Hackin' The TiVo
If you know anything about me, I like to modify electronic devices to do things they were not originally intended to do. For whatever reason, some manufacturers cripple products. That's not ok with me.
We call this hacking or modding. At any rate, it's one of my hobbies. So recently a buddy of mine from work signed up for DirecTV per my advice. He wanted DVR's, so I suggested he get the receivers with built in TiVo. He got them and ended up falling in love with them.
I, myself, am a ReplayTV fan. I have two hacked units that are networked together and share shows between rooms and with a PC in the other room. TiVo itself I have had little to no experience with. Up until just recently I hadn't even touched one.
While I had talked my buddy into getting the TiVo receivers, I also knew that DirecTV crippled them and locked out many features. Additionally, I knew that there were other features I could hack in that TiVo doesn't even offer. Sounds like a challenge to me! :)
So the research began and I did my homework. This weekend I hacked all three of his units. Everything went flawless. There is one main feature that I hacked in that we can't test until I get some parts I ordered from eBay (USB ethernet adapters). But overall it was a big success.
What project is next? I've been wanting to hack a PSP, but don't have the real need to fork over the cash for it. I'm sure Cade would like it though. :)
We call this hacking or modding. At any rate, it's one of my hobbies. So recently a buddy of mine from work signed up for DirecTV per my advice. He wanted DVR's, so I suggested he get the receivers with built in TiVo. He got them and ended up falling in love with them.
I, myself, am a ReplayTV fan. I have two hacked units that are networked together and share shows between rooms and with a PC in the other room. TiVo itself I have had little to no experience with. Up until just recently I hadn't even touched one.
While I had talked my buddy into getting the TiVo receivers, I also knew that DirecTV crippled them and locked out many features. Additionally, I knew that there were other features I could hack in that TiVo doesn't even offer. Sounds like a challenge to me! :)
So the research began and I did my homework. This weekend I hacked all three of his units. Everything went flawless. There is one main feature that I hacked in that we can't test until I get some parts I ordered from eBay (USB ethernet adapters). But overall it was a big success.
What project is next? I've been wanting to hack a PSP, but don't have the real need to fork over the cash for it. I'm sure Cade would like it though. :)
posted by Craig at 1:20 AM
4 Comments:
Okay, smarty! We keep getting an insane amount of pop-ups on our computer. We have about $100 in Spy-Ware software downloaded and yet still keep coming up with tons of crap! What to do?
There are 3 free spyware aps that I use. Microsoft's Antispyware, Ad-Aware by Lavasoft, and Spybot Search & Destroy. Actually I think the new version on Zone Alarm Pro has it in it as well. Anyway, I digress, I mainly use Microsoft's Antispyware and Ad-Aware.
Make sure all the spyware definitions are up to date. Boot to safe mode in Windows XP by pressing F8 while the computer is booting. Try scanning for the spyware in safe mode.
Also, make sure your virus definitions are up to date and also scan your PC for virus' in safe mode. Often times trojans are written to cause popups.
If you use Internet Explorer, try using Firefox. Personally, I use Maxthon, but that just runs on IE's engine. Firefox current does a better job of avoiding spyware.
There are other things we can look at, but lets start with the simple stuff. If you need links, let me know.
I'll see what Jay has done and let you know. I know we have at least 4 different Spyware's running and stuff still keeps popping! Is it odd that no one software will get rid of everything?
Not really. Like a was saying, sometimes this can be generated by Trojans, which is more like a virus. The best thing to do is run all this is safe mode so the stuff can't load.
I'm not sure what other problems you are having, but if it's too bad sometimes clean install is the best option. I would only do that if the problem seems unrepairable and it's been awhile since a clean install.
Here is a tutorial I found that may help you as well. I haven't used it, but it may help you.
http://www.homenetworkhelp.info/index.php?pg=podcast-2005-06-11
-- Craig
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