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Stack buffer overflows are a form of software bug caused by poor input validation or bounds checking on arrays. Normally these bugs typically result in corrupted data or segfaults under normal use, but in some circumstances they can result in arbitrary code execution with the same permission level of the afflicted program. This is especially problematic when the software in question is running with elevated permissions on a computer, or if the input triggering the overflow comes from a remote source such as a client machine over the internet. Stack buffer overflows were the vulnerability exploited by the Blaster and Slammer worms, as well as in the "Twighlight hack" for the Nintendo Wii. Several techniques have been employed to mitigate the effectiveness of a stack buffer overflow attack, but it is still worth understanding how they work as it provides a good background for a number of remote exploit techniques ...

The Idea:

I've wanted to play with embedded systems for a long while. While embedded systems programming is not my favorite branch of Computer Science, the things you can make with a micro-controller have a certain flash to them that most other programming projects lack. So, when I had the opportunity to work on an embedded systems project for a class, I decided I wanted to make something flashy. My original idea was to make a remote controlled unicycle, but it rapidly became evident that such a contraption would be well beyond my abilities to fabricate, let alone control. Instead, I decided to give my device two wheels, side by side like a Segway so that it would only have to balance in one dimension at once.

The biggest question I had to answer before I could put anything together was how sense the tilt of the device. I ...

Using nmap is a lot like ordering coffee at Starbucks. While you can get a passable drink at Starbucks by asking for a “tall latté” and staring the barista down, you will know in the back of your head that there are a great many other options that you could be using to craft your beverage. Likewise There are dozens, if not hundreds of options that can be set for an nmap scan, giving an amazing amount of control to the user as to what data is gathered, and by what means. Unfortunately it takes a little bit of work to figure out which options are right for you. While there are a lot of sites that tell you how to order a Grande Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino Blended Crème, there are not many that tell you what nmap -PA80,25,22 -PE -sS -sU --top-ports 200 -sV -O -T4 ...

While I was working on my cloud chamber project, I started playing around with water freezing on dry ice, and noticed an intresting phenomina: the water froze into a point. I wanted to try and capture the effect in a way I could show off and decided the best way to do so would be to make a timelapse video of it. I found the process of making such a video much easier than I expected but finding directions to be somewhat difficult. In order to help the situation, I want to walk through how I created my timelapse video so that others can do the same.

The first thing I knew I needed was a set of pictures to start working with. My weapon of choice was my Nikon D70 camera. I manually set the exposure time, aperture size and focus because I did not want the camera auto-adjusting ...