The Portable Freeware Collection Forums

Posted: **Wed Feb 14, 2007 11:13 pm**

[Mod note: for better discoverability I have changed this post subject; original was "site: a bunch of portable apps www.gaijin.at"]

Hi,
I have found an interesting Austrian site. Even if it is written in German, I hope that you can understand it, anyway.

http://www.gaijin.at/download.php

mmmhh... maybe a translation (babelfish) can help...

http://world.altavista.com/babelfish/tr ... Findex.php

The apps seem to be really tiny and portable, but this is to be verified. The default language is German, but there are language files in English.

Here only few samples:

USB write protector
http://www.gaijin.at/dlusbwp.php

Outlook Express Message Extractor (there is an utility for Incredimail too)
http://www.gaijin.at/dloemxtr.php POSTED

XP-Config
http://www.gaijin.at/dlxpconfig.php

SteganoG
http://www.gaijin.at/dlsteg.php

DevProject Manager (programming)
http://www.gaijin.at/dldevproject.php

Sorry for posting a list! This is intended only as a preview and a subject to talk about.

Posted: **Thu Feb 15, 2007 8:52 am**

Please, if someones finds someone ot these apps useful (by testing), I hope he can suggest to post it into the Database!

Help the poor moderators!

thanks!

Posted: **Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:25 am**

Here we come

First of all: great find, AlephX!

Ok, first the good news: all apps I tested were portable. The bad: except for two, all were in German only

But it seems to me (well, I'm not really in the best position to judge, admittedly ...) that most are rather selfexplaining ... Maybe the author would be ready to provide English versions if asked gently?

Here are the ones I tried:
XP config: portable, German

cal: excellent - but German (probably not too hard to translate)

e-toolz: creates an .ini in folder, German ...

htcrypt: creates an .ini in folder, has English onboard

mdecode: German only (but I would understand in Chinese, too ...)

SteganoG: German only

SysClean: German only

UsbWriteProtect: English onboard ... but even in German I didn't yet understand how it's supposed to work

I think that one can trust if the author says it's portable.

Hope that helps
Chris

Posted: **Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:01 am**

UsbWriteProtect creates a single registry key when turned on. After this key is created, any flash drive you plug in is flagged read-only and any attempt to write/rename/delete will be stopped and a dialog box will appear telling you that the drive is read-only (just like a write-protected floppy).

Only works with XP service pack 2 or later.

Posted: **Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:07 am**

usb write protect is great,
you can use it to control write access to usb sticks from PC,
great for corporate admin security

steganog is available in english:
just open the app,
go to left bottom : "optionen"
under "Sprache" select english

great find AlephX!!!!

commercial app like that cost tons of money

Posted: **Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:03 am**

W-O-W !!!
Your answer is more than a "feedback": it´s SUPER!!!

@ cmmehl

Ok, first the good news: all apps I tested were portable. The bad: except for two, all were in German only
...

Great analysis! You have tested almos avery single app, haven´t you?

I think you confirm my opinion that they are worth an entry in TPFC.

@ FlightGeek

UsbWriteProtect creates a single registry key when turned on

your test is quite helpful, even like technicolordreamcoat,

steganog is available in english:
...
commercial app like that cost tons of money

... I agree!

Any other hint / idea ?

Posted: **Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:04 am**

FlightGeek wrote:UsbWriteProtect ... any flash drive you plug in is flagged read-only and any attempt to write/rename/delete will be stopped and a dialog box will appear telling you that the drive is read-only

... ouch, hope you never forget to revert this after use, or it was the longest you have been friends with your IT admin

Chris

Posted: **Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:34 am**

AlephX wrote: I think you confirm my opinion that they are worth an entry in TPFC.

Personally, I would immediately agree to that

However I remember a certain discussion, some time ago, about programs in other languages than English ... but for sure those progs with English onboard should be added right away.

Maybe a place should be created within the TPFC where such non-English pearls could be collected for the linguistical multitaskers within the community

Or add a language tag to the entries, in big red letters, if it isn't English.

My 2 cts
Chris

Posted: **Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:48 pm**

cmmehl wrote:
FlightGeek wrote:UsbWriteProtect ... any flash drive you plug in is flagged read-only and any attempt to write/rename/delete will be stopped and a dialog box will appear telling you that the drive is read-only
... ouch, hope you never forget to revert this after use, or it was the longest you have been friends with your IT admin

Chris

Maybe I should try to clarify that:

UsbWriteProtect adds a registry entry to the computer you run it on. It does not modify the Flash drive. It uses a radio-button control to turn protection on or off.

The key it writes is:

Code: Select all

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies\WriteProtect: 0x00000001

This key persists after you exit UsbWriteProtect. A flash drive which is plugged in at the time the key is added is not write protected. Any flash drive plugged in afterwards is write protected.

When you turn write protection off, any plugged-in flash drive will remain write protected until you unplug it and then plug it in again.

Note: The registry key can be added or deleted with regedit, any other registry hacker or a group policy object, with the same effects as running the program.

I would not call this an effective way to prevent company data from going out the door. It is a way to prevent accidents or, possibly prevent a flash drive from becoming infected, depending on how smart the virus is.

I would also question its use as a portable application since the setting does not take effect on flash drives already plugged in. It's not like being able to flip the write protect tab on an old-fashioned floppy disk before you insert it. UsbWritePortect will fit on a floppy for servicing museum pieces which still have floppy drives though.

-- FG

Posted: **Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:50 pm**

FlightGeek wrote: ...

UsbWriteProtect adds a registry entry to the computer you run it on. It does not modify the Flash drive. It uses a radio-button control to turn protection on or off.

This key persists after you exit UsbWriteProtect. A flash drive which is plugged in at the time the key is added is not write protected. Any flash drive plugged in afterwards is write protected.

When you turn write protection off, any plugged-in flash drive will remain write protected until you unplug it and then plug it in again.
...
I would also question its use as a portable application since the setting does not take effect on flash drives already plugged in.
...
UsbWritePortect will fit on a floppy for servicing museum pieces which still have floppy drives though.
-- FG

These notes are interesting.

Do you think that an user can:
1) plug in the flash drive
2) run the write-protector
3) unplug
4) plug in again (to be protected)

The question is also: if I protect the key, I cannot use apps which write settings in the folder... am I right?

Posted: **Fri Feb 16, 2007 3:34 am**

USBwrite-protect is also one of them nice tools for running virus scans on infected comps from your USB drive,
more as a safe guard kinda thing, so you Know the virus wont write to the files on the USB stick,

(though, i geuss, it depends on what access level the USB-WP setting and the virus would be running at, but meh, better safe then sorry,

)

Posted: **Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:37 am**

At the moment I posted only two apps (Incredimail and Outlook mail extractors), but I would like to post some apps as your suggestion, because all the work you are doing!

Posted: **Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:42 am**

I wrote to the author (in my strange German) and asked for some translation.

I hope he has time enough and wish to see his apps enrolled in the TPFC Database...

Posted: **Fri Feb 16, 2007 5:14 am**

AlephX wrote:
These notes are interesting.

Do you think that an user can:
1) plug in the flash drive
2) run the write-protector
3) unplug
4) plug in again (to be protected)

Yes, and this can prevent accidentally writing your flash drive. However, in the case of a virus infection your drive may already be infected before you even run the write-protector.

AlephX wrote: The question is also: if I protect the key, I cannot use apps which write settings in the folder... am I right?

Correct!

Posted: **Fri Feb 16, 2007 5:30 am**

Firewrath wrote:USBwrite-protect is also one of them nice tools for running virus scans on infected comps from your USB drive,
more as a safe guard kinda thing, so you Know the virus wont write to the files on the USB stick,

(though, i geuss, it depends on what access level the USB-WP setting and the virus would be running at, but meh, better safe then sorry, )

I doubt that many viruses know about the USB-WP setting yet. If it's use becomes more commonplace they will. And since most viruses manage to get administrator privileges...

However the more likely scenario is the virus will notice the flash drive the moment you plug it in and infect it at once, before you have a chance to run the write-protector app.

I may be a paranoid geek, but I deal with sick systems by booting a hand-tuned FreeSBIE CD. http://www.freesbie.org/. Root-kits and stealth viruses have a hard time hiding from a "foreign" operating system.

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