Tuesday, September 30, 2025

SOLIDWORKS PDM Database Server Errors in Event Logs

 Event Viewer is a great source of logs to show that something is wrong with your setup. Here is one esoteric error and how they were resolved:

Credentials are stored in multiple places and multiple tools. If an error appears in the Event Viewer every 10 seconds from SOLIDWORKS PDM Database Server with a message like Connect to server <ServerName>' Failed: (null) Unknown error 0x80040200 (null) or Login failed for user '<username>'. Reason: Could not find a login matching the name provided. [CLIENT: <local machine>], this means that the Database Archive Server connection is using the wrong account or the wrong password.

Launch the "Database Server Configuration" utility from the Start menu and correct the login to your SQL Admin user. The errors should stop.

Sunday, September 14, 2025

The Internet at DEF CON 33 (and BOM to make your very own)

 And it came to pass that the Pope of the Church of Wi-fi, yeah, even Renderman, didst bless and consecrate The Internet in this the 2025th year of the common era (and 35 years after Tim Berners-Lee invented it) on August 8th, the second night of DEF CON 33.

And lo, DuncanYoudaho didst capture the consecration thereof in an image. In the self-same breath as the consecration, the Pope did also pronounce a holy quest upon him as a teacher doth chastise the student that readeth not the book but kind of fumbles through the book report anyway.

Yeah, he was admonished with much reproachment to not share the graven image of the consecration until such time as the quest was fulfilled. That all the world wouldst see and hear and follow in the path. And this was the quest:

"DuncanYoudaho, if ye be a loyal servant of The Internet, teach those who see the image of this blessing how they also might obtain an Internet of their very own. Yeah, promulgate and proclaim the BOM that thou didst fulfill when making The Internet."

And so if thou wisheth to make this Thine Internet, obtain the shards of circuitry, and resistors, and switches, and hookup wire, and make ye an earthly copy of what is now The Blessed Internet!

Instructables

I made The Internet thanks to a great Instructable. The parts list has atrophied a bit with time, so I’m reproducing a BOM here with more modern selections. When in doubt, they’ve probably got better step by step instructions, so head there. What I did not do (and wish I did) is take the advice to make curly LED hookups and stand-offs.  Making the wires as tight as they are has lead to almost every solder joint breaking. The Internet has required constant maintenance which various users have graciously done and received stickers in return, most recently, Chip from Aviation Hacking Village.

Parts List

  • Hammond 1591XX Series enclosure in a chosen size (Mouser/Digikey) or a similar looking enclosure - The plastic enclosure of The Internet uses a Radio Shack ABS project box. As these are no longer available in large quantities, I found a similar project box in the Hammond 1591XX Series enclosures.  These come in black, have a detachable bottom with rounded exterior edges, and come with PCB mounting holes inside the case for easy attachment of the strip board components.
  • Red LED inside chrome-plated enclosure (Mouser/Digikey) - Pay particular attention to the voltage. Higher voltage LEDs will need more batteries.
  • NE555 Timer (Mouser/Digikey) - The through-hole TI model is linked here. This is the grand-daddy of them all. The IC that birthed all other blinky lights. Kneel and say thanks. And provide at least 4.5V to power it.
  • Resistors: 330Ohm, 2x 1M Ohm - The 330Ohm resistor can be changed to tune the blink to your liking.
  • Battery Holder(s) for at least 6V power. 
  • Hook-up Wire, Solid Core.
  • Strip Board sufficient for mounting the components and attaching inside the case.

Equipment

  • Wire Strippers
  • Soldering Iron and Solder
  • Double-sided Tape
  • Screw Driver for case and PCB Screws

Steps

  • Get circuit working on Strip Board or Bread Board.
  • Cut 8mm hole in case for light
  • Cut hole in case for switch. I put mine on the side of the box 
  • Make stand-offs and long curly q's for LED, switch, and batteries
  • Make final solder joints to hook everything up
  • TEST IT 
  • Screw down the Strip board to the box
  • Affix the batteries to the strip board (I had to wire the 4x AA holder down as it kept breaking loose)
  • Close it all up and test it again
  • Get it demagnetized by the Elders of the Internet, or find another Pope of the Church of Wi-fi to bless it for you. 

Pinout stolen from NE555P Datasheet

 

Circuit Design

 

Pictures of The Internet

 

And the Lord did grin...

Currently, The Internet was handed off to members of DC404 for an East Coast Adventure. If Flat Stanley returns to DEF CON 34, I'm sure it will come with plenty of stickers. 

Monday, September 1, 2025

The Legend of the Murder Hobos

Spoiler alert: The real prize is friendship.

At R00tz Asylum, an official DEF CON event for kids, Facebook’s security team was running a CTF. The scene matched most rooms at DEF CON: intense staring at screens, poking at punny challenges, and no one really talking to each other. We chatted up our neighbors, Sodapop and p0wnyb0y about the con, the badge, and the contest. We realized the organizers encouraged teams, but no one else was talking. Pooling our resources, a 7 and 9 year old shot to the top of the leaderboard and took home the prize: 2 Chromebooks, and a con-friendship.

A chat at Toxic BBQ in 2018 lead to another team-up. Tinribs and I were Vegas locals looking to change up our DEF CON experience.  We took on the inaugural Dungeons@DEFCON with our 12 year old kids. Styled as the Murder Hobos, we won the Psychoholics-lead, D&D themed, CTF-style classic crypto challenge through cooperation, luck, and shenanigans, and we came away with the win and a black badge for our team of four. As far as we can tell, the kids are the youngest black badge holders in history. Grifter commented to The Dark Tangent during closing ceremonies, “What I like about a couple of kids winning a black badge is how much it’s going to cost Jeff. For life, baby!”


But we had a problem: only 4 of the 6 Hobos had a black badge, and so the next chase began. The very next year, family obligations took me away from DEF CON, so the Murder Hobos stormed Dungeons@DEFCON again but fell to the inimitable Fellowship of the Token Ring. Post-Covid, another run at D@D (with FOTTR contributing puzzles and CrookedFingers our Dungeon Master) ended with a second place finish. FOTTR decided to host their own contest, and Spy v Spy was born. With a thrilling finish, CamelCase bested the Murder Hobos by unlocking the dead drop minutes before P0wnyb0y arrived. Victory was elusive, but we couldn’t give up.

At DEF CON 33, I was trying to play it cool and relax. When we absorbed ourselves in a contest, we’d look up on Sunday afternoon at closing wondering where the weekend had gone. I was thinking I should take it easy. But it was not to be so. Spy v Spy had returned, and it had a compelling hook: souvenir slabbed playing cards when you completed incremental challenges. Sodapop and P0wnyb0y registered right away, and we were at the top of the leader board the most of the con. We cracked crypto, fabricated loaded dice with other teams, and chased dead drops for two days.

When the final round started, we made the cut, but didn’t know what we were up against. It was rumored one team had 12 people! So we unwrapped the challenge code book and got cracking. Sat at the disused Warlock Gamez booth, we were right in the walkway and kept getting interlocutors asking what we we’re working on (some of whom, we found out later, were actual spies from other teams), and they got a gruff reply. It was serious. Tinribs and Sodapop cracked numbers stations, P0wnyb0y decoded RTTY, and we found the spy. The final answer was phoned in over Discord while I walked back from the other end of the conference.

As I approached, I saw a confluence of people around the contest table. Tinribs was walking towards me shaking his head.

“Too late, we were a minute too late.”

Crestfallen.

“Just kidding. We got it.”

Elation. Joy. I screamed several expletives at him.

Around table was an excited mix of teams and organizers asking about clues and solves, tips and congratulations. Fox from the Whiskey Pirates may have teared up a bit, but so did we.

These contests and conferences are largely excuses. To get us off screens and in front of each other. Make friends and build community. Share skills that are weird and unique and unavailable in any concentration. Sometimes through competition, but also cooperation and conversation. With the win in hand, there was one final question.

The news came the next day: be at the main stage at 3pm. Victory, finally, after a 6-year chase, the Hobos all had black badges. After a whirlwind weekend, we were back on the main stage. None of the kids are children anymore. But we’re already planning our next escapade rather than retirement. FOTTR wants us to make our own contest. And I really want to share how we got here again. And maybe hang out with other puzzlers outside of one weekend per summer.

Cheers,

DuncanYoudaho