Easy2Boot v2.03 released

• a1ive grub2 File Manager.mnu and Enable or Disable UEFI Booting.mnu added to \_ISO\MAINMENU folder.
• The three letters 'MBR' will be ignored if present anywhere in any file extension. This can be used to prevent agFM from listed these files. Useful if the files do not support UEFI-booting and only boot via the E2B menu system.
• New version SWITCH_E2B.exe to fix small bug which affected the appearance only (not function). 
• New default background
• Update_E2B_Drive.cmd now will update agFM files if present. 
• Internet ping test changed in MAKE_E2B_USB_DRIVE.cmd script in case ipv4 blocked. 
• agFM Sample Mnu files folder added with examples files, 
• WinContig files updated
• Keyboard scan code files updated
• KeyCheck.g4b test script added (type KeyCheck from grub4dos console and press down keys to get BIOS key status codes (e.g. NUM LOCK, CAPS LOCK, CTRL, etc.)
• XP Step 1 now warns user if not enough memory to load XP ISO file into RAM
• Example commented code added to SDI_CHOCO.cmd for detecting UEFI or MBR boot

https://www.easy2boot.com/download/

64-bit Scraper cold-boot attack now available!

So the head of SMERSH switches off his password protected and BitLocker-protected PC and walks out of his office to go home for the night.

Stealing the hard drive will get you nowhere because it is encrypted.

But you quickly break into his office - remove the DIMM RAM sticks and plonk them into a flask of liquid Nitrogen and then go back to your secret base. After a few minutes you have collected all the bytes that were in that RAM into a file on your USB drive. Now you can analyse the file to find out what passwords and images, etc. were in his RAM just at the point he shut it down. For instance you could use PHOTOREC to find jpeg images or perhaps use some of the investigative tools in Kali Linux to find passwords or the BitLocker key?

Later you will return the DIMM sticks and no one will be any the wiser. If the BitLocker key or any passwords were found in memory, you could try them out and gain access to the encrypted hard drive too.

Up to now this was only possible for a maximum of 4GB because the 'scraper' code only worked as 32-bit code. However, Basel has now also compiled a 64-bit version for us which seems to work nicely!

My original blog was here and I have updated the original RMPrepUSB Article 124 to include a menu for the 32-bit and 64-bit versions that he has kindly provide - great work Basel!

So now even BitLocker will not protect you Colonel Niktin!

YouTube video of a Cold Boot Attack here.

P.S. A funny thing happened in the park this morning ...
The local park had just opened for the first time for ages (it had been closed due to Corona) and my brother took his collie dog there for a walk as he used to do in the pre-Corona days.
Once there, the dog had a great time and then she saw an old friend - a whippet that she loves to chase and play with. Then suddenly the whippet runs along and puts his foot in a rabbit hole or something and 'SNAP!' goes his right hind leg - broken!
Everyone came to his rescue and even a wheelbarrow was fetched by someone to transport him back to the car park and get him to the vets. No one blamed my brother or his dog - it was just a freak accident.
So my brother goes back to his car and there a middle-aged lady bends down to make a fuss of his collie dog when the lady stumbles, falls over and hits her head on a large stone on the ground. She was unconscious for quite a few seconds and took some more time to slowly come to her senses.
So after that, my brother drove home very slowly and carefully with his dog and they are both staying indoors all day just in case anything else happens! You couldn't make this up!

P.P.S. The vet set the dog's broken leg but unfortunately it later got infected and so had to be amputated. The dog has now been re-named as 'tripod'.

New large font theme for agFM (and discovery of a bug in grub2 themes)

I was experimenting with some grub2 themes yesterday (to use a large font for partially sighted users) and I wanted to create a menu which had a different theme.

However, I noticed a strange problem - sometimes one icon would be missing from the menu list!

agFM v1.50 is now available

agFM v1.50 now can directly boot from DLCBoot ISOs such as DLCBoot2019_v3.6.iso.  Change the extension to .isowin for immediate booting on selection in the agFM menu.

So that it also works with E2B, you can use a filename ending in _.isohw.isowin.

This version also includes a version of grub2 with an enhanced echo command which allows you to easily output coloured text (see previous blog for details or eBook #4 which I have just updated to v1.11).

You can update agFM by running the \e2b\Update agFM\Download and Update agFM cmd file.

Add your own Help menu to agFM

If you have made your agFM MBR+UEFI-bootable USB stick, you might want to add some instructions for your users - or to act as a reminder for yourself on how to use the USB stick in case you forget in a few months time.

You could add a 'Help' menu entry to your Start-up menu and it could display help in the form of a jpg/bmp/png. For instance, you could write the help information in Word or PowerPoint, add your Logo or other graphics and diagrams, and then use a screen capture to save it as a 1024x768x24 colour .jpg file. Then you could simply display the jpg.

Another option would be to display text - perhaps in different colours too.

The following is an example help.cfg file which is saved in UTF-8 format (using Notepad) to preserve non-English glyphs. Note that if you use the text mode for your menu system (mymenu=3) then you should only use English ASCII characters, the background colours are restricted and graphics files (jpg/png/bmp) cannot be displayed.

agFM v1.49 and E2B v2.03c are now available

agFM v1.49 has enhancements and it can now boot directly to Sergei Strelec ISOs. WinPE support has been improved. The extension .isowin (or .isowin64) may now also work for some WinPE ISOs - check the List of Tested Payloads (bottom of page) or eBook #4 (updated just now to v1.10) for the correct file extension to use if you want to skip the secondary menu.

UEFI64 booting should be a bit faster now too.

E2B v2.03c has also had a few changes too including a new default background.

Please feedback any comments.

Keep safe and don't forget to subscribe,
Steve

How to boot 64-bit Linux ISOs on a 32-bit UEFI system (such as the Asus T100)

Some systems such as the Asus T100 Transformer notebook range are a bit of an odd fish!

They have a 64-bit CPU but because they have limited SSD storage (e.g. 32GB or 64GB), the manufacturers use a 32-bit version of Windows. This means that because Microsoft insist that OEMs ship with Secure UEFI enabled, the manufacturers have to use 32-bit UEFI firmware.

In the case of the T100, the firmware does not support Legacy\MBR mode (no CSM option) so we usually need to find UEFI32 OS's.

'Corona special offer' on E2B eBooks - now only $5 each

Some of the eBooks were previously priced at $6.99, $7 and $10.

I have now reduced the price so they are all only $5 each - you can also get a 10% discount on all of the eBooks when you purchase more than one (add one to the Basket and then you will see the others). Why not put down that game controller or 'Joy Stick' (well, that's what my wife calls it), and become a wizard of the USB stick instead?

This special offer will only be for a limited time so grab 'em while they're hot!

P.S. There are a few reviews about the eBooks on the GuestBook page if you want to see if they might be useful to you (and I didn't pay them to write that - honest!).

How to get Batocera working on your Easy2Boot USB drive

Batocera is a linux-based games emulator + KODI.

Batocera-linux

It can be downloaded as a .img.gz file and it is an image file which is intended to be written to a flash drive or SD card.

Here is how to get it working on your E2B drive:

agFM v1.47 download now released

Just a quick note to say that agFM v1.47 (now 1.48 - discovered a bug in 1.47!) is now released which has the latest version of a1ive's grub2 with newer language files. You can update using the .cmd file in the \e2b folder.

The SAMPLE_startup_menu.txt file has also been updated slightly to include a fourth menu style (set mymenu=3). This sets a basic terminal (console) text mode. It has been found that using graphics modes can cause keyboard lockup issues on some systems (e.g. MacBook Pro) due to a long standing grub2 bug. The console mode does not suffer from this issue (it also loads faster), however it does not display any icons or wallpaper, only supports English (because no fonts can be loaded) and it is not as pretty!

I have also updated eBook #4 for agFM - it is now at version 1.9. Download the latest PDF using the link in the Payhip email that you should have received after purchase.

P.S. If you are a Windows 7 or 8 user, I have made available for download a batch file which will delete are re-make the second agFM partition of your E2B USB drive automatically. See the agFM page for more details. Note: It does NOT work under Windows 10.