Format a Macbook Pro Hard Drive

Like the press covering film and many other specialized fields, video game journalists use all sorts of jargon to convey to their knowledgable readers as much information about a game as quickly as possible. For non or newbie gamers, this can be extremely confusing. Those of ...more

You're sitting in front of your grandmother's Windows XP machine that has the worst infection you've ever seen. Safe mode? No dice. Restore points? They're compromised. Even worse, all of the files are hidden and none of the executables will run! This leaves her computer in a ...more

Backing up your files is a requirement in today's world of tech. In an instant, your storage device can fail. This is an unacceptable situation that should never happen to anyone. Storage is cheap, and backups are easier than ever to perform. Most of the time, this can be comp ...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

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

Cases and stickers are always great, but they aren't the only way to customize an iPhone. The software on your device is full of customization options, from a better-looking home screen and cooler lock screen wallpapers to app icon changes and a system-wide dark mode. There's ...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

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

Did you know Kali 1.0.8? You probably did, and you probably know about the EFI boot option that has been added. That's a very interesting new feature because it allows Kali to be easily booted on Mac too, and every EFI-supported device. First three preview lines gone? As alw ...more

Encrypting payloads and encoding stagers are more effective against macOS than one might think. It's very easy to evade VirusTotal and macOS antivirus software using a few simple tricks. The goal of this project was to locate a known and easily detectable macOS payload, then ...more

There's a lot of talk these days about how the iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max can shoot Hollywood-quality video with HDR and Dolby Vision. The video processing is really cool when it works, but as of right now, you might find its limitations outweigh its use to you ...more

While photography usually gets all the love, our phones have gotten really good at capturing video. Think about it — when was the last time you needed a camcorder for a vacation? With mobile cameras getting better each year, we're now at a point where smartphones can be used f ...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

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

The first few minutes after gaining access to a MacBook are critical — but where do we begin? Using tools built into macOS, we can develop an in-depth understanding of running background processes, detect antivirus software, locate sensitive files, and fingerprint other device ...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

When most people think of "gaming computers," they're probably thinking of Windows-based PCs. They offer a huge variety of devices with better equipped software and hardware for a cheaper price, and there are more available games than there are for OS X-based systems. But tha ...more

Welcome back, my amateur hackers! When you are using and administering Linux, it is important to be conversant in the use of the log files. As you know, log files are the repository for much information about our system, including errors and security alerts. If we are trying ...more

Welcome back, my tenderfoot hackers! I recently began a new series on digital forensics to help tenderfoot hackers from being detected and ultimately, incarcerated. In this installment of that series, we will look at recovering deleted files. This is important to hackers beca ...more

While our smartphones are many things, one of their primary functions is to make calls. Many of us try to avoid ever having to make calls, but there are situations when it's a must, such as wishing your grandma happy Birthday or calling 911 — and in those times you want stella ...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're marginally inclined towards computers, you've probably been approached at some point by a family member who wants you to "fix" their system during a visit home. With the holidays coming up, these opportunities (or ambushes) are even more likely. Even if nothing is w ...more

After the dust settled from Apple's annual iPhone event, there's not a lot to get hyped up about the iPhone 13 lineup, particularly if you upgraded your smartphone last year. Sure, the iPhone 13, along with the premium Pro and Pro Max and the pint-sized Mini variants, get spe ...more

In 2019, the Raspberry Pi 4 was released with specs including either 1 GB, 2 GB, or 4 GB of memory, a Broadcom BCM2711B0 quad-core A72 SoC, a USB Type-C power supply, and dual Micro-HDMI outputs. Performance and hardware changes aside, the Pi 4 Model B runs Kali Linux just as ...more

If you're worried about the security of your Mac, there are easy measures to prevent the most dangerous attacks. Named after the tactic of accessing an unattended computer in a hotel room, we can thwart "evil maid" attacks with Do Not Disturb and LuLu, free macOS tools by Obje ...more

Switching phones has never been easier. Google backs up most of your app data on the cloud, which can then be restored onto your new phone. Sadly, Signal doesn't use this feature since it could compromise your security. Instead, Signal stores encrypted backups locally, requiri ...more

For the uninitiated, it can be difficult to buy that special hacker in your life a perfect holiday gift. That's why we've taken out the guesswork and curated a list of the top 20 most popular items our readers are buying. Whether you're buying a gift for a friend or have been ...more

While there aren't as many ways to customize your iPhone like there is on Android, there are still a lot of apps out there that can help streamline and enhance your experience beyond Apple's own default options — and we've hand-picked over 100 essentials. No matter if you've ...more

Kali Linux is the obvious first choice of an operating system for most new hackers, coming bundled with a curated collection of tools organized into easy-to-navigate menus and a live boot option that is very newbie-friendly. But Kali isn't the only distribution targeted at pen ...more

All of Apple's products are praised for being extremely easy to use. So much so, that your grandma can pick one up and be a "pro" within a few hours. However, this isn't necessarily a good thing for us real power users who want more granular control of our devices. Luckily, M ...more

Apple has four iPhone models for the remaining months of 2020, but the most impressive ones are the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. While the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini are great smartphones, the "Pro" models offer more advanced features, especially for photographers an ...more

Mobile gaming has exploded in recent years, with experts predicting 2.4 billion global mobile players by the end of 2019. It already accounts for 47% of the worldwide gaming market, besting console and PC. No wonder we've seen the rise of gaming smartphones, a class of phones ...more

While you may not have loads of secret files hiding on your computer, there might be one or two items that need a little extra security, like a file of website logins or a folder of risqué photos. Mac OS X does have FileVault as a good security option, which uses XTS-AES 128- ...more

The older I get, the more my Friday nights involve watching Netflix at home with a bottle of Maker's Mark and a box of Oreos. Netflix is a big part of my life, and I'm not alone. YouTube and Netflix make up over 50% of all activity on the Internet, so it might be worth your ti ...more

This year, like every year before it, Black Friday sales are starting earlier than ever. A lot of stores will be opening their doors as early as 5pm on Thanksgiving to get a head start on the madness (and it really is madness). As we've discussed in the past, one of the keys t ...more

You're a busy, on-the-go professional, so you deserve an email client that keeps up with you. "Mail" on iPhone wasn't always the best option, but thanks to iOS 13, it feels like a completely different app. That said, there are plenty of alternatives that offer a different expe ...more

It's a strange time for us iOS beta testers. While Apple prepares for the general release of iOS 13 on Thursday, it's also beta testing that software's successor, iOS 13.1. An iPhone updated to iOS 13 on Sept. 19 will only have 11 days before seeing 13.1 in its Software Update ...more

Apple's iOS 13 is nearly here. After four months of beta testing, the latest iPhone software update promises over 200 brand new features, like system-wide dark mode and an overhauled Reminders app. That said, it'll be shortlived, as Apple plans to release iOS 13.1 as a supplem ...more

Yesterday showed us our first look at the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. But it wasn't all about hardware. Apple also released the iOS 13 Golden Master, making iOS 13.1 the main focus for us beta testers. Now, Apple just seeded the third public beta, followin ...more

It's a big day for Apple. First, the company announced its new suite of phones: iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. Then, we get the iOS 13 Golden Master, the beta version of iOS 13 that will eventually release to the general public on Sept. 19. Now, it seems the ...more

It's finally out. After months of testing, iOS 13 is available to install on your iPhone, which means over 200+ new features you can use right now. The update, released on Sept. 19, can be installed over the air or from a restore image using iTunes in macOS Mojave and older or ...more

Apple has pulled quite the headscratcher in anticipation of its big iPhone unveiling next week. Its latest iPhone update, iOS 13.0, is just on the horizon, going through eight beta versions so far. And yet, before that software's official release, the company has started beta ...more