
or remove the  old password  from the  account you  choose . I did  the hack on  a Sony  laptop one time , years  ago.

Dave is a intelligent  guy   it   doesn't surpise  me  that  he didn't  have any  problems   creating a new account using those commands. I'm sure he  had a little
help from Google 

[amspire]

Yes  you are right,   their is a way  to  get into the DOS  prompt  via the  Windows login page . From there you  do a  bunch of DOS commands to reset and
or remove the  old password  from the  account you  choose . I did  the hack on  a Sony  laptop one time , years  ago.

Dave is a intelligent  guy   it   doesn't surpise  me  that  he didn't  have any  problems   creating a new account using those commands. I'm sure he  had a little
help from Google 

The question I raised above was "does it still work if you have recent Windows updates?" It does not seem to work any more in Windows 7. I have not tested Windows 10 with recent updates, but I do not see why Microsoft would fix this security flaw in Windows 7 and not in Windows 10. Under Windows 7, if you rename cmd.exe to Ulitman.exe as Dave did and reboot, then Windows restores the original Ultiman.exe and so this method fails.

[JonM]

Dave,
 Finally found a good use for one of the Julie 'precision' resistors I gave you at Electronex a few years back    lol.

Nice score though, ...have dumpster envy 

Somewhat oddly the most exciting thing for me in this video was the Julie Research resistor! In the Summer of 1973, fresh out of high school, I started work at a Nuclear Physics lab. One of the grad students was building an electrostatic analyzer for electrons that used Julie resistors in the voltage divider. I remember that the resistors were an object of worship and it was my first introduction to anything related to components and precision.

There is a Bob Pease article about Julie resistors:   https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/analog/article/21763955/whats-all-this-julie-stuff-anyhow

I honored Bob Pease last week when I gave a talk titled: "What's All This FPGA and I2C Stuff, Anyhow?" to my local software developer friends.

[EEVblog]

Just found it has a secure TPM crypto chip in it, nice 
No idea what to do with it, but cool.

[EEVblog]

There is a Bob Pease article about Julie resistors:   https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/analog/article/21763955/whats-all-this-julie-stuff-anyhow

I wonder is that interview tape still exists somewhere in his archives?

[johnlsenchak]

Just found it has a secure TPM crypto chip in it, nice 
No idea what to do with it, but cool.

Upgrade  the computer  from Windows 10 Home  , to Pro and then you can   encrypt   the hard  drive

[dave_k]

Don't most name-brand PC's have a TPM in them now?

[EEVblog]

Don't most name-brand PC's have a TPM in them now?

No idea, first time I've seen it.
But I don't keep up with the Jones's

[johnlsenchak]

Don't most name-brand PC's have a TPM in them now?

No idea, first time I've seen it.
But I don't keep up with the Jones's

The "secure TPM crypto"  is  to run  Microsoft  Bit Locker  in   Professional   version , they  are  secure  keys  within the  BIOS/UEFI

[Brumby]

Don't most name-brand PC's have a TPM in them now?

No idea, first time I've seen it.
But I don't keep up with the Jones's

That made me smile.   

[Lord of nothing]

Dear Mr. Dave
That is a "default" Lenovo Power Plug who can found on any (Business?) Lenovo Laptops.
Its a good think because the change you have, finde, get such Adapter are huge! Mine broke in Japan when I was there and realy quick found a new one. 
Try this with other Brands. 

[senso]

Don't most name-brand PC's have a TPM in them now?

Business computers, yes. Personal computers, no.

All laptops and desktops have fTPM(firmware TPM), present in the chipset since the Haswell era.
But most users use Home editions of the OS they never even notice that its there..

And its exploitable and broken:
https://tpm.fail/