Cybersitter 9.7.1.2 (new Version
Birhanie Scavotto
Internet filtering software, internet babysitterprograms, web blocking software...call it what you will, it is softwarethat runs in the background on the machine you surf the 'net with for thepurpose of restricting access to certain types of Web content--client-sideWeb censorship. By blocking access to "inappropriate" sites and keepingintricate logs of any "offensive" sites you've tried to visit, these programsnot only restrict your freedoms, but could also violate your privacy bytelling your employer/co-workers/parents all the sites you've tried toaccess--be they about breast cancer, certain religious, political or sexualorientations, drug/alcohol use, AIDS, sites for helping you find a newemployer....the privacy and job-security ramifications are far-reachingto say the least. Censorware is a tool-of-choice for overprotective parentsand paranoid employers, and is typically fairly easy to disable despitepassword-protection and other schemes designed to deter cybersabotage.
How do I disable the censorware?
Disabling most censorwareon Windows ME
Windows ME reportedly hasa system restore feature that lets you revert your system to a previousconfiguration. If you can use this to revert it to a day before the censorwarewas installed, viola! No more censorware.
(The fix may also have beenimplemented server-side, making this work for NO versions of the software.Please let me know if you have success with thisor not, and what version of AOL's software you are using.)
Exit Windows (go to MS-DOSmode) so that you can move important Windows files around without any worryabout the files being in use. Cyber Patrol 4 will have overwritten yoursystem's original "system.drv" file with its own, cheat-protected version,and renamed your original file to "system.386". Find "system.386" and renameit to "system.drv", overwriting the CP version. This done, you can safelyreboot the computer to remove the rest of the CP files without settingoff any anti-hacker protection. You can now remove the load entry (FltProcess)it placed in your WIN.INI and the other load entry (FltProcess) inthe Registry.
The cp4break document alsogoes into much detail about the cryptography (if you can reasonably callit that) used to keep the blocklist secret, and how this can be circumvented.Although the document itself is perfectly legal, hot-headed lawyersfrom Mattel (R) (yes, the same company that makes Barbies), which ownsthe CP program, have gone to some length to censor this paper from theInternet by harassing ISPs with various threats. If you are afflicted withCyber Patrol and cannot access the downloads here, there are manyother places you can get it. Since they will almost certainly be blockedby CP by the time you read this, you'll likely need a friend or alternatecomputer to help you get hold of these materials.
You can use cphack.exe todecrypt much of what is in the encoded CP configuration files--includingthe passwords needed to disable the censorware.
For more info regardingthe CPHack program and cp4break, and the lawsuits that have sprung up surroundingit, see the ACLUpress release, the opinionated Slashdotarticle w/ comments, Politechbot'scoverage (w/ legal docs), and especially the homepageof Matthew Skala, who co-wrote the cp4break file (not cphack, whichis a different program) and reached the infamous "$1 settlement" with Mattel,clears up many misconceptions surrounding the issue.
For older versions:
For Windows2:Peacefire.org produces aprogram that disables most blocking software made before 12/17/2000.
For Windows1:Download this set of Windows batch files forenabling and disabling Cyber Patrol. Once installed, type DISABLE in MS-DOSmode to kill the program, and ENABLE to return it to its original form.
Method 3:
Use what's known as theJackHarris Method to take advantage of a situation where the programtemporarily lets down its defenses to tampering. This file also coversthe "Dummy Default" to trick your parents/sysadmin/boss into thinking theprogram is still running when it's disabled.
Riley Shea has awebpagethat details a method for obtaining the CYBERsitter 2000 master password.You can then use this password to bypass the program. It also explainshow to remove tattletale entries from the program's logfiles. This processinvolves the installation of a known Trojan Horse, so this procedure isaimed at computer gurus only--preferably ones with a 'sacrificial' PC forsuch an occasion. See Howto completely stop cybersitter2000! for details.
Warning!!Part of this process involves installing Sub Seven, a nasty Trojan programthat can give others access to your computer. Once you retrieve the passwordyou must remove Sub Seven from your system to prevent unauthorized access.See a free removalutility here. Simply deleting the Sub Seven files will not rid youof the Trojan. Again, this procedure is for gurus only.
Method 31:
CYBERsitter inserts itssettings in Windows' win.ini file, but before it does, it saves a backupcopy as win.cyb in your Windows directory (same place as win.ini). To disableCYBERsitter, rename win.ini to something you'll remember (win.censor, forexample) and rename win.cyb to win.ini.
If you've installed othersoftware after CYBERsitter was installed on your system, the setup processesof these programs may have made their own entries to win.ini (the one withall the cybersitter crap in it) and may not run properly if you swap inthe copy of win.ini without these settings. In this case, instead of renamingthe win.cyb file, open your existing win.ini file (remember, make a backupcopy first!!!) and delete the sections [TCPIPUser] and [TCPIPSettings], as wellas the line load=TCPWAIT.EXE,which should be near the beginning of the file. Your win.ini will looksomething like this:
...
load=TCPWAIT.EXE (deletethis line)
...
... (otherstuff in between, just ignore it)[TCPIP User] (Deletethis entire section)
Regdn=1 ...keepdeleting...
E-Mail=yo...@email.com ...keepdeleting...
SMTPServer=smtp.server.com ...keepdeleting...
nowstop deleting.
Net Nanny Version 4.0: InWindows 98 or Windows ME, click Start > Run, and type msconfigin the box to start a Windows configuration tool. Go to the Startup tab,which displays a list of programs that run at startup. Uncheck the entriesfor "nntray.exe"and"NNSvsc",then restart. Net Nanny disabled! Thanks Jon M. for the info.
Method 11,2:
To disable Net Nanny fora single session in Windows 95, press CTRL-ALT-DELETE to bring up the CloseProgram dialogue. Depending on the version of Net Nanny you are afflictedwith, either OCRAWARE or Wnldr32 will appear on the list. Selectwhichever is listed and press End Task.
Method 12:
Open the file c:\windows\system.ini.Under the section marked "[boot]", there should be a line labeled "drivers="with some stuff listed after it. Remove the word "wndrv16.dll"from the "drivers=" line. (If there are other words listed on the "drivers="line, leave them there, just remove "wndrv16.dll".) Save changes to thefile and restartyour computer, and Net Nanny is gone for good!
Method 21:(note: this may only apply to the win3.x version):
Open the file config.sys(it should be in your c:\ directory) and look for the line DEVICE=C:\NN\NNDRV.SYS.This is the net nanny driver. To prevent it from loading type REM in frontof this line, so it appears as REMDEVICE=C:\NN\NNDRV.SYS.(REM stands for Remark; it tells the computer not to process that linebecause it is a user-inserted remark or comment.) Reboot to eliminate thecopy of NN resident in memory, and you'll be censor-free! Net Nanny willno longer load when you restart your system.
If you know that your parent/adminsometimes types in the password, put a key logger program onto your system.Key loggers monitor all keystrokes and save them to a file you can readlater...you'll see everything that's been typed, including the censorwarepassword.
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