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
If you have a Mac, you've probably been anticipating the release of OS X Mountain Lion. If you have multiple Macs, you've probably been dreading the long process of downloading and installing it on all of them. Here's how to create a bootable backup disk and save yourself some ...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
Ever try plugging in two flash drives into your MacBook Pro before? The USB ports on MacBooks are not only directly side by side, they're insanely close to each other, so it can be extremely difficult to plug in a large USB device with another smaller USB device. Sometimes it ...more
With MP3 players all but dead, phones are now the dominant portable music devices. While smartphones have gotten better at this task over the years, they do have some glaring limitations when it comes to music. On the bright side, we can use these limitations to help find the ...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
A rooted Android device means we're on our way to some truly amazing customization options. But there may be a few steps left to completing that journey, and a major one is installing a custom recovery. A recovery is simply a skimmed down operations tool that runs between you ...more
Surprising? No. Exciting? Absolutely. After a grand introduction by at the Apple event on September 10, 2019, the iPhone 11 is finally here. We may have known nearly everything about this new iOS device ahead of time, thanks to the usual surge of reliable leaks and rumors. Th ...more
Welcome back, my budding hackers! One of the most basic skills the forensic investigator must master is the acquisition of data in a forensically sound manner. If data is not captured in a forensically sound manner, it may not be admissible in court. In my Kali Forensics seri ...more
Welcome back, my hacker novitiates! Many of you have written me that you're having difficulty installing and running Metasploit on a variety of platforms. No matter if you're using Mac, Linux, or Windows, I strongly recommend you install BackTrack as your secondary OS, a virt ...more
Kali Linux has come a long way since its BackTrack days, and it's still widely considered the ultimate Linux distribution for penetration testing. The system has undergone quite the transformation since its old days and includes an updated look, improved performance, and some ...more
If left unattended, a hacker with a USB Rubber Ducky and physical access to the computer can infiltrate even the most secure computer. Such attacks often go undetected without the use of a tool like USBRip, which can provide you with assurance that your device hasn't been comp ...more
So i ran into a problem few days ago and it seemed to be very annoying one. I got hands on ASUS X55A with broken HDD. So i changed HDD and woo enter bios password. I hit enter and got into bios where uder security tab was shining ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD INSTALLED. There was no ...more
Who wouldn't want to know if someone was trying to log onto their personal computer without their permission? Be it your annoying co-worker or your girlfriend, there are many cases where people may try to gain access to your desktop or laptop. Having a strong password is the ...more
A powered-off Windows 10 laptop can be compromised in less than three minutes. With just a few keystrokes, it's possible for a hacker to remove all antivirus software, create a backdoor, and capture webcam images and passwords, among other highly sensitive personal data. The ...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
There's never been a better time for streaming movies and TV shows on the go. With so many services available, the only limitation to your enjoyment is your phone's accessories. Whether you're buying for yourself or someone else, here are some of the best gifts that improve th ...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
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
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
If any gamer knows their gaming history, one name is synonymous with starting the gaming revolution—Atari. Founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell, Bushnell helped kickstart the home video game market with their line of Video Computer Systems, or what we would call video game consol ...more
No matter how many PSAs are published on the topic, studies continue to show that we are generally terrible at creating secure passwords and PINs. Using the same password (or variations of it) for multiple sites is another huge no-no that the majority of people ignore, and eve ...more
Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8) is out today, available in the Mac App Store for just $20. Unfortunately, installing Mountain Lion requires that you already have a Mac running Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) or Lion (OS X 10.7). If you're currently running a Leopard system, you're out of l ...more
School internet filters serve a valid purpose—they keep students from wandering off into the deep corners of the web while still allowing at least some internet access. But a lot of these restrictions are completely ridiculous, to the point where some school districts block ac ...more
Do you have a file (or many files) that, in the wrong hands, may cause you trouble? Don't worry about it, because I'll show you how to wipe it (or them) from your computer in order to leave no trace behind. When you delete a file with the remove command (rm <file>), you're no ...more
With smartphone cameras and software getting better and better every year, more and more users are getting passionate about photography. So when you're shopping for a gift to get someone, if they have a smartphone, chances are they'll more than appreciate some tools and access ...more
If you have seen the movie Fast and Furious 7, you know what "God's Eye" is. Well this might spark interest to you. If You Don't Know if you don't know what God's Eye is, basically it's a software that is able to access any phone, camera, microphone, anything that is digital ...more
Seriously?! That's what a lot of people are saying when they found out that their Xbox One doesn't have a native streaming media player. When a new system is introduced and lacks features that the previous system had, it really pisses people off. The Xbox 360 allowed people to ...more
So, you've got a brand new PlayStation 4, but unfortunately, you've got "No Signal" now, too. You can't really game or watch movies on your new toy if you can't even bring up the PlayStation menu on your TV screen. However, there are a few ways to fix the no connection alert, ...more
In the realm of Android mods, none is more powerful than a custom recovery. This is installed in place of the stock offering, and it lets you back up your entire system, flash mods, and install custom ROMs. Recently, the guys over at Team Win Recovery Project released a versi ...more
I recently picked up a Pixel Slate when Google had a deal going on. I'd been in the market for an Android tablet since the Nexus 7, and this was the closest thing to it. Unfortunately, I soon learned Chrome OS and Android aren't as integrated as I had hoped. What do you do if ...more
Microsoft did a wonderful thing in 2015: for the first time, it was offering a free upgrade to Windows 10 for all current Windows 7 and 8.1 users. And, if you were lucky, the upgrade process was relatively simple and painless. There were, however, some questions after the ever ...more
Welcome back, rookie hackers! We recently began an exploration of ways to hack using the Bluetooth protocol. As you know, Bluetooth is a protocol that connects near field devices such as headsets, speakers, and keyboards. Its minimum range is a 10-meter radius (~33 feet) and ...more
Welcome back, my aspiring hackers! One of those areas of Linux that Windows users invariably struggle with is the concept of "mounting" devices and drives. In the Windows world, drives and devices are automatically "mounted" without any user effort or knowledge. Well, maybe a ...more
The switch from Dalvik runtime to ART in Android Lollipop has rendered the Xposed Framework useless until a new version is released, but Xposed isn't the only way to mod a phone. Before the days of Xposed, system mods were installed by flashing them in a custom recovery. It's ...more
A PirateBox creates a network that allows users to communicate wirelessly, connecting smartphones and laptops even when surrounding infrastructure has been disabled on purpose or destroyed in a disaster. Using a Raspberry Pi, we will make a wireless offline server that hosts f ...more
At one point in the '90s, about fifty percent of the CDs produced worldwide had an AOL logo. About fifty percent of the CDs in my home still have that AOL promise of 500 free hours on them. Though they never got me to join their internet service, I did get a lifetime supply of ...more
When you think of Terminal, you probably imagine some hacker sitting in front of their computer in a dimly lit room trying to break into an FBI database. In reality, it's just a simple tool that can make using your Mac much easier. Now, I'm not saying that learning Terminal c ...more
If you had a phone in 2004, there's a pretty good chance it was a Motorola RAZR. The iconic phone is the tenth highest-selling of all time, and it marked the height of the flip phone era. Now that the technology has caught up, Lenovo (Motorola's parent company) is bringing it ...more
Samsung does a good job of making their devices fairly open, and the Galaxy S3 is no different. There are numerous way to root a device, but sometimes the jargon and steps can be a little intimidating for new rooters, and even pro rooters. XDA Elite Recognized Developer Adam ...more
When it comes to modding Android, there's no better tool than Team Win's TWRP custom recovery. You can use it to root your phone, flash mods like Magisk or Xposed, and even replace the entire operating system with a custom ROM like LineageOS — honestly, there's not much this u ...more
The USB Rubber Ducky and the Digispark board both suffer from the same issue when attacking macOS computers: a keyboard profiler pop-up which tries to identify any non-Apple USB keyboards. While it's an annoying setback, the solution is a simple modification that allows Mac co ...more
As penetration testers, we sometimes need to securely store customer data for prolonged periods. Bruteforce-resistant, vault-like containers can be created with just a few commands to protect ourselves from physical attacks and unintended data disclosures. The subject of cryp ...more
Hi there, nullbytes :) I've recently seen many questions regarding VMs with Kali, and personally I prefer using a Live Boot USB to get Kali without removing my system (and for many reasons). Some of the reasons for using a Live USB are: · You use all of your system resources ...more
While most of us don't think twice about dragging a pattern or using Touch ID to open our phones, or entering a password in for our email and bank accounts, these features are there to protect some of our most private information. Only problem is, they don't do a good job of i ...more
There are a ton of cool features available on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but if you're a softModder, you can make your phone do just about anything. Therein lies the problem…what do you want from your Android device? When you first start tinkering around, it can be troubles ...more
At last, what you all finally waited for! Hi! Fire Crackers, Welcome to my 7th post (Part-3), this tutorial will explain about some situations and how to make the Victim's Life like Hell! And fill his system with Malware. #1 Situation: After Exploiting... Go ahead and explo ...more
Getting files from an Android device to a Mac or iOS device is not always easy or convenient, and the same goes for transferring content from a Mac or iOS device to an Android device. But we're here to tell you there is a better way than using USB cables, email, and cloud stor ...more
The USB Rubber Ducky is a famous attack tool that looks like a USB flash drive but acts like a keyboard when plugged into any unlocked device. The Ducky Script language used to control it is simple and powerful, and it works with Arduino and can run on boards like the ultra-ch ...more
In order to increase the security and harden the integrity of an email account and its content, you'll want to use PGP on your Windows, macOS, or Linux computer. This is usually the first thing security analysts do to protect communications with encryption, and everyone else s ...more
While there are many customization options available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, they aren't always easy. The large selection of custom ROMs and difficulty implementing certain hacks and mods can be a nightmare for anyone not well versed in all things Android. But the good ...more
You watched the live stream, pored over the specs, and are now super excited for the Google Pixel 4. But specs don't tell you everything. After using the Pixel 4 XL for over a week now, we've found several things you wouldn't know without getting your hands on the phone. Most ...more
Microsoft.com is one of the most extensive domains on the internet with thousands of registered subdomains. Windows 10 will ping these subdomains hundreds of times an hour, making it challenging to firewall and monitor all of the requests made by the operating system. An attac ...more
For anyone using open source information to conduct an investigation, a balance between powerful tools and privacy controls are a must. Buscador is a virtual machine packed full of useful OSINT tools and streamlined for online research. This program can easily be set up in Vir ...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
Ransomware is software that encrypts a victim's entire hard drive, blocking access to their files unless they pay a ransom to the attacker to get the decryption key. In this tutorial, you'll learn how easy it is to use the USB Rubber Ducky, which is disguised as an ordinary fl ...more
Barrow's article on Pupy made me wish for a RAT that could target an OS frequently used by gatekeepers at startups, tech companies, and creative firms: macOS. Once run, a RAT can do severe damage by dumping a user's stored credentials for many accounts. The best loot lives in ...more
There are quite a few flaws with Apple's mobile products, and one that drives me crazy is their reliance upon iTunes for all your music syncing needs. If you want a song on your iPhone, you pretty much have to use iTunes to get it on there. Either that or buy it directly from ...more
So the new iPhones have arrived. Like last year, Apple released three iPhones in three different sizes that vary in price and specs. There's the base model iPhone 11, and then there are the real deal, premium models, the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max. The iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro ...more
Windows 10 and macOS have poor reputations when it comes to customer privacy and user policies. Our hacking Windows 10 and hacking macOS articles might make it seem like a reasonably secure operating system doesn't exist. But I'm here to tell you that there is a viable alterna ...more