6. Kon Boot Help Guide
1.4 Kon Boot Compatibility
Kon Boot will work with the following operating systems.
MicrosoftWindowsXPHomeEdition(ServicePack2+)
MicrosoftWindowsVistaHomeBasic(32/64bit)
MicrosoftWindowsVistaHomePremium(32/64bit)
MicrosoftWindowsVistaBusiness(32/64bit)
MicrosoftWindowsVistaEnterprise(32/64bit)
MicrosoftWindows7HomePremium(32/64Bit)
MicrosoftWindows7Professional(32/64Bit)
MicrosoftWindows7Ultimate(32/64Bit)
MicrosoftWindowsServer2003Standard(32/64bit)
MicrosoftWindowsServer2003Datacenter(32/64bit)
MicrosoftWindowsServer2003Enterprise(32/64bit)
MicrosoftWindowsServer2003WebEdition(32/64bit)
MicrosoftWindowsServer2008Standard(32/64bit)
MicrosoftWindowsServer2008Datacenter(32/64bit)
MicrosoftWindowsServer2008Enterprise(32/64bit)
Hardware:
IntelPentiumIIIprocessor(orcompatible)andgreater
*KonBootmaynotworkonallPC’sduetodifferentmotherboardBIOSissues.
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7. Kon Boot Help Guide
1.5 How it works
KonBootbootsfromexternalmediasuchasfloppy,CD,orUSBremovabledrives.
WhenaPCrunningWindowsisstartedwithKonBoot,theBIOSofthePCwillthenbe
hookedbyKonBoot.
AfterhookingtheBIOS,KonBootwillmodifytheWindowskerneltoallowausertobypass
thestepofWindowsauthenticationprocedureduringWindowsLogon.
ThechangesmadetotheWindowskernelaretemporaryonly.RebootingthePCwillrestore
thefunctionalityoftheWindowskernelanditscorrespondingauthenticationprocedures.
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8. Kon Boot Help Guide
2.1 How to make a Kon Boot USB flash drive
LocateKonBootInstallutilityinthefollowingdirectory:
KonBootv1.1KONUSBKonBootInstall.exe
• InsertaUSBthumborflashdriveintoyourPC
• RunKonBootInstall.exe
Please note:OnWindowsVistaornewer,youwillneedtorightclickontheexecutable
and“RunasAdministrator”
• Installationiscomplete!
SeeKonBootUSBGuide.pdfforadditionalhelp.
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9. Kon Boot Help Guide
2.2 How to make a Kon Boot CD
LocatekonCD.isointhefollowingdirectory:
KonBootv1.1KONCDkonCD.iso
• InsertablankrecordableCDintoyourCD-RW/DVD-RWdrive
• LaunchyourpreferredCDBurningapplication
• Findandselectburnimage/isooption
• Installationiscomplete!
SeeKonBootUSBGuide.pdfforadditionalhelp.
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10. Kon Boot Help Guide
3.1 Inserting and enabling media
• PoweronthetargetPCtouseKonBooton.
• EntertheBIOSofthePC.Thisprocedurevariesdependingonthemodelofyourcom-
puter.CommonkeystoentertheBIOSduringstartupare:F1,F2,DEL,F12.TheBIOS
generallywillindicatetheletterkeyneededtoentertheBIOSduringtheinitialseconds
ofpoweringonthePC.
• Setthefirst“BootDevice”or“BootPriority”toCDROMifyouareusingKonBootCD.If
youareusingaUSBremovabledrive(flashdrive),setthe“BootDevice”or“Boot
Priority”toUSB-HDDortheUSBdeviceifgiven.Thisprocedurealsovariesdependingon
themodelofthePC.Generally,thebootdeviceprioritycanbefoundinAdvanced
PeripheralssectionoftheBIOS.
Please note:IfyouareusingaUSBhubwithmultipleUSBdevices,ensureyouhaveselected
thecorrespondingdeviceintheBIOSaswellastheparticularhubentry.
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11. Kon Boot Help Guide
Example: BIOS of a PC
Consultyourmotherboardmanualforspecificinstructions.
IftheBIOSonyourmotherboardwillnotsupporttheUSBbootoption,wesuggestusing
KonBootCDorFloppy.
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12. Kon Boot Help Guide
3.2 Kon Boot Logon
AfterKonBootscreenhasexecutedandWindowsreachesthelogonscreen,simplyselect
yourdesiredusernameandloginwithoutanypasswordpresent.
Thepasswordwillbebypassed.
Iftheusernamefieldisblank,itmustbetypedinmanually.
TypicaldefaultusernamesareGuestandAdministrator.
Please note:
KonBootwillnotworkonnetworkdomainsunlesstheusernameiscachedlocally.
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13. Kon Boot Help Guide
3.3 Privilege escalation
• Logtoanyuseraccount
• Runstart•execute•cmd.exe
• Incmd.exe:copyc:windowssystem32cmd.execmk.exe
• incmd.exe:cmk
• incmd.exe:whoami(youshouldhaveSYSTEMrights)
Example: cmd.exe with the commands above
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14. Kon Boot Help Guide
To delete cmk.exe from the system
• Exitcmkbytyping“Exit”
• Executethecommand“delcmk.exe”
• cmkisnowremoved
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15. Kon Boot Help Guide
3.4 Using Kon Boot with VmWare
• DoubleclickyourCD/DVD(IDE)device.
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16. Kon Boot Help Guide
DoubleclickyourCD/DVD(IDE)device.
• Enable“Connectatpoweron”andbrowsethe“UseISOimagefile”optiontokonCD.iso
• ClickOK.
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17. Kon Boot Help Guide
• PresstheF2keyduringVMwareBIOSscreen
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18. Kon Boot Help Guide
• SetthefirstdrivetoCD-ROMDrive.
• Exitandsaveyourchanges.
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19. Kon Boot Help Guide
• KonBootisnowenabledforVMWare.
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20. Kon Boot Help Guide
3.5 Resetting passwords and adding accounts
• StartcomputerwithKonBoot.
• LogontoWindowsandchooseanyaccount.Inthisexample,weuseGuest.
• NavigatetheStartMenutoControlPanel
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21. Kon Boot Help Guide
• Select“UserAccountsandFamilySafety”
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22. Kon Boot Help Guide
• Click“Yes”andleavethepasswordfieldempty
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23. Kon Boot Help Guide
• Select“Createanewaccount”
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24. Kon Boot Help Guide
• Createtheaccountandsetthepermissions.
• DisconnectKonBootandrestartthecomputertorestoreoriginalWindows
authenticationfunctionality.
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25. Kon Boot Help Guide
• SelectyournewUserAccount.Inthisexamplewechoose“Audit”
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26. Kon Boot Help Guide
• NavigatetheStartMenutoControlPanel
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27. Kon Boot Help Guide
• Select“UserAccountsandFamilySafety”
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28. Kon Boot Help Guide
• SelectthetargetUserAccount
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29. Kon Boot Help Guide
• Select“Changethepassword”
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30. Kon Boot Help Guide
• Inputthenewinformationfortheaccountandclick“Changepassword”
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31. Kon Boot Help Guide
4. Kon Boot FAQ
Q. What does Kon Boot do?
A.KonBootwillallowausertobypasstheauthenticationprocessonWindows
basedsystems.Thepasswordisnotoverwrittenormodified,itisbypassed.
Q. How does Kon Boot work?
A.KonBootwillhooktheBIOSduringstartup.OnceKonBoothasloadeditselftomemory,
itwillmodifytheWindowsOSkernelsothatloginauthenticationisnotrequired.
Q. Are there any permanent changes to my computer when I use Kon Boot?
A.Allchangesmadetotheoperatingsystemaretemporaryandwill
berestoredwhenthecomputerisrebooted.Nopermanentchangesaremade.
Q. My antivirus detects Kon Boot as a virus, does Kon Boot contain malicious code?
A.No.DuetothebehaviorofKonBootwiththecomputersBIOS,KonBootmaybeincor-
rectlyflaggedasabootvirus.However,KonBootdoesnotcontainanymaliciouscodeorvirus
replicationfeatures,nordoesitcollectanyinformation.ThesoleinstructionofKonBootis
tomodifytheWindowskernelsothatitmaybypassloginauthenticationforthepurposeof
disasterrecovery,auditing,forgottonpasswords,orpenetrationtesting.Wedosuggest
disablingyourantiviruswhencreatingaKonBootCD,Floppy,orUSBflashdrive.
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32. Kon Boot Help Guide
Q. Does Kon Boot work on domain controllers?
A.KonBootwillnotbypassauthenticationofdomaincontrollers.Thereareinstanceswhere
aclientcomputerwilllocallycacheadomainlogin,andKonBootmaywork.
Q. Can Kon Boot bypass hard drive encryption?
A.No.KonBootwillonlybypassauthenticationofWindowsbasedlocalpasswords.
Q. Can I read Windows EFS encrypted folders using Kon Boot?
A.KonBootwillnotallowencryptedfolderaccess.Innocaseshouldyouresetorchangeyour
passwordwithaWindowsEFSbasedloginusingKonBoot(oranyothertool).Thepassword
andtheencryptionkeyarebinded,andchangingthepasswordofaWindowsEFSloginwill
requiretheoriginalpasswordtoberesetbeforeEFSfolderscanbeaccessedagainvialogin.
Q. Kon Boot gives an error related to BIOS. What’s wrong?
A.ItislikelythattheBIOSmemoryistoosmallforKonBoottorun,andthereforeKonBoot
isnotcompatiblewiththisparticularcomputer.
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33. Kon Boot Help Guide
Q. How do I protect my computer so Kon Boot does not work on it?
A.WerecommendharddriveencryptionusingtoolssuchasTrueCryptorPGP.
DisablingCDROMandUSBbootwhilepasswordprotectingyourBIOSisalsohelpful.
KryptosLogicwillalsoreleaseaBIOSprotector,whichwillpreventanytool,including
KonBoot,frombooting.
Q. Kon Boot USB does not work for me?
A.VariousBIOSandcomputerconfigurationsmaybeincompatiblewithcertain
USBflashdrives.Additionally,certainBIOSconfigurationsandKonBootareincompatible.
IfyouhaveaninstancewhichKonBootwillnotrun,pleasesubmittheBIOSversionand
computermodeltoKryptosLogic.Wewilltrytofixitforournextrelease!
Q. Can I make any suggestions or comments about Kon Boot?
A. Absolutely.Pleasesendyourthoughtstocontact@kryptoslogic.com
Q. Are copies of Kon Boot on P2P and sites other than KryptosLogic.com safe?
A. DonotuseunauthorizedcopiesofKonBoot.KonBootshouldbepurchasedonlyfrom
verified sources, such as KryptosLogic.com. Versions obtained outside of our distribution
channelsmaycontainvirusinfections,malware,orsimplybedamaged.Theseversionsare
not trusted, safe, or supported. Furthermore,we do not support unauthorizedversions of
KonBoot.
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