Password strength and encryption are important things when it comes to computers. A password is the entire security of your computer, and OS passwords are not hard to break. Most users believe that if you have a password on your computer via the OS, that you are safe. This is ...more
You store everything on your computer's hard drive… precious family photos, your favorite music and video files, valuable financial information, and let's not forget about all that porn (just kidding). You can't back up your data when it crashes, so don’t wait another day to p ...more
When you buy computer parts, it can be a tough decision where you want to put all of your hard earned dollars into. Not only that, but when you buy a top of the line component, 3 months later (at most), your hardware will likely be outdated. This puts consumers like us in a bi ...more
Things You'll Need A fully working operating system that supports VirtualBox (Windows, OS X, Linux or Solaris) VirtualBox 4.0+ Tips VirtualBox for Windows / OS X / Solaris can be downloaded here. All Linux users hold your breath. There is a better way to install VirtualBox ...more
This might be so '2 weeks ago' but I've been away, oh well. In a few short words: The PS3 has finally been hacked via a USB device! Sure it can be possibly used for piracy, but let's not go into that topic. Instead read this nice intro into what an open PS3 can do for you (v ...more
Laptops are almost a necessity in today's society. It doesn't help that a laptop that can actually increase your work productivity will put at least a $1,500 dent in your wallet. I'm sure you have searched around to try to find factory direct deals, or (shiver) even looked at ...more
The HP Touchpad 64 GB is out in action with a robust processor and additional applications in the market. Using the best technology on earth, it is looking forward to give a tough fight to the Apple’s iPad 2. The 64 GB HP TouchPad sound more promising to its predecessors. The ...more
If you’re having trouble getting games on your memory stick, this video will walk you through the steps of just what you will need to do to compress files onto a thumb drive. There are a variety of steps you will have to follow and you’ll have to have a little bit of time to w ...more
As I was listening to Apple's WWDC conference today, what ran through my mind the most is if there were ever a time to switch to the world of Apple computing now is it. Today's WWDC keynote presentation was chock-full of new and updated iOS mobile software—too much to cover in ...more
A lot of different places have computers with controls on them for several things; some have controls for installing software, some for running software, blocking websites, opening certain file formats, etc. Obviously, not all places use the same methods, and not all of the m ...more
The Ubuntu CD does not contain much in terms of software applications. So how can we incorporate other programs that would be made available after booting from a live CD? There is a program called Remastersys. This program creates an .ISO image of the Linux system installed ...more
This is a very simple, but very funny prank to play on your friends using Windows. Creating the file Begin creating this prank file by opening up a text document in your word editor program. Once you have opened the text document copy this into the document: do msgbox"wha ...more
Products with dual capabilities make life easier, allowing us to carrying around one less electronic device. The PlayStation Portable does just that. You not only have hours of entertainment with hand-held games but can store music for on the go as well! The PSP, or PlayStati ...more
Just installed a new hard disk on your PC, but Windows was unable to detect it? Download Ubuntu A new hard disk requires that you create a partition table before you can do a format. Download the Ubuntu Desktop CD 10.04LTS 32bit x86 for Intel users. Tips The Live CD won't ...more
In order to put music on your iPod, you will need the following: a CD, a USB, an iPod, and iTunes. Place your CD in the CD drive of your computer. Select "Yes", when it gives you the option to import your music into your iTunes library. You will be able to see it importuning ...more
Get Google Chrome Download and install Google Chrome. Get Rohos Mini Drive Download and install Rohos Mini Drive. Open Rohos Mini Drive Open the Rohos Mini Drive main window and create an encrypted partition by clicking on Setup USB Key link. Tips Without first creating ...more
The newest version of macOS has arrived. While everyone's mind is being blown by Mojave's groundbreaking new Dark Mode, we'll be taking advantage of its insecure file permissions to establish a persistent backdoor with a self-destructing payload that leaves little evidence for ...more
Hello, everyone! Many of you don't even know about my existence here on Null Byte, so I thought of contributing something rather interesting. Recently, someone asked how to make your own "Bad USB," and I promised to make a how-to on this topic. In addition, it would be nice t ...more
If you've got more than one computer, it can be a huge pain to switch form one to the other. Between files, settings and apps, it can take a while to transfer everything—and if you're running different operating systems, it's even worse. Image by Onion A new feature on Window ...more
If you read the reviews on Google's Pixel C, you'll notice one big complaint about the tablet/laptop—most reviewers feel that Android simply isn't ready to be used as a desktop OS. The developers at Jide felt the same way, so they set out to make a custom version of Android wi ...more
The Files app received a big update in iOS 13. Before, it was limited to local and cloud-based files, but now you can access data from external storage devices, including SD cards and USB drives. But before you try to connect your favorite card or drive to your iPhone, there a ...more
Mobile carriers have been the bane of my existence for as long as I've had a phone. First, they take away unlimited data, and then when you try and switch carriers, they hold your phone hostage for a up to a week before unlocking it from their network. There are services out ...more
When the Chromecast first came out about a year ago, developers were quick to find a way to root the streaming device. Google was almost as fast, however, in updating the Chromecast's firmware to close the loophole that this method used. Recently, the developers at Team Eurek ...more
If you bought an iPhone or iPad equipped with USB-C but didn't max out the local storage, there are some great external storage solutions beyond iCloud and other cloud storage services. And now that the iPhone lineup comes with USB-C ports, you have better-performing external ...more
With an ordinary birthday card, we can introduce a physical device which contains malicious files into someone's home and deceive them into inserting the device into a computer. In my last series, we used a Post-it note to trick a neighbor into visiting a website that we cont ...more
It's not uncommon for hackers to attempt to move laterally between devices in proximity of a compromised device to maintain a prolonged presence in the network. Malware utilizing USB flash sticks to self-replicate and compromise air-gapped machines isn't a new concept. In bot ...more
One of the most common complaints about the Nexus line of devices is that they don't have expandable memory. Phones like the Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8 have a microSD card slot that allows you to easily add extra storage space for movies, music, and photos. The Nexus 5 has ...more
Recently I was trying to install Kali Live on a USB drive with persistence and struggled to find a tutorial online that was simple and actually worked. After some trial and error I figured out how to do it correctly and decided to make an article for anyone who is experiencing ...more
It's easy to run Kali Linux from a live USB on nearly any available computer, but many publicly accessible laptops and desktops will be locked down to prevent such use. School, work, or library PCs can be secured with a BIOS password, which is often an easily recovered default ...more
Apple's macOS operating system is just as vulnerable to attacks as any Windows 10 computer or Android smartphone. Hacker's can embed backdoors, evade antivirus with simple commands, and utilize USB flash drives to completely compromise a MacBook. In this always-updated guide, ...more
A powered-off MacBook can be compromised in less than three minutes. With just a few commands, it's possible for a hacker to extract a target's password hash and crack it without their knowledge. The goal in this article is to acquire a target's .plist file which contains the ...more
In the previous article, we learned how to set up our VPS, configure our PHP server, and developed an in-depth understanding of how the payload works. With all that taken care of, we can get into disguising our payload to appear as an image and crafting the note in the greetin ...more
For those of you who've already gotten Beta Preview or Developer Preview access to Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite, I highly recommend installing it on a separate partition on your hard drive. There have been many reported bugs and even blank gray screens that prevent access to the s ...more
With the release of Windows 8 right around the corner, if you plan on buying it (or just want to see what it's all about), it's a good idea to take advantage of the free trial before you shell out any money. If you're an Apple user who doesn't have a deep-seated disdain for Mi ...more
Technology has progressed by leaps and bounds and has blessed people in a number of ways, but at the same time, it has troubled them also. Computers are now used in every aspect of life. No matter if you are a businessman, an employee, a student, or even a housewife, a compute ...more
The latest Star Wars movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story, has grossed almost $350 million worldwide during its first month in theaters. This is a good opportunity to discuss how hackers can use media hype (in this case, Hollywood movie hype) to disarm an unsuspecting Windows user i ...more
Deleted bank statements and private photos are still within an attacker's grasp, so don't think that emptying your recycling bin is enough to keep your files from coming back to life. It's possible for a hacker to recover compromising files and images from a backdoored compute ...more
Have a PC but hate Windows? Maybe you've just heard a ton about the new Mountain Lion OS X and want to see if it lives up to expectations. Either way, you can install Mountain Lion on your Intel-based PC in a few easy steps. All you need is a copy of the OS X and an 8 GB USB f ...more
Microsoft's Windows 10 has proven to be a solid release by Microsoft, with faster adoption rates than its predecessor builds. The seamless integration of cloud services and tweaks both major and minor make using Windows easier than ever now. And it's almost enough to forget yo ...more
It's important to know who you're dealing with after hacking your target's MacBook. Getting remote access is simple, but covertly gathering information about the user and their system can be a challenge. Continuing with our situational awareness attacks, we'll be further orie ...more
Don't think because your MacBook is using FileVault disk encryption your device is secure or immune to hackers. Here's how to find out if that FileVault password is strong enough to withstand an attack from a motivated attacker. FileVault, created by Apple in 2003, is a hard ...more
After a hacker has configured Metasploit on a remote private server, created a resource script for automation, and created a simple payload, he or she can begin the process of remotely controlling someone's Windows 10 computer with just a few moments of physical access — even ...more
Straight out of the box, the Nexus 5 is an awesome device, but even it can be faster with better battery life. Luckily, one of the things that makes it so awesome is that there are tons of developers creating mods for it, since it runs stock Android by default. When it comes t ...more
Kali Linux is probably the most well-known hacking distribution among penetration testers. However, there are alternative distros which offer versatility and advanced package management systems that are absolutely worth considering. One such distribution is Pentoo, a Gentoo-b ...more
Kali Linux is the go-to Linux distribution for penetration testing and ethical hacking. Still, it's not recommended for day-to-day use, such as responding to emails, playing games, or checking Facebook. That's why it's better to run your Kali Linux system from a bootable USB d ...more
If you've spotted an unintended Ethernet connection and wondered what you could do with all of the information coursing through those wires, there's an easy way to hack into it and find out. Let's say there's a router that we need to know the password for, and we have physica ...more
The Raspberry Pi loads an operating system from whatever SD card you insert, allowing you to keep different operating systems on separate SD cards depending on which OS you wish to run. A tool called BerryBoot cuts down on the number of SD cards needed by providing the ability ...more
Yesterday, I wanted to remove BackTrack from my system and install Kali, and at the same time didn't want to damage my Windows 7 or my hard drive. I searched a lot of articles, but almost all of them wanted me to have a backup Windows 7 CD, which I don't possess. So, I decide ...more
Since the new Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan is brand new, I recommend installing it on a separate partition on your hard drive. This will keep your current Yosemite system safe from harm, and will let you easily switch back to it should El Capitan become unusable for any reason. ...more
No more carrying around heavy laptops and thousands of Linux Live CDs and USBs to always be ready for pentesting on the fly! I hope you had a good Christmas and happy new year! Update1: Added the section "weaponizing your Android" where I talk about apps and fundamental Kali ...more
For those unwilling to wait until the Fall for the official release of Apple's latest Mac OS X, El Capitan, you can sign up for the public beta today and get it sometime this summer. If that's still not soon enough for you, there is a way to get it on your Mac right now. Don' ...more
Whether you're in high school or college, you no doubt will have your iPhone in your pocket all day long. To make your iPhone last the whole time and even help you out with your studies, these are the accessories you'll want to get your hands on. You might not think you need ...more
It's easier than you might think to hack into Wi-Fi routers using just one unrooted Android phone. This method doesn't require brute-forcing the password, a Windows OS for converting PowerShell scripts into EXE format, a reliable VPS for intercepting hacked Wi-Fi passwords, or ...more
Bigger and faster. Two words that are pretty much always wanted no matter what the scenario is. The new PlayStation 4 has been out for only a few hours now and people are already looking for ways to one-up their friends and upgrade their already awesome systems. The PS4 ships ...more
While Windows 10 is still a few weeks away from a public release, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy its brand new features right now. Anyone with an Insider Preview account can install Windows 10 on their computer. And that doesn't just go for those that own a Windows PC—Mac u ...more
The fifth annual Amazon Prime Day is upon us. Starting July 15, Amazon will offer thousands of deals on products across its site, kicking off at 3 a.m. EDT. This year, it will only run for 48 hours, so you have even less time to act. To save you some of that time, we made a li ...more
Just recently, I was experimenting with a dual-boot Windows setup, and somehow managed to wipe my primary Windows installation in the process. "Why," I asked myself, "Why didn't I make a backup before I started this?" Still to this day, I'm going through the painstaking proces ...more
Windows 10 is due to be released on July 29th, and the majority of existing Windows users should be eligible to upgrade to the newer version for free. But there's been a lot of confusion about which older versions of Windows will be eligible for the free update, and some unce ...more
The macOS 10.14 security update tried to make parts of the operating system difficult for hackers to access. Let's take a closer look at how its new feature works and what we can do to spoof the origin of an application attempting to access protected data. Apple introduced so ...more
As someone with a pretty nice TV, I've never found the allure in purchasing a projector. While they're certainly smaller and sleeker than a television, and more portable, they can be pricey and produce a less than stellar image. And who really buys a projector anyways? They're ...more