My Boolean Blog

Thread Ripper

2012-02-26T04:41:00.000-08:00

Thread ripper is a tool coded in C# and as it's name suggest it's a link ripping tool from threads(web forums)It is designed for special case scenarios like you had a 1000 page pictures thread in any web forum and you accidentally deleted all those images from your HDD,and want to recollect them all.Then thread ripper can be a good solution for you.

how it works......
STEP 1.
first find the target thread you want to grab pics/links from.
suppose it's http://www.whitegadget.com/pc-wallpapers/3853-katrina-kaif-wallpaper.html
now this thread has 45 pages.

STEP 2.
Analyze the link structure

if don't already know,this window opens by right clicking on any image and selecting view image info in Firefox,you can directly see page source if this option is unavailable to you for some reason.As you can see all images in this thread starts with http://www.whitegadget.com/attachments/ so it will be much easier to find now.

STEP 3.
Setting thread ripper

We already know that we are using this
http://www.whitegadget.com/pc-wallpapers/3853-katrina-kaif-wallpaper.html
thread as target.So lets see how pages are managed in this thread,try to copy the link for page 2
http://www.whitegadget.com/pc-wallpapers/3853-katrina-kaif-wallpaper-2.html
similarly
http://www.whitegadget.com/pc-wallpapers/3853-katrina-kaif-wallpaper-3.html
so now we know how pages are managed in this thread or we can say this web-forum.

1. Target URL : http://www.whitegadget.com/pc-wallpapers/3853-katrina-kaif-wallpaper-
(Note: we are going to use multi page option here and the page no. will be added after the url so we are not using .html at the end of the target URL,if you are going to use a single page then you have to paste the complete URL.)

2. Search for : http://www.whitegadget.com/attachments/

3. Stop at : border="0"

Why? because when you open page source and analyze the link it will look like this.........

< img src="http://www.whitegadget.com/attachments/pc-wallpapers/2826d1199878479-katrina-kaif-wallpaper-katrinainterweb1.jpg" border="0" alt="Name: Katrinainterweb1.jpg Views: 28465 Size: 79.9 KB" />

and we just need http://www.whitegadget.com/attachments/............................jpg part of all images,that's why.

4. Enable multy page option,now you can enter range of page no. you want to grab the links.
5. we are going to start from page 1
6. to page 5
7. Have to add .html at the end of the link.
8. lets run this puppy.

9. 168 links found! You can save this links in a text file and import it to IDM or any other download manager.

There are some other options which i didn't mention yet,lets talk about that.

- Replace : With
This feature is useful when downloading images from thumbnails etc.For example some host like http://picscrazy.com didn't allow direct linking of images instead they provide thumbnails of images.
so the link in the forum looks like this...
http://picscrazy.com/thumb/abcd.jpg
but the link for original image will be...
http://picscrazy.com/image/abcd.jpg
So in such case you can replace thumb with image.

-offline sorting
This feature allows you to edit the resultant links in offline mode,keep reading for more detail on this option

Target URL : http://forums.superiorpics.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/3481355#Post3481355
In this thread images are from different sources(different servers) so we have to grab all the image links in it and filter the links we want.

If you can see,there are many different image links including forum avatars,signatures,adds and some html parts,lets clean this mess.The links we are interested in,starts with http://img and ends with ".
Enable the offline sorting,two buttons will be enabled inside it.First one << is a back button if any thing goes wrong you can go back to previous result.The second one performs the sorting,just enter what to search,where to stop and replace:with (optional) and press this button.like this......

After sorting we have left only with plain image links that we were interested.

-Save Settings
Simple and sweet save settings button saves all the information in the Search for,Stop At,Replace,With text boxes in the settings.ini file,so you can use them later to search links from the same thread or web-forum.

That's all folks. :)

Download Thread Ripper-
http://praveenverma.co.nr/support/Thread_ripper.rar

How to play .XM / .MOD files in VB.NET (Using reflection)

2012-02-21T20:06:00.000-08:00

Note: This article was originally posted by me at http://www.gamehacking.com 2 years ago,and you can see the original post here for the details.

If you are not already aware that i am too a proud member of gamehacking.com (a mod. actually) and lots of guys asking there this same question that "How to play *.XM / *.MOD files in VB.NET " .

You might ask what's the problem just use any free audio library to do this,you are correct.But the actual problem was that guys want everything inside a single executable file without using a packer even the *.DLL files itself and to do this we have to use a feature called reflection.

So when i found a solution i code a module so anybody can use *xm/*mod easily without need to understand whole reflection thing.

So here's my module..........

http://praveenverma.vndv.com/support/sound_module.rar

or

http://www.mediafire.com/?m7mak54ai144b48

features:-
-the dll and music will be in resource so you don't need pack it again.
-size is less (atleast compare to a wav file)
-And it's in the module so you don't need to understand the code but that would be recommended.

how to use:-

1. Add my module to your project(right click on solution explorer and click add existing item).
2. Add 3 files bass.dll , bass.net.dll , and the music you wanna play,in the project resource.

download bass.dll
Download bass24.zip

download Bass.Net.dll
http://www.un4seen.c.../Bass24.Net.zip

3. GO and register for free to bass.net.dll otherwise it will show a trial version message.

register here BASS.NET : Registration

functions:-

you need to call this function before any other functions of my module.

note:- if you not registered then put anything in both string place,it will run with a trial version message.

dim status = music(my.resource.filename_of_xm_mod,"registered email-id","registration_code")

now there are 4 functions call any where you need

musicplay()
musicstop()
musicpause()
musicresume()

private sub button1_click()

    if status=0 then
        exit sub
    end if
    musicplay()
End sub

How to display a selected part of HTML file using file_get_contents()

2011-04-16T02:19:00.000-07:00

The PHP's file_get_contents() function can read a entire HTML page into a string.And we can use this function to get a page from internet and to display only the specified area we want,for example :
if a file http://any_page.html has following design elements

<html>
<body>
<div class='main'>
some content
</div>
<div class='extra'>
some unneeded content
</div>
</body>
</html>

and if we want to display only <div class='main'>some content</div> part in our webpage then we need to find out position of string <div class='main'> as the start point and position of string <div class='extra'> as a end point.To do that we need 3 more functions of PHP that are strpos() strlen() and substr().

substr() : Returns the position of the first occurrence of matched string.
(note: there is a difference between strpos() and strrpos() )
strpos() : Returns the portion of string with "strat point" and "length" as parameters.
strlen() : Returns the length of the given string.

now with the knowledge of this functions you can use some function like this

<?php
function get_selected_area($strat_string,$end_string,$page_address)
{
$whole_html = file_get_contents($page_address);
$strat_point = strpos($whole_html,$strat_string) ;
$end_point = strpos($whole_html,$end_string);
$length_of_needed_string = ($end_point - $strat_point) - 1; //because we don't want "<" in the end
$needed_part_of_html = substr($whole_html,$strat_point,$length_of_needed_string);
return $needed_part_of_html;
}
?>

Now if you put this function in a separate php file and use it via include() or require() the following function can be used any where in any page like

<?php
echo get_selected_area("<div class='main'>","<div class='extra'>","http://any_page.html");
?>

NOTE: The string chosen for strat and end must satisfy the HTML standards,for example :
you can't do something like

<?php
echo get_selected_area("<div class='main'>","</div>","http://any_page.html");
?>

as a HTML page may have several </div> even before the <div class='main'> and this will surely give you some hard time.

You can also use this alternative function if you want it's short in code.

<?php
function get_selected_area($strat_string,$end_string,$page_address)
{

$whole_html = file_get_contents($page_address);
$strat_point = strpos($whole_html,$strat_string) ;
$end_point = strpos($whole_html,$end_string); for($i=$strat_point;$i < $end_point;$i++) $needed_part_of_html = $whole_html[$i];
return $needed_part_of_html;
}
?>

How to run a CS(Counter Strike) server from home

2011-01-15T01:35:00.000-08:00

Wanna play Counter Strike with your clan?and no arrangements for the LAN party then this tutorial might helpful for you,run your private CS server from your home and play with your mates despite anywhere they are.It's pretty easy to do that,you just need.........

1. half-life server (HLDS) properly installed in your computer.
2. A properly forward port.(so you are visible to outside world)
3. A free dynamic IP forwarding service (if you don't have a static IP)

And thanks to all copy cats out there,the internet is flooding with the tutorials for 1st step,but still if you can't find one here it is http://gamehacking.com/index.php?/topic/4786-make-your-own-cs-server/
(NOTE: i am a proud member of this site,so no i am not a copy cat)

2. port forwarding
If you are using a router/modem then you are behind the walls and others can't see you,so that's why he have to port forward the modem/router,so others can connect to your application using that port.
Check what kind of connection type you are using "bridge mode" or "PPPOE"

bridge-mode : you dial every-time from your PC to connect to internet.
PPPOE mode : you are always connected to internet,unless your modem is not switched off.

If you are using bridge mode follow this steps otherwise skip to ☻
While your modem switched on and LAN properly connected type 192.168.1.1 into your internet browser (no matter it's firefox,ie,chrome or opera) your modem's login window will appear type "admin" in both username and password that's by default but if you already changed it and forget then reset your modem to factory setting by pressing and holding small button,somewhere behind or bottom of your modem.

Once you are in,try to find something similar to "internet connection configuration" mine is inside configuration->internet

The first one is bridge mode connection and second one (marked also) is PPPOE mode connection which we need,click on add button......

something similar will open now as you can see,in mine VCI is 35 because i am using BSNL as my ISP and 35 work on that,if 35 not works for you try 38.Leave service category = UBR without PCR,and click on next.....

choose "PPP over ethernet" form the option leave everything else unchanged and click on next...

configure this same as per image and click on next.....

In this field you can use anything for the Service Name but your username and password should be correct as your ISP provided and select always on.
Now your modem is set to PPPOE mode and every time you switched it on,it will connect to internet directly but you have to configure your LAN settings to use it.

Go to your LAN connection properties then TCP/IP properties and select "use following IP" and enter an IP address for your computer in the format 192.168.1.X ,In "default gateway" enter your modem's IP 192.168.1.1 and click ok.
Restart your modem,wait untill DSL LED gets constant and try to open any website just to check everything went OK and you are able to access internet.

☻PORT-FORWARDING
Open your modem configuration again by entering 192.168.1.1 in browser,login again,now try to find something like "Advanced Security"
This thing is hidden in some modems like mine and i have to enter "192.168.1.1/advan_menu.html" manually to open "advanced menu". If you are also not able to find it take some help from http://portforward.com/
and once you find it you will see "port forwarding" some where in it.

In my modem the "half life server" is already given in games but if not in yours just use "user defined"and enter a name for it like CSserver,"WAN interface" will be ppoe_0_35 or ppoe_0_38 whatever you are using,In
"Forward to Internal Host IP Address:" enter IP of your computer which you wanna make server in my case it's 192.168.1.4
in Protocol choose TCP/UDP and for all 4 ports enter 27015 you can use other HL supported ports too but as this one is standard we are using it.Click apply and your port 27015 is now forwarded.

3.IP forwarding (if you don't have a static-IP)
There are many sites who provide free IP forwarding but my personal fav. is no-ip.com it's free but you must use your host atleast once in 60 days to keep it running .Just go to http://www.no-ip.com/services/managed_dns/free_dynamic_dns.html and once you are registered click on "add host" option and choose a name which suite you for example mine is "insanitygames.myftp.org" once you are done with creating host go and download No-IP DUC from https://www.no-ip.com/downloads.php this tool updates your current IP to the No-IP server.You are almost done open No-IP DUC ,login with your no-ip.com username and password and select the host name you created.
(Note: Whenever you run the server,make sure you are running No-IP DUC too otherwise your IP will not updated to your host)
All settings done here,lets test your server run hlds.exe (configure all server settings correctly)
along with the No-IP DUC,make sure internet is working fine,now you can call your friends and tell them to join the server by typing

connect [your host name]:[port] example "insanitygames.myftp.org:27015"

NOTE: static IP users use this

connect [your ip address]:[port] example "111.91.122.162:27015"

in console or by adding it to "favorites" in find server option. you can join your own server in same pc using hl.exe and play with your friends.
I hope this post will help you to creating your own server,also check my another post it's all about administrating a CS server http://praveenverma36.blogspot.com/2010/08/cscounter-strike-admin-manual-complete.html

Tricks for custom form design in VB.NET

2011-01-12T22:53:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial we are going to learn some simple tricks for changing a simple form to cool design in VB.NET (i am using 2005) off-course beginners level.

so which one is looking cool to you?I hope that's the right one.

lets see how to achieve this,first choose an image(better to select *.png or *.gif with transparent background) which you want to use as your form template,you can do this by selecting BackgorundImage in form properties or you can use me.BackgroundImage and remember to add it as a resource file not a local file.once your image is imported you have to set it's layout by

BackgroundImageLayout=None or me.BackgroundImageLayout=ImageLayout.None

and change the form size to cover the image completely,something like

we are allmost done just have to hide the original form which holds our image,this is a two step process

1.) Hide the form border.

2.) Make transparent the form background.

first step is easy just go to form properties and set

FormBorderStyle=None or me.FormBorderStyle=Windows.Forms.FormBorderStyle.None

however when you make your form border-less you can't move it,So we have to add some extra code here to avoid that problem.Copy this code anywhere in your form coding body.

#Region " ClientAreaMove Handling "
    Const WM_NCHITTEST As Integer = &H84
    Const HTCLIENT As Integer = &H1
    Const HTCAPTION As Integer = &H2
    Protected Overrides Sub WndProc(ByRef m As System.Windows.Forms.Message)
        Select Case m.Msg
            Case WM_NCHITTEST
                MyBase.WndProc(m)
                If m.Result = HTCLIENT Then m.Result = HTCAPTION
                'If m.Result.ToInt32 = HTCLIENT Then m.Result = IntPtr.op_Explicit(HTCAPTION) 'Try this in VS.NET 2002/2003 if the latter line of code doesn't do it... thx to Suhas for the tip.
            Case Else
                'Make sure you pass unhandled messages back to the default message handler.
                MyBase.WndProc(m)
        End Select
    End Sub
#End Region

now your form can move even without a border (don't ask me how this code works cause i don't completely understand either,and all credit goes to the original coder)

Second step is pretty easy you just have to set form backcolor to transparent however you can't set

BackColor=Transperant or Me.BackColor = Color.Transparent

because this is not supported by VB.NET.
so again need to do a little trick here,go to form properties and set BackColor to anycolor which is rarely used and ensure you are not going to use it any where else.(In this case i am using hot pink,because that would be the most ugly color for me :P ) so again form properties

BackColor=HotPink or Me.BackColor = Color.HotPink

now we have to set the TransparencyKey exaclty same to color we choose (in this case HotPink)

TransparencyKey=HotPink or Me.TransparencyKey = Color.HotPink

that's it! your form is now boderless and transparent and after some coding this will look like......

isn't it cool? now go make one for yourself :)

CS(Counter Strike) Admin Manual - A complete guide to host a CS match

2010-08-24T06:58:00.001-07:00

CS(Counter Strike) Admin Manual is a complete guide for CS server administrators..we,the team insanity host CS match on national level successfully 2 times.And here is the all in one solution to every problem every newbie Admin will faced.

This manual can help you with-

1.      If you are going to create a LAN server then how can you configure a single PC to act like server and others like client(s) i.e. only one has power to start a new match and others only can join. In a WAN (internet) server this is not a problem at all because everyone connects to a specific IP which is of servers itself.

2.      How to setup all server configuration manually so the settings will be load automatically every time the server executes, and the values can’t be changed from game server setting menu.

3.      Display custom messages during and before the game play. 

4.      Locking weapons, and other stuffs

5.      Admin special commands, recording a match and additional info. 

Download Complete Manual:
http://praveenverma.co.nr/support/CS.rar

UPDATE(11/dec/2010): I hope all this stuff will help you but if you also want that server will fully configured to automatically swap teams after given no. of rounds,show who is winning,record everything by itself,start overtime if there is a draw,log status to sql server and many more,then use this AMXX plugin

AMX_MATCH_DELUXE
(Note: all credit and copyright remains with the original coder and Allied Modders community)

UPDATE(12/jan/2011): Configure Mysql using wamp server for amx_match_deluxe

1. Download and install wamp sever
http://www.wampserver.com/en/download.php

2.Run wamp server,left click on the wamp server icon in right bottom corner and select phpMyAdmin

3.Create a new database named amx.

4.Now we have to import predefined tables for amx_match_deluxe,to do this just press import then browse for "amx_match_deluxe.sql" file you fill find it in your amx_match_deluxe pacakage,note you have to download the whole amx_macth_deluxe.zip file not only the *.amx or *.sma file.

5.If everything went successful you will see.

6.You are almost done :) the wamp server is ready now but we have to configure Counter Strike itself to use Mysql and thats a piece of cake,just follow this steps .........

a.) open your \czero or \cstrike \addons\amxmodx\modules directory and check "mysql_amxx.dll" file exist there if not then your amx installation might be corrupted re-install it.
b.) open your \czero or \cstrike \addons\amxmodx\configs directory open "modules.ini" file and uncomment mysql by remove the semicolon(;) in front of it.

c.) Now the amx is powered to use Mysql but we have to configure the sql settings for it so it will know where our database is,to do this... In the same directory you will find "sql.cfg" now configure it as given bellow.

amx_sql_host    "localhost"
amx_sql_user    "root"
amx_sql_pass    ""
amx_sql_db    "amx"
amx_sql_table    "admins"
amx_sql_type    "mysql"

d.) AMX is ready to use Mysql now lets have a test run,be sure wamp server is running along with the game.
start a clan match with amx_match command (NOTE: if youa are using BOT's on non-steam server to test,then as this uses a hack for bots,don't surprise if your database entry's are unexpected)

and after a N00B 3vs3 BOT match finished i just browse my amx database and here are the match statics...

as you can see each player_id is 1 and that is the reason why you are suggested to don't use amx_match_deluxe for bot vs bot match,don't worry it will work fine though in real clan vs clan match.

NOTE: If your database is still not working,1st check you performed every step correctly as explained,if still nothing then follow this steps........

ensure that the "amx_match_deluxe.amxx" plugin you are using is sql enable,to ensure that open "amx_match_deluxe.sma" file (you will find that in the package)with any text editor (ya even notepad works fine!) and check the following line is not have comment (//) sign in front of it and save it.

now copy "amx_match_deluxe.sma" file to your \czero or \cstrike \addons\amxmodx\scripting directory,you will see "compile.exe" in same directory just run it! now open "\compiled" folder in same directory find "amx_match_deluxe.amxx" copy and paste it to "\addons\amxmodx\plugins" directory by replacing the old one.Thats it! enjoy :)

I use it for amx_match_deluxe on wamp server(offline) but once your AMX is configured for Mysql it can be used for other plugins too like amx_ban,also in same way you can use it for your web database instead of wamp sever.

HideFolderX

2010-06-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

Ya ya another folder hide/lock tool,but this one uses a simple trick so no data loss at all like others,including a feature to see all the unsuccessful attempt to open the application which contains used password,date & time,and the user account used.

UPDATE:(2/7/2010)
A recovery console is added.......in case you lost the application's database or format your OS,now still you can retrieve the hidden folders which are exist in other partition i.e. not deleted.For more detail see readme file.

Download :
http://praveenverma.co.nr/support/setupHFX.rar

Reticle Drawer: A custom crosshair maker for FPS games.

2010-05-13T23:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when playing this FPS(first person shooter) games like UT or Counter Strike,the thing which i want to change is that little rarely visible cross-hair,off-course there are custom cross-hair are available for this games but manually changing it separately for each game is kinda too much thing.So i code a simple tool in vb.net to just create some circle and line on top of the given window...it uses a D3D not Open GL and actually coded for http://gamehacking.com on somebody's request...

reticle drawer....

a test run on UT2004

and team fortress 2

Note: Working of this tool is a matter of you graphics and system/hardware configuration.

you can download this tool from:

http://praveenverma.co.nr/support/reticle.rar

Clockxp

2010-05-07T23:47:00.000-07:00

Clockxp is a tool i developed few months ago when i was faced a problem with scheduling my system to perform scheduled tasks..All i need was a little software who turn off my computer at specific time everyday when i am in the gym and my torrent client is working :D and after 8.00 AM it turns into a total disaster cause internet is no more free after that.
so first i try a software called dailerxp pro which is an excellent program except it not work correctly some times and my torrent just suck all my bandwidth while also increasing my internet bill ...finally i take charge of this situation in my hand and start making an application and ended with this ugly looking thing (btw who works perfectly well for me :) )

To make it work your system clock must be in right time.and by clicking on 'settings' button you can set a single or everyday task like (restrat,shutdown,logoff etc.)
please notice it's titled as a beta version cause may be i'll add some application & process control features later.

you can download it from here.......
http://praveenverma.co.nr/support/clockxp by praveen.rar

IP changer

2010-04-01T05:39:00.001-07:00

I am using a DHCP enabled connection and got a new IP address every time i reconnect to internet,and this is a good thing you want to download from sites like rapid share and others which have some IP restrictions,so yesterday i was downloading from http://rsplg.com (rapidshare premium link generator) and disconnect my network dialer to change my IP but after connecting again i got same IP which is a common thing,and after 6 times of connecting and disconnecting i got a new IP,this thing give me an idea to create a little tool which check weather or not IP is changed and connect/disconnect automatically.

And after some googling and coding i came up with this tool i called IPChanger....

just click on change ip button and it connect/disconnect your connection unitl you got a new IP.

you can download it from here....

http://praveenverma.co.nr/support/IPChanger.rar

Note: you must have a dynamic IP service,useless for static IP users.