change a system file in windows

What this all really comes down to is what the EULA agreement says.

I've worked for companies in the past that have invested a lot of time and effort in producing a piece of software, and then came across people who were trying to reverse engineer it. This is illegal, unacceptable behaviour.

If you don't like MS i.e. Windows, then use linux instead.
The point here is that MS pays lots of $ to its employees, whereas linux is mainly produced by enthusiasts for free.

Pros and cons for both OSs, as it depends on what you are using your PC for.

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Originally posted here by lepricaun
no wonder nihil has so much posts, as all he can do is give comment on others!

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Have you actually _read_ any of the posts - nihil helps people out on a daily basis, and very useful help it is too.

Perhaps it would be better if you just came clean & explained what you are trying to do to taskmgr.exe and why.

If you are wanting to understand how it's possible to hide process from task manager for education purposes then tell us.

If you are up to no good then go and see a shrink - you've got issues boy!

Steve

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Perhaps it would be better if you just came clean & explained what you are trying to do to taskmgr.exe and why.

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i already told you guys, i justed wanted to change the layout and colours...

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If you are wanting to understand how it's possible to hide process from task manager for education purposes then tell us

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haven't thought about that option yet, but with this in mind i can understand the reactions.... but if i wanted to do this, then i would ask more about the so called "root kits" that seem to be available, since it is said that that is one of the possibilities of a rootkit....

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If you are up to no good then go and see a shrink - you've got issues boy!

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i just want to learn, not make abuse of the things i learn, just to get a better job ( network administrator) and to do that job as good as possible!

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Have you actually _read_ any of the posts - nihil helps people out on a daily basis, and very useful help it is too.

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i've read the posts of him that he replied to my previous threads, and like i said, it isn't the first time he made me look like some kind of script kiddie who wants to hack a computer because he thinks it is fun and brag about it to others.....

but no, i want to learn to elevate my knowledge!

I was quite content to stay out of this thread...

1. Nihil has probably forgotten more about computers than you will ever know. I'd put money on it. I have leraned alot from him, and he has always been helpful.

2. Act like a skiddie, you get treated like a skiddie....quick fact of life... nobody can make you look like anything unless you create the conditions that allow it.

3. Not that I have been here all that long, but you're only the 2nd person I've seen nihil take to task, and both times it was because the person in question was being somewhat evasive.

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change the layout and colours...

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....I could definately be wrong about this, but isn't that handled by explorer.exe?

if you think i acted like a skiddie with my question, then please let me know how i should refrase it to get a decent reply....

as for nihil, i'll bet he knows a lot about computers, but it just pisses me off to get treated like this... like i said before, i just want to learn, and don't make any enemies or anything....

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....I could definately be wrong about this, but isn't that handled by explorer.exe?

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i doubt it would be just like i wanted it to be....

I'll let you figure out how to ask better questions... :D

To your original question, it's also stored in your Master File Table. Use Google. You can't directly manipulate it. (actually one can, but it's definately beyond my scope, and IIRC, it means tweaking the kernel itself)

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i doubt it would be just like i wanted it to be..

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Well, I'll let you think what you want, but there was just another thread about customizing aspects of windows.

Cheers.

Lepricaun, taskmanager doesn't control the sceme of your windows. That is all located in the shell ( as groovicus said "explorer.exe"). I'm not about to go look up some legal backing to say that this is legal, but there are a plethora of programs out there that not only modify the Windows shell, but replace it altogether.

There are plenty of sites where you can find info on the Windows shell (I would give you some but I am studying for an exam....kinda). Look into Litestep and try and hack or write your own shell or simply use it to hack your own windows shell.

As for all the bashing, I think that the point system here is downright stupid. It has turned this form into more of a game than an actual forum. Aside from staying a member, who gives a rat's ass about how many gif's you have? At the end of the workday, do you get a higher pay? Does your car run better? In other words, if you don't want to answer his question, then don't. If you do, however, want to answer his question but have doubts in his methods or reasoning, then ask.

Also, Lepricaun and everyone else, if you will provide a better explination of what you are trying to accomplish rather than "I want to replace taskmanager with one I have hacked," you will get a lot more support than people claiming you are writing viruses.

In short...I have a final in 30 mins so I don't know why I just wrote any of that; piss.

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...but there are a plethora of programs out there that not only modify the Windows shell, but replace it altogether.

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Quite right, and it is also legal and falls under fair use and interoperabilty. It is this sort of modification that many hobbyists,programmers and others enjoy and does not neccessarily indicate some sort of ill will or malicous intent. Believe it or not many people enjoy this kind of work and it is legal (more so outside the US than other places unfortunately) as well as beneficial to many. I see many people saying "Go to Linux" How on earth do you suppose open source projects like Samba are made? This is like coming to a Car Mechanics forum where they tell you not to pop the hood because Ford will get mad. People who are highly educated chemists can also make drugs, but I dont believe we should therefore stop teaching chemistry either. If you are REALLY concerned about whether REing your explorer is going to get your front door kicked in by the suede denim secret police than go to forum that promotes issues of law. This is a forum for programmers,and information security, unless maybe I AM in the wrong place??
And as for the red gifs, I think Nihil and I have read enough of each others pontifications before, I'm fairly certain we will emerge from this fiasco unscathed as well. ;) I hadnt meant to loud any one out, only adress a noteworthy point in a public forum because I felt my point was worth clarifying to others. Increased legal restrictions on REing is only going to add to our current the problems not detract from it.


-Maestr0


"There are rather insane laws in the U.S. about reverse engineering, and so we sidestepped those by having the work done in Europe under the European Union fair-use laws," said Jeremy Allison, a software developer at VA Linux Systems Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif. Allison co-authored Samba, a Windows file-serving program that allows Unix machines to serve file-and-print services to Windows clients.

Allison said his team is forced to reverse engineer because Microsoft doesn't offer documentation of its proprietary protocols. But when the Samba team decoded the Microsoft domain controller protocol to allow Samba servers to interoperate with Windows NT, they made sure the work took place outside the U.S.

"If the laws continue the way they are, the U.S. software industry will get strangled by the increasing amount of restriction on reverse engineering," Allison said.


"Demand better security from vendors and hold them responsible" -RFP

I knew there were programs to change the themes in windows, just like in windows xp, but if i would use such a tool, the result would be the same, but i wouldn't learn anything from it....

just like a skiddie uses someone elses tool without knowing how it works to hack into a computer.... i would never use such a thing, ( i wouldn't even hack a computer without permission) , before i knew how the program/ tool exactly works.. so i can even do it on my own, without some tool that someone else has written.....
but i'll leave this subject alone now, and just go and check for themes for windows and that kind of things.... sooner or later i eventually will find out after all how such a program works....


as for my next questions, i will try to refrase them so that it wouldn't look like i'm trying to write a virus or anything....but..... this would also be a type of social engineering wouldn't it??? and then i would get a normal answer.....strange.....

Well I was discussing this with Maestr0 over at the #lobby today. Being an ex-cracker my views are slightly colored I suppose. There are laws in place that allow reverse engineer to a certain extent so that competators aren't closed out; basically to allow interoperability. The other thing is this really isn't a huge deal, especially if he payed for the software. It's not like he's stealing it :-o.

-Cheers-