jvoss@altsci.com
Oct 8, 2008
I, Javantea at AltSci Concepts have done a reasonable amount of work in shellcode. I've written a virus, reverse engineered binaries, and exploited simple programs. All of these projects have been or will be featured in this very journal. But putting aside the interesting uses of assembly the obvious conclusion to every project I've done in assembly is: this ought to be done in C. Not unexpected that I have now written a full framework to write shellcode using the C language. It doesn't support stdlib functions, but it may soon. It generates very large shellcode and definitely doesn't do anything fancy like xor encoding or null removal, but all that is pretty immaterial. C code allows us to write complex code knowing that it will work and call functions that are large knowing what every line does.
The method I use to do this is simple. I compile the code into a binary without stdlib (-nostdlib) and using position independent code (-fPIC). Then I have an automated script that grabs .text and .rodata from the binary and outputs them to a binary file that is the shellcode.
Read more »This is a response to Pete Voss's "How technology helped reunite my graduating high school class". It started small but became large enough to become it's own post. Thanks for the idea, Pete.
My first essay (about Hawaii) in 4th grade private school was researched and plagiarized with Encarta encyclopedia on CD and typed on a 386 I think. Another essay in 6th grade public school (on Chile) was typed and researched from a Laserdisc and books (imagine that) but ultimately partially plagiarized from Encarta. By 8th grade, they were teaching us the incorrect way to use the internet for research which I had been using since 7th grade for collaborative creative writing and internet-based tech communities. My first semi-girlfriend I met online and never met in person. The advances I made using the internet in 7th-10th grade turned school into a very unfunny joke and a waste of time. Giving a computer with a ton of information to a curious young person is the gift of unmetered intelligence. Though increasing a child's intelligence by a factor of ten while forcing them to sit through mind-numbing repetition should be considered torture. The only way I was able to graduate was by attending the local community college instead which held my attention for the most part. In summary, most of my years between 7th grade and now have been spent on the computer. If there is one thing I regret, it is that the insatiable technolust that I acquired necessarily during my quest has harmed my advancement in work and society. But there's nothing I lack that I can't solve with effort and time.
Why does this sound so different from my brother's version of book research in the 90s? Simply put, he never put his trust in the computer until after high school. He typed papers in 9th grade, even 8th grade I think I remember. But he wasn't interested in the still very unpopular technology. He actually missed the first internet boom and bust. Though I have to admit that he caught on quickly since 2002 and his people skills of course show tremendously of the years he invested in them. I invested my time in the advancement of my computer skills and boy does it ever show.
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