Code Purple — The Compaq/HP Booby Trap

I did a full restore, reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling Windows Vista on a HP system. Everything went like clockwork…

Until I rebooted the machine. Then I got an error that there was a “Configuration error” and that I should call “Customer Care” with “Error Code Purple.” T that point, I could only power off the machine.

What in the world was “Error Code Purple,” I wondered. A quick search on the net revealed that this was a booby trap placed in HP and Compaq computers in which a “tattoo” or numerical signature of the motherboard and hardware configuration is created at the factory and encoded into the restore disks on a particular computer. When you re-install your system, it checks to make sure the system has not been modified. If you have modified your system, the “tattoo” generated by the checking program will be different than the original, and the system will not boot.

In order to fix this, you have to send in your computer to Compaq, or take it so some place like CompUSA or BestBuy where they will modify the “tattoo” so you can run your software on your computer again — until the next time you upgrade memory or swap a card or DVD player.

For a fee, of course.

But not all was lost as I found couple of interesting and simple solutions to bypass this issue and continue with the rest of the installation. Here is one of them for HP systems based on Vista.

When the screen comes up that tells you about the code purple, do this:

Hold shift key and press f10

Type this below in command prompt with spaces like shown

cd C:hpbinCheckDMI

press ENTER

Now, type:

dir

press ENTER

Now you will notice that there are bunch of files listed, we need to find CheckDMI.cmd and rename it as below.

ren CheckDMI.cmd CheckDMI

press ENTER

The file should now be changed. Exit out of command prompt and restart your computer. And walaa…

You’re done! Congrats…you just successfully fixed your Code Purple problem. Now you don’t have to waste half a month of shipping your computer back and forth from an HP tech shop to get it “repaired for free”

Missing Drivers for a dc7800p and Windows 7 | DIYTechTools.com

For reasons none of us will ever understand, though HP offers drivers for the dc7800 and Windows 7, there are a few drivers missing from the HP download page. Specifically, the HECI and LMS_SOL devices appear, after installation, with yellow check marks (no drivers installed). If the names of these rascals don’t ring a bell, they are identified in the Device Manager – as I recall – as ”Unknown Serial Port“, and, “Unkown Device“. It’s something like that – and a problem for pretty much everyone.

See more at:

Missing Drivers for a dc7800p and Windows 7 | DIYTechTools.com

Creating an effective USB blocking GPO – Spiceworks

Introduction

I spent several hours reading technet tutorials, spiceworks posts, and other various how-to/guide/tutorials and was not able to get a GPO effectively blocking usb access for users in a security group.

I managed to effectively construct a working USB blocking GPO and would like to save people some headaches by posting a complete start to finish guide for Group Policy beginners that fills in the various gaps I found in other tutorials.

via Creating an effective USB blocking GPO – Spiceworks.

This Facebook Hack Allows You to Track Your Friends On Map

thehackernews.com – by Mohit Kumar

Remember the magical Marauder’s Map from the Harry Potter books that reveal the whereabouts of characters as they roam classrooms and the halls of Hogwarts school?

A student developer from Cambridge has created a Chrome extension that works similar and also named it Marauder’s Map.The extension that allows you to watch every footstep of your Facebook friends by grabbing location data from Facebook Messenger and rapidly plotting your friends’ locations on a map.

We all are aware that Facebook shares our location data with our friends, however, what we probably aren’t aware of the accuracy of that data and easiness of extracting that data from the messaging service.

LOCATION SHARING AND MAPPING…Facebook usually encourages Messenger users to share their location by enabling location sharing by default when users install iOS or Android app.

Software developer Aran Khanna’s extension dubbed Marauder’s Map, loads the map in Messenger’s Web interface and fetches the data from…(continued)

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8 TIPS FOR PROTECTING YOUR PC FROM HACKERS

by The Windows Club

When it comes to the Internet, there is nothing called 100% security. One of the best method to keep Hackers out of your computer, would be to turn off Javascript and Flash as these two are widely used to inject malicious scripts into your system.

But that may be impractical for some, as the Internet relies on Javascript and Flash for quite a few features or functions – from logging in to websites, to browsing, serving search functions and more. Turn off Javascript and you will find that you cannot do much on the Internet. So how do we keep hackers away? Here are some tips to prevent hacking without having to restrict yourself by turning off Javascript and Flash.

Apart from following the basic steps like keeping your Windows operating system and software up-to-date, keeping your Firewall turned on, using a good antivirus software or a Intenet Security Suite, here are a few precautions you should follow.

Turn off JavaScript and Flash
If you can disable JavaScript and / or Flash, good! It will make your system more secure. There is also a Group Policy setting to disable Java.

Use a strong password for user and online accounts
Easy passwords make it easier for anyone to log into your account and take it over. In most cases, the hackers will change the password after taking over your machine so that you cannot log in. What happens afterwards to reclaim the machine is a tedious process. It is always recommended to use strong passwords, that contain alphanumeric characters and also include special characters.

You can force it on the Windows users to harden the login password policy and create a strong password. You can also make it possible that the account is locked down after three attempts. Read our article on restricting login attempts.

For online accounts, I will recommend using a password manager software such as LastPass that generates secure passwords and stores them safely so that you can use them without having to remember each. Further, it is better to have different passwords for different sites so that if one account is compromised, others are still safe. The first among all tips to prevent hacking is to use a strong password.

Remove crapware
You never know what kind of programs are installed on your computer when you buy a new one. Lenovo presented a good example by installing Superfish that made it possible for cybercriminals to initiate Man in the Middle Attacks. A new computer comes with plenty of software that you won’t ever need. The first step after getting a new computer is to remove all crapware and the programs that you won’t need. There are certain third-party crapware removal tools that let you decide what programs to keep and automate the removal of crapware. You can use any such program or you can remove unwanted programs and toolbars manually. The manual method is safer though it takes some perspiration on your part. If you see a program that you can’t understand, it is better to consult someone and then remove it.

Article Continued Here