My lucky number is "3."
Jan. 7th, 2009 06:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteFifth forum post on the MacHeist forums. Solve the clues, get free software. I'm all for it! This one's titled "Pretty Pretenders."
The Source- er, someone using the username "Inverse Moriarty" on Twitter- posted this message:
It really sucks when someone pretends to be something they’re not… sorry to bring up a sore subject, but you’ll have to solve this.
tangledupinlies
Well, so far we've learned that any smushed-together words tend to be URLs, so let's check this one: tangledupinlies.com
Eek, music! I'm awful at music. I think I'll be relying on help for this one.
Okay, so we've got a Twitter name-- let's check Inverse Moriarty. Well, he's protected his updates, but he's got some interesting friends. One is our directorate link, Sophia; the other's someone named ThePerplexer. Let's check that one out.
There are only four messages in The Perplexer's feed, and one of them is BIG and BOLD:
Cabbage beef, feedbag!
Normally I'd be stuck here, except I know that all of those letters are also musical notes. Transcribe them into musical notation and you get something like this (thanks to seventoes on the forums; of course, I have no idea if it's accurate or not; I, for one, can't reproduce the notes that look like squares). Then, when you (or someone who knows how to read music, a.k.a. NOT ME) transcribes those into notes for the lyre, you get the following cords on it, from the left:
8 5 7 7 5 3 12 7 12 12 1 1 12 12 10 7 5 3
Note the presence of two "ones" there in the middle; not 11!
Here, use this handy image of the lyre with numbered cords to help you.
If you ARE more musically inclined, the order of the notes on the lyre (from left to right), are:
(1)F (2)F# (3)G (4)G# (5)A (6)A# (7)B (8)C (9)C# (10)D (11)D# (12)E (thanks to ptrchp on the forums!)
Knowing that, you should know what strings to hit to "play" CABBAGEBEEFFEEDBAG.
Assume that you don't play any of the "sharp" notes for the letters (e.g. A would just be regular ol' A, not A sharp).
8 5 7 7 5 3 12 / 7 12 12 1/ 1 12 12 10 7 5 3
Note that it's the same as above; I just redid it for the sake of the notes, and separated out each "word" with slashes.
Here's what the correct notes look like in musical notation, direct from the site!
Once you're done playing, you should get the preview of the *.tga image! Go ahead and send that URL to the Mainframe, then save the *.tga as a personal prize.
Onward!
Next post from Sophia is "The Devil's Plaything." Ooh, sounds interesting.
Have you heard of IDOL HANDS? Here’s a preview of the amazing tips you could read:
‘One of the most often used ‘tricks’ in a GTD user’s arsenal is maintaining a collection of personalized shortcuts for different situations, times and places.’
to read more visit:
benwallaby.vox.com
Hey, this time we've actually gotten an honest URL-- so let's check it out! Hm, this blog actually looks fairly normal, but scroll down to the first entry, and you see something interesting. A URL to Wallaby's "former" blog, except clearly it's encoded or been typed in some interesting way:
hgg;O//r3.amazykawr.cym/vyxsi3/a3s2206796576316t21313563ca02fss.gda
I don't know about you, but I bet the first part is supposed to be http://, and the rest of it is an amazon.com link. You know how Amazon now has hosting for images and the like? Well, let's find out what this one is from!
Also, there's another blurb in this strange code:
Aks :IFARF, U fkcylpadf jyl gy cymmfkg bfiyw yp fmaui uk wugh tffsbace. Havf akj yt mj ;pyslcguvugj hukgr rgpfamiukfs jylp wypetiyw aks masf jylp iutf farufp? Akj tavypugfr?
Once upon a time, I would type on my keyboard, and gibberish (well, since it wasn't the words I was typing) came out! I discovered that it was because my keyboard "type" had been switched. In different countries and for different people, there are different keyboard layouts. In other words, the top row isn't always QWERTY... which means if I use those keys on my keyboard with a DIFFERENT LAYOUT, I don't get those letters!
Maybe that's the case here. The keyboard in question was Dvorak... let's see if we can switch. If you've got the little flag in the upper-right hand of your menu bar, click on it and select "Open International." When it shows you the list of keyboards available (and there are a lot!; if this ends up being wrong, we'll need a clue on how to decode the URL!) click on Dvorak. If you want to try other keyboards, go ahead!
Close the International preferences pane and then go back to your window. Click on the flag again, and choose "Dvorak." Now type in the URL as it appears to us on the blog:
diisRSzz...
Er, that didn't work. So it's another keyboard input, but which one?
Speaking of keyboards, our blogger makes mention of one very specific one: the Colemak, a keyboard with "its key placement based on how often you need to type certain characters."
Well, I don't have one of those keyboards handy, and it's not one of the options for a keyboard input style... so why not try looking up the keyboard online? Google-fu, go!
If you go here, you'll see images of the keyboard! But referring to that and cross-referencing each letter with the one from the blog post would take waaaaay too long... so, here's a converter on the same page!.
We're looking to convert Colemak to QWERTY, so we're going to use the bottom box.
Hey, it's the URL to a *.tga file! Go input that into the mainframe, and save the image for yourself.
But we're not done yet-- there must be another clue in that other block of text, so let's convert that too, while we're at it:
And PLEASE, I encourage you to comment below or email in with feedback. Have any of my productivity hints streamlined your workflow and made your life easier? Any favorites?
Hm, maybe not a clue. But hey, it's worth keeping (just in case).
Onto the next communique!
This one's called "Schillerfest." The only reason why that name is immediately identifiable to me is because I wanted to go to Macworld Expo, and I was distraught when I found out Jobs wasn't going, but the VP of International Marketing (or something), Phil Schiller, was!
And the communique says...
We’ve received another tip, this time an e-mail with a certain code word from our insider pschiller2@appleinternal.com. Handle this with care, as our insiders are particularly vulnerable. Here’s what it said:
The Source wrote:
Andrew Kaz has updated Delicious Cracker. The new version attacks the server via OpenVPN
Hah, so our "Source" is Schiller? How fun! (Of course I don't believe it, but it's cute.)
Okay, so we've got a few clues here:
* The website AppleInternal.com
* The program OpenVPN
* The name Andrew Kaz
* The program name "Delicious Cracker"
Let's start with the website. Hm, it wants us to login. Well, we know Schiller's username is "pschiller2," but what's the password? Well, until we get some sort of clue regarding that, let's try the next name-- Andrew Kaz. Supposedly this is the guy that made the "Classics" app for iPhone. He sounds like he's also an Apple employee. Maybe he has a website of his own?
We go AndrewKaz.com, and we see a very interesting site-- simple and clean, but possibly with some clues. For starters, he's got a Twitter, which factored into our last heist. Maybe that'll play a part? Ooh, but he's got a files section. Let's check there, first.
Hey, it's Krackr.zip!
Let's download it and see if there's a clue in there. Inside is the app "Delicious Cracker," but before anything loads, it crashes with a cute message: Lollz this application crashed because it's just too darn delicious (though you might get a different one; it's apparently got a set of predefined error messages).
Okay, so we have to remove the delicious from the app. I know it must sound crazy, but... let's do it! In OS X, you can view the files that go into the making of an app by right-clicking and going to "Show Package Contents."
We've got Contents, and then from there, a Frameworks folder, Info.plist, a folder called MacOS, PkgInfo, and another folder called Resources. Let's start at the top, shall we? Hey, in the Frameworks folder, there's a framework called "Delicious.framework!" Hmmm, why not try removing it to see if our cracker can become a bit more normal?
Once you delete it and run the program again, this time it asks you for an IP address and a username. Okay, so we have a username... but what's the IP address of our site? We can use good ol' Terminal for that one.
Type ping appleinternal.com
We get this IP address: 74.208.14.102
But what port?
Let's go back to our list of clues. We've still got "OpenVPN" to contend with. Let's google "OpenVPN" and "port" and see what comes up. Well, the first Google link seems to indicate that the default port for OpenVPN is 1194, so let's try that.
Here's our data:
IP address: 74.208.14.102
Port: 1194
Username: pschiller2
The program runs an old-school like command prompt and starts running through a list of possible passwords. Give it a few minutes-- and then you get a video game-like sound effect when it succeeds (people have said it's from "Zelda.") It says that the password attempt 'aapc30' is successful-- so let's try that as our password!
Head back to AppleInternal.com
Once we're logged in, there's lots to read-- most of it funny. But keep your eyes open for a clue in all this madness!
Hey, in the post titled "HA HA HA :|" there's a link to a *.tga file! Grab it, Mainframe it, and let's boogie on outta here!
Okay, seven down, two to go! See you in the next post!
Never Give Up on the Good Times by Spice Girls from Spiceworld (Rating: 0)
The Source- er, someone using the username "Inverse Moriarty" on Twitter- posted this message:
It really sucks when someone pretends to be something they’re not… sorry to bring up a sore subject, but you’ll have to solve this.
tangledupinlies
Well, so far we've learned that any smushed-together words tend to be URLs, so let's check this one: tangledupinlies.com
Eek, music! I'm awful at music. I think I'll be relying on help for this one.
Okay, so we've got a Twitter name-- let's check Inverse Moriarty. Well, he's protected his updates, but he's got some interesting friends. One is our directorate link, Sophia; the other's someone named ThePerplexer. Let's check that one out.
There are only four messages in The Perplexer's feed, and one of them is BIG and BOLD:
Cabbage beef, feedbag!
Normally I'd be stuck here, except I know that all of those letters are also musical notes. Transcribe them into musical notation and you get something like this (thanks to seventoes on the forums; of course, I have no idea if it's accurate or not; I, for one, can't reproduce the notes that look like squares). Then, when you (or someone who knows how to read music, a.k.a. NOT ME) transcribes those into notes for the lyre, you get the following cords on it, from the left:
8 5 7 7 5 3 12 7 12 12 1 1 12 12 10 7 5 3
Note the presence of two "ones" there in the middle; not 11!
Here, use this handy image of the lyre with numbered cords to help you.
If you ARE more musically inclined, the order of the notes on the lyre (from left to right), are:
(1)F (2)F# (3)G (4)G# (5)A (6)A# (7)B (8)C (9)C# (10)D (11)D# (12)E (thanks to ptrchp on the forums!)
Knowing that, you should know what strings to hit to "play" CABBAGEBEEFFEEDBAG.
Assume that you don't play any of the "sharp" notes for the letters (e.g. A would just be regular ol' A, not A sharp).
8 5 7 7 5 3 12 / 7 12 12 1/ 1 12 12 10 7 5 3
Note that it's the same as above; I just redid it for the sake of the notes, and separated out each "word" with slashes.
Here's what the correct notes look like in musical notation, direct from the site!
Once you're done playing, you should get the preview of the *.tga image! Go ahead and send that URL to the Mainframe, then save the *.tga as a personal prize.
Onward!
Next post from Sophia is "The Devil's Plaything." Ooh, sounds interesting.
Have you heard of IDOL HANDS? Here’s a preview of the amazing tips you could read:
‘One of the most often used ‘tricks’ in a GTD user’s arsenal is maintaining a collection of personalized shortcuts for different situations, times and places.’
to read more visit:
benwallaby.vox.com
Hey, this time we've actually gotten an honest URL-- so let's check it out! Hm, this blog actually looks fairly normal, but scroll down to the first entry, and you see something interesting. A URL to Wallaby's "former" blog, except clearly it's encoded or been typed in some interesting way:
hgg;O//r3.amazykawr.cym/vyxsi3/a3s2206796576316t21313563ca02fss.gda
I don't know about you, but I bet the first part is supposed to be http://, and the rest of it is an amazon.com link. You know how Amazon now has hosting for images and the like? Well, let's find out what this one is from!
Also, there's another blurb in this strange code:
Aks :IFARF, U fkcylpadf jyl gy cymmfkg bfiyw yp fmaui uk wugh tffsbace. Havf akj yt mj ;pyslcguvugj hukgr rgpfamiukfs jylp wypetiyw aks masf jylp iutf farufp? Akj tavypugfr?
Once upon a time, I would type on my keyboard, and gibberish (well, since it wasn't the words I was typing) came out! I discovered that it was because my keyboard "type" had been switched. In different countries and for different people, there are different keyboard layouts. In other words, the top row isn't always QWERTY... which means if I use those keys on my keyboard with a DIFFERENT LAYOUT, I don't get those letters!
Maybe that's the case here. The keyboard in question was Dvorak... let's see if we can switch. If you've got the little flag in the upper-right hand of your menu bar, click on it and select "Open International." When it shows you the list of keyboards available (and there are a lot!; if this ends up being wrong, we'll need a clue on how to decode the URL!) click on Dvorak. If you want to try other keyboards, go ahead!
Close the International preferences pane and then go back to your window. Click on the flag again, and choose "Dvorak." Now type in the URL as it appears to us on the blog:
diisRSzz...
Er, that didn't work. So it's another keyboard input, but which one?
Speaking of keyboards, our blogger makes mention of one very specific one: the Colemak, a keyboard with "its key placement based on how often you need to type certain characters."
Well, I don't have one of those keyboards handy, and it's not one of the options for a keyboard input style... so why not try looking up the keyboard online? Google-fu, go!
If you go here, you'll see images of the keyboard! But referring to that and cross-referencing each letter with the one from the blog post would take waaaaay too long... so, here's a converter on the same page!.
We're looking to convert Colemak to QWERTY, so we're going to use the bottom box.
Hey, it's the URL to a *.tga file! Go input that into the mainframe, and save the image for yourself.
But we're not done yet-- there must be another clue in that other block of text, so let's convert that too, while we're at it:
And PLEASE, I encourage you to comment below or email in with feedback. Have any of my productivity hints streamlined your workflow and made your life easier? Any favorites?
Hm, maybe not a clue. But hey, it's worth keeping (just in case).
Onto the next communique!
This one's called "Schillerfest." The only reason why that name is immediately identifiable to me is because I wanted to go to Macworld Expo, and I was distraught when I found out Jobs wasn't going, but the VP of International Marketing (or something), Phil Schiller, was!
And the communique says...
We’ve received another tip, this time an e-mail with a certain code word from our insider pschiller2@appleinternal.com. Handle this with care, as our insiders are particularly vulnerable. Here’s what it said:
The Source wrote:
Andrew Kaz has updated Delicious Cracker. The new version attacks the server via OpenVPN
Hah, so our "Source" is Schiller? How fun! (Of course I don't believe it, but it's cute.)
Okay, so we've got a few clues here:
* The website AppleInternal.com
* The program OpenVPN
* The name Andrew Kaz
* The program name "Delicious Cracker"
Let's start with the website. Hm, it wants us to login. Well, we know Schiller's username is "pschiller2," but what's the password? Well, until we get some sort of clue regarding that, let's try the next name-- Andrew Kaz. Supposedly this is the guy that made the "Classics" app for iPhone. He sounds like he's also an Apple employee. Maybe he has a website of his own?
We go AndrewKaz.com, and we see a very interesting site-- simple and clean, but possibly with some clues. For starters, he's got a Twitter, which factored into our last heist. Maybe that'll play a part? Ooh, but he's got a files section. Let's check there, first.
Hey, it's Krackr.zip!
Let's download it and see if there's a clue in there. Inside is the app "Delicious Cracker," but before anything loads, it crashes with a cute message: Lollz this application crashed because it's just too darn delicious (though you might get a different one; it's apparently got a set of predefined error messages).
Okay, so we have to remove the delicious from the app. I know it must sound crazy, but... let's do it! In OS X, you can view the files that go into the making of an app by right-clicking and going to "Show Package Contents."
We've got Contents, and then from there, a Frameworks folder, Info.plist, a folder called MacOS, PkgInfo, and another folder called Resources. Let's start at the top, shall we? Hey, in the Frameworks folder, there's a framework called "Delicious.framework!" Hmmm, why not try removing it to see if our cracker can become a bit more normal?
Once you delete it and run the program again, this time it asks you for an IP address and a username. Okay, so we have a username... but what's the IP address of our site? We can use good ol' Terminal for that one.
Type ping appleinternal.com
We get this IP address: 74.208.14.102
But what port?
Let's go back to our list of clues. We've still got "OpenVPN" to contend with. Let's google "OpenVPN" and "port" and see what comes up. Well, the first Google link seems to indicate that the default port for OpenVPN is 1194, so let's try that.
Here's our data:
IP address: 74.208.14.102
Port: 1194
Username: pschiller2
The program runs an old-school like command prompt and starts running through a list of possible passwords. Give it a few minutes-- and then you get a video game-like sound effect when it succeeds (people have said it's from "Zelda.") It says that the password attempt 'aapc30' is successful-- so let's try that as our password!
Head back to AppleInternal.com
Once we're logged in, there's lots to read-- most of it funny. But keep your eyes open for a clue in all this madness!
Hey, in the post titled "HA HA HA :|" there's a link to a *.tga file! Grab it, Mainframe it, and let's boogie on outta here!
Okay, seven down, two to go! See you in the next post!
Never Give Up on the Good Times by Spice Girls from Spiceworld (Rating: 0)
