Sticky business.(using Microsoft Windows )(Column)

Publication: Personal Computer World

Publication Date: 17-MAY-07

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COPYRIGHT 2007 COPYRIGHT 2007 Incisive Media, published with the permission of Incisive Media

Byline: Tim Nott

Sticky business

How to improve accessibility and other keyboard tricks with Windows

Last month, we looked at a way to circumvent keystroke logging using the on-screen keyboard. This month, we look at another aspect of the Accessibility options that potentially offers a back door into a Windows XP system. If you go to Control Panel, Accessibility Options and enable Sticky Keys (screen 1), then click the Settings button, you can set a shortcut key so five presses on the Shift key launches Sticky Keys. The idea is that you can access key combinations one press at a time; for example, Shift followed by a letter will capitalise that letter.

A curious thing about this shortcut is that it works at the login screen -- you can summon the Sticky Keys dialogue without being logged in. And those five Shift key presses launch a program with the file name sethc.exe. Warning bells should be ringing now, as the file sethc.exe may be an imposter. For example, if sethc.exe is renamed or deleted, and a copy of cmd.exe (the command prompt) renamed sethc.exe, then tapping Shift five times at the Welcome screen will launch a command prompt, as in screen 2. With a command prompt active, the world is the intruder's oyster. For example, compmgmt.msc launched the Computer Management console, where a new user...

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