Beginners luck is a phrase I have always hated. But really, beginners luck comes down to not letting your experience in something get in the way of the idea. This past weekend, I drove to Atlanta for my first ever hackathon, HoloHack, presented by ThyssenKrupp. Twenty hours a ...more
The US Department of Education has put together a competition called the EdSim Challenge with a $680,000 purse to facilitate next-gen education. The event calls upon augmented and virtual reality, as well as video game developers, to bring immersive simulation concepts to prep ...more
A new hack has reopened an 8-year-old iPhone security loophole that Apple thought it had fixed back with iPhone OS 2.2. This is not one of those times when a theoretical attack gets identified and blocked quickly by Apple. On the contrary, it's a hack that actually exists righ ...more
Google Assistant just got a lot more powerful thanks to IFTTT. The automation platform, whose name stands for If This, Then That, connects your favorite online services and smart devices to one another, allowing for a seamless experience with many different gadgets—and Google ...more
Google makes Android, but now, Google makes its own phones, too. Until this point, they've always stayed on the software side of things and let Samsung and friends handle the hardware, but their new Pixel phones are changing all of that. Related: The Pixel Exemplifies Google' ...more
Starting with Marshmallow, Android added a built-in theme engine called "Runtime Resource Overlay," or RRO. This theme engine was intended to be used only by smartphone manufacturers, not end-users, so unlike Cyanogen's CM Theme Engine, owners can't use it to change the look a ...more
One of the main reasons for installing a custom ROM on an Android device is all of the added features. For instance, OmniROM offers a souped-up multitasking mod called OmniSwitch, so instead of the regular app switcher, you get an interface that lets you pin your favorite apps ...more
One of Android's biggest strengths relative to iOS is the fact that you can use any app to open compatible links, not just the stock ones that come preloaded on your device. When you tap a link that two or more of your apps are capable of opening, you'll see a message asking w ...more
If you enjoy modding your Android device with root utilities, custom ROMs, and Xposed modules, then there's a good chance you've had to factory reset your phone when something went awry. Plus, when you're switching ROMs, it's always recommended that you wipe all data, so us mo ...more
Many phones these days are being manufactured without a notification LED—it's a cost-cutting move, and it's really not an essential component. However, the notification light on Android devices has traditionally alerted users to any missed messages, and this is functionality y ...more
So you're finally ready to head out on that big trip you've been planning for months, huh? It's an exciting time, but there are plenty of things you'll need to prepare before you head out. For instance, it's hard to imagine life without a smartphone these days, and with useful ...more
Depending on your device, Android's power (aka restart) menu can range from utilitarian and boring to almost completely useless. Some devices don't even allow you to reboot, let alone reboot to recovery mode or Fastboot, and for such a centralized menu, the glaring lack of Mat ...more
I have came across a lot of members on the forum that didn't have a clear idea of what port forwarding is and what it does. So...Let's get started... Your router is blocking outside traffic from coming inside the network for security reasons (Kind of, like, a firewall level), ...more
Smartphones are designed to be used in portrait mode primarily, so smartphone apps are created with that layout in mind. This means that practically every app on your phone is vertically oriented, which, in turn, means that we have to scroll up and down quite a bit. So develo ...more
Greetings my fellow hackers, In the previous article, I discussed briefly about ransomwares and their devastating capabilities. Devastating in a way that ransomwares are not only known to encrypt files but to also lockout some specific functions of the system and hold it up f ...more
I've been an Android user almost as long as the operating system has existed, so when I received my first iPhone in April, I felt like I was in a foreign land. Sure, it runs most of the apps I'm used to, and the phone itself feels about the same in my hand as any similarly-siz ...more
As the internet continues to become a bigger part of our day-to-day lives, we slowly but surely start to rack up a bunch of web-based subscriptions. These internet subscription services—Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, just to name a few—may seem innocuously cheap individually ...more
This tutorial follows the same idea as my original tutorial for windows, but I've redone it to work with Mac OS X. Here's how to get a meterpreter session from your victim opening a malicious word document: Step 1: Creating the Payload For this tutorial, I'll be using a pyth ...more
When you think of all the fun and games smartphones have to offer, it's easy to forget that they also make a great tool for getting things done. With utilities like document scanners, calendars, to-do lists, office apps, and password managers, that little computer you carry ar ...more
What's up guys? Welcome to a sort of general walkthrough on how one might approach a reversing and analysis on a crypted malware. This is by no means a universal technique so don't assume that this will occur in every scenario, it's more of a demonstration than anything really ...more
Welcome back, my hacker novitiates! In the previous part of this series, we looked at how to use Metasploit's web delivery exploit to create a script to connect to a UNIX, Linux, or OS X machine using Python. Many members of the Null Byte community have asked me, "Can we do t ...more
Ever been in an argument, only to have the other person cop out by saying "I never said that," when you know full well they did? Or how about one of those times when you're sitting in the lecture hall, half dozing off to your professor's monotone ramblings, when your ears perk ...more
For the past couple of years, random internet dwellers have embarked on an ambitious quest to see just how useless a box can be in hopes of earning sweet, sweet internet points. Welcome to the world of useless machines. On the surface, these machines are fun little contraptio ...more
Welcome to the final tutorial of the series on standard C. This article will cover the linked list abstract data type (ADT). There will be a lot of abstraction to try to deliver the understanding in the most basic way for easiest interpretation of what they are and how they wo ...more
Whether you're anxious to tune into this Sunday's Super Bowl 50 to see Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers take on Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, or to see if you win some money on your silly prop bet, or just want to tune in for the commercials, there are a handful o ...more
OS X is built upon a UNIX foundation, which grants you access to the benefits that UNIX offers, including the standard toolkit (make, gcc, clang, git, perl, svn, size, strings, id, and a lot more) via the command line developer tools, which are an essential if you're a develop ...more
How's it goin'? In this tutorial, we will learn about the security issues of the popen and system functions. I've seen a few people attempting to run command line utilities or whatever it is they require with calls to these two functions but may not know the security implicati ...more
Hello fellow Nullbytiens, today we will be talking about IRC again (if you haven't read OTW's post about head over there now)and more specifically about using 1 nickname with multiple devices or IRC clients. IRC was a protocol that was developed in 1988 and doesn't support us ...more
To serve as a framework for the "Nexus Imprint" feature in their new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P smartphones, Google added native fingerprint scanner support to Android 6.0. Sure, Android devices have had fingerprint scanners in the past, but this is a unified, system-wide implement ...more
You can do practically anything with a modern smartphone or tablet, so it stands to reason that the apps you have installed may serve vastly different purposes. Picture a game and a video player sitting right next to each other in your app drawer—odds are, you want the sound t ...more
Because of Apple's iron grip over iOS, hiding stock applications is a topic we frequently like to cover. While not everyone may think that Apple's preinstalled iOS apps are bloatware, that's exactly what some of them are. For instance, the Apple Watch app; it's basically just ...more
Greetings my fellow aspiring hackers, It's still Christmas and we have a lot of things and hugs and kisses and ... to share ( you know the things that you do ). I have never done this before but I just felt to encourage you on the quest for knowledge, security and defence, sk ...more
Many of our members here at Null Byte are aspiring hackers looking to gain skills and credentials to enter the most-valued profession of the 21st century. Hackers are being hired by IT security firms, antivirus developers, national military and espionage organizations, private ...more
As one of only three hardware buttons on an iPhone, the Sleep/Wake button gets a lot of use day in and day out. If you've had your iPhone for a considerable length of time, this button—which is also used to power down the device, as well as turn it on—may begin to malfunction ...more
Today's smartphones and tablets offer a great way for children to learn through interactive sight, sound, and touch, but they can also provide hours of genuine fun. If you have a spare tablet laying around—or at least a nice, durable case—the only thing you need to get your ch ...more
In the wake of Apple Music making its debut on Android devices, Google has finally released its highly anticipated YouTube Music app. With these two tech heavyweights throwing their hats into the ring, the streaming music world is about to get rocked. This new standalone YouT ...more
Greetings null-bytians. Say you have been able to penetrate your neighbour's AP, and of course you had spoofed your MAC address. Now you go on and test to see with excitement if the password really works and the MAC is still spoofed. You login successfully and you browse the w ...more
Greetings dear null byters, today we start a new series, we will start to attack users using social networking that are popular such as Facebook, Skype, and much more, and in part 1 of the series will engage users of Skype. What we are going to do today? 1 - get the IP from h ...more
Bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble... it's time for another Halloween-themed food hack. This time, we'll be tackling the pumpkin cooler—an idea that has been done to death on DIY blogs around the internet. And there's no point in reposting something that everyone else has done, ...more
APOLOGIZE Hello my masters and colleagues, first of all I would like to apologize for my absence during the past month, to say that i was busy with some projects and decide to leave the white-side for a while and made some visits on the dark-side(every good COP has a dealer f ...more
NANDroid backups are one of the best reasons to root your Android device and install a custom recovery. They're essentially a snapshot of your phone's entire operating system and all installed apps, so if you ever screw something up when installing a flashable ZIP or custom RO ...more
For reasons unknown, Microsoft decided to change the way the Guest account feature in the new Windows 10 operating system works. In previous versions, the Guest account feature allowed you to set up a limited account for other users so they don't have access to your important ...more
Thanks to Smart Switch, it's easier than ever now to ditch your iPhone for a brand new Samsung device, like the Galaxy S6 Edge+ or Galaxy Note 5. Alleviating one of our biggest fears when switching over from iOS to Android, Samsung has made transferring data like contacts, me ...more
Slowly but surely, Microsoft seems to be steering Windows in the direction of Google's Android. First, they released Windows 10 as a free upgrade, mainly because they wanted to cash in on the revenue that they hoped would come when more users had access to the Windows Store. T ...more
My French press is one of the most important tools in my kitchen. It's indispensable, and it's no small exaggeration when I say that I use it on a daily basis thanks to my coffee addiction. However, it gets used for a lot more than just my morning cuppa (and my second morning ...more
OneDrive, formerly known as SkyDrive, is a free online storage solution developed by Microsoft. If you're a fan of using cloud-based storage systems, then OneDrive offers you plenty of benefits. It's also heavily integrated into Windows 10, including the new File Explorer, in ...more
The concept of desktop gadgets has been around for quite some time, and Microsoft officially introduced them in Windows Vista to much fanfare. Desktop gadgets offered the ability to view various information at a glance, play mini-games, and more. Unfortunately, Microsoft decid ...more
In my last how-to, we built a man-in-the-middle tool. The aforementioned script only established a man-in-the-middle. Today we'll be building a tool to utilize it. We'll be building a DNS packet sniffer. In a nutshell, this listens for DNS queries from the victim and shows the ...more
If your PC setup includes a mouse and keyboard, you'll be happy to know that most of the touchscreen-first features of Windows 8 have gone by the wayside in Windows 10. Where it once required awkward gestures to access key features, Windows now recognizes when you're using a t ...more
All of those keys on your keyboard can do much more than just help to update your Facebook status or fire off a scathing tweet. By learning all of the keyboard shortcuts for apps on your Mac, you can cut back on mouse or trackpad usage to perform actions faster and more effici ...more
A long time ago I was reading an issue of Saveur and saw an article about a trendsetting bar in Portland. The bartender at the joint had started making enormous blocks of smoked ice for his cocktails. When a patron ordered a drink that called for the smoked ice, the bartender ...more
While a mobile game developer may have built something unique, they still have to go through an arduous process of fixing bugs, smoothing out gameplay, making sure it works on different screen sizes, and following Apple's rules before they can submit their game to the iOS App ...more
Performance boosters generally get a bad rap, but that doesn't mean they should all be dismissed—particularly when they're as well thought out as the latest work from developer Danijel Markov. After recognizing a few inefficiencies in the way Android handles memory management ...more
Carriers like to distinguish their Android phones from the competition by making small changes to the interface here and there. This practice is so common that Android now has a built-in system for managing these small tweaks. A series of XML files known as CSC (customer soft ...more
I'm an Android fan through and through, but occasionally, I see a feature or two on iOS that makes me a bit jealous. This was the case when I first discovered the useful functionality that lets you scroll to the top of a page by simply tapping the status bar on an iPhone. But ...more
On the internet, everything is possible, even if it's not grounded in reality (check no further than anything The Onion publishes). Witty headlines combined with clever photo edits make even the most absurd topic seem like a serious news story. Some of these stories are so con ...more
Google Play Music is an awesome app—even if you don't subscribe to their $9.99/month All Access service, you can still use it to store and stream up to 50,000 of your own songs for free. Add to that the fact that it's a pre-installed app on most Android devices, and there aren ...more
YouTube's main player interface got a pretty big makeover recently, but chances are, the new UI hasn't made it your way just yet. Google has a habit of slowly testing the waters as they roll out new features, so cool tweaks like this can take some time to reach all users. But ...more
The vast majority of Android apps use background services to sync data, check for location updates, and perform various silent tasks. These background services can start up whenever they'd like, and they continue to run in the background even when you're not actively using the ...more
When it comes to app permissions, Android takes an "all or nothing" approach. You have no granular control over what data apps can access, so the only way to prevent an app from seeing your location or starting up on boot, for instance, is to not install the app in the first p ...more