The Technograph

Many students at the University of Illinois own a personal computer, whether it be a laptop or a desktop. However, most of these students are unaware of the full capabilities of their computers, and nearly all have or will require tech support at some time; CITES OnSite Consulting charges $40/hour for their regular service, and there is a minimum charge of one hour for each appointment. Below is a guide on how to fix problems that you or your friends may experience. In the event you would like to make a few dollars from your new computer knowledge, the cost to charge your friends, which is based on the difficulty and length of the solution, is listed next to each solution.

Problem: Windows cannot start, or there is only access to another computer which is password protected

Solution: Run Ubuntu from a CD – charge $20

Ubuntu is an operating system (OS) that can be booted from a Live CD which means the entire OS can be run from a burnt CD or DVD without any installation or changes to the computer. This gives you access to the internet, a word processor, and many other programs and can be run on any personal computer with a CD drive without having to know the current user’s password.

Download the latest version of Ubuntu as an ISO file and burn it onto a CD. Instructions can be found at http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download.

Insert the CD into a computer and restart the computer.

Tell your computer to boot from the CD by striking a key at the very first black screen during the restart. Instructions can be found at http://pcsupport.about.com/od/tipstricks/ht/bootcddvd.htm.

Problem: A user has forgotten his or her Windows password

Soultion: Run ophcrack from a CD – charge $10

Ophcrack is a program that uses rainbow tables to unlock Windows passwords. There are versions available for Windows XP and Windows Vista/7 (Note: Windows Vista and Windows 7 are fairly similar; programs that operate in Vista will operate in 7 as well).

Download the ophcrack ISO file and burn it onto a blank DVD. The file can be found at http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/download.php?type=livecd.

Boot the computer from the ophcrack DVD. The program will load automatically, and the Windows login password (if found) will be displayed on the screen in about ten to fifteen minutes.

Problem: A user needs quick access to a website that requires free membership, but the user does not want to sign up

Solution: Install BugMeNot as an add-on – charge $5

Many web browsers allow the installation of add-ons (sometimes called extensions), or additional features that are used in conjunction with the web browser. One such add-on is BugMeNot. BugMeNot is software that logs users on to a variety of websites. Registered members of websites will submit their logon credentials to the BugMeNot server, and the add-on then automatically accesses the credentials for the use of the public.

Open a web browser and click on the tools dropdown menu.

Search for BugMeNot and install the program. The web browser will then ask to be restarted.

To use BugMeNot, simply right click on the username login box of a website to be accessed. The dropdown menu that appears will show an option to login with BugMeNot. When clicked on, the add-on will automatically fill in both the username and password.

All of the programs above are known as “open source,” meaning they can be downloaded and used for free. One tool that many underestimate is Google (or any search engine). Information on step-by-step procedures can nearly always be found on the internet. I encourage you to hone your internet-browsing skills and expand your computer knowledge for the benefit of both your friends and yourself.

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