NTCore

I’m implementing the LUA as scripting language in the CFF Explorer. It’s working very well and I managed to make it support unicode. Actually, it converts unicode down to utf8, but what’s important is that it keeps the characters as they are. The only thing to remember is that the code itself when handling strings is actually working with utf8 ones. That said, it doesn’t matter how the script is saved as a file on disk: it can be ascii, utf8 or unicode.

I’m not only adding functions for handling Portable Executables, but also a few to communicate with the user. Something similar to VBS with message box, input box, open file, save file, open folder etc.

Here’s a little example of how I implemented the message box function:

if MsgBox(“Continue?”, “My Script”, MB_YESNO | MB_ICONQUESTION) == IDYES then
   MsgBox(“Final Message Box”)
end

The syntax of the message box can be:

MsgBox(Caption)
or
MsgBox(Caption, Title)
or
MsgBox(Caption, Title, Type)

Of course, it will take some other time to write all the functions, but it won’t be too long. What I’m still thinking about is how modify a file multiple times or just one time. E.g.:

AddResource(“filename”, “resname”, ..)

but also:

filehandle = OpenFile(“filename”)
AddResource(filehandle, “resname”, ..)
CloseFile(filehandle)

So that a single file must not necessary be opened for every operation. On the other hand, it would be also very nice to modify a file with just one line of script. So, I’m looking for a way to implement both systems.

Today I fixed a major bug in the extension support. I’m sorry, but I guess you have to update your Explorer Suite if you downloaded it yesterday. Sometimes, the old version of the CFF Explorer crashes. It depends on the name of the extension you’re loading. I’m sorry, but I forgot to write a “break;” in the loop which alphabetically orders the extensions.

I know, there’s been a bit of delay, but the Explorer Suite II will soon be available. The reason there’s been so much delay is the amount of things I’ve added to the suite. Including the PE Detective and the Signature Explorer. Also, the Task Explorer has now a windows enumerating utility. But, of course, most of the news affect the CFF Explorer. Finally, support for plugins has been added. An SDK and a wizard for Visual Studio 2005 to create extensions has also been provided. A little demo plugin to use upx from the CFF Explorer is included. The Resource Viewer is now a Resource Editor with support for Vista’s PNG icons. There are many other new things, but I don’t want to say too much yet. I just wanted to say that the project is still very active and that the next version will be very satisfying, I think.

Today, I released my new article about Windows Vista and the x64 platform.

Here’s the article’s index:

– Introduction
– x64 Section
– x64 Assembly
– C/C++ Programming
– Inline Assembly
– Windows On Windows
– File System And Registry Redirection
– Interprocess Communication
– Portable Executable
– Exception Handling
– .NET Framework
– Vista Section
– Editions
– Microsoft Visual Studio
– User Account Control
– Compatibility Verification
– Obtaining Admin Rights
– Disable It
– Address Space Layout Randomization
– Driver Signing
– Patch Guard
– Attacks
– Registry Filtering
– Power Management
– .NET Framework 3.0
– Windows Presentation Foundation
– Windows Communication Foundation
– Windows Workflow Foundation
– Conclusions

I hope you enjoy the article and don’t dislike the idea of such a general overview about two really extensive subjects like x64 and Windows Vista. I noticed during the writing that I had to put a lot of images in the article and that this might be problem for slow connections. I’m sorry for that, but it’s the direct consequence of not subdividing this paper in more articles.

Today I uploaded the first official of ScreenWriter. It’s a little freeware software for the writing of screenplays for TV and cinema. It follows the standard american indentation rules and provides autocompletion for characters, places and day times. You can also export your scripts in various file formats.

I know this has nothing to do with the stuff NTCore usually is about, but it made no sense keeping the software on the computer just for myself. I wrote this software in July and just yesterday I decided to add the missing things for a first official release. I wrote it because I needed it. In fact, I didn’t feel comfortable with most commercial products, which also cost a lot of money for being most of the times programs written for windows 95. So, maybe if you are a writer yourself or know anyone who is, you could give this software a try.

Don’t worry, more NTCore’s usual stuff will be uploaded soon