Best CMD Commands Hacks and Tricks

Cmd Tricks for your windows pc that make your pc more smart. Here we make a list of best cmd tricks for command prompt. With these cmd tricks you create wifi hotspot, know more about your internet and system and lots of other info. Try all of these command prompt tricks in your windows pc and make your pc more smarter.

Best CMD(Command Prompt) Tricks for Your PC

#1 Create WIFI Hotspot

You can create wifi hotspot from your laptop without any software from cmd. You need to do only type some commands. With this cmd trick you can share your pc internet with mobile device or another laptop.

 netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=prophethacker key=prophethacker netsh wlan start hostednetwork 

For about how can share your PC Data with Internet Read our Previous Articles Turn your Laptop into WIFI Hotspot without any Software

#2 Find Your Computer IP Address, DNS Server Address and MAC Address

This is most important CMD  command tricks for all internet users. If you want to know more about your internet connection type ipconfig/all command in Command Prompt. You get lots of info about your computer internet.

#3 Matrix Falling Code Effect

If you see the Matrix Science Fiction Movie you know the random code appears in screen. Here we make a same matrix effect by some codes. You need to copy below codes and paste in your notepad. Save Notepad text as  matrix.bat . Open matrix.bat file and you see the matrix falling code in your command prompt.

 @echo off color 02 :tricks echo %random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random% goto tricks 

#4 Know you Detailed System Information

Want to know more about your computer software and hardware. Type systeminfo in command prompt and you see tons of info your command system. You see your computer os, architecture, manufacturer name, product id, processor and lots of other info.

#5 Find any Website Ip Address

If you don’t know what is the ip address of google.com and you wanna want to know. Command prompt tell you all website ip address when you ping any website from command prompt.

ping google.com

you get below result with ip addresss

Pinging google.com [216.58.220.14] with 32 bytes of da

replace your website with google.com and you see any website ip address.

NSA Got Hacked By Its Very Own Vulnerability

You need one hundred and four dollars, more or less, eight hours and Amazon’s cloud computing to hack the National Security Agency’s website. Oh, and you need to make use of the NSA’s very own FREAK vulnerability to hack them in their own game.

A group of researchers did just that, using a few tools to implement man-in-the-middle-attacks. This is an ability that swiftly creates an outcome of 512 bit RSA (RSA is one of the first practicable public key crypto systems and is widely used for secure data transmission) keys.

The bug was reported on Monday. It allows the attacker to take control of secure connections between people using iOS devices or Android devices. This gives hackers a chance to mimic the target and steal private information like login details and passwords.

To factor the 512 bit export keys, the project enlisted the help of Nadia Heninger at University of Pennsylvania, who has been working on “Factoring as a Service” for exactly this purpose. Her platform uses CADO NFS on a cluster of EC2 virtual servers, and (with Nadia doing quite a bit of handholding to deal with crashes) was able to factor a bunch of 512 bit keys; each in about 7.5 hours, for $104 in EC2 time according to Vice.

Let us explain the FREAK vulnerability to you in a more detailed manner:

Earlier this year, many cyber security companies revealed information about a vulnerability in OpenSSL. OpenSSL started accepting temporary RSA keys when using non-export cipher suites. A malicious server could make a TLS/SSL client using OpenSSL, using a weaker key exchange method.

As stated earlier, OpenSSL clients accepted EXPORT-grade insecure keys even when the client had not initially asked for them. This could be exploited using a man-in-the-middle attack, which would intercept the client’s initial request for a standard key and ask the server for an EXPORT-grade key. The client would then accept the weak key, allowing the attacker to factor it and decrypt communication between the client and the server.

The vulnerability affects all Linux systems too, including the Server, Workstation, Desktop, and HPC Node variants that have not installed the fixed version of OpenSSL packages.

While the use of EXPORT-grade ciphers is disabled by default in OpenSSL), it can be enabled by applications that utilize the OpenSSL library. For this reason, the vulnerability is able to affect all Linux 6 and 7 systems, including the Server, Workstation, Desktop, and HPC Node variants, which have not installed the fixed version of OpenSSL packages.

However, using Internet-wide scanning, we can perform daily tests of all HTTPS servers at public IP addresses to determine whether they allow this weakened encryption. More than a third of all servers with browser-trusted certificates are at risk. i.e all the HTTPS servers at Alexa’s top 1 million domain names have their current vulnerability levels at 8.5 percent. HTTPS servers with browser trusted certificates are at 6.8 percent vulnerability, and the rest of the HTTPS servers are at 11.8 percent.

Browsers are vulnerable to the FREAK attack because of bugs that allow an attacker to force them to use weak, export-grade encryption. One example is the OpenSSL bug described in CVE-2015-0204, but some other TLS libraries have similar problems.

You can check whether your browser is vulnerable using our FREAK Client Test Tool.

Chrome for Windows and all modern versions of Firefox are known to be safe. However, even if your browser is safe, certain third party software, including some antivirus products and adware programs, can expose you to an attack by intercepting TLS connections from the browser. If you are using a safe browser but our client test says you’re vulnerable, this is a likely cause.

In addition to browsers, many mobile apps, embedded systems, and other software products also use TLS. These are also potentially vulnerable if they rely on unpatched libraries or offer RSA_EXPORT cipher suites.

If you are running a server, then you should immediately disable support for TLS export cipher suites. While you’re at it, you should also disable other cipher suites that are known to be insecure and enable forward secrecy. For instructions on how to secure popular HTTPS server software, we recommend Mozilla’s security configuration guide and their SSL configuration generator. We also recommend testing your configuration with the Qualys SSL Labs SSL Server Test tool. If you are a systems admin or are a developer, then please make sure any TLS libraries you use are up to date. Unpatched OpenSSL, Microsoft Security Channel, and Apple Secure Transport all suffer from the vulnerability. Note that these libraries are used internally by many other programs, such as wget and curl. You also need to ensure that your software does not offer to export cipher suites, even as a last resort, since they can be exploited even if the TLS library is patched. We have provided tools for software developers that may be helpful for testing this.

Furthermore, if you are using Microsoft Vista or newer versions of Windows, you can take the following steps as the system administrator to protect yourself. However, not all versions of Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.x include the critical gpedit.msc program. Vista Home Premium; Windows 7 Home Premium, Home Basic and Starter, and Windows 8.x Home Premium do not include it. There are ways to add gpedit to these systems.

Go to computer configuration> Administrative Templates> Network>SSL Configuration Settings. Under SSL Configuration Settings, click the SSL Cipher Suite Order setting. In the SSL Cipher Suite Order pane, scroll to the bottom of the pane. And simply enter the following cipher list.

TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384_P256,

TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384_P384,

TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P256,

TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P384,

TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA_P256,

TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA_P384,

TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA_P256,

TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA_P384,

TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,

TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,

TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384_P384,

TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256_P256,

TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256_P384,

TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384_P384,

TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P256,

TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P384,

TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA_P256,

TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA_P384,

TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA_P256,

TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA_P384,

TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256,

TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,

TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA,

TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA,

TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA

These will keep you protected and safe. We at Anonymous want our friends and readers to be up to date. As for normal users, we once again recommend that you use up-to-date Firefox and Chrome.

Switcheroo Lets You Control Stuff With Your Smartphone!

IoT buzz is all around and people are building great stuff. Few weeks back, we talked about upcoming IoT development kits – CHIP, Modulo and Cubit, which will help you in building IoT projects easily and effectively. Today, we found another great product called Switcheroo, which lets you control stuff with your smartphone. Switcheroo started trending on Kickstarter last week and it e to you soon.

What is  Switcheroo?

In layman’s language “Switcheroo is nothing but a wireless switch which you can control with your smartphone”.  With this you can control almost anything with your smartphone. The Switcheroo makes it a snap to upgrade everyday devices for smartphone control. The Switcheroo can do things like;

• control toys
• unlock doors
• start your car
• turn on lights
• open/close your garage door
• control your heat
• remote shutter release for cameras
• upgrade anything with a pushbutton

How does it work?

All your devices which has a push button or a switch can be easily integrated with Switcheroo. These buttons typically actuate small internal switches which pass low voltage DC current to a microprocessor when the button is pressed. The Switcheroo can be easily wired into this simple switch circuit to take the place of that switch or act in concert with it, upgrading these devices to allow direct smartphone control. The Switcheroo has 4 opto-isolated outputs that can switch DC voltages from 2 to 24 volts, up to 150mA of current per output. For AC voltages or higher current applications you can connect relays or solid state switching ICs to Switcheroo and do even more.

Switcheroo directly communicates with your phone. There is no 3rd party server involved, no monthly fees, and no internet access is required for your phone or the Switcheroo. Switcheroo uses Bluetooth Low Energy which offers AES-CCM encryption to secure the low energy link between Switcheroo and your smartphone.

Also See: CHIP is the World’s Cheapest Computer and Costs Just $9

Guys behind Switcheroo are great and they have made everything Open Source. All Switcheroo app code is available now and will be maintained athttp://github.com/switcheroo. Switcheroo kickstarter campaign is live and you can make your contribution to get a kit for yourself at $29

BLOGGER.COM OR WORDPRESS, WHICH ONE IS BEST FOR BLOGGING?

New bloggers and freshers are often confused in selecting the best platform as their blog hosting providers. They don't sure of selecting the right blog hosting service and end up with what to be select? If they select any of Blogger or Wordpress, still they don't feel satisfy and think that something is done wrong with their selection. I am personally asked this question many times by bloggers. So, in this post am going to highlight the major benefits and limitations of both Blogger.com as well as Wordpress. After reading this, anyone can set their mind easily to select the best blog hosting provider.

Blogger

Blogger was started by a tiny company in San Francisco called Pyra Labs in August of 1999. It was bought by Google in 2003. Blogger is a blog-publishing service that allows multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. the blogs are hosted by Google at a subdomain of blogspot.com. Blogs can also be hosted in the registered custom domain of the blogger and blogspot.com domain publishings will be redirected to the custom domain.

Features of Blogger.com

1. A user can have up to 100 blogs per account.

2. Blogger allowed users to publish blogs on other hosts, via FTP.

3. Blogger allows its users to use their own domain free of charge.

4. It allows storage space up to 15GB to upload videos and Images in Blog.5. Blogger provides multiple country-specific URLs automatically for blogs hosted by different countries. For example if it is used by Indian then, it will be redirected as example.blogspot.co.in and if it owned by United Kingdom (UK) then it will be redirected as example.blogspot.co.uk.

6. Languages supported by Blogger is - Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Filipino, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Malayalam, Marathi, Norwegian, Oriya, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu Vietnamese. Nepali, Farashi.Bemba,Tonga, Tumbuka and cewa.

7. Blogger allows its users to choose from various templates and then customize.

8. Speed of blog hosted on Blogger.com is usually 40% more faster than others.

9. HTML template editor, so bloggers can use their own designed templates.

10. Blogs are Mobile friendly that are hosted by Blogger.com.

11. SEO friendly.

12. High security for blogs.

Limitations of Using Blogger.com

1. Storage for uploading media files (Images, Videos) is of 15 GB only. If you need more then you will have to buy space by paying money.

2. Number of blogs per account is 100.

3. Moving your site from Blogger to a different platform is a complicated task. There is a significant risk that you will loose your SEO (search engine rankings(, subscribers, and followers during the move.

4. Blogger allows you to export your content but your data will stay on Google’s servers for a very long time.

5. Support service is limited, mostly through forums only.

WordPress

WordPress started in 2003 by its founders, Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little with a single bit of code to enhance the typography of everyday writing and with fewer users than you can count on your fingers and toes. Since then it has grown to be the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world, used on millions of sites and seen by tens of millions of people every day.

Wordpress is based on PHP and MySQL. 

Features of Wordpress

1. WordPress was used by more than 23.3% of the top 10 million websites.

2. WordPress users may install and switch between themes.

3. WordPress's plugin architecture allows users to extend the features and functionality of a website or blog.

4. WordPress has over 40,501 plugins available which offer custom functions and features.

5. Mobile friendly.

6. Storage for free Wordpress blogs is only up to 3GB, which is less than Blogger.com

7. Free templates available to edit for blogs.

8. Support system is Good.

9. Using WordPress, you can move your site anywhere you want. You can move your WordPress site to a new host, change domain name, or even move your site to other content management systems.

10. Advance plugins for SEO.

Limitations of using Wordpress

1. Storage is only up to 3GB

2. Complex for newbie bloggers, even I also don't know how to use WordPress perfectly.

3. Less security for Blogs

Conclusion:

Saying any of both as best will not fair, both have their significant importance. Selection depends on the need of blogger who is going to start blogging. After reading above given point and comparison, anybody can easily make their decision about which one is to use or which should avoid.

A World Without Linux – A World Without Internet (Episode 1)

Short Bytes: Linux is the largest collaborative project in the computing history. It’s literally everywhere. And to showcase this, The Linux Foundation has brought a video series named A World Without Linux. Watch the first episode here.

You are using the internet right now on your smartphone or computer.Is this possible without Linux? There is a plain and simple answer to this question. NO. This is the message that The Linux Foundation wants to convey with its first episode of A World Without Linux video series.

This series was launched a week ago on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the first Linux kernel release. This six-part video series will feature two characters and their feline called String.

In the video series, with the help of multiple events, they will show how ridiculous a world without Linux would be.

In the very first episode, Sam and Anne are trying to find an answer to a question that you can search right away on your phone. But, in a world without Linux, a different story unfolds.

To know the answer, watch A World Without Linux: Episode 1 below:

For those who don’t know, Linux powers more than 96% of the top 1 million web servers. To showcase the same, Animator Amelia Lorenz has worked very hard to bring this unimaginable world without Linux in the form of this video series.

Go ahead and share this article with your friends to show your Linux love. In the comments below, tell your interpretation of a world without Linux.

Top 5 Facebook Scams That You Should Be Aware Of

The bigger and popular sites with the huge number of visitors are like hackers’ wonderland for posting scams. Especially the users on social media websites are prone to such scams that further convert to dangerous cyber attacks. Facebook has about 1.4 billion users making it potentially the most active social media site for the hackers.

These are some of the common Facebook scams that you might fall for if you haven’t before:

5) Viral Videos/ Scandals

The word “Viral” itself has become viral which makes you yearn and see the content inside. It could be anything ranging from cute puppy videos to horrendous torture videos by terrorists. More popular in these viral videos are salacious celebrity scandals which generally contain no video at all- but a link to another phishing website or require to install an update or a plugin. Once you do that, the virus is automatically installed in your system. And you know what happens next..

You will never get adult videos on any social media website, so if you happen to scroll through one on your home page, then it is definitely a Facebook scam.

4) Free Giveaways/Survey Scams

Nothing is free in this world my friend. Especially free travel tickets, and definitely not iPhones, iPads or Mac. The social media are full of such spam offers that sound too good to be true, and coaxes you as if you are the world’s luckiest person.

There are also survey scams that trick you into giving your personal information in exchange of gift vouchers or free trips. Do not fall for these Facebook scams and never forward them to your contacts either, else you would end up spamming your friends too.

Recommended: How Attacker Can Hack Your Email Account Just With Your Phone Number

3) Facebook Customization

If any link on your home page claims to change the layout, color or give you a special “Dislike Button” give any special functionality, then it is probably another Facebook scam. You can’t just change the official interface of the world’s biggest social media website by clicking a few phishing links.

These scams will either ask you to install their specific Facebook app or ask to fill a desirability form of what changes you want. Once in, they will get full access to your data or through phishing forms spread malware into your system.

If Facebook would some day want to give you customization features, then they make a grand announcement, not any hidden link. So, be alert and avoid yourself from such Facebook scams.

2) Celebrity Friend Requests/Charity

This might not happen as frequently as others but when someone falls for this Facebook scam, it hits him/her very hard. You come by a friend request of a celebrity or from so-called official  page. Then they will ask you to donate some money for the poor or the disaster struck people.

Either they will ask your credentials or directly tell you to donate through online payment services. Never trust such messages to stay safe on Facebook.

1) Who Viewed My Profile?

This is the biggest and most pervasive Facebook scam ever. Facebook has made it pretty clear that there is no way any app can tell who has visited your profile and how many times. Any link or app that claims to do so is a scam.

In these scams, you will have to give in your information and accept their terms and conditions. This scam play with the emotions of the users as most of us want to know if their secret crush or an ex-partner visits them online.

The application does tell who viewed your profile based on an algorithm, but till then you are already been infected by the app and under attack.

So, avoid all these malicious and fraudulent apps and links to be safe on the social media. With this, we end the list of biggest Facebook scams.

We will let you know if come by any more of such scams. You can also tell us.

How An Attacker Can Kill Your Phone and PC by Making It Older and Some “MAGIC”

The performance of an IC degrades over a period of time and it ultimately results in the failure of the device. This is just like the human beings – we age, our body functions stop working and ultimately we die. However, some genetic disorders can make this aging process faster to make you weaker sooner than expected.
Along the similar lines, the researchers at NYU have recently published a paper (find the link below) that shows how to infect the electronic devices with the digital version of this aging disorder.

The computer scientists at NYU have unveiled methods that could be used to attack the device hardware by causing the integrated circuits to age rapidly. The paper titled “MAGIC: Malicious Aging in Circuits/Cores” describes the effects of the MAGIC attack on a smartphone, that could result in the failure of your device.

On one hand the IC designers are putting their tremendous efforts into reducing the aging of electronic chips, the attackers are working in the opposite direction to accelerate the wear. Discussing the Negative-Bias Temperature-Instability (NTBT), the researchers focus on presenting a framework to wear out the processors.

Microsoft doesnt want Windows 10 users to use Chrome

Microsoft wants users to use Edge browser instead of Google’s Chrome on Windows 10

Microsoft is finding new ways to convince Windows 10 users to use its new Edge browser instead of Chrome or Firefox. In the newly released Windows 10 preview Build 10568, the Redmond giant has added a new prompt targeting users switching default apps. If you have Microsoft Edge set as the default browser and install Chrome and switch defaults then a dialog box with “give Microsoft Edge a shot” appears. The popup also has a message in bold and blue that Windows 10 user “Dont Switch and try it now.”

The popup further tells the users that Microsoft Edge lets you write on webpages, has Cortana integration, and includes a reading view.

This Microsoft move is likely to irk Google and Firefox  Mozilla CEO had blasted Microsoft earlier when the tech giant had made it harder to switch to Firefox in Windows 10, and the company even created a tutorial video to help Firefox users restore their default app settings.

Microsoft appears to be doing the same for photo and music apps, too. If you attempt to switch defaults then a similar dialog box appears to try and convince you to stick with the built-in photos or Groove Music apps.

Kindly note that earlier builds of Windows 10 dont have these popups and it is only seen in the new build which is expected to ship in the next few weeks. It is also possible that Microsoft could and will tweak exactly when and how this prompt appears.

On a side note, despite Microsoft’s best of effort, the newly released Edge browser has not found the liking among Internet users.

How To Format Pendrive Using CMD

Today we are here with the method for How To Format Pendrive Using CMD. Today with the advancement in the technology and the trending computer use the use of data transfer medium is also increase. And today about every person who deals with computer work must deal with the data transfer between two computers. As the most commonly used media used today to transfer contents is USB. And also today there are lots of virus that has been present which can come into your computer through these pendrive. So better is to remove the virus regularly and format the drive properly to remove virus from it to protect your computer from viruses. Just follow up the below post to proceed.

How To Format Pendrive Using CMD

In this method we will be discussing about the method if cmd by which you can easily format your USB pendrive and also the virus of the pendrive will get deleted by this. You just have to follow the below steps to format the drive and make it virus free using simple cmd trick 2015.

Steps To Format Pendrive Using CMD

First of all boot up your computer in normal mode.
Now insert your USB pendrive in your computer.
Now watch out the name of your drive, note that the name must not be listed in any other than the drives, Lilke it must be like G, F drive etc.
Let your USB pendrive is listed as “D: removable storage device” in your my computer.
Now in your windows type the window button of your keyboard and type “cmd“.
Now the command prompt window will get displayed on your screen.
Now type there “Format D:” if you want to normal format your USB pendrive.
If you want to format your drive with FAT32 then you have to type Format D: /FS: FAT32 .
Thats it your pendrive will get formatted by this and now you access a virus free pendrive for your work.
So above is all about How To Format Pendrive Using cmd. By this method you can easily format your pendrive with command prompt with the simple cmd trick. And this method will make your pendrive more faster and will remove all the viruses like malware and trojans etc from it. Hope you like the post. Don’t forget to share it with your friends and leave a comment below if you have any related query with this topic.

Man Arrested For Calling Police Racist in Facebook Comment Receives $35K Settlement

Man Arrested For Calling Police Racist in Facebook Comment Receives $35K Settlement.

Madison, WI — Thomas Smith, 27, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for leaving negative remarks on a local police department’s Facebook page back in 2012. After fighting the charges with his own lawsuit, Smith was recentlyawarded a $35,000 settlement because his rights were violated by the arrest.

The feud between Smith and the police began after he left a number of comments on a police department facebook page. In a comment thread started by Officer Nicholas Stroik, another Facebook user identified Stroik as a racist and said he had expressed that African-American people “don’t belong in his town.”

Smith then posted two comments in response, saying “Fuck the fucking cops they ant shit but fucking racist basturds an fucking all of y’all who is racist” and “Fuck them nigers bitchs wat you got on us, not a dam thing so fuck off dicks.” [Spelling in original].

Smith’s posts, along with any other posts criticizing the police were quickly deleted. However, soon after, he was contacted by police who asked him if he had made the comments. When he admitted to exersizing his right to free speech, he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful use of a computer.

After he was arrested, Smith told the police “I put it on there, I don’t regret it and I mean it.” He was subsequently banned from using a computer or phone.

The prosecution argued that Smith’s posts were not protected by free speech because they were classified as “fighting words.”

Initially, Smith was convicted and was sentenced to a year of probation and 25 hours of community service.

But shortly after, he ended up winning the case on appeal and having the convictions thrown out. The appeals court ruled that the “fighting words” doctrine only applies when the two parties are within close proximity to one another.

“In our country, we are entitled to criticize our government with passion, The use of some four-letter words in the course of doing so is never a crime,” Smith’s attorney, Thomas Aquino said in a statement.

Hacker Gives Ransomware Victims Their Files Back Due To Sudden Change Of Heart

Ransomware victims receive their files back due to hacker’s sudden change of heart

At least that was the case last weekend, when a hacker had a change of heart who had created a virus to lock victim’s data and had held it for ransom. On Saturday, the hacker who goes by the name “Poka BrightMinds” posted a message online and said that they had made a decision to publish data to help victims by unlocking their files that were affected by the virus.

Poka BrightMinds wrote that they were repentant for their actions and were “very sorry.”

According to Symantec researchers, who located the Bitcoin addresses where Poka BrightMinds was expected to receive payments from victims said that all that the hacker got from their criminal enterprise was a total of $169.

“I’m very sorry about that has happened. It was never my intention to release this.”

Ransomware is a kind of malware that affects a victim, enciphers his or her data and asks for a ransom to decipher it, mainly in Bitcoin. The malware is set up sometimes to show a message that says the FBI or another authority found child pornography, or other illegal content on the computer, and asks for the payment of a fine. In the last couple of years, the use of this type of malware has increased to the extent of catching FBI’s attention.

The malware in this case was simply called “Locker.” A database of encryption keys was posted by the author that would let all the victims to unlock their files in theory. The hacker also said that “automatic decryption” would begin on Tuesday.

“I am the author of the Locker ransomware and I’m very sorry about that has happened,” Poka BrightMinds wrote in a note posted to Pastebin. “It was never my intention to release this.”

Soon after the hacker posted the database, Nathan Scott, a member of the online forum, BleepingComputer.com, designed a tool to easily decipher the affected files. At least some of the files were able to be unlocked as reported by various members of the forums.

According to Lawrence Abrams, a member of BleepingComputer.com, an uplifting message is displayed on the victim’s computer when the files are deciphered.
The message read “I’m sorry about the encryption, your files are unlocked for free. Be good to the world and don’t forget to smile”, according to multiple victims.

“I’m sorry about the encryption, […] Be good to the world and don’t forget to smile.”

There is no clarity as to who Poka BrightMinds is, and why did the hacker repent on creating the virus. The hacker was not reachable when Motherboard tried to contact him. Despite of his deep regret, and his effort to “make amends,” as Symantec researchers point out, the virus’ author “still broke the law and caused their victims countless worries, time, and money trying to rectify the damage.”

In response to the decryption message that had requested people to smile, one of the victims wrote that “it’s hard to smile when you’ve had no sleep for a week and missed out on time with the family to deal with this mess.”