Today I fixed a nasty browser hijack for a client. I was looking for a reusable and simple solution and i came up with this; attach a second monitor. IE fills the screen but doesn't span across screens so the 2nd monitor can be used without IE interfering. Right click the desktop on the added monitor and choose Screen Resolution, Select monitor 2 and check the box that says "Make this my primary monitor". The task bar will switch to the monitor you just added and you can now download and run Hitman Pro to delete the Hijack.
I like Hitman as it doesn't require installation but it does require an active internet connection.
Typically i add the following software:
Chrome
Adblock plus for Chrome
Adblock plus for IE
Kaspersky Antivirus or MS Security Essentials
CCleaner
ProduKey to backup installation keys
DoubleDriver to backup drivers
Dropbox/SkyDrive to automatically backup important documents
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Adding a 3com 4400 se to the stack
I couldn't find the procedure to do this since 3com has been bought by HP, I just got thru doing it today successfully so here are my recommendations
my 4400's are at firmware v 6.11
there are 2 optical daughter cards in my stack configured as an aggregated link
reset the switch you want to add to the stack to factory defaults; you can find this in the web interface or the command line
this will NOT reset the IP config of the management interface
set the password and SNMP community strings to the same as the stack you are adding to; if you don't change these before hand the entire stack will not be IP manageable until you change pw+snmp via the serial interface; i saw much strangeness doing it after so do it ahead of time.
make sure you add the switch to the highest end of the stack; look at the LEDs on the front to determine which switch is unit 1; don't connect anything to the unit 1 end or it will want to become the stack master and push its empty config on all the other switches. connect to the high end of the stack.
don't move any optical uplink daughter cards arround during this process; leave them where they are
all of my stacking daughter cards have the same model number so i left them where they were
disconnect the backplane cable from the highest unit number and attach the plastic box with 2 db9 connectors to the stacking daughter card; the plastic box has color coded squares beside the connectors to tell which end of the short cable goes where.
connect the short cable to the plastic stacking box and the newly added switch, making sure to follow the colored squares to get it the right way around
power on the newly added switch unit after all the connections are made
when i added the new unit the rest of the stack did NOT power cycle; i don't think they lost connectivity but i didn't have a ping running to know for sure.
my 4400's are at firmware v 6.11
there are 2 optical daughter cards in my stack configured as an aggregated link
reset the switch you want to add to the stack to factory defaults; you can find this in the web interface or the command line
this will NOT reset the IP config of the management interface
set the password and SNMP community strings to the same as the stack you are adding to; if you don't change these before hand the entire stack will not be IP manageable until you change pw+snmp via the serial interface; i saw much strangeness doing it after so do it ahead of time.
make sure you add the switch to the highest end of the stack; look at the LEDs on the front to determine which switch is unit 1; don't connect anything to the unit 1 end or it will want to become the stack master and push its empty config on all the other switches. connect to the high end of the stack.
don't move any optical uplink daughter cards arround during this process; leave them where they are
all of my stacking daughter cards have the same model number so i left them where they were
disconnect the backplane cable from the highest unit number and attach the plastic box with 2 db9 connectors to the stacking daughter card; the plastic box has color coded squares beside the connectors to tell which end of the short cable goes where.
connect the short cable to the plastic stacking box and the newly added switch, making sure to follow the colored squares to get it the right way around
power on the newly added switch unit after all the connections are made
when i added the new unit the rest of the stack did NOT power cycle; i don't think they lost connectivity but i didn't have a ping running to know for sure.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
How to verify UDP port 500 (IPSec VPN) is open
get the nice GUI version of nmap from http://nmap.org/dist/nmap-5.51-setup.exe
install it , choose all the defaults, it will want to install WinPCap, thats fine
start nmap- Zenmap GUI it should be on your desktop now
past this into the COMMAND box
nmap -sU -p 500 -T2 -v -Pn vpn.mycompanyname.com (it will work a lot better if you replace this domain name with the name of the vpn server you are trying to connect to) (this command is case sensitive)
and click the SCAN button
if UDP 500 is open and waiting for VPN connections the output will include this
PORT STATE SERVICE
500/udp open isakmp
if something is filtering UDP 500 the output will include this
PORT STATE SERVICE
500/udp open|filtered isakmp
install it , choose all the defaults, it will want to install WinPCap, thats fine
start nmap- Zenmap GUI it should be on your desktop now
past this into the COMMAND box
nmap -sU -p 500 -T2 -v -Pn vpn.mycompanyname.com (it will work a lot better if you replace this domain name with the name of the vpn server you are trying to connect to) (this command is case sensitive)
and click the SCAN button
if UDP 500 is open and waiting for VPN connections the output will include this
PORT STATE SERVICE
500/udp open isakmp
if something is filtering UDP 500 the output will include this
PORT STATE SERVICE
500/udp open|filtered isakmp
Friday, December 31, 2010
Using ARP pollution to pinpoint misconfigured network devices
This article will outline how to use ARP pollution to pinpoint misconfigured network devices. We will use only free software.
ARP is the protocol TCP/IP uses to find devices in the same VLAN or Broadcast zone. Ideally the only ARP traffic in a VLAN is that of the same IP addressing scheme otherwise it would not be able to reach the default gateway for the VLAN.
Preparations:
-Configure a switch port with only a single untagged VLAN on it as WinPcap will capture tagged data and this will be confusing.
-Install Wireshark on a windows workstation is easiest, it will install WinPcap as well.
-download agrep for windows, put it somewhere in the path, I renamed mine to just grep as that's what i'm used to
after we are done all that prep we are going to run a command that looks like this
C:\Program Files\Wireshark\tshark.exe -c 100 -f arp | agrep -v (you network prefix)
the network prefix on your ip addresses will look something like this
10.1.1. or 192.168.0. or 172.30.0.
this is going to start the command line version of wireshark, capture 100 packets that are of type ARP and display on the packets that don't match your network prefix ie
when i do this I find that there is a network sniffing device that mistakenly has TCP/IP and DHCP enabled on the sniffing interface and it has confiscated the first DHCP offer that it saw while sniffing. The sniffing port has multiple VLANs, if it grabs a DHCP address from the untagged VLAN I will have an IP address conflict, but the first offer it saw was from the tagged VLAN so I see it broadcasting on the wrong VLAN.
ARP is the protocol TCP/IP uses to find devices in the same VLAN or Broadcast zone. Ideally the only ARP traffic in a VLAN is that of the same IP addressing scheme otherwise it would not be able to reach the default gateway for the VLAN.
Preparations:
-Configure a switch port with only a single untagged VLAN on it as WinPcap will capture tagged data and this will be confusing.
-Install Wireshark on a windows workstation is easiest, it will install WinPcap as well.
-download agrep for windows, put it somewhere in the path, I renamed mine to just grep as that's what i'm used to
after we are done all that prep we are going to run a command that looks like this
C:\Program Files\Wireshark\tshark.exe -c 100 -f arp | agrep -v (you network prefix)
the network prefix on your ip addresses will look something like this
10.1.1. or 192.168.0. or 172.30.0.
this is going to start the command line version of wireshark, capture 100 packets that are of type ARP and display on the packets that don't match your network prefix ie
when i do this I find that there is a network sniffing device that mistakenly has TCP/IP and DHCP enabled on the sniffing interface and it has confiscated the first DHCP offer that it saw while sniffing. The sniffing port has multiple VLANs, if it grabs a DHCP address from the untagged VLAN I will have an IP address conflict, but the first offer it saw was from the tagged VLAN so I see it broadcasting on the wrong VLAN.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Orange Power Wellies: Charge your mobile using heat from your feet
In case you're wondering what the science behind them is... Inside the power generating sole there are thermoelectric modules constructed of pairs of p-type and n-type semiconductor materials forming a thermocouple. These thermocouples are connected electrically forming an array of multiple thermocouples (thermopile). They are then sandwiched between two thin ceramic wafers. When the heat from the foot is applied on the top side of the ceramic wafer and cold is applied on the opposite side, from the cold of the ground, electricity is generated. Simples.
What better use could i possibly think of for this technology....how about making house walls out of it; warm inside/cold outside and vise versa for cooling.
What better use could i possibly think of for this technology....how about making house walls out of it; warm inside/cold outside and vise versa for cooling.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
How to Install and Use Windows Server 2008 240 Days for Free
So Windows Server 2008 system can run for up to 240 days without requires to activate online or offline via phone. 240 days is almost equal to 8 months of free usage without restriction and limitation, and any edition of Windows Server 2008 may be installed without activation for the maximum evaluation period of 240 days. Note that if you’re using Windows Server 2008 Evaluation DVD package, after installation it’s immediately a 120-day initial evaluation period, which the activation grace period can only be extended or rearmed once in this case.
To enjoy the free activation period in Windows Server 2008, users need to install Windows Server 2008 without activating it. To do so, run the Windows Server 2008 Setup program, but do no enter any product key when prompted to enter a product key for activation. Then, click “No” when asked to confirm your selection. The initial 60-day evaluation period which do not require activation be done starts after installation finished.
How to manually extend the activation grade period on expiring
When the 60-day activation grace period is about to expire and end, run the slmgr.vbs script to reset and extend the evaluation period for another new 60-day trial evaluation period, with everything including programs installed and data intact.
- Open an elevated privilege command prompt.
- Type the slmgr.vbs -rearm, and then press Enter to reset the activation grace period to 60 days.
- Restart the computer.
User can also use Task Scheduler to automatically rearm activation grace period on expiry.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Scientists Turn T-Shirts Into Body Armor
Hollywood's Growing Obsession With Philip K. Dick
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
my rss feeds
http:
http:
http:
http:/
http:
http:
http:
http:/
http:
Thursday, January 21, 2010
CrossLoop - Easiest free remote desktop program
Romaco Timeout - free logon time limiting program, .msi so Group Policy can remote install it
Romaco Timeout - free logon time limiting program, .msi so Group Policy can remote install it
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Predictions for 2010
-Apple, Microsoft etc will release Tablets, lots of randoms will release ebook readers, the winning portable device of 2010 will be the Google Nexus One, although it will impact the cult of iPhone very little.
-Sandboxing and memory randomization will become common security practices
-We will see our first malware that affect cars
-VoIP will make phone solicitation viable
-many companies will move to hosted services, and in 2 years they will all move away from hosted services...
-
-Sandboxing and memory randomization will become common security practices
-We will see our first malware that affect cars
-VoIP will make phone solicitation viable
-many companies will move to hosted services, and in 2 years they will all move away from hosted services...
-
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Bought a 50" Toshiba rear projection for $40
Bought a 50" Toshiba rear projection for $40
Before:
After:
Any questions?
the screen was replaced with an E size piece of paper.
Before:
After:
Any questions?
the screen was replaced with an E size piece of paper.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Diagnose anything Linux
create the /etc/yum.repos.d/webmin.repo file containing :
[Webmin]
name=Webmin Distribution Neutral
baseurl=http://download.webmin.com/download/yum
enabled=1
You should also fetch and install my GPG key with which the packages are signed, with the command :
rpm --import http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc
You will now be able to install with the command :
yum install webmin
now from any browser goto
http://ServerYouJustInstalledWebminOn:10000
now you don't need to remember the syntax for a million silly Linux commands
[Webmin]
name=Webmin Distribution Neutral
baseurl=http://download.webmin.com/download/yum
enabled=1
You should also fetch and install my GPG key with which the packages are signed, with the command :
rpm --import http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc
You will now be able to install with the command :
yum install webmin
now from any browser goto
http://ServerYouJustInstalledWebminOn:10000
now you don't need to remember the syntax for a million silly Linux commands
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Google Reader (1000+)
Google Reader (1000+): "Scientists Say a Dirty Child Is a Healthy Child
from Slashdot by samzenpus
7 people liked this - you, and 6 more
Shared by you
Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California have shown that the more germs a child is exposed to, the better their immune system in later life. Their study found that keeping a child's skin too clean impaired the skin's ability to heal itself. From the article: ''These germs are actually good for us,' said Professor Richard Gallo, who led the research. Common bacterial species, known as staphylococci, which can cause inflammation when under the skin, are 'good bacteria' when on the surface, where they can reduce inflammation.'"
from Slashdot by samzenpus
7 people liked this - you, and 6 more
Shared by you
Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California have shown that the more germs a child is exposed to, the better their immune system in later life. Their study found that keeping a child's skin too clean impaired the skin's ability to heal itself. From the article: ''These germs are actually good for us,' said Professor Richard Gallo, who led the research. Common bacterial species, known as staphylococci, which can cause inflammation when under the skin, are 'good bacteria' when on the surface, where they can reduce inflammation.'"
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Farmville tips
Gridclicker is a tool to make Farmville easier; it will automatically click on every square on your field. Squares can be excluded, I thought I would have more game sync problems but none yet; knock on wood.
If you are really interested in doing things faster I would recommend boxing in your farmer.
To do this visit your farm and don’t move. You’ll notice that when the game is loaded your farmer will always start in the exact same spot. All you have to do is place animals, trees or objects that take up 1 space each around your farmer as shown. Of course you’ll have to delete the center field of your farm to do this. Once this is done your farmer will no longer be able to move. This means that you will no longer waste time walking from plot to plot which will dramatically speed up the time you spend plowing, planting and harvesting. Keep in mind that when you expand your farm this spot will move so you’ll need to set it back up again afterwords. Also, the reason why I recommend using objects that take up a single space is that you’re able to walk though most objects that take up more then one space, making them ineffective for this.
Source http://steelowl.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/farmville-speed-working-and-machines/
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Domain Security
So after a domain Security audit failure, I started looking for efficient ways to increase our security level
LanMan password Hashes:
use the pwdump program to audit machines
the 3rd column separated by : is the LanMan hash, our objective is to get all of these to say NO PASSWORD. the 4th column is the Ntlm hash, our objective is that all of these have a very long complicated password. Easy to do on 1 pc, hard for every workstation on the network!.
Administrator:500:37D8A9D322EHBCC5DF128B2DD32BAD07:7973F8B1D4BA044FH353577D20D05B43:::
adminl:1012:NO PASSWORD*********************:A87F3A337D73085C45F9416BEH787D86:::
ASPNET:1006:NO PASSWORD*********************:765846AF2H3722A756C36BF4FAB8E706:::
ASPNET_history_0::ED4313FC8629054035HD0F969A87EB54:248991E4B30D6D3H44ECBAE41ACCF27D:::
Guest:501:NO PASSWORD*********************:NO PASSWORD*********************:::
HelpAssistant:1000:0BF0F22C79E13F88FAH2654ABEA76BAE:E6B3E02A7AB163BAEAH9650717C1C245:::
SUPPORT_388945a0:1002:NO PASSWORD*********************:3A912CDE5FDC01E01E2FCC8525H0FF64:::
:Put this in your logon script for a week, it will erase all the local account password history after the computer reboots(ASPNET_history_ in the above). Even if the LanMan is turned off and password is changed the history still includes LanMan hashes. They are useless to logon but they still provide good clues.
net accounts /uniquepw:0
:run the below script a number of times cycling the account through all the M$ created accounts
Guest, ASPNET, HelpAssistant, IUSR_%computername%, IWAM_%computername%
REM change the local Administrator password for ALL computers in an OU
Set objOU = GetObject("LDAP://OU=Test, DC=MyDomain, DC=com")
objOU.Filter = Array("Computer")
For Each objItem in objOU
strComputer = objItem.CN
Set objUser = GetObject("WinNT://" & strComputer & "/Administrator")
objUser.SetPassword("MakeThisExceptionallyLongCuzNobodyWillEverUse1t")
Next
LanMan password Hashes:
use the pwdump program to audit machines
the 3rd column separated by : is the LanMan hash, our objective is to get all of these to say NO PASSWORD. the 4th column is the Ntlm hash, our objective is that all of these have a very long complicated password. Easy to do on 1 pc, hard for every workstation on the network!.
Administrator:500:37D8A9D322EHBCC5DF128B2DD32BAD07:7973F8B1D4BA044FH353577D20D05B43:::
adminl:1012:NO PASSWORD*********************:A87F3A337D73085C45F9416BEH787D86:::
ASPNET:1006:NO PASSWORD*********************:765846AF2H3722A756C36BF4FAB8E706:::
ASPNET_history_0::ED4313FC8629054035HD0F969A87EB54:248991E4B30D6D3H44ECBAE41ACCF27D:::
Guest:501:NO PASSWORD*********************:NO PASSWORD*********************:::
HelpAssistant:1000:0BF0F22C79E13F88FAH2654ABEA76BAE:E6B3E02A7AB163BAEAH9650717C1C245:::
SUPPORT_388945a0:1002:NO PASSWORD*********************:3A912CDE5FDC01E01E2FCC8525H0FF64:::
:Put this in your logon script for a week, it will erase all the local account password history after the computer reboots(ASPNET_history_ in the above). Even if the LanMan is turned off and password is changed the history still includes LanMan hashes. They are useless to logon but they still provide good clues.
net accounts /uniquepw:0
:run the below script a number of times cycling the account through all the M$ created accounts
Guest, ASPNET, HelpAssistant, IUSR_%computername%, IWAM_%computername%
REM change the local Administrator password for ALL computers in an OU
Set objOU = GetObject("LDAP://OU=Test, DC=MyDomain, DC=com")
objOU.Filter = Array("Computer")
For Each objItem in objOU
strComputer = objItem.CN
Set objUser = GetObject("WinNT://" & strComputer & "/Administrator")
objUser.SetPassword("MakeThisExceptionallyLongCuzNobodyWillEverUse1t")
Next
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 06, 2009
HowTo GeoBlock Proxy
Install RedHat or Ubuntu
Install WebMin
surf to Https://ip:10000
Servers, Squid Proxy, Access Control
to the right of Create New ACL, choose Ethernet Address from the drop down, now click Create
copy Ip address ranges from here http://www.wizcrafts.net/iptables-blocklists.html
into your rule and give it a name
click the "Proxy restrictions" tab, click "Add proxy restriction"
leave the action as deny, in the left column select all the rules you just created
use the arrows on the far right to move it up above the allow localnet rule
Install WebMin
surf to Https://ip:10000
Servers, Squid Proxy, Access Control
to the right of Create New ACL, choose Ethernet Address from the drop down, now click Create
copy Ip address ranges from here http://www.wizcrafts.net/iptables-blocklists.html
into your rule and give it a name
click the "Proxy restrictions" tab, click "Add proxy restriction"
leave the action as deny, in the left column select all the rules you just created
use the arrows on the far right to move it up above the allow localnet rule
Monday, June 08, 2009
Our Wii Games
Agatha Christie; Then There Were None 2* boaring
Bass Fishing, Sega July08
Batalion Wars -scratched!
Battle of the Bands Sept08 1 sucks
Big Brain Academy 4*
Bigs MLB
Blastworks; Build,Trade,Destroy Aug08
Board Game Collection, Ultimate
BoomBlox 3* May08
Boogie
Brunswick Bowling
Bully; Scholarship Edition
Bust-A-Move 0*
Call of Duty 3
Cooking Mama
Cranium Kabookie June08
Crash of the Titans June08
Dancing with the stars 0* May08
DDR Hottest Party 5*
DeBlob Nov08 5*
Death Jr June08
Deca Sports June08
Destroy all Humans June08
Elebits 3* May08
Excite Truck
Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn 5* May08 turn based rpg
GC emulator May08
Geometry Wars
Ghost Squad
God Father; Blackhand edition
Guilty Gear -street fighterish June08
Guitar Hero 3
Hairy Potter OotP
HighSchool Musical SingIt 3* May08
Horsez, Petz
Hotwheels
IronMan 2* controls suck 28May08
KungFu Panda June08
Lego Batman Nov08
Lego Indiana Jones Aug08
Lego Star Wars
LineRider 2 Oct08
Links Crossbow Training
Madden NFL 07
Mario Kart 5* May08
Mario & Sonic Olympics
Mario Party 8
Mario Strikers Charged
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Mercury Meltdown
Metal of Honor; Heroes 2
Metal Slug
Metroid Prime Corruption
MLB Power Pros May08
Monopoly Nov08
Monster Trux Arena
Monster 4x4 World Circuit
Monkey King June08 2D side scroller
Mortal Combat Alliance June08
Mx vs ATV
Naruto; Clash of Ninja Revolution June08
NBA Live 08 June08
Need 4 Speed Carbon
Need 4 Speed ProStreet June08
NHL2k9 Sept08
Nights Dream Journey July08
Ninja Reflex
No More Heroes
Okami 5* May08
Opoona June08
Paper Mario
Pinball Hall of Fame
Pro evol soccer 08
Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords June08
Rayman; Raving Rabbits
Resident Evil 4
RockBand June08 5*
Rockband AC/DC trackpack Nov08
Rockband trackpack Vol1
Rockband trackpack Vol2 Nov08
Sam & Max Season1 Dec08
Shrek 3
Simpsons, The
Sims; Castaway 4*
Soul Calibur, Legends June08
SSX Blur July08
StarWarsTheForceUnleashed Oct08
Super Mario Galaxy 5*
Table Tennis, Rockstar July08
Thrillville
Tiger Woods Golf 2008
TigerWoodsPgaTour09 Sept08
Track Pack 1 for Rock Band July08
Trauma Centre; New Blood
Trauma Centre; Second Opinion
WarioLand Shakeit Oct08
WiiMusic Oct08
Wii Play
Wii Ski June08
Worms; A Space Oddity Aug08
WWE Smackdown vs RAW June08
Zack n Wiki 4*
Zelda; TP 5*
New
Deadly Creatures Feb09
Guitar Hero World Tour Feb09
The House of the Dead: Overkill Feb09
Nascar Kart Racing Feb09
Pirates of the Carribean Feb09
Rockband 2 Feb09
Shawn White Snowboarding; Roadtrip Feb09
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 Feb09
Disney Sing It! High School Musical 3: Senior Year *9.3 2 player Feb09
Boogie SuperStar *8.8 Feb09
WarioWare: Smooth Moves - mini games Feb09
LIT (WiiWare) Feb09
3ShapeArcade (WiiWare) *1 -fun for about 5 minutes Feb09
Final Fantasy Fables; Chocobos Dungeon Feb09
MadWorld Feb09
Pikmen Mar09
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Mar09
Groovin' Blocks WiiWare Mar09
Strong Bad's Cool Game... WiiWare Mar09
Art Style: ORBIENT WiiWare Mar09
Rune Factory Frontier - a little complicated 4* Apr09
Marble Saga Kororinpa - DANGER update to 3.4 included Apr09
Sonic Unleashed Apr09
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - July09
Animal Crossing: City Folk - July09
High School Musical: Sing It! (WII) - July09
Wanted:
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
MySims Kingdom
FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play
Call of Duty: World at War
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009
Karaoke Joysound Wii
American Idol Encore *6.8
American Idol Encore 2 *7.4
Disney Sing It (WII) *4.2
Hannah Montana SWT *6.9
High School Musical 3 Dance *6.5
Secret of Mana
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G for PSP
Bass Fishing, Sega July08
Batalion Wars -scratched!
Battle of the Bands Sept08 1 sucks
Big Brain Academy 4*
Bigs MLB
Blastworks; Build,Trade,Destroy Aug08
Board Game Collection, Ultimate
BoomBlox 3* May08
Boogie
Brunswick Bowling
Bully; Scholarship Edition
Bust-A-Move 0*
Call of Duty 3
Cooking Mama
Cranium Kabookie June08
Crash of the Titans June08
Dancing with the stars 0* May08
DDR Hottest Party 5*
DeBlob Nov08 5*
Death Jr June08
Deca Sports June08
Destroy all Humans June08
Elebits 3* May08
Excite Truck
Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn 5* May08 turn based rpg
GC emulator May08
Geometry Wars
Ghost Squad
God Father; Blackhand edition
Guilty Gear -street fighterish June08
Guitar Hero 3
Hairy Potter OotP
HighSchool Musical SingIt 3* May08
Horsez, Petz
Hotwheels
IronMan 2* controls suck 28May08
KungFu Panda June08
Lego Batman Nov08
Lego Indiana Jones Aug08
Lego Star Wars
LineRider 2 Oct08
Links Crossbow Training
Madden NFL 07
Mario Kart 5* May08
Mario & Sonic Olympics
Mario Party 8
Mario Strikers Charged
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Mercury Meltdown
Metal of Honor; Heroes 2
Metal Slug
Metroid Prime Corruption
MLB Power Pros May08
Monopoly Nov08
Monster Trux Arena
Monster 4x4 World Circuit
Monkey King June08 2D side scroller
Mortal Combat Alliance June08
Mx vs ATV
Naruto; Clash of Ninja Revolution June08
NBA Live 08 June08
Need 4 Speed Carbon
Need 4 Speed ProStreet June08
NHL2k9 Sept08
Nights Dream Journey July08
Ninja Reflex
No More Heroes
Okami 5* May08
Opoona June08
Paper Mario
Pinball Hall of Fame
Pro evol soccer 08
Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords June08
Rayman; Raving Rabbits
Resident Evil 4
RockBand June08 5*
Rockband AC/DC trackpack Nov08
Rockband trackpack Vol1
Rockband trackpack Vol2 Nov08
Sam & Max Season1 Dec08
Shrek 3
Simpsons, The
Sims; Castaway 4*
Soul Calibur, Legends June08
SSX Blur July08
StarWarsTheForceUnleashed Oct08
Super Mario Galaxy 5*
Table Tennis, Rockstar July08
Thrillville
Tiger Woods Golf 2008
TigerWoodsPgaTour09 Sept08
Track Pack 1 for Rock Band July08
Trauma Centre; New Blood
Trauma Centre; Second Opinion
WarioLand Shakeit Oct08
WiiMusic Oct08
Wii Play
Wii Ski June08
Worms; A Space Oddity Aug08
WWE Smackdown vs RAW June08
Zack n Wiki 4*
Zelda; TP 5*
New
Deadly Creatures Feb09
Guitar Hero World Tour Feb09
The House of the Dead: Overkill Feb09
Nascar Kart Racing Feb09
Pirates of the Carribean Feb09
Rockband 2 Feb09
Shawn White Snowboarding; Roadtrip Feb09
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 Feb09
Disney Sing It! High School Musical 3: Senior Year *9.3 2 player Feb09
Boogie SuperStar *8.8 Feb09
WarioWare: Smooth Moves - mini games Feb09
LIT (WiiWare) Feb09
3ShapeArcade (WiiWare) *1 -fun for about 5 minutes Feb09
Final Fantasy Fables; Chocobos Dungeon Feb09
MadWorld Feb09
Pikmen Mar09
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Mar09
Groovin' Blocks WiiWare Mar09
Strong Bad's Cool Game... WiiWare Mar09
Art Style: ORBIENT WiiWare Mar09
Rune Factory Frontier - a little complicated 4* Apr09
Marble Saga Kororinpa - DANGER update to 3.4 included Apr09
Sonic Unleashed Apr09
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - July09
Animal Crossing: City Folk - July09
High School Musical: Sing It! (WII) - July09
Wanted:
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
MySims Kingdom
FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play
Call of Duty: World at War
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009
Karaoke Joysound Wii
American Idol Encore *6.8
American Idol Encore 2 *7.4
Disney Sing It (WII) *4.2
Hannah Montana SWT *6.9
High School Musical 3 Dance *6.5
Secret of Mana
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G for PSP
Friday, June 05, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Magicjack Voip
It looks like the Magicjack I runs on pure SIP, I love standards. Someone was also kind enough to create a program to pull all my sip information off the box.
http://revolution.hackthisbox.com/joo/component/content/article/1-latest-news/39337
http://magicjackhacks.blogspot.com/2007/11/magicjack-sip-info.html
http://revolution.hackthisbox.com/joo/component/content/article/1-latest-news/39337
http://magicjackhacks.blogspot.com/2007/11/magicjack-sip-info.html
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Wii Hard Drive
DVD drive in my Wii stopped working a few days ago, every disk gave read errors.
So I did what any self-respecting hacker would do
I hooked my Wii to a Usb Hard Drive full of disk images. (All of which i own of course)
Software is surprisingly well done, Disk images have all the empty space removed, I fit about 20 games on an old 40 Gb HDD
Update: games work with much faster load times except for games that have Usb controllers aka RockBand. Must be because the Usb is in use. So we've had to switch to Guitar Hero...
Update 2Jun
Supposedly USB controllers work now and you have to plug the HDD into USB port 1
Need:
Wii with serial lower than LU64
external USB Flash/HDD that is not a Segate FreeAgent
Step0:
Install BootMii and do a full backup of your NAND (flash memory inside Wii)
so you can restore if you brick yr Wii
Step1: Load the Homebrew channel
Find out what OS menu you have [video]
v4 uses BannerBomb hack [here]
v3.4 or older uses Twilight hack, need a copy of Zelda Twilight Princess to make this work (borrow/rent it or upgrade to v4)[here]
Base USB loader:
download the USB Loader GX and forwarder
put the .wad file on your SD card in \wad
put the \usbloader directory in \apps
Use WAD manager 1.4 to install USB forwarder
What is a forwarder?
When your Wii first boots it goes to the Opening Screen, there are some Icons there. The forwarder installs a shortcut icon that just points to SD:\apps\usbloader_gx\boot.dol so hopefully there is something at that location to load.
install cIOS38_rev13b or here
here is the bulk of the guide
Update USB Loader GX:
Start the Usb Loader
unlock button bottom right, you'll need a password try ab121b (or upper case)
after unlocking the update button will appear at the bottom mid right
update to the latest loader via Wifi
Optional: Use your PC to load games onto your wii HDD with WBFS Manager 3 [howto]
Make sure all yr ISO's are from the right region cuz now it matters. Both the WBFS Manager 3 and the USB Loader GX will tell you what Region Code your ISO's are from. Use
[RegionFrii by SYNDiCATE] if you need to change their region
I was told to format the HDD Fat32 before converting it to WBFS, except that windows refuses to format a drive larger than 30Gb with anything other than NTFS, download the FormatFat32 utility to accomplish this; yes the drive really formats in 10 seconds
using 1 partition < 500Gb works best
Windows will always report a WBFS drive as unformatted and ask you to format it SAY NO to cra...er format
Other useful Links:
http://wii.yafaze.com/downloads.html
Firmware downgrader v1.11(295.88 KB): Mediafire(By Waninkoko) | Wiinewz
from what i ready all cIOS (custom Input Output system) overwrites block 249
so cIOS36v9 and cIOS38v13b can't co-exist, the last one written is present.
Waninkoko has released an IOS patcher for Wii ISO images; the application patches the data that specifies which IOS version to use to execute a Wii game.
- drag a Wii game ISO onto the executable and input an IOS
version.
-For most games, IOS version 30 is recommended (IOS30, firmware 3.0 and higher).
- With this application we CAN'T patch the IOS37 nor avoid it when upgrading the Wii.
- With this application we CAN run SSBB without update the Wii (and probably we'll be able to run Mario Kart even if it wants to use the IOS37).
So I did what any self-respecting hacker would do
I hooked my Wii to a Usb Hard Drive full of disk images. (All of which i own of course)
Software is surprisingly well done, Disk images have all the empty space removed, I fit about 20 games on an old 40 Gb HDD
Update: games work with much faster load times except for games that have Usb controllers aka RockBand. Must be because the Usb is in use. So we've had to switch to Guitar Hero...
Update 2Jun
Supposedly USB controllers work now and you have to plug the HDD into USB port 1
Need:
Wii with serial lower than LU64
external USB Flash/HDD that is not a Segate FreeAgent
Step0:
Install BootMii and do a full backup of your NAND (flash memory inside Wii)
so you can restore if you brick yr Wii
Step1: Load the Homebrew channel
Find out what OS menu you have [video]
v4 uses BannerBomb hack [here]
v3.4 or older uses Twilight hack, need a copy of Zelda Twilight Princess to make this work (borrow/rent it or upgrade to v4)[here]
Base USB loader:
download the USB Loader GX and forwarder
put the .wad file on your SD card in \wad
put the \usbloader directory in \apps
Use WAD manager 1.4 to install USB forwarder
What is a forwarder?
When your Wii first boots it goes to the Opening Screen, there are some Icons there. The forwarder installs a shortcut icon that just points to SD:\apps\usbloader_gx\boot.dol so hopefully there is something at that location to load.
install cIOS38_rev13b or here
here is the bulk of the guide
Update USB Loader GX:
Start the Usb Loader
unlock button bottom right, you'll need a password try ab121b (or upper case)
after unlocking the update button will appear at the bottom mid right
update to the latest loader via Wifi
Optional: Use your PC to load games onto your wii HDD with WBFS Manager 3 [howto]
Make sure all yr ISO's are from the right region cuz now it matters. Both the WBFS Manager 3 and the USB Loader GX will tell you what Region Code your ISO's are from. Use
[RegionFrii by SYNDiCATE] if you need to change their region
I was told to format the HDD Fat32 before converting it to WBFS, except that windows refuses to format a drive larger than 30Gb with anything other than NTFS, download the FormatFat32 utility to accomplish this; yes the drive really formats in 10 seconds
using 1 partition < 500Gb works best
Windows will always report a WBFS drive as unformatted and ask you to format it SAY NO to cra...er format
Other useful Links:
http://wii.yafaze.com/downloads.html
Firmware downgrader v1.11(295.88 KB): Mediafire(By Waninkoko) | Wiinewz
from what i ready all cIOS (custom Input Output system) overwrites block 249
so cIOS36v9 and cIOS38v13b can't co-exist, the last one written is present.
Waninkoko has released an IOS patcher for Wii ISO images; the application patches the data that specifies which IOS version to use to execute a Wii game.
- drag a Wii game ISO onto the executable and input an IOS
version.
-For most games, IOS version 30 is recommended (IOS30, firmware 3.0 and higher).
- With this application we CAN'T patch the IOS37 nor avoid it when upgrading the Wii.
- With this application we CAN run SSBB without update the Wii (and probably we'll be able to run Mario Kart even if it wants to use the IOS37).
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Windows WinSXS folder
Optimizing WinSXS folder
used to repair software installations, not safe to simply delete, although theoretically windows should ask for the install DVD if it can't find files.
http://www.vlite.net/
use Windows Installer CleanUp utility to remove references to uninstalled or unused files
Replace duplicate files with hard links to reduce redundancy
http://www.digitalvolcano.co.uk/dupe.html
used to repair software installations, not safe to simply delete, although theoretically windows should ask for the install DVD if it can't find files.
http://www.vlite.net/
use Windows Installer CleanUp utility to remove references to uninstalled or unused files
Replace duplicate files with hard links to reduce redundancy
http://www.digitalvolcano.co.uk/dupe.html
Damn you Symantec
I hooked up a new wireless router at my sisters place today. Jessie's Vista laptop could not attach to the wireless even tho my XP laptop could connect without trouble. I asked Courtney to get her Vista laptop and she connected without problems. After a barrage of questions I asked if she had any Norton/Symantec products. Jessie said she uninstalled them a long ago. An internet search revealed that the uninstall of Symantec 360 doesn't work correctly but Symantec provides a tool to uninstall completely. After running the tool the laptop returned to normality... well as normal as Vista can get anyway.
The moral of this story; Symantec = Satan.
The moral of this story; Symantec = Satan.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Testing Windows 7 + IE8
Grc.com Leaktest = FAIL
http://bcheck.scanit.be/bcheck/ = The test has found no vulnerabilities in your browser!
-but no flash, quicktime or java installed
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com
-Browser Security Tests: Failed JavaScript On-Unload Test
+Browser Security Tests: Passed Third Party Cookie Test (notably different than other versions of IE)
http://security.symantec.com
-lists as safe, but can't find a virus scanner
Headers provided by IE8:
Accept: image/jpeg, application/x-ms-application, image/gif, application/xaml+xml, image/pjpeg, application/x-ms-xbap, */*
Accept-Language: en-CA
Connection: Keep-Alive
Host: www.grc.com
Referer: http://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?rh1dkyd2
User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.1; Trident/4.0; SLCC2; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729; Media Center PC 6.0)
Cookie: Steve=38; tpag=dfjzubzbwqcp0; ppag=dfjzubzbwqcp0; tcss=pusevkjgq1izz; pcss=pusevkjgq1izz
Content-Length: 32
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Cache-Control: no-cache
FirstParty: https://www.grc.com
ThirdParty: https://www.grctech.com
Secure: https://www.grc.com
Nonsecure: http://www.grc.com
Session: xgoas1fqyiklm
http://bcheck.scanit.be/bcheck/ = The test has found no vulnerabilities in your browser!
-but no flash, quicktime or java installed
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com
-Browser Security Tests: Failed JavaScript On-Unload Test
+Browser Security Tests: Passed Third Party Cookie Test (notably different than other versions of IE)
http://security.symantec.com
-lists as safe, but can't find a virus scanner
Headers provided by IE8:
Accept: image/jpeg, application/x-ms-application, image/gif, application/xaml+xml, image/pjpeg, application/x-ms-xbap, */*
Accept-Language: en-CA
Connection: Keep-Alive
Host: www.grc.com
Referer: http://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?rh1dkyd2
User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.1; Trident/4.0; SLCC2; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729; Media Center PC 6.0)
Cookie: Steve=38; tpag=dfjzubzbwqcp0; ppag=dfjzubzbwqcp0; tcss=pusevkjgq1izz; pcss=pusevkjgq1izz
Content-Length: 32
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Cache-Control: no-cache
FirstParty: https://www.grc.com
ThirdParty: https://www.grctech.com
Secure: https://www.grc.com
Nonsecure: http://www.grc.com
Session: xgoas1fqyiklm
Friday, May 01, 2009
Drinking Wine Adds 5 Years to Your Life, Beer 2.5 Years
From Bloomberg News:
Half a glass of wine a day may add five years to your life, a new study suggests. Drink beer, and you’ll live only 2 1/2 years longer.
Dutch researchers followed 1,373 men for more than four decades, noting their eating and drinking habits. Men who had about 20 grams of alcohol daily — equivalent to a half a glass of wine — had 2 1/2 years added to their life expectancy at age 50, compared with men who didn’t drink at all, according to the research published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Men who consumed only wine had twice as much added longevity.
Your assignment: in the comments, devise rules for a Neatorama-themed drinking game.
Image via flickr user rpeschetz
Beetle Borgs
Posted by Miss Cellania in Science & Tech on April 30, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Engineers at the University of California at Berkeley have developed remote-control beetles that can be used as spies! They aren’t just robots, either. These are cyborgs, real beetles that have implanted electrodes that control their flight muscles.
With the mind of a machine and the nimble body of an insect, this bug-bot may be the perfect scout: inexpensive, expendable, and capable of surreptitious reconnaissance. The Berkeley researchers, led by Michael Maharbiz, note that beetles are strong enough to carry useful payloads, such as a miniature camera.
(image credit: Hirotaka Sato and Michel M. Maharbiz, U. C. Berkeley)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
AirCrack-PSP Test 0.57
Filename: AirCrack_PSP_0.573980.rar
Size: 5.73MB
Downloads: 2,964
Description:
PA Team's (Gaby_64 & Brandon) AirCrack-PSP. Scan, capture, dump, and attack WEP or WPA secured wireless connections.
Screenshot:
Altered Organism Triples Solar Cell Efficiency
An anonymous reader writes "By harnessing the shells of living organisms in the sea, microscopic algae called diatoms, engineers have tripled the efficiency of experimental dye-sensitized solar cells. The diatoms were fed a diet of titanium dioxide, the main ingredient for thin film solar cells, instead of their usual meal which is silica (silicon dioxide). As a result, their shells became photovoltaic when coated with dyes. The result is a thin-film dye-sensitized solar cell that is three times more efficient than those without the diatoms."
Monday, April 06, 2009
Reverse Ratial - Andy Rooney I'm behind you.
Good for him!!!
Surprised CBS let him get away with this even though he's right
Right on, Andy Rooney!
Andy Rooney said on '60 Minutes' a few weeks back:
I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America; and see what happens...Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.
Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.
I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, which is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE?
I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.
I have the right 'NOT' to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.
When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling; it is the Law of Probability.
I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American/Canadian/British citizen, you should have to speak English!
My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.
I think the police should have every right to shoot or arrest you if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word 'freeze' or 'stop' in English, see the above lines.
I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special National Assistance, loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, corner store, or any other business.
We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.
I don't hate the rich I don't pity the poor
I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn't stop you from watching them.
I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better, and put your name on the building.
It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when necessary, and say 'NO!'
I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me French fries!
I am sick of 'Political Correctness.' I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa ; so how can they be 'African-Americans/Canadian/British'? Besides, Africa is a continent.. I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was fromEurope . I am proud to be fromAmerica and nowhere else
And if you don't like my point of view, tough...
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE Canadian FLAG, to the BRITISH FLAG & TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTYAND JUSTICE FOR ALL!
I was asked to send this on if I agree, or delete if I don't. It is said that on average 86% of Canadians/ Americans & British believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having 'In God We Trust' on American money and having 'God' in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 15%+ to BE QUIET!!!
Surprised CBS let him get away with this even though he's right
Right on, Andy Rooney!
Andy Rooney said on '60 Minutes' a few weeks back:
I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America; and see what happens...Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.
Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.
I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, which is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE?
I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.
I have the right 'NOT' to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.
When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling; it is the Law of Probability.
I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American/Canadian/British citizen, you should have to speak English!
My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.
I think the police should have every right to shoot or arrest you if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word 'freeze' or 'stop' in English, see the above lines.
I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special National Assistance, loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, corner store, or any other business.
We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.
I don't hate the rich I don't pity the poor
I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn't stop you from watching them.
I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better, and put your name on the building.
It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when necessary, and say 'NO!'
I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me French fries!
I am sick of 'Political Correctness.' I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa ; so how can they be 'African-Americans/Canadian/British'? Besides, Africa is a continent.. I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was fromEurope . I am proud to be fromAmerica and nowhere else
And if you don't like my point of view, tough...
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE Canadian FLAG, to the BRITISH FLAG & TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTYAND JUSTICE FOR ALL!
I was asked to send this on if I agree, or delete if I don't. It is said that on average 86% of Canadians/ Americans & British believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having 'In God We Trust' on American money and having 'God' in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 15%+ to BE QUIET!!!
Friday, April 03, 2009
ARRRRRGGGGggg New Van in the shop...already
Had to go rescue Tracy in Paris, today
Our 2002 60kkm Ford Windstar van lurches and stalls. Brought my OBDII code reader and found this code:
P0340 Camshaft Position Sensor Circuit Malfunction
Phoned Woodstock Hyundai; where I bought it from 2 weeks ago, they said they wouldn't do anything about it. Checked the contract, no warranty. Checked for lemon law; only if it's 4 years or newer.
Phoned Wdstk Imports; Trev said it wouldn't hurt the van to drive it home.
Limped home...
I may have to replace the sensor myself tomorrow.
The sensor is the black plastic piece on the far left of the assembly in the pic.
http://www.justanswer.com/questions/q8ny-hi-ive-98-windstar-auto-3-8l
Hello. I would start with changing the cam synchronizer. When some syncros go bad(the bearing wears out and sometimes chirps like a belt noise), but sometimes the squealing of the bearing can create super high frequency pulses that screw up the PCM. I have seen this on several vehicles with PO340 codes that come back after replacing the sensor only. A bad alternator can do the same thing, but you need to start with the syncro.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Migrane Diet
Try cutting these from your diet:
Cheese (except cottage, farmer's, ricotta and cream), Alcohol (red wine is the worst. Watch out for flavourings (ie vanilla) which may contain alcohol), Caffeine (especially suddenly raising or lowering your intake), Chocolate, Aged and non-fresh meats and liver (ie cold cuts), -(also watch out for products with meat and hydrolyzed protein, such as gravy and soup mixes), Soy beans, Italian green beans, broad bean pods, MSG, Nuts (especially peanuts), Yeast (especially in homemade bread and sourdough), Sauerkraut (and other aged foods)A big problem for migraine sufferers is food with tyramine, so there is now a page dedicated to cutting down on foods with tyramine.
Another theory is that tannins are diet headache migraine link. Find out what tannins are and where you find them.
Salad Dressing, Rennet tablets, Dried fruits (including raisins), Imitation crab, Licorice, Mushrooms, Snails, Salty foods, Rhubarb, Citrus fruits, Ripe avocado, Ripe banana, Yogurt and buttermilk, Fresh raspberries, Red plums, Onions, Worcestershire or teriyaki sauce. Wheat is a trigger for some as well.Try adding these to your diet:
Peppermint, Cayenne pepper, Ginger (more on ginger here), Fish and fish oil, Foods rich in calcium (such as spinach, broccoli and kale), Foods rich in magnesium, such as spinach (maybe Popeye was right! -read this article for more on the magnesium migraines connection), Oatmeal, Wheat, GarlicHerb for headache #1: Feverfew
Feverfew is a very popular migraine herbal remedy, and because so many people are interested in it, we've given it a page of it's own! Check out our article on feverfew here.Herb for headache #2: Peppermint (mentha piperita)
For hundreds of years peppermint has been used as a headache remedy. From tea to extract, there are lots of ways to enjoy peppermint. Be warned that peppermint is not the thing to take if you have heartburn or similar stomach acid problems.Peppermint is just as useful for it's aroma and cooling properties as an essential oil. Read more about this herb for headache on our home remedies page.
Herb for headache #3: Passionflower (Passiflora alata)
Passionflower is a calming herb. Taken as a tea before bed, it can help you sleep. At least one clinic trial has found it to lower anxiety. It is also believed to have anti-inflammitory and pain killing properties. Great for migraine!Herb for headache #4: Ginko (ginko biloba)
The leaf of the ginko tree is an extremely popular herb for headache, but the medical evidence is still hotly disputed. Ginko is said to improve the flow of blood and get more oxygen to the brain, hence not only relieving headache but improving memory and alertness as well. There are some nice teas sold with ginko and peppermint, so why not give it a try?Note that Ginko is one of those herbs that can cause side effects when taken with headache medications, including aspirin and lithium.
Herb for headache #5: Cayenne (capsaicin)
Yes, that's right – the pepper. Many peppers have an ingredient called capsaicin, which among other things seems to raise the pain threshold. It's gained attention in the medical world in recent years especially for its treatment of cluster headaches, and it's often given in the form of a nasal spray.Cayenne pepper is an excellent spice to have on hand (well, don't put too much ON your hand or you may burn it!), and may lessen your migraine.
Herb for headache #6: Willow (salix . . .)
White willow bark is an especially popular herb for headache because it works much like an aspirin, relieving your headache pain and causing the inflammation to go down. Like any painkiller, it should not be taken long term. Once again, be very careful about taking willow with other painkillers and medications - check with your doctor!took 150mg magnesium, 100mg Calcium woke with no headache.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
self healing vehicle bodies?
New self-repair technique enables aircraft to heal as we do
A technique pioneered at Bristol University in England and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council will allow for aircraft built with fiber-reinforced polymer (or FRP), which most commercial planes use, to automatically repair minor wear and tear during flight. It'll also make that damage far more visible for ground crews. It doesn't do away with the need for maintenance, but rather it helps keep planes in the air and make repairs more thorough.
The technique involves injecting the hollow glass fibers in FRP structures with colored resin and hardener. When a break in the fibers occur, the resin bleeds out to fill the gap (pictured above), restoring 80-90% of the structure's original strength — just as cells in your blood work to heal cuts.
The damage being addressed is often too small to see with the naked eye, but small nicks can mean big problems for aircraft traveling hundreds of miles an hour. The colored resin will allow ground crews to be able to easily spot these flaws before they become serious threats.
Fiber-reinforced polymers are used in a variety of other applications where the self-repairing technique could be applied, including wind turbines, cars and even spacecraft.
EPSRC, via EurekAlert!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
How UFO's fly
Secrets of flying saucers discovered!
One of the things that makes flying saucers so fascinating is that they clearly use some crazy alien technology to zip around. No human-built planes can maneuver like that! If only! Well, now it looks like someone has figured out the secret to flying saucers: ionized air.
Engineering professor Subrata Roy of the University of Florida figured it out, and he plans to make a prototype showing off his discovery. How's it work?
The surface of the saucer-shaped craft will be covered with electrodes that, when powered by a battery or other power source, will ionize the surrounding air to create plasma. When charged with an electric current, the polarized plasma will repel the non-polarized air, creating lift and thrust. Such an aircraft would have very stable flight characteristics, with the pilot controlling it by diverting the electrical charge to different parts of the surface.His initial prototype will be six inches in diameter, but he thinks its scalable to larger sizes. Just think, in 10 years we could all be scooting around in our own UFOs. Let's make this happen. Via io9
Saturday, March 28, 2009
A Chicken in Every Pothole
Is this a great way to save public funds or a step down the slippery slope? KFC wants to fix potholes in city roads, then paint the company’s name on top. They’ve already begun work in Louisville, and have offered the service to other cities.
But Brian Steele, a spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation, which is charged with repairing the city’s potholes, said “We don’t allow any type of printing or advertising placed on a city street or sidewalk.”
He said the city was looking to promote and seek support for its own pothole repair program, and said they’ve been “in discussion” with an advertising firm for more than months about the idea.
As for the KFC offer, Steele said the city first learned of it Wednesday. “Were looking into it [the KFC offer]…..Until we learn more we don’t know how it stacks up.”
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Van Busted
2000 Mazda MPV transmission failure
-tech said the cooler usually gets hit by a flying rock and the tranny fluid all leaks out
-cost to fix; almost $3000!
-Insurance Co. says covered under comprehensive, sending out adjuster...
-4Mar Found out my policy includes a replacement rental vehicle; they're so forthcoming with the information. I'd rather wait and see if it's really covered than pay the rental out of pocket.
Alternative;
Asked the Insurance Co. if they will buy out the old van...Yes they will
New Van:
2002 Ford Windstar Sport 60Kkms, Burgandy, adjustable pedals, Parking assist, traction control
-tech said the cooler usually gets hit by a flying rock and the tranny fluid all leaks out
-cost to fix; almost $3000!
-Insurance Co. says covered under comprehensive, sending out adjuster...
-4Mar Found out my policy includes a replacement rental vehicle; they're so forthcoming with the information. I'd rather wait and see if it's really covered than pay the rental out of pocket.
Alternative;
Asked the Insurance Co. if they will buy out the old van...Yes they will
New Van:
2002 Ford Windstar Sport 60Kkms, Burgandy, adjustable pedals, Parking assist, traction control
Sunday, March 15, 2009
My SuperHero
Suit:
inside layer; shock foam, electrically insulating
outside layer; carbon nano-tube weave / Spider silk weave? black
aluminum plates in non-bendy spots
chain mail over knuckles
Trench coat; extra pockets, black
Cowboy hat black?
Motorcycle helmet?
- augmented hearing
- night vision
- thermal vision
- cell phone
- video recorder
Equipment:
Multi-tool
white wire ties/ tie gun - 1 handed
business cards with only a website address
Flash/bang
Weapons:
chain/whip electromagnet/clip at the end attaches to itself
Bola 3x weights with retractable cable like tape measure attached together
Flaregun laser sight
- sandbag rounds
- tazer rounds
suit can be electrified
inside layer; shock foam, electrically insulating
outside layer; carbon nano-tube weave / Spider silk weave? black
aluminum plates in non-bendy spots
chain mail over knuckles
Trench coat; extra pockets, black
Cowboy hat black?
Motorcycle helmet?
- augmented hearing
- night vision
- thermal vision
- cell phone
- video recorder
Equipment:
Multi-tool
white wire ties/ tie gun - 1 handed
business cards with only a website address
Flash/bang
Weapons:
chain/whip electromagnet/clip at the end attaches to itself
Bola 3x weights with retractable cable like tape measure attached together
Flaregun laser sight
- sandbag rounds
- tazer rounds
suit can be electrified
Monday, March 02, 2009
Mazda 626
29Dec bought a 2002 Mazda 626 114k miles!
02 Mazda 626
2.0-liter I4, 125-hp, automatic 22/29 mpg
5X114.3 bolt pattern
I guess the 626 was from the US. The Clues:
Insurance Co. couldn't find VIN# records
No front license plate holder
Speedometer has the MPH scale larger than the KPH scale
DOH! i guess that means the odometer is in Miles...sigh
Bought rims + tires 2 sets $400 for both20Jan2009:
lucked out and found a matching aluminum rim at Cory's auto recyclers $35
bought 2x snow tires used for $40, weird guy had a garage full of used tires
23Jan09:
First ride to work; its louder than the van, smells faintly of smoke but uses very little gas :)
7Feb09:
114694 miles - added Lucas UCL & Inj Cleaner
114695 miles - tire pressure to 36 psi
114700 m - new NGK Gpower spark plugs, air filter=new, oil=clean+full, coolant=-40+brown?, ps=overfull, pb=full
ordered ODB2-Bluetooth $57, 20 strong magnets to attach to the Oil Filter + Tranny filter
rear speakers both blown; bought 6x9s, FCS $25/pr; installed; grills don't fit anymore
115000 reset OBD2 code p0421 Warm up Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1) attributed this to -27 temperatures. code hasn't returned
dealextreme.com got shipment in 3 weeks
quarkr.com 2 months still no shipment...
PcmScan - Free to TRY, script for MPG http://download.cnet.com/PCMScan/300...-10624970.html
Planned Maint/Mods:
fuel filter, tranny oil Dubois Mazda - 519-537-5536 ,1280 Dundas Street , Woodstock , ON N4S 7V9
Compression test 180+ is good; $15us Amazon.com
check timing belt change
front strut tower brace
fabric grill cover; metallic blue?
solar panels on dash to reduce alternator load CT $8
dent pulled
timer for block heater - winter
door & ceiling interior material glued down
front bumper or epoxy
touch up paint
kill switch in series with ignition start position - jy
195 degree thermostat
blinking alarm LED
need 1 more spline nut -spring
ECU and TrannyCU software update
transmission cooler; 12" x 10" in sandwich-plate /w thermostat, fan & inline filter - summer
throttle body coolant bypass - summer only here
Spring JunkYard Run: @COREY AUTO WRECKERS, no 626 in Woodstock
front license plate holder
door light lens
passenger seat cover
kill switch in series with ignition start position - jy
door interiors
front bumper
compass/trip computer
transmission cooler; 12" x 10" in sandwich-plate /w thermostat, fan & inline filter - summer
Leather seats
Power steering pump from a Toyota MR-2 (electric)
Kamm spoiler
cold air intake
underdrive pully
set of headlights to make LED lights
Nice 2 Have:
Fuel heater - winter
passenger seat cover
Leather seats
make undercarriage aerodynamic
Kamm spoiler
cold air intake
underdrive pully
check for existing sway-bar - Contour SVT sway-bar?
rear disc brakes off probe Gt or non LX Mazda 626
low resit cat
nightshade(s) spray on taillight smoke a few $
tire dams and boat tails
LED Fog lights, marker lights, Head lights
Power steering pump from a Toyota MR-2 (electric)
Recall Date:
OCT 05, 2005
Model Affected:
2001 MAZDA 626
Summary:
CERTAIN SPX FILTRAN FUEL FILTERS WITH A 45-DEGREE ANGLE INLET TUBE, MODEL 800F350-S1, SOLD AS REPLACEMENT FILTERS FOR 1993-1997 FORD PROBE,1993-2001 MAZDA 626 AND MX-6, AND 1983-1994 LOYAL, 3-DOOR COUPE, HATCHBACK, SEDAN, WAGON, BRAT, DL, GL, GL-10, RX, XT, AND XT6 PASSENGER VEHICLES WITH EFI OR TURBO ENGINES. THESE FILTERS ARE PACKAGED AS WIX, NAPA, AND CARQUEST BRAND FUEL FILTERS. CERTAIN SPX FILTRAN FUEL FILTERS WITH A 90-DEGREE ANGLE INLET TUBE, MODEL 800F300-S2, SOLD AS REPLACEMENT FILTERS FOR 19983-1994 SUBARU VEHICLES WITH EFI OR TURBO ENGINES. THESE FILTERS ARE PACKAGED AS WIX, NAPA, AND CARQUEST BRAND FUEL FILTERS. FUEL MAY LEAK FROM THE FILTER DUE TO NON-CONFORMING BRAZING WELDS WHERE THE INLET TUBE IS CONNECTED TO THE FILTER CAN.
Consequence:
IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A VEHICLE FIRE CAN OCCUR.
Remedy:
SPX WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS AND PROVIDE A FULL REFUND. THE RECALL BEGAN SEPTEMBER 27, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT MR. CHRIS GREESON AT 704-869-3733 OR CONTACT THE WIX INFORMATION HOTLINE AT 800-949-6698.
Potential Units Affected:
42962
Mazda FS engine
The 2.0 L (1991 cm3) FS was one of the last F-family engines. With an 83 mm bore and 92 mm stroke, it produced up to 130 hp (97 kW) and 135 ft·lbf (183 N·m). In 1998 the engine evolved into the FS-DE by undergoing several changes, most notably a distributorless ignition as well as the move from hydraulic lifters to solid shim-on-bucket lifters. Japan also received a higher-performance version, known as the FS-ZE. A special version of the FS was produced in 2003 for the Mazdaspeed Protegé which was turbocharged, and generated 170 hp (127 kW) and 160 ft·lbf (217 N·m). This was known as the FS-DE-T. It's worth noting that the internals of the FS-DE-T were identical to those found in the standard FS-DE, which were not known for their strength. The pistons for the FS produce a compression ratio of 9.1:1 (USDM) but when FP pistons are used in the FS they yield 9.7:1 compression ratio.
The FS-DE engine did enjoy a few minor technical features, such as:
-Oil Squirters
-VICS (Variable Initial Charge System) - A system that can vary the volume of the intake manifold resulting in a broader power band. There were known issues with this system, the most noteworthy was that the small screws would come loose from the butterfly system that drove this and end up running through the motor.
-VTCS (Variable Tumble Control System) - A set of butterflies in the intake manifold that would close to promote low emissions combustion under cold start at low engine speeds. These had a reputation of being noisy at times.
(For more info on VICS and VTCS see here: http://www.mazda6tech.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=1)
-Windage Tray
Applications:- 1993–2002 Mazda 626
- 1993–1997 Mazda MX-6
- 1999–2001 Mazda MPV (Japan)
- 1999–2003 Mazda Capella
- 2001–2003 Mazda Protegé (2.0L models only)
- 2001 Mazda Protegé MP3
- 2002–2003 Mazda Protegé 5
- 2003-2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protegé
- 1993–1997 Ford Probe
Saturday, February 07, 2009
New Blackberry Flip 8220
Essential Software
All of the Google mobile apps
BeeJiveIm - it works with WiFi
Battery life is terrible
can't find call history
All of the Google mobile apps
BeeJiveIm - it works with WiFi
Battery life is terrible
can't find call history
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Desmodromic Valve
Desmodromic Valves; no vale springs= no valve float and no spring resistance to overcome.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Vehicle Fuel Saving Tips
listed in best Bang-4-the-buck order:
100% ride a bike
50% Carpool
3-15% Tire pressure to 36psi; amount of fuel mileage savings is in dispute but air is free.
15-35% Add Acetone to your fuel; 29mL/40L (2 oz/10 gal) my tank is 70L, see here $6/400ml Canadian Tire
0-10% Tuneup; check/change plugs, air filter & fuel filter; NGK G-power plugs recommended by Andy, Owner of Woodstock Imports, Dundas & Vanstart
2%-5%? oil treatment for +economy&power. Anything with PTFE (Teflon) as it's main ingredient? Ecomodder.com forums recommends: Tufoil, Auto-Rx
3%-10%? Fuel treatment; cleaning the fuel injectors will allow better fuel mixing. $3.50 STP @ Canadian Tire; Ecomodder.com forums recommends: Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant & FEC., FP60 by LubeControl, SeaFoam
2%-5% Torco or Amsoil 0w-30 Synthetic Motor Oil. $8/L but generally increase mileage, protection and need to be changed less. Walmart Tech2000 0w30 is $5.66/L or $22.64/4.4L
0-15% Fuel warmer; an extra piece of fuel hose that runs along the rad hose. The warmer fuel vaporizes more completely. Works better in cold climates.
2-5%? Taller tires; simple math here, the taller the tire the greater it's circumference, the farther it pushes the vehicle forward with each rotation. This essentially changes the final gear ratio. Note it will decrease your power while increasing fuel economy and it may put your speedometer out by a few kph. see calculator
5% low rolling resistance tires; wait until the tires need changing
3% Get aerodynamic, smooth wheel covers can add 1mpg
2% efficient ECU updates
Driving Habits:
Windows up; windows being down increases your drag especially at highway speeds.
A/C; i have read that A/C affects your mileage very little but my experience shows otherwise. I leave it off for in-town driving where i am accelerating often.
Accelerate slowly and evenly;
Plan routes that don't take you through stop & go traffic.
Clean out your car; unnecessary weight will cause you to use more gas each time you accelerate.
Don't idle; nuf said
Buy gas in the morning; gas is measured by volume; in the morning when the gas is still cool you get more.
Make sure nothing's a-miss:
check your plug wires; should be less than 20 Ohms. Mazda stock wires 13.5 Ohms 38 inches
If your fuel mileage is far below the manufacturers spec get a mechanic to check your O2 sensor
after a long drive feel your rims, if they are hot you may have dragging brakes / wheel bearing
Trucks; get a bed cover, cap or flow thru tailgate
Myths/Unproven:
20% Hydrogen injection; this is a SCAM ... i still might try and build my own. see IFIE
too much hydrogen can cause Hydrogen embrittlement
EFIE; fuel injected vehicles have Oxygen sensors that mis-read O2 in the exhaust as too lean fuel mixture. An EFIE compensates. or here see also Lean Burn
Mothballs; Napthalene WILL increase the the octane in your fuel and reduce ping; a timing advance is required to increase gas mileage. The ECU can adjust timing but the range is likely too narrow to make a difference; range depends on the vehicle.
?% Wrap your O2 sensors with aluminum foil held in place with copper wire, The goal is to fool the car's computer into sensing too warm a sensor so it adjusts with a slightly leaner mixture and possibly a slight advance in timing. see here
Air warmer/cooler; for every 1degree you cool the air you can add 1hp. I get differing stories about how to increase mileage.
Performance Air intake; is larger and smoother, no proof it increases efficency/mileage.
High Flow filters; beware of high flow filters that allow larger particles into the engine.
Thinner tires; careful with this one, less surface contact with the road = less rolling resistance but it also means that your braking distance may increase. Your cornering may also suffer.
0% Magnets on the fuel line; Ftc has dis-proved this so don't bother.
0% Air intake vortex; a ring with fins pointing in that sits in your air intake and swirls the air, mixing the fuel better, unconfirmed results
HyCo; a fuel vaporization chamber. More fuel gets burned in the engine and less in catalytic. Popular Mechanics tested and disproved purchased devices.
Water injection; some say this is because of expanding steam; but i have to wonder if this is not just getting colder & more dense intake air; PM disproved, its possible but nothing on the market makes a measurable difference.
Unknown:
195 degree thermostat
dimpling like a golfball
smooth hubcaps
belly pan for more aerodynamic undercarriage
Key off, then Park - automatic transmission only; You will save a small of gas by slightly changing your shutdown procedure. When you park turn off the ignition before shifting into Park and setting the parking brake.
37. Avoid using heater until the engine has warmed up
Always avoid using the heater until the engine has warmed up to its optimal operating temperature. Running the heater fan before your engine is properly warmed up will slightly increase warm-up time and increase the amount of gas you use.
48. Look well ahead & anticipate
Driving safely and efficiently relies on you being able to anticipate changes wherever you are driving. The way to achieve this is by being vigilant and constantly looking ahead.
Driving in the city you really should know what's happening at least 10-15 seconds ahead, and on the freeway that should be at least double.
60. Listen to calm music
Slower paced music is more relaxing and tends to promote a more sensible driving style while reducing stress.
79. Avoid stopping completely
Try to avoid coming to a complete stop if possible and of course when it is safe and legal to do so. It takes much less energy to drive off in a vehicle when it is already moving, even if it is only moving a few miles per hour, than it does from a complete stop.
80. Where you can take shortcuts
Sometimes you can nip rather cheekily through corner parking lots, side streets, or alleyways to get around having to come to a stop at an intersection or behind another vehicle do this and you will get to where you are going sooner and save gas, just be alert to very opportunity.
And as usual we must stress don't break the law, that is usually more costly than bad gas consumption.
81. An open cooler box
Pop your cooler box into the freezer over night and then leave it on the floor of the car, it will help reduce the temperature in the car if there are a few bottles of water defrosting you get a nice cool bonus, and an alternative to running your A/C unit.
84. Cycle your A/C
If you have to use the A/C unit, set the airflow to re-circulate then manually turn the A/C on and off as needed.
91. Empty your trunk
The additional weight you carry in your vehicle doesn't ride for free. It takes energy to move it around. Removing unnecessary stuff from your vehicle saves gas.
92. Remove unused roof racks
If your vehicle come with a roof rack and you don't use it, remove it. The same holds true for bike and ski racks. Doing so will reduce aerodynamic drag, resulting in better gas economy.
[b]98. Neutral when stopped - automatic transmission only[b]
Shift automatic transmissions to neutral when stopped, assuming you're going to leave the engine running. If you leave the transmission in drive the engine will attempt to move the car forward (creep) while being held back by the brakes, this just wastes gas.
use your block heater
Drive with you lights "off" during the day
most newer cars have daytime driving lights, don't turn on your night-time lights for day driving.
178. Upshift coaxing - automatic transmission only
Some automatic transmissions can be coaxed to upshift sooner when accelerating by gently easing of the gas pedal and then gently reapplying pressure and continuing to accelerating.
187. Burn and coast
Use a technique know as Burn and coast or pulse and glide rather than maintaining a constant speed, where practical, by using the gas pedal briefly and letting momentum or gravity do the rest you will get better gas figures.
201. Use Eco tires
If you are replacing tires then consider some of the newer 'Eco' tires that are designed specifically to increase fuel efficiency.
cover grill for winter; more aerodynamic; don't need lots of air flow in cold weather.
Carb Medic from Gunk can raise mileage when 3 oz. are used with 2 oz. of acetone per 10 gallons of gasoline
insulate the bottom radiator resivoir; the Toyota Prius has a thermos it pumps the coolant into
Lots more info here
Throttlebody spacer here
window tint -A/C doesn't have to work so hard
100% ride a bike
50% Carpool
3-15% Tire pressure to 36psi; amount of fuel mileage savings is in dispute but air is free.
15-35% Add Acetone to your fuel; 29mL/40L (2 oz/10 gal) my tank is 70L, see here $6/400ml Canadian Tire
0-10% Tuneup; check/change plugs, air filter & fuel filter; NGK G-power plugs recommended by Andy, Owner of Woodstock Imports, Dundas & Vanstart
2%-5%? oil treatment for +economy&power. Anything with PTFE (Teflon) as it's main ingredient? Ecomodder.com forums recommends: Tufoil, Auto-Rx
3%-10%? Fuel treatment; cleaning the fuel injectors will allow better fuel mixing. $3.50 STP @ Canadian Tire; Ecomodder.com forums recommends: Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant & FEC., FP60 by LubeControl, SeaFoam
2%-5% Torco or Amsoil 0w-30 Synthetic Motor Oil. $8/L but generally increase mileage, protection and need to be changed less. Walmart Tech2000 0w30 is $5.66/L or $22.64/4.4L
0-15% Fuel warmer; an extra piece of fuel hose that runs along the rad hose. The warmer fuel vaporizes more completely. Works better in cold climates.
2-5%? Taller tires; simple math here, the taller the tire the greater it's circumference, the farther it pushes the vehicle forward with each rotation. This essentially changes the final gear ratio. Note it will decrease your power while increasing fuel economy and it may put your speedometer out by a few kph. see calculator
5% low rolling resistance tires; wait until the tires need changing
3% Get aerodynamic, smooth wheel covers can add 1mpg
2% efficient ECU updates
Driving Habits:
Windows up; windows being down increases your drag especially at highway speeds.
A/C; i have read that A/C affects your mileage very little but my experience shows otherwise. I leave it off for in-town driving where i am accelerating often.
Accelerate slowly and evenly;
Plan routes that don't take you through stop & go traffic.
Clean out your car; unnecessary weight will cause you to use more gas each time you accelerate.
Don't idle; nuf said
Buy gas in the morning; gas is measured by volume; in the morning when the gas is still cool you get more.
Make sure nothing's a-miss:
check your plug wires; should be less than 20 Ohms. Mazda stock wires 13.5 Ohms 38 inches
If your fuel mileage is far below the manufacturers spec get a mechanic to check your O2 sensor
after a long drive feel your rims, if they are hot you may have dragging brakes / wheel bearing
Trucks; get a bed cover, cap or flow thru tailgate
Myths/Unproven:
20% Hydrogen injection; this is a SCAM ... i still might try and build my own. see IFIE
too much hydrogen can cause Hydrogen embrittlement
EFIE; fuel injected vehicles have Oxygen sensors that mis-read O2 in the exhaust as too lean fuel mixture. An EFIE compensates. or here see also Lean Burn
Mothballs; Napthalene WILL increase the the octane in your fuel and reduce ping; a timing advance is required to increase gas mileage. The ECU can adjust timing but the range is likely too narrow to make a difference; range depends on the vehicle.
?% Wrap your O2 sensors with aluminum foil held in place with copper wire, The goal is to fool the car's computer into sensing too warm a sensor so it adjusts with a slightly leaner mixture and possibly a slight advance in timing. see here
Air warmer/cooler; for every 1degree you cool the air you can add 1hp. I get differing stories about how to increase mileage.
Performance Air intake; is larger and smoother, no proof it increases efficency/mileage.
High Flow filters; beware of high flow filters that allow larger particles into the engine.
Thinner tires; careful with this one, less surface contact with the road = less rolling resistance but it also means that your braking distance may increase. Your cornering may also suffer.
0% Magnets on the fuel line; Ftc has dis-proved this so don't bother.
0% Air intake vortex; a ring with fins pointing in that sits in your air intake and swirls the air, mixing the fuel better, unconfirmed results
HyCo; a fuel vaporization chamber. More fuel gets burned in the engine and less in catalytic. Popular Mechanics tested and disproved purchased devices.
Water injection; some say this is because of expanding steam; but i have to wonder if this is not just getting colder & more dense intake air; PM disproved, its possible but nothing on the market makes a measurable difference.
Unknown:
195 degree thermostat
dimpling like a golfball
smooth hubcaps
belly pan for more aerodynamic undercarriage
Key off, then Park - automatic transmission only; You will save a small of gas by slightly changing your shutdown procedure. When you park turn off the ignition before shifting into Park and setting the parking brake.
37. Avoid using heater until the engine has warmed up
Always avoid using the heater until the engine has warmed up to its optimal operating temperature. Running the heater fan before your engine is properly warmed up will slightly increase warm-up time and increase the amount of gas you use.
48. Look well ahead & anticipate
Driving safely and efficiently relies on you being able to anticipate changes wherever you are driving. The way to achieve this is by being vigilant and constantly looking ahead.
Driving in the city you really should know what's happening at least 10-15 seconds ahead, and on the freeway that should be at least double.
60. Listen to calm music
Slower paced music is more relaxing and tends to promote a more sensible driving style while reducing stress.
79. Avoid stopping completely
Try to avoid coming to a complete stop if possible and of course when it is safe and legal to do so. It takes much less energy to drive off in a vehicle when it is already moving, even if it is only moving a few miles per hour, than it does from a complete stop.
80. Where you can take shortcuts
Sometimes you can nip rather cheekily through corner parking lots, side streets, or alleyways to get around having to come to a stop at an intersection or behind another vehicle do this and you will get to where you are going sooner and save gas, just be alert to very opportunity.
And as usual we must stress don't break the law, that is usually more costly than bad gas consumption.
81. An open cooler box
Pop your cooler box into the freezer over night and then leave it on the floor of the car, it will help reduce the temperature in the car if there are a few bottles of water defrosting you get a nice cool bonus, and an alternative to running your A/C unit.
84. Cycle your A/C
If you have to use the A/C unit, set the airflow to re-circulate then manually turn the A/C on and off as needed.
91. Empty your trunk
The additional weight you carry in your vehicle doesn't ride for free. It takes energy to move it around. Removing unnecessary stuff from your vehicle saves gas.
92. Remove unused roof racks
If your vehicle come with a roof rack and you don't use it, remove it. The same holds true for bike and ski racks. Doing so will reduce aerodynamic drag, resulting in better gas economy.
[b]98. Neutral when stopped - automatic transmission only[b]
Shift automatic transmissions to neutral when stopped, assuming you're going to leave the engine running. If you leave the transmission in drive the engine will attempt to move the car forward (creep) while being held back by the brakes, this just wastes gas.
use your block heater
Drive with you lights "off" during the day
most newer cars have daytime driving lights, don't turn on your night-time lights for day driving.
178. Upshift coaxing - automatic transmission only
Some automatic transmissions can be coaxed to upshift sooner when accelerating by gently easing of the gas pedal and then gently reapplying pressure and continuing to accelerating.
187. Burn and coast
Use a technique know as Burn and coast or pulse and glide rather than maintaining a constant speed, where practical, by using the gas pedal briefly and letting momentum or gravity do the rest you will get better gas figures.
201. Use Eco tires
If you are replacing tires then consider some of the newer 'Eco' tires that are designed specifically to increase fuel efficiency.
cover grill for winter; more aerodynamic; don't need lots of air flow in cold weather.
Carb Medic from Gunk can raise mileage when 3 oz. are used with 2 oz. of acetone per 10 gallons of gasoline
insulate the bottom radiator resivoir; the Toyota Prius has a thermos it pumps the coolant into
Lots more info here
Throttlebody spacer here
window tint -A/C doesn't have to work so hard
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