Going Down

Group chats on WhatsApp are great for getting your friends all in one place, but the bigger the group, the more notifications you'll probably get. Needless to say, it can get annoying real quick. You can mute notifications for all your conversations, but that's not practical i ...more

You already know that the best place to learn about the cutting edge of augmented reality is Next Reality, but the best event to meet the people and companies pushing the space forward is the annual Augmented Reality Expo (AWE), and we're giving away free tickets! The event g ...more

The long-awaited augmented reality game based on the Harry Potter franchise from Pokémon GO masterminds Niantic is closer to release, as the developer has begun public beta testing of the app. On Tuesday, the beta version of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, built in partnership w ...more

Before attacking any website, a hacker or penetration tester will first compile a list of target surfaces. After they've used some good recon and found the right places to point their scope at, they'll use a web server scanning tool such as Nikto for hunting down vulnerabiliti ...more

For lack of a better word, a missing iPhone sucks. Not only do you lose a physical device that cost you a small fortune, but there's also the probability you'll never see your precious data again. Hackers and thieves might, just not you. To keep this from ever happening, there ...more

WhatsApp is the go-to messaging app for millions worldwide and its easy to see why. The app can be considered the Swiss Army Knife of texting thanks to numerous features like Group Chats and Status Stories, in addition to striking a great balance between ease of access and ove ...more

ARP spoofing is an attack against an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network to get between the router and the target user. In an ARP-spoofing attack, messages meant for the target are sent to the attacker instead, allowing the attacker to spy on, deny service to, or man-in-the-middle a tar ...more

Samsung Health has become one of the most comprehensive wellness apps thanks to features that cover everything from step counting to nutrition logging and symptom diagnosis. But because the app has so much to offer, it can be easy to overlook some smaller, but useful features. ...more

Samsung isn't known for its timely rollout of major Android updates, and Android 9.0 Pie won't be an exception. If we go by their Oreo update timeline, we can expect Android Pie to officially touch down for the Galaxy S9 and S9+ sometime around November, with the final version ...more

Rooting usually means sacrifice. With most root methods, you lose access to apps like Netflix and Android Pay when SafetyNet gets tripped. More importantly, you lose the ability to accept OTA updates, forcing you to manually flash new Android versions. But there's a way around ...more

Players of Pokémon GO on Android now have a reason to turn on AR mode with the release of AR+ support via ARCore. Pokémon GO enthusiasts on iOS have had access to AR+ mode on ARKit-compatible iPhones and iPads (yes, I can attest to playing the game on a tablet, don't @ me) si ...more

Your iPhone comes packed with a long list of excellent text tones to choose from. Bamboo anyone? Of course, for some of us, stock sounds from 2013 don't cut it anymore. We want customizability, something that's found more on Android than iOS. However, you can add your very own ...more

If there's been one signature design element for Apple's iPhones, it was the circular Home button. It served as the "everything" button for each iPhone model until last year's iPhone X, but now, it's completely absent from the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. Should you be worried? ...more

Just because Developer Options is hidden by default doesn't mean you shouldn't unlock it. While for rooters its benefit are obvious, even for the average user it opens the door for tools which enhance your experience. From animation speed to improving gaming graphics, Develope ...more

Electronic warfare tactics work by jamming, disrupting, or disabling the technology a target uses to perform a critical function, and IoT devices are especially vulnerable to attacks. Wireless security cameras like the Nest Cam are frequently used to secure critical locations, ...more

While there isn't as much personal data residing on your Apple Watch as there is on your iPhone, it's still a good idea to set a passcode for it and lock it up when you're not using it. If you don't, while it's charging or otherwise off your wrist, others may be able to sneak ...more

If you're looking for your gaming fix and nothing on the App Store is piquing your interest, you should give soft-launched games a try. These are games that haven't been released in the US yet because they're getting tested in smaller markets first. Using a simple workaround, ...more

There's a feature in the Gboard keyboard that enables people who cannot talk, type, or swipe normally to still have a way to communicate in the digital age on their smartphones. While it's mainly an accessibility feature for those who actually need it, it's a good way for anyo ...more

It hasn't been a great year for Facebook. Recently, Android users had to discover on their own that the company was logging their calls and texts in Messenger. However, according to Facebook, all users did approve of the data collection, and as such, all affected users can dis ...more

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ have terrific cameras that are packed with awesome features. But if you've grown tired of taking and viewing photos on only a part of your screen, Samsung has built in settings to let you take full advantage of their flagships' Infinity Display. For opti ...more

When first released, the iPhone SE was nearly identical to its iPhone 6S counterparts in all but form factor. While the rumored SE 2 (if it even happens) is expected to follow suit with the iPhone 8 models, that hasn't stopped people from wondering what it would look like with ...more

When you tap on a URL link in a text, email, or wherever, your iPhone's default reaction will be to open it up in Safari, and there's no way to change this in the settings. However, there is a way you can work around this to open up links in Chrome instead. Even if you acciden ...more

Apple released the fifth build of the iOS 11.3 developer and public beta on Monday, March 12. The update comes exactly one week after the March 5 release of beta 4, which mostly introduced bug and stability patches. At this time, this new beta appears to do much of the same. ...more

You don't need to have a fully modded and rooted Galaxy S9 to appreciate what developer options brings to the table. Besides the obvious USB debugging, which lets you use ADB, this hidden menu lets you tweak your phone's animations or change its DPI to better suit your needs — ...more

Multitasking on a smartphone has never been better, but it still has some ways to go to compete with a desktop experience. Samsung hopes to change that with a new multitasking view on the Galaxy S9, which allows the user to open notifications in a new, smaller window on top of ...more

Snapchat has been known to jazz it up for big events. They went deep on the Grammys, taking you behind the scenes — and adding a James Corden lens to boot. So when Snapchat had a super cool filter up their sleeve for Super Bowl LII, we weren't exactly shocked. Snapchat's Supe ...more

If you want to automate tasks with your smartphone, IFTTT is a great app. It does a tremendous job of helping you find applets or creating your own from scratch, so it's easy to connect your favorite online services and make them react to each other. With all this personal inf ...more

Apple released iOS 11.3 beta on Jan. 24 and the public stable release on March 29, and it didn't take us long to find plenty of cool new stuff. Aside from new Animoji, Health Records, and some upcoming changes related to the recent battery fiasco, most of the new features are ...more

Instagram updated its iOS and Android apps recently with an "Activity Status" indicator. This status allows your friends to see when you are currently active and when you were last active on Instagram. The problem is, Instagram was pretty quiet about this update, so many of yo ...more

Speakers have been an integral part of smartphones since the beginning. Razer's concept Project Linda even uses the speakers from the Razer Phone to power the faux laptop's audio system. But what if Google's next Pixel phone didn't even have speakers? What if it didn't need th ...more

The same approach to augmented reality that some companies use to improve workforce productivity could also make it easier for car owners to operate and maintain their vehicles. Mercedes-Benz is driving down that new path by releasing an augmented reality owner's manual calle ...more

Now that we've had significant time with Samsung's Oreo Beta for the Galaxy S8, many interesting features have come to light. As we continue using the new software, we have uncovered more subtle changes. The home screen already received a few new customization features, it's o ...more

Trendy restaurants are fun, but waiting in line isn't. Too often, we arrive at a location to find a queue between us and our dinner. If only we could know when wait times were down so we could go out at the optimal time. Well, Google wants to help you out with that. A new fea ...more

When you wake your iPhone X, XS, or XS Max for the first time, you'll probably notice a subtle animation in the top right of the screen that slides down to reveals a couple switches, one toggled on and one toggled off. At first, the meaning of this could be confusing, but it's ...more

For those worried that a lustful gaze at a new app on their iPhone X will authorize its purchase, we have great news for you. With Face ID, the new security standard for the iPhone X, many potential customers are wondering exactly how it will pick up where Touch ID left off. ...more

If preorder delays are any indication, the iPhone X certainly has some buzz. But does the X have the quality to support that buzz in the long run? After all, a $1,000 (or more) iPhone feels more like an investment than a smartphone purchase. The question on any prospective buy ...more

"I'm Rey." That's what a lot of people will be saying again this Halloween, as Rey costumes are sure to be another favorite of trick-or-treaters and cosplayers. Yes, on Oct. 31 we all have a chance to be the scavenger of Jakku who just so happens to be the "new hope" for a Jed ...more

Google just released the second developer preview of the Android 8.1 update for Nexus and Pixel devices, and even though it's just a point-one release, there are lots of cool changes. Before you run off to join the Android beta program and try the new version, it's worth readi ...more

In the previous section of this series on dynamic user interfaces for HoloLens, we learned about delegates and events. At the same time we used those delegates and events to not only attach our menu system to the users gaze, but also to enable and disable the menu based on cer ...more

After numerous scandals like the Equifax data breach and the 2016 US election, cybersecurity has become a significant issue for Americans. Unfortunately, anytime we use our devices, we're open to a cyber attack — especially when we browse the web. However, there are ways that ...more

Hacking from a host machine without any form of proxying is reckless for a hacker, and in a penetration test, could lead to an important IP address becoming quickly blacklisted by the target. By routing all traffic over Tor and reducing the threat of malicious entrance and exi ...more

Discovering you're on a route filled with tolls while you're already on the road, with no cash on hand, is never a pleasant surprise. Fortunately, Waze has an incredibly simple solution to nip this potential headache in the bud and save you money while navigating. Best of all ...more

In 2013, Offensive Security released Kali Linux, a rebuild of BackTrack Linux derived from Debian. Since then, Kali has gone on to become somewhat of a standard for penetration testing. It comes preconfigured with a collection of tools accessible by a menu system, tied togethe ...more

The new iOS 11 update provides an easy software-based solution to shut down your iPhone in case the power button, officially known as the Sleep/Wake button on all iPhone models except the iPhone X, goes bonkers. In addition to this, there's also a hidden setting that lets you ...more

We started with our system manager in the previous lesson in our series on building dynamic user interfaces, but to get there, aside from the actual transform, rotation, and scaling objects, we need to make objects out of code in multiple ways, establish delegates and events, ...more

The new iPhone X will be released on Friday, Nov. 3, in Apple Stores located in over 55 countries and territories. For those of you who would rather skip the in-stores lines that will start building well before the 8 a.m. local time openings, you can preorder the iPhone X on F ...more

When it comes to finding lost things, the joke goes that it's always in the last place you look. With an assist from ARKit, Pixie can make your iPhone the first and last place you look for that missing item. When iOS 11 drops, the updated Pixie app will guides users with comp ...more

While The Walking Dead has brand recognition for its AR game, ARZombi has ARKit. Their forthcoming app, built on ARKit by an independent team of horror aficionados, is more reminiscent of zombie mode in recent installments of the Call of Duty franchise than AMC's location-bas ...more

In my previous article, we learned how to generate a vulnerable virtual machine using SecGen to safely and legally practice hacking. In this tutorial, we will put it all together, and learn how to actually hack our practice VM. This will provide some insight into the methodolo ...more

From all the demos we've seen, we know for sure that the marketing world is going to change drastically thanks to Apple's ARKit. We've already started to see examples of it like the giant iPhone advertisement that let you get a large scale 3D look at the newest iPhone and all ...more

Signal Private Messenger is famous for its end-to-end encryption, but you can't even use the messaging app without having a real phone number attached to it. Luckily, there is a way around this limitation, so you can use Signal even if you don't have a valid SIM card in your s ...more

Tossing an old Android smartphone with a decent battery into your hacking kit can let you quickly map hundreds of vulnerable networks in your area just by walking or driving by them. The practice of wardriving uses a Wi-Fi network card and GPS receiver to stealthily discover a ...more

We've all been there. Lost in the supermarket for what feels like hours trying to figure out where the hell the macaroni and cheese is and why it isn't with the rest of the pasta items. The labels at the top of the aisles aren't always helpful or accurate, and items often get ...more

When people work out, they want to get the absolute most out of their routine. Going on a run is great exercise, but finding an optimal route that works best for you can be difficult. Luckily, Apple's ARKit has the capability to make it much easier to get the most out of your ...more

Education opportunity is a big part of what makes Apple's ARKit so exciting. The Museum of Flight in Seattle is taking full advantage of that with their new platform prototype. The company partnered with digital media company Tosolini Productions to create an immersive virtua ...more

Map apps, while incredibly helpful in our technology-centric world, can often be a source of frustration. No maps app is perfect, and things can get confusing fairly quickly when trying to navigate GPS mapping. iOS developer Andrew Hart has experimented with a new way of mobil ...more

If you're on T-Mobile, you've probably had a rough morning. Reports are coming in saying that the carrier's LTE network is down in cities throughout the country. According to Down Detector, there have been over 1,000 reports of T-Mobile's network having issues in the past thr ...more

Tony Parisi, the global head of VR/AR at Unity Technologies, has been passionately working with virtual and immersive spaces for a long time. And while the internet world we live in now is very different than when Parisi was co-authoring VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language ...more

If you haven't heard yet, Google is revamping the Play Store with version 8.0. While it so far doesn't seem to have any life changing features, there are ones that certainly will make your life easier, like their new updates feature. A few months ago, Google Play launched a n ...more

I've possibly been really out of it for a long time not to have realized that Instagram has a bunch of hidden filters. Clarendon seems to be by number one filter for pics and videos, but maybe that's exactly what I've been doing wrong. To access these wonderful secret filters ...more