Your BIOS, or Basic Input Output System, is the firmware on your motherboard responsible for initializing your computer's hardware when it is first powered on. It probes for video adapters, RAM, the whole works. The BIOS provides a small library of basic input/output functions ...more
Nearly everyone has the capacity to be a cheater. Sometime or another, all Xbox users have yearned to get their gamerscore to unimaginable thresholds—for bragging and egotistical purposes. I can relate to this desire. However, I also don't want to mod my gamerscore, because it ...more
Gamers like myself who have switched back and forth between Skyrim on PC and Xbox lack the ability to share game saves. This really sucks. I love playing Skyrim on a console. It's a very comfortable, easy and relaxed gaming experience. You don't have to worry about your frame ...more
There are a lot of things on your computer that can reveal information about you when you are surfing the Internet. If you are like me, then you will do anything to maintain your privacy and prevent those little leaks of information from happening. Here's a list of a few of th ...more
Our mission for this week's Community Byte was to create a Python program to crack web-based passwords, like the ones you would see on an email or router login. I wanted it to be universal in the sense that it could be easily modified and adapted to another website just by cha ...more
Welcome to another Community Byte announcement! In the past two sessions, we have coded an IRC bot in Python capable of issuing commands. Since it can issue commands and most of you are new to programming, that project will stay idle for a while. Other commands such as voice a ...more
Leaving your wireless router at its default settings is a bad idea. The sad thing is, most people still do it. Once they've penetrated your network, hackers will change your router settings so they'll have an easy way back in. This allows them to change your network into a she ...more
Beginning this week, Null Byte will be hosting a new feature called Community Byte, a weekly coding and hacking session held in the Null Byte IRC. This is a chance for our community to do something fun, and make something awesome together! The weekly community projects are ge ...more
There's a lot of talk going around about Google's new social network and how it's heavily influenced by Facebook, but truth be told, how could they build Google+ without taking a note or two from the world's most popular social network? One thing that's different (and better) ...more
Six months ago, 1.3 million registered users of Gawker Media had their passwords compromised when the site was hacked by Gnosis. The passwords were encrypted, but 188,279 of them were decoded and made publicly available for all to see. Just three weeks ago, Sony Pictures was h ...more
This article describes the very basics of compiling a program on Linux. It is targeted at the absolute beginner. Sometimes beginners search for programs on the web for their Linux systems, and is faced with the reality that they have to compile the program themselves, either b ...more
By now, many of you may have heard about iPhone tracking and recording your location data, but is there anything else being extracted from cell phones without our knowledge? If you're a Michigan state resident, the answer is an alarming "maybe". Michigan's police department h ...more
Understandably, the tragedy in Japan has substantially risen the level of worldwide radiation-related hysteria. So much so, as an alternative to stampeding health food stores for iodine tablets, crafty individuals and organizations are hacking together personal radiation detec ...more
Are you one of countless Facebook users who find the classic Thumbs Up symbol tiresomely sycophantic? You're not alone. Back in August of 2010, the widespread addition of an "official" Thumbs Down symbol to Facebook pages quickly revealed itself to be a scam, but only after co ...more
Apartment Therapy posts a simple household hack on removing a stripped screw without an extractor. For all our WonderHowTo Home & Garden DIYers, you never know when you might accidentally strip a screw clean. Here's how to remedy the problem. You Will Need: a hammer a multi- ...more
If there ever was a time for Null Byte to need people to contribute, it's now. Let's make Null Byte a place where anyone, from novice to master computer user, come and learn. It has been sometime since the last "Call to Arms" for Null Byte, and even longer since the last "Week ...more
Home chemistry is great, but what happens when you forget to label your chemicals? How do you know if you turned a clear glass of ammonia into a clear glass of unobtainium? Chemists have a tool for just that. Litmus paper are small bits of filter paper saturated with a reacti ...more
Technology in computers these days are very favorable to the semi-knowledgeable hacker. We have TOR for anonymity online, we have SSDs to protect and securely delete our data—we can even boot an OS from a thumb drive or SD card. With a little tunneling and MAC spoofing, a dece ...more
If you've ever heard software piracy terminology being discussed, I'm sure the term KeyGens came up. KeyGens is short for key generator, which is a program that exploits algorithmic faults in software by generating software license keys that appear to be genuine. Normally used ...more
If you have made the switch from Windows to Linux, I want to congratulate you in advance. I'm sure you have noticed a huge performance increase when using Linux over other operating systems. This is only half the battle, though! Most users who are new to Linux end up using Ubu ...more
More password cracking action from Null Byte! Today we aren't going to be cracking passwords per se, rather, we are going to learn the basics of generating rainbow tables and how to use them. First, let's go over how passwords are stored and recovered. Passwords are normally ...more
You may have asked yourself, "How do hackers take my password, if the website owner can't?" The answer is simple. When a website stores your login password for the site, it is run through a cryptographic hash function before it enters the database (if the website isn't Sony). ...more
Halloween just isn't Halloween without Jack O'Lanterns. Below, anything and everything you need to know on the art of pumpkin carving. 1. Prepare a Pumpkin for Carving Serious Eats' video demonstration is for true novices: "This video is for you unlucky souls who never got t ...more
If you've ever been inside of a real laboratory, you probably noticed how expensive the equipment is. You'd never be able to afford even just one of those ultra high-tech machines required to splice genes or split atoms. Even the lesser machines can be prohibitively costly, in ...more
Brainwashing is something that happens to us every day, whether you believe it or not. It doesn't take fancy tools or space-age technology. Even if our country didn't intentionally brainwash people (believe me, they do), our country's media is brainwashing people nonstop. Just ...more
The days of having to pay for video games are over. Generally, retail games are better because they're made with more effort and care than their free counterparts. But free browser-based game sites are insanely popular, specifically Kongregate, Armor Games, and the grandaddy o ...more
WonderHowTo is a how-to website made up of niche communities called Worlds, with topics ranging from Minecraft to science experiments to Scrabble and everything in-between. Check in every Wednesday evening for a roundup of user-run activities and how-to projects from the most ...more
Graffiti is a great way of getting your message out to the masses. The earliest known graffiti dates back to 30,000 years ago and used the traditional apply-paint-to-wall technique. Though our paint now comes in cans and not from scavenged berries, the actual graffiti process ...more
Wireless networks. Nowadays, everyone uses 'em, but most don't secure 'em. On average, I can drive up and down any block in my city and find at least one or two open or semi-open networks on any given day. With some changed MAC addresses for good measure, an attacker can use y ...more
No doubt you've seen some of the hack logs being released. One part that stands out over and over again is the heavy database usage. It used to be early on that virus and hackers would destroy data, usually just for lulz. However, with the explosive commercial growth of the In ...more
You want to put out a live web server, but you don't want to be owned in the process. An expert eye for security is not needed if you take a few basic steps in locking down the hatches. Most successful attacks today are not the complex, time-consuming tasks you might think, bu ...more
Have you ever forgotten your password and didn't know how to get back on your computer? Or ever had an annoying roommate you wanted to play a trick on to teach them a lesson? Or perhaps overly religious parents who think the internet is of the devil and won't let you read onli ...more
WonderHowTo is made up of niche communities called Worlds. If you've yet to join one (or create your own), get a taste below of what's going on in the community. Check in every Wednesday for a roundup of new activities and projects. Thanks to all of our active moderators and ...more
Many windows users, if not all, run into a virus infection once in a while. This is unavoidable when using Microsoft's operating system. Without digressing too much, the fact that Windows is such a popular OS with no controlled software sources makes it easy for viruses and ma ...more
This is a two-part series to locking down the computer to provide maximum protection. Even though this guide will sound intrusive, we are talking about reality here. Extreme measures must be taken to protect our computers, especially when we have confidential documentation or ...more
+Nik Cubrilovic discovered last week that Facebook could track your web activities even after you logged out of your Facebook account. After some blatant denials from Facebook spokespeople, Facebook decided to fix the logout issue, but not before +Michael Arrington, on his new ...more
I've seen numerous tutorials on how to create a "strong" password. This makes me laugh. These titles imply "one" password, which is wrong in and of itself. A person should have many passwords, all different, and all extremely long. People may ask how they're supposed to rememb ...more
Anonymity is something that doesn't exist today. Everything you do in the world is tracked, from the purchases you make to surfing the internet—even taking pictures on your iPhone. Everything you have ever said and done on the internet is still there—somewhere. This is called ...more
Hacking flash games is the new coolest thing these days... now hackers can be anywhere, ever expanding, all thanks to a little cheating program called Cheat Engine. Check out this video tutorial to learn how to download and install Cheat Engine to hack flash games. Descriptio ...more
Want to start hacking Restaurant City, but don't want to use Cheat Engine. Well, try out Piap's RC Hack. This tool is simpler and easier to use. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to download Piap's Restaurant City Hack (12/11/09). It will show you the links where you can ...more
Watch this video to learn how to use Nintendo Wii TCP Loader. This hack is an important tool for playing homebrew games and emulators.
Restaurant City is a Facebook game that allows you to create your own restaurant. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to hack cash in Restaurant City (07/02/09). You need Cheat Engine 5.5 and RC Tools. Description of the app on Facebook: In Restaurant City you get to cre ...more
Want unlimited Tiki power on Island Paradise? Just use Cheat Engine to hack your way to more power. This is only for 1 use only. Watch this Island Paradise Facebook video to see how to hack unlimited Tiki power in Island Paradise (11/26/09). Use Cheat Engine 5.5. 1. Open Che ...more
Want a cool 3-in-1 hack for Restaurant City? Go no further. You don't even need Cheat Engine for this one! Just Piaps Restaurant City Hack. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to hack Restaurant City: 3-in-1 cheat (11/30/09). This hack is good for employee stamina, fast co ...more
Restaurant City is a Facebook game that allows you to create your own restaurant. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to hack Restaurant City: Money cheat (09/30/09). Download Cheat Engine. 1) Open Restaurant City 2) Download and open the X-Force Generator 3) Scan 0000D49 ...more
Basically, the whole point of this video is to be really clear about how to get a Bear as a pet or any of the others available. First of all, you need to pupil someone who already has a bear pet, or the one of your choice. The lower the lvl of your masters, the higher the per ...more
With the number of web applications out there today, it comes as no surprise that there are just as many vulnerabilities waiting for hackers to discover. Finding those vulnerabilities can be a difficult task, but there are plenty of tools available to make the process easier. ...more
Welcome back, my tenderfoot hackers! I have written many tutorials on hacking using Metasploit, including leaving no evidence behind and exploring the inner architecture. Also, there are my Metasploit cheat sheets for commands and hacking scripts. With this guide, I'm starti ...more
Your social security number, credit card information, and medical history can fall into the wrong hands if you're not careful about how and where you share your data online. If you really care about your data, there are tools and techniques you can utilize to protect yourself ...more
On the surface, Instagram is pretty intuitive, so you might think that you already know everything there is to know about using it on your iPhone or Android phone. But this photo and video-sharing app is constantly adding new features, some of which don't make the press releas ...more
Using a green screen is an affordable and easy way to transport your video to anywhere imaginable, even to places that don't exist. You can use it to sit behind a desk in a busy newsroom or dance on the moon, but first, you have to know how to properly perform chroma key compo ...more
One of the most powerful features when editing videos with Enlight Videoleap is the keyframe tool, which allows you to add custom transitions, animate text, granularly adjust audio, move video clips across the frame, supplement effects, and more. If you want your video to chan ...more
Welcome back, my greenhorn hackers! This tutorial will be the fourtenth in the Linux for hackers series and will focus on the MySQL database. Although this is not strictly a Linux tutorial, MySQL is the database of choice on most Linux distributions. In addition, it is the mo ...more
Hacking Wi-Fi is a lot easier than most people think, but the ways of doing so are clustered around a few common techniques most hackers use. With a few simple actions, the average user can go a long way toward defending against the five most common methods of Wi-Fi hacking, w ...more
Welcome back, my budding hackers! One of the keys to being successful as a hacker, pentester, or cyber warrior is the ability to find vulnerabilities or flaws in the target system, which are what we exploit when we hack. We have looked at several ways to do that including var ...more
An edited video with lots of different clips needs great transitions to be successful. Transitions support your story and message, and without any, there's always a chance that your audience might lose track of what's going on and when. When editing in Enlight Videoleap for iO ...more
So, you're on the way back from a restaurant and realize you left your iPhone there, but you're late for a meeting and can't go back yet. You may as well kiss that iPhone goodbye, right? Not yet, as long as the right person gets their hands on it first. But that potential do-g ...more
When it comes to social media, Google has had it a bit rough. But its next big app in this category is apparently steps away from completion, with a platform that allows small groups of users to edit and organize photos in unison. TechCrunch reports Google has confirmed the a ...more
The newest version of Snapseed features three awesome new tools for you photo-editing enthusiasts. The 2.17 update for the editing app was rolled out on Tuesday, March 21, and its new additions are something to behold. For those unfamiliar few, Snapseed is an award-winning pr ...more
Anyone who's ever flashed factory images to manually update an Android phone knows how tedious the process can be. Unlocking the bootloader and flashing Android firmware requires the use of ADB and Fastboot—but, like getting a whole pizza pie when all you wanted was a slice, u ...more