When a USB stick is connected to a PC the Windows operating system enumerates the device. In simple terms, this means Windows will check to see what type of device was just connected, a HID device, Mass Storage Devicet etc, it will also check the speed of the device.
During the enumeration process some registry entries are made into the Windows registry…this is where a hacker could get into your system and take control. This is the update Microsoft issues earlier this week to fix the security flaw.
Since the vulnerability is triggered during USB enumeration, no user intervention is required. In fact, the vulnerability can be triggered when the workstation is locked or when no user is logged in, making this an unauthenticated elevation of privilege for an attacker with casual physical access to the machine. Other software that enables low-level pass-through of USB device enumeration may open additional avenues of exploitation that do not require direct physical access to the system.
So be sure to update your PC with the update notification comes through – it’s in your best interest.
Full Microsoft article
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Intel has reported a problem between the Haswell processor, the next-generation microprocessor that uses 8-series cor-logic sets.
Intel says when a PC system with Core i-series Haswell inside wakes from S3 sleep mode, it experiences issues with devices connected through USB 3.0. Intel defines the issue only as a nuisance for end users, but who will be the real judge of that?
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As with any good project, there should always be a back up plan. The Curiosity for Mars is no different. The system has a B-Side computer in the event the A-Side computer went down…well guess what, it went down.
There is a theory that cosmic rays affected some of the flash memory on Curiosity causing the A-Side computer to shut down and reboot into Safe Mode.
JPL is currently backup up the A-Side data to the B-Side computer and should reboot by weeks end. Configuration and data transfer can take a while, then of course the verification process of everything done right.
JPL states:
“The hardware that we fly is radiation tolerant, but there’s a limit to how hardened it can be, you can still get high-energy particles that can cause the memory to be corrupted. It certainly is a possibility and that’s what we’re looking into.”
ComputerWorld did a nice write up about the IronKey Workspace product for Windows 8 operating system.
Read the full article here.
“IronKey storage devices have also been validated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to meet the stringent Level 3 criteria of FIPS 140-2. Combined with the cloud -based IronKey Enterprise Management Service, data security can be managed and audited from anywhere in the world. The IronKey Workspace flash drive, however, is not FIPS-certified.”
The IronKey will boot from any PC or Mac computer. Boots in about 35 seconds but has an initial configuration time of about 4 minutes.
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The DN-84254 is a microUSB cable which mirrors your smartphone screen on your PC. The sync software allows you to click around on the PC screen and control your phone.
So what’s it good for, imagine this:Â Â If an app would require you to input letters or characters, you can simply do so by using the PC’s keyboard. Several key shortcut buttons on top of the program also allow you to conveniently make the device do specific commands, or access certain areas instantly. So, aside from being able to record screen activity directly on your PC (for gaming and reviews and the likes), you can also intuitively control the smartphone within the PC’s environment as if it was just a simple Android emulating program or similar.
For me, this cable is worth
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The Alesis IO Dock is a great product for iPad musicians – this small hack makes it even greater. It overcomes one limitation of the IO Dock: You can’t simply hook it to a USB hub. So I decided to build in an additional hub – which allows me to hook up additional class-compliant interfaces like my M-Audio Axiom master keyboard, and power them via the hub.
Yes, it works. No, it hasn’t been thoroughly tested yet. So try at your own risk.
Full Tutorial (nice)
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Here is a great tool for cleaning Windows Registry of USB drive entries. The program runs in the Windows console and removes all devices that are not currently connected.
To clean up the Windows registry of a USB flash drive, or other USB devices can make your system boot faster and run faster.
For example, each time you connect a USB printer to a different USB port on your PC there are registry entries made which associate the device with the drivers. Windows is trying to be smart and log this information so the next time you connect the device, Windows will know exactly what to do. Meaning when you connect the printer a second time, you don’t see the balloon from Windows saying “Installing Brother driver” or something, it’s just connected and ready to go.
But, for example, lets say you connect your Nikon camera to your PC and you use a different USB port each time, now you have a bunch of registry entries that can make your PC boot slower, run slower or possible give you trouble with that external device.
With all this said, if you are having trouble with a USB drive, or a USB camera, printer or scanner, the first thing you’ll probably want to do is run this Windows registry cleaner utility. Good chance it will solve your problems.
System Requirements:
WinXP / Vista / Win7 Writes settings to:
Does not write files to host computer Dependencies:
Administrator rights License:
Freeware How to extract:
Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch drivecleanup.exe either in the ‘Win32’ folder or ‘x64’ folder.
Gizmodo posted about a USB necklace in early February and all the comments ripped them a new one for the non-tech product. I kinda agree, but the funny thing, the “Upload” necklace is sold out. And sold out with a price tag of $48.
I think we should push the jeweler (if we can call her that) to make some more.
Order Page: Here!
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Smartronix has a USB power monitor and it’s ideal for those who want to regulate what power is coming from a USB device. Most notably would be the ability to test power from a suspect defective drive or gadget. With so many useless USB toys made in cheap factories over seas, one can get a product which plays havoc with your system. Most problems always come from power.
Granted the power meter probably takes more juice then any USB power gadget your testing, but again, this is designed for the hobbyist or guy troubleshooting some gear.
This is also a good device to test products which claim to fall into the USB-IF specification for a USB device, something like this USB power meter could help prove your case against an overseas supplier who’s not fessing up to their poor quality work. (can you tell we’ve ran into this problem on multiple occasions !)
Too bad it doesn’t measure calories, otherwise we’d find out just how hard that USB humping dog is really working.
Smartronix webstore, vai Gadgeteer.
Features:
USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 compatible
Large, easy to read LCD
Folding Stand
Auto Power-Down
Peak Hold
Measures current in either direction (Host>Device or Device>Host
Batteries and USB Cable included
Specifications:
Maximum Voltage Reading +/- 19.99 Volts
Voltage Reading Accuracy: +/- 0.1 volt from -10V to 10V; 5% from 10.01V to 19.99V; 5% from -10.01V to -19.99V
Maximum Current Reading +/- 1999 mA
Current Reading Accuracy: +/- 2mA from -500mA to 500mA; 5% from 501mA to 1999mA; 5% from -501mA to -1999mA
If you haven’t heard,DELL is looking to buy back it’s public shares and go private. Why you ask? Going private would allow them to make quick and swift changes with in the company to re-invent itself. Currently the never-ending demands of the stock holders and investors ties their hands in freedom to create as they wish.
DELL, so it is said, started a new code project call Ophelia. The project is turning a USB key into a portable desktop. The USB would have the ability to access online software tools and operating systems. The USB solution from Ophelia will still require a hardware setup (someone’s PC) so think of it as a USB stick high-jacking the processor, RAM, motherboard, video controller etc to run it’s own OS.
We’ve seen things like this from smaller, start-up companies, but DELL has the ability to really make this main stream. The rumor on target price is $50 US Dollars.
I for one believe the ability to high-jack another PCs hardware doesn’t warrant it enough to be more then a complimentary tool to one’s main PC. Now if DELL can high-jack the
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Gamestick is creating a set-top gaming console for the Android space. The GameStick is true to it’s name where the data sits on a USB flash drive and the flash drive fits inside the hand held console.
The GameStick is targeted at $79 and plays the same games as other Android platforms. Of the 700,000 Android games about 200 have been targeted by GameStick to be developed and fully supported for the GameStick environment.
The console sports an Amlogic 8726-MX processor, with 8GB of flash memory and 1GB of DDR3 RAM. It supports Bluetooth 4.0, and also comes with the standard 802.11 b/g/n WiFi. The console ships with Jelly Bean.
PlayJam, the developers, state they have a working prototype, and is 90% of the way toward getting the final pre-production sample. If you
Continue Reading
When a USB stick is connected to a PC the Windows operating system enumerates the device. In simple terms, this means Windows will check to see what type of device was just connected, a HID device, Mass Storage Devicet etc, it will also check the speed of the device.
During the enumeration process some registry entries are made into the Windows registry…this is where a hacker could get into your system and take control. This is the update Microsoft issues earlier this week to fix the security flaw.
Since the vulnerability is triggered during USB enumeration, no user intervention is required. In fact, the vulnerability can be triggered when the workstation is locked or when no user is logged in, making this an unauthenticated elevation of privilege for an attacker with casual physical access to the machine. Other software that enables low-level pass-through of USB device enumeration may open additional avenues of exploitation that do not require direct physical access to the system.
So be sure to update your PC with the update notification comes through – it’s in your best interest.
Full Microsoft article
Continue Reading
Intel has reported a problem between the Haswell processor, the next-generation microprocessor that uses 8-series cor-logic sets.
Intel says when a PC system with Core i-series Haswell inside wakes from S3 sleep mode, it experiences issues with devices connected through USB 3.0. Intel defines the issue only as a nuisance for end users, but who will be the real judge of that?
As with any good project, there should always be a back up plan. The Curiosity for Mars is no different. The system has a B-Side computer in the event the A-Side computer went down…well guess what, it went down.
There is a theory that cosmic rays affected some of the flash memory on Curiosity causing the A-Side computer to shut down and reboot into Safe Mode.
JPL is currently backup up the A-Side data to the B-Side computer and should reboot by weeks end. Configuration and data transfer can take a while, then of course the verification process of everything done right.
JPL states:
Read the 
So what’s it good for, imagine this:Â Â If an app would require you to input letters or characters, you can simply do so by using the PC’s keyboard. Several key shortcut buttons on top of the program also allow you to conveniently make the device do specific commands, or access certain areas instantly. So, aside from being able to record screen activity directly on your PC (for gaming and reviews and the likes), you can also intuitively control the smartphone within the PC’s environment as if it was just a simple Android emulating program or similar.
For me, this cable is worth
Smartronix has a USB power monitor and it’s ideal for those who want to regulate what power is coming from a USB device. Most notably would be the ability to test power from a suspect defective drive or gadget. With so many useless USB toys made in cheap factories over seas, one can get a product which plays havoc with your system. Most problems always come from power.
Granted the power meter probably takes more juice then any USB power gadget your testing, but again, this is designed for the hobbyist or guy troubleshooting some gear.
This is also a good device to test products which claim to fall into the USB-IF specification for a USB device, something like this USB power meter could help prove your case against an overseas supplier who’s not fessing up to their poor quality work. (can you tell we’ve ran into this problem on multiple occasions !)
Too bad it doesn’t measure calories, otherwise we’d find out just how hard that 
DELL, so it is said, started a new code project call Ophelia. The project is turning a USB key into a portable desktop. The USB would have the ability to access online software tools and operating systems. The USB solution from Ophelia will still require a hardware setup (someone’s PC) so think of it as a USB stick high-jacking the processor, RAM, motherboard, video controller etc to run it’s own OS.
We’ve seen things like this from smaller, 
The console sports an Amlogic 8726-MX processor, with 8GB of flash memory and 1GB of DDR3 RAM. It supports Bluetooth 4.0, and also comes with the standard 802.11 b/g/n WiFi. The console ships with Jelly Bean.
PlayJam, the developers, state they have a working prototype, and is 90% of the way toward getting the final pre-production sample. If you