Free PDF software that will make your life easier

This software will not solve all the problems you may be currently facing in this economic whatever, but it will surely help your computer usage become faster, smarter and prettier.

In this article, I will show you a collection of excellent applications that will help you use and manipulate your documents, all for free. You will learn about some pretty decent programs that allow you to print your documents in PDF format, convert your document to PDF format, convert website to PDFs, and more.

The article is mainly intended for Windows users.

So let us begin.

First, a couple of readers

Foxit Reader

Foxit is my favorite PDF software for Windows. It's light and lightning fast. It weighs only a few MB and loads in nanoseconds. In comparison, Acrobat Reader weighs well over 100MB, installs hundreds of registry keys and takes a bit loading. Furthermore, while Acrobat Reader is quite often prone to numerous vulnerabilities, Foxit Reader has remained blessedly safe.

You may also be interested in the older 1.3 version, which comes with no Javascript support, making it even more impregnable to possible exploits.

The latest Foxit version (3.0) includes an optional Foxit toolbar and AskMe.com homepage change, so be careful when you click Next, Next, Next.

Foxit Reader also has a portable version.

Sumatra PDF

Sumatra is a slim, lightweight PDF viewer for Windows. It can't get any simpler than that. It has no fancy functions; it merely shows you the document you want to see. It's superb for handling unknown documents or for carrying around on a USB stick. Indeed, Sumatra PDF also has a portable edition.

Now, let's talk about distillers

While you may associate the process of distilling with the creation of fine ale, in this here article, we're talking about printing.

OpenOffice 3

OpenOffice is an excellent office suite. It's free, it's powerful - and it will convert your documents into PDFs in just one mouse click. This is something the non-free Microsoft Office suite does not offer by default, so even if you don't really fancy using OpenOffice, because some of your peers might have problems with file formats or styling, you should consider having it your arsenal, just for this purpose.

Converting files is a breeze. Just click on the toolbar:

Or if you want more options, go through the menu, File > Export as PDF ...

OpenOffice offers a range of conversion options, including the quality of images, how to treat hyperlinks, encryption and read-only features, and more.

PrimoPDF

PrimoPDF is a neat little thing. PrimoPDF is a PDF converter - and it will create PDF documents from ANY file that is printable. Any file.

It will install as a virtual printer. Then, when you want to convert your documents into PDF, choose Primo from the list of available printers, give the output file a name - and that's it.

Choose the printer:

Choose your output file settings. This includes the quality / size of the output file and post-processing, like opening or emailing the file.

The only limitation is that the software requires .NET Framework 2.0 or higher to run.

Finally, website document conversion

Let's see how you can convert websites into PDF documents, in seconds.

PDF Download

This software comes as an add-on to Internet browsers, either Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. I'm going to show you what it looks like in Firefox. If you need help installing extensions, please check my Firefox add-ons tutorial.

For the add-on, please visit the Mozilla repository. You should also check the official website for more information.

Once you install the extension, it will show up in Firefox:

To use it, click on the drop-down arrow:

After a few moments, your document will be converted and available for download:

Please note that PDF Download renders the documents quite nicely, another bonus.

Conclusion

There you go, a whole load of goodies to make your PDF experience better. With these free utilities in your toolbox, you will gain on many levels. You will save precious space on your hard disk by keeping away bloatware that does the same job with 50 times more resources. You will increase your productivity, as you now have programs that will create PDF documents in just 1-2 quick mouse clicks. You will even possibly increase your security.

Best of all, you can use them all together without any problems. For instance, OpenOffice for documents that require encryption and advanced tagging, Primo to convert images or other files on your machine, PDF Download for website, Sumatra for opening potentially risky PDF documents that might contain Javascript, and Foxit for daily usage.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Windows 7 lets you remove Internet Explorer 8

For the first time in its history, Microsoft finally has a browser that may actually be worth keeping. Even though it cannot compare with Firefox or Opera in terms of security, speed, usability, or W3C compliance, it's a lightyear leap over its predecessors (IE5-7). And for the first time, Microsoft lets you not have it.

Yes, you've read it right: for the first time, you can remove Internet Explorer from your Windows installation, permanently.

One of the big legal issues Microsoft has faced in the recent decade has been the bundling of a web browser into the Windows operating system. Not so much the bundling itself, more the fact that you could not remove the browser. Internet Explorer has always been an integral part of Windows.

Truth to be told, most users do need some sort of a browser included, because they cannot possibly use wget or similar tools to download the browser of their choice from the Internet. Then, there's the issue of router or printer configuration, some of which require a browser. For most people, having one is a total must.

Microsoft has learned a lot from the bitter legal battles with European Union over the Internet Explorer monopoly. And finally, they have decided that the browser would ship with the operating system, but it could be later removed by the user.

Starting with one of the advanced betas, Windows 7 lets you remove Internet Explorer 8 from the system, forever.

Uninstalling Internet Explorer 8 from Windows 7

Let's see how this can be done. I will demonstrate using Windows 7 Ultimate Edition build 7077 (RC). Depending on the version you're running, you might not see the exact same menus and options, especially since things might change before the official release.

First, you need to open the Control Panel. Click on Programs and Features.

Then, in the left pane, click on Turn Windows features on or off.

Select Internet Explorer 8 and clear its checkbox.

You'll be warned that some Windows features and applications may cease working.

Once the removal is done, you will have to reboot.

Once you reboot, you'll see Windows re-configuring itself.

After the process is complete and you reach the desktop, IE8 icon will be gone from the taskbar and you won't be able to find Internet Explorer anywhere in the menus.

That's it. The browser will now rest in peace. You can go about happily using another browser. Or not. If you change your mind, the process is fully reversible. Go about the same procedure as before, check the unselected component and wait for the reboot.

Should you do this?

Here's the big, 600,000-dollar question. Should you? First, I must tell you a secret. Removing Internet Explorer has always possible, although not by conventional means. It was - and still is - possible by using nLite or similar products, which specialize in customizing Windows installations. The program lets you take away anything you don't want, down to individual DLLs. Great.

Except that no one really knows the consequences of these actions.

Advanced users love nLite and use it to slim their installations, taking away anything they do not need, often breaking the functionality of this and that. Even though this should not happen, Windows utilities, even the basic and innocent ones like Notepad, are all tightly integrated into the system. Removing one will cripple another, even if it takes you seven months to discover this, often by mistake.

There are tons of guides online, telling you what you can or cannot safely remove from Windows, but most of them are guesswork and based on prior experience rather than factual dependency map between applications. Thus, removing Windows components is purely a gamble. It might work - or it might not.

Today, Internet Explorer 8 can be officially removed. This means that nothing should break. Microsoft probably know what they're doing. This is a very nice and commendable decision on their behalf.

But what about hundreds of programs developed by third parties that count on Internet Explorer being installed and used as the default browser?

Exactly. Internet Explorer 8 can be removed, but the question whether this move will keep your system 100% healthy cannot be answered. It's impossible to estimate what a million other programs will do when they land into an IE-less system. Will you get errors? Or will things keep working? And if they do, will they function as expected?

My warmest suggestion is: if you don't like Internet Explorer 8, do not use it. But do not uninstall it. Keep it there, for legacy and compatibility sake, especially if you're installing big, bloated programs created by big companies.

By removing Internet Explorer, you may reduce the exposure factor of your system to vulnerabilities and possible exploits somewhat, but if you take things into the right perspective, this should not be much of an issue. It's possible to live happily with Internet Explorer 6 infesting the system, even without anti-virus software or regular patches, so I see no reason why Internet Explorer 8 should be a life-or-death issue.

Wondering how to keep your Windows safe? Plain and simple: follow a few simple Web practices. There's no dark magic to it. Alternative applications, a bit of reasoning, no random clicking on random files, and you should be OK. Really.

Conclusion

Removing Internet Explorer 8 can be done, quite easily. Nevertheless, I, a Linux geek and fanboy, sincerely recommend you do not do this. You may break dependencies you might not even be aware of. You may not even notice something is wrong. But a year from now, you might try to install a program that will complain and fail, and you won't even know why this is.

Check out the installation requirements for some programs out there. Quite a few require that Internet Explorer be installed. It's like Hotel California: you can check out, but you can never leave.

My best advice is to simply forget about Internet Explorer. If you don't like it, don't use it. It's that simple. If you are really bothered by what your system demands of you, by the lack of freedom and control, then you may want to consider a different operating system.

But if you need or want to use Windows and dislike Internet Explorer, simply use Firefox, Opera or any other browser you like. That's the simplest way of solving things.

Customize or Remaster ubuntu 9.04 jaunty from an image file

This tutorial will show you how to customize and remaster your ubuntu 9.04 jaunty using a jaunty iso file.

1. Create a work directory

# mkdir jaunty

2. Create the following directoires

# mkdir jaunty/cdrom
# mkdir jaunty/tmp
# mkdir jaunty/root

3. Mount the jaunty iso image on jaunty/cdrom directory

# mount -o loop jaunty.iso jaunty/cdrom

4. Copy everything from the cdrom to jaunty/image directory

# cp -r jaunty/cdrom jaunty/image

5. Now the image directory has the content of your cdrom

We are going to rebuild filesystem.squashfs under jaunty/image/casper

Move the filesystem.squashfs image to jaunty/tmp directory

# mv jaunty/image/casper/filesystem.squashfs jaunty/tmp

6. Mount the filesystem.squashfs under jaunty/root direct

# mount -o loop jaunty/tmp/filesystem.squashfs jaunty/root

7. Copy the contents of fileystem.squashfs to jaunty/remaster

# cp -r jaunty/root jaunty/remaster

8. Copy resolv.conf and sources.list from the host system

# cp /etc/resolv.conf jaunty/remaster/etc/

9. Preserve original sources.list.

# cp jaunty/remaster/etc/apt/soures.list jaunty/remaster/etc/apt/soures.list.backup
# cp /etc/apt/sources.list /jaunty/remaster/etc/apt/

Make sure that sources.list points to jaunty archive

10. Now you can chroot to jaunty/remaster

# chroot jaunty/remaster

11. Now run the following ( You are inside chroot )

# mount /proc

# mount /sys

# mount -t devpts none /dev/pts

The above commands mount the respective directories inside chroot.

12. Now you can install/remove necessary packages using apt.

eg:
# apt-get install vlc
# apt-get remove gimp

13. Cleanup the unwanted files.

# apt-get clean
# rm -rf /tmp/*
# rm /etc/resolv.conf

# umount -l -f /proc

# umount -l -f /sys

#umount /dev/pts

14. Now replace the sources.list with the original sources.list

# cp jaunty/remaster/etc/apt/sources.list.backup jaunty/remaster/etc/apt/sources.list

15. Repack squashfs:

# mksquashfs remaster image/casper/filesystem.squashfs -e remaster/boot

16. Recreate filesystem.manifest& filesystem.manifest.desktop:

Run the following commands.

# chroot remaster dpkg-query -W --showformat='${Package} ${Version}\n' | tee image/casper/filesystem.manifest

# cp -v image/casper/filesystem.manifest{,-desktop}

# REMOVE='ubiquity casper live-initramfs user-setup discover xresprobe os-prober libdebian-installer4'

# for i in $REMOVE
do
sed -i "/${i}/d" image/casper/filesystem.manifest-desktop
done

17. Recreate md5sum

# cd image && find . -type f -print0 | xargs -0 md5sum > md5sum.txt

18. Copy filesytem.squashfs manifest to imag dirtorey

Recreate the iso image:

# mkisofs -r -V "$IMAGE_NAME" -cache-inodes -J -l -b isolinux/isolinux.bin -c isolinux/boot.cat -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table -o ../ubuntu-jaunty-remix.iso .
# cd ..

Now your remastered ubuntu 9.04 jaunty is achived.

Now install the image on to a hard disk.

Howto Add a User to Sudoers List On Ubuntu

Believe me or not i am replying this, howto add a user to sudoers list on Ubuntu, question every day so after sending my last reply to this question here is the blog post to stop getting this question as an e-mail :) Like my all blog posts this is also verified me on Ubuntu Karmic, PClinuxOS 2009.2.

Open a terminal (alt+f2 gnome-terminal , use a dropdown terminal, whatever you want.) and give this command as ROOT :

$su -
Enter your root password (or your username's password on some distros)
#visudo

Now use your Up/Down arrows (you may prefer PgUp and PgDn keys) and navigate to this line :

root ALL=(ALL) ALL

Under that line add this line (DO NOT FORGET TO CHANGE "user" part with your username!) :

user ALL=(ALL) ALL

You can use Shift + Insert to paste.
To save, write :w (hit enter of course) to save.To exit, write :quit and hit enter.I am poor at vi/vim or whatever you call that :)

Indian Hypocrite Maulana Madani through a rough question to Gen(Rtd) Musharraf...
Answer from musharraf will be posted soon...

Linux forensics - Part 2: Protech

What is Protech?

Protech is a young, new distribution, based on Ubuntu and running an extremely streamlined, lightweight Fluxbox desktop. While little known to the public, Protech offers stability, good looks and usability, and a mind-boggling range of administration tools, a very valuable set in the hands of any power user.

The choice of the tools included in the CD makes Protech an almost almighty weapon in the hands of a skilled admin - and this might be exactly the very problem with Protech; like any super-tool, it takes quite a bit of knowledge to operate properly and to maximum extent.

Still, Protech can be used just as any other desktop distro. Most users will appreciate the range of tools available, but they will most likely never take full advantage thereof.

Enough idle talking. Let's see what Protech offers. Version tested: ONE!

Desktop

Unlike Helix, Protech is a pure Linux distro. It boots into a very spartan, yet business-looking desktop. Right-click is the word here. Like any Fluxbox desktop, it hides away the menu behind the right mouse click.

Applications - a never ending list

Protech has too many of them. Sounds funny, but think just about any diagnostics, benchmarking, backup, rescue, recovery, enumeration, password cracking, sniffing, scanning, analyzing tool ever conceived. That's it. Protech has them all.

I'm going to show you a few of them, just to whet your appetite.

For starters, Hamachi VPN, OpenVPN, NTFS configuration tools, VNC server, Wireless Network Drivers configuration tool.

Then, we have the standard Ubuntu Network Tools pack, with the basic set of utilities. We can also use Telnet and RDP to communicate with remote hosts.

Security applications

Security wise, Protech bursts with goodies. Take only the Database toolbox, for reference. If some of the titles look like gibberish to you, I advise you Google or Wiki them. If you're running an SQL database and suspect it might be vulnerable to attacks, Protech gives you enough tools to run a very thorough diagnostics.

Remember all the rave with DNS exploits back in the summer (of 2008)? Well, Protech allows you to identify vulnerabilities in your DNS and take proactive steps to keep them safe. The same applies to mail, Web or Samba servers.

How about catching malware trying to infiltrate your network? That's what honeypots are for.

Network sniffing? You name it.

And don't forget the Wireless:

Now, if you're wondering how to use these tools, then do not, under any circumstances, deploy Protech in a production environment. You may cause more harm than good, to say nothing of ringing just about any bell with the IT security department and getting yourself fired in less than 4 seconds.

I am not demonstrating specific uses, on purpose, because it takes thorough knowledge of the network topography, the network stack and the operating system in general to use Protech tools properly. These utilities are a double-edged sword and will cut you if you misuse them.

My warmest suggestion is to invest time learning until you gain enough skills and confidence to wield Protech wisely. Protech will serve you faithfully as a phenomenal system auditor, but only if you show proper respect.

Extras

Protech also comes with other useful tools. The Opera browser is there. But you also get the GpsDrive, a free GPS software.

Conclusions

Protech is a mighty tool. I'm thoroughly impressed. The distro is fast and stable, it's good looking enough to become a desktop if needed, it contains a broad range of excellent tools, as well as some unique programs that you do not normally encounter in most distros.

Home users will have little need or use for most of Protech's powerful stock. But system administrators in SOHO environments will definitely appreciate it.

I'll get on a limb here and say that I also think Protech would be quite useful as a demonstration / mentoring package in SANS GSEC workshops, as it contains just about any single tool discussed during the course. It does not necessarily have to replace the existing flavors of Knoppix, as this precious, valuable distro has irreplaceable merits of its own, but it would be a great addition to the white-hat arsenal.

I hope the developers of this fine forensics distro keep up their good work. Protech is a definite keeper.

Linux forensics - Part 1: Helix

In this article, we will introduce and review Helix, a vastly powerful Linux forensics distribution.

For more details about forensics in general, please see the Introduction.

What is Helix?

Helix is a live Linux CD carefully tailored for incident response, system investigation and analysis, data recovery, and security auditing. It is geared toward experienced users and system administrators working in small-to-medium, mixed environments where threats of data loss and security breaches are high.

The most recent version is based on Ubuntu, promising stability and ease of use. Helix has two modes, including pure Linux bootable live CD and the Windows mode, where it can be used in-vivo on top of a running Windows desktop.

Helix is available for download by email registration. We tested version 3 here.

Now, let's see what Helix can offer us.

Linux mode

As said, Helix comes as a live CD, allowing you to use it on a "suspect" machine with its native operating system dormant. It also makes Helix quite useful for network neighborhood auditing, by being able to run from just about any machine on the segment.

The latest version of Helix is based on Ubuntu (used to be Knoppix, in the past), so the minimalistic yet fully functional Gnome desktop comes as no surprise.

By default, Helix will display monitors for mounted disks and CPU, memory and network activity.

It comes with a range of useful tools. Bear in mind that the Linux live CD part is only a fragment of the entire arsenal. We will talk about dedicated Windows utilities later.

The basic kit includes the omnipotent Wireshark network analyzer / packet sniffer, several anti-virus tools, retrieve passwords, backup and restore partitions, browse MAC partitions, examine binary files, and more.

The users can choose between XFPROT and ClamTk anti-virus scanners to examine files and folders on suspect machines, including local and remote disks.

You can also scan Windows registries.

Adepto allows you to create sector-by-sector images of local devices and take them offline for further analysis. It also allows you to restore disks / partitions, which makes it handy for recovery, too.

You can also try to retrieve Windows passwords.

Windows mode

In this mode, Helix is used just as any other CD inside Windows. Double-click to launch the application. You'll be warned about your actions.

The Windows mode differs from the Linux side in being a floating application rather than a complete operating system. Therefore, the navigation is a little different.

First, you have the Quick Launch.

Then, there is the Page menu, which allows you to browse different categories of tools.

The Windows side contains a broad range of highly useful utilities.

The Incident Response page is particularly rich, with lots of excellent programs. Did I say you should be knowledgeable and extremely careful when running these tools, as you can very easily obliterate your system and even cause significant damage to the LAN? There, I said it.

An entire section is dedicated to viewing (and retrieving) passwords, cookies and logs.

You also have tools for auditing of the system, remote connection (including VNC, SSH), file recovery, and rootkit scanning.

Like in Linux, it is possible to acquire entire disk drives (and even the physical memory).

You can also browse contents of files and folders, calculate hashes, check time stamps, and more. This allows you to look for suspicious, clandestine activities in your data archives.

As mentioned earlier, you can run full audits of your system.

Conclusion

Helix is a highly useful toolbox. The dual mode is especially valuable, since quite a few system administrators are not that proficient in Linux. Furthermore, it allows Helix users to approach Windows-related problems with several methods, first trying to cope with problems while still logged in Windows and then escalating to the Linux live CD mode.

Helix is a stable, complete package, with a broad range of great utilities that will significantly increase your ability to respond to problems, threats and incidents in your environment.