Hack a Coke Can Machine

QR codes are everywhere, from product packaging to airline boarding passes, making the scanners that read them a juicy target for hackers. Thanks to flaws in many of these proprietary scanning devices, it's possible to exploit common vulnerabilities using exploits packed into ...more

One of the most critical bugs to come out in the last five years was Shellshock, a vulnerability which allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via the Unix Bash shell remotely. This vulnerability has been around for a while now, but due to the ubiquity of Unix machines conn ...more

Hello null_byters, after some time out here we are again with another tutorial, continuing our beautiful series, today we will write our first real world bash script. BEFORE WE START Before we start today's lesson Let's recap what we learned in the previous lesson, right now ...more

A lot of people think that TOR services are unhackable because they are on a "secure environment", but the truth is that those services are exactly the same that run on any normal server, and can be hacked with the same tools (metasploit,hydra,sqlmap...), the only thing you ha ...more

Welcome back, my novice hackers! There are SOOOO many ways to hack a system or network, which means you need to think creatively in order to be successful. Many novice hackers focus way too much energy on cracking passwords (which should be a last resort unless you have spec ...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

In the previous article in this short series, we learned how to find our neighbor's name using publicly accessible information and how to monitor device activity on their home network. With this information at our disposal, it's time to get into installing and configuring the ...more

Welcome back, my novice hackers! New hackers often ask me the same question: "What is the easiest platform to hack?" My response is always the same—it is not a platform, but rather a particular piece of software that is easiest to hack, which is on nearly every client-side sy ...more

Whether you miss the good old days of Telnet or you want to know what hacking was like when security was nothing but an afterthought, Telehack is the game for you. The text-based hacking game is a simulation of a stylized combination of ARPANET and Usenet, circa 1985 to 1990, ...more

A lot of time can be wasted performing trivial tasks over and over again, and it's especially true when it comes to hacking and penetration testing. Trying different shells to own a target, and testing out privilege escalation commands afterward, can eat up a lot of time. Fort ...more

Former Google employee Tristan Harris claims there's an easy way to combat phone addiction without installing any new software. By enabling grayscale on your phone, checking your apps and notifications will be less appealing and thus stop you from obsessively checking your pho ...more

Since Ive started to learn about nmap and metasploit and other tools I was learning well but I had one problem, I had nothing to practice it on. As a result I asked someone about my problem and they told me about Vulnhub. It's a great way to practice. Its good beginners and pe ...more

This tutorial is for people who want to try different types of hacks in an environment that is the same for everyone so it will help people to ask questions and learn. This series assumes you know how to run a VM and network them together. This series also assumes that the ser ...more

It feels great to wrap up in a big, fluffy towel after a steamy shower, but it's frustrating when that towel isn't quite up to the job. Over time, towels lose their ability to hold water and dry as needed thanks to daily use and the biggest culprit—laundry detergent. Why Laun ...more

Hello friends! This tutorial will teach you how to build a local pentesting lab on your Linux machine which will enable you to easily install common web applications so you can practice locating and exploiting their known vulnerabilities (or discover new ones!). In particular, ...more

File inclusion can allow an attacker to view files on a remote host they shouldn't be able to see, and it can even allow the attacker to run code on a target. To demonstrate these vulnerabilities, we'll be practicing PHP file inclusion using the Damn Vulnerable Web App. We'll ...more

Greetings. This how-to on hacking Windows 7/8/10 etc. admin account passwords using Windows Magnifier is focused on adding, changing, or deleting an admin level account on a Windows 7/8/10 etc. Maybe you forgot or lost the password to your Windows Admin account, this guide wi ...more

Welcome back, my rookie hackers! Many newbie hackers focus upon the technical aspects of hacking and fail to give enough attention to social engineering. In fact, I would say that technical hacks should ONLY be attempted if social engineering attacks fail. Why bother spending ...more

When I left off on our last hack, we had hacked into the ubiquitous Windows Server 2003 server by adding ourselves as a user to that system so that we can return undetected at any time. The problem with this approach is that a sysadmin who is on their toes will note that a new ...more

Welcome back, my rookie hackers! So many readers come to Null Byte to learn how to hack Wi-Fi networks (this is the most popular hacking area on Null Byte) that I thought I should write a "how-to" on selecting a good Wi-Fi hacking strategy. Many beginners come here looking t ...more

Each day, we read about another security breach somewhere in our digital world. It has become so commonplace that we hardly react anymore. Target, J.P. Morgan, iCloud, Home Depot, and the list goes on and on. Those are just the big ones that get reported in the news. Millions ...more

Keys always seem to multiply. You start out with your house keys and car keys, and the next thing you know, your keychain is full and you have no idea what half of them even unlock. If you want to make your keys lighter and less bulky, redditor mattfrancis13 has a solution. H ...more

In this tutorial I am going to look at what services are running on our Metasploitable machine and setup firewalls. This is more basic scanning of our machine to get an idea of how to get in. Obviously in a real engagement you would want to do research on Google and whatnot to ...more

Sometimes you need a password to gain access to an older running Windows system. Maybe it's a machine in your basement you forgot about or a locked machine that belonged to a disgruntled employee. Maybe you just want to try out your pentesting skills. When you need to access ...more

Welcome back, my aspiring hackers! As I mentioned in earlier posts, the best hackers (or at least those not behind bars) have a keen understanding of digital forensics. If I am tasked to intrude upon an enemy's file server to retrieve war plans, such as in this tutorial, it i ...more

Welcome back, my aspiring hackers! Many of you have installed Kali Linux as a virtual machine (VM) using VMware or VirtualBox, while others have installed Kali (or BackTrack) in a dual-boot system. The drawback to installing these hacking systems as a VM is that it then requi ...more

By now, nearly everyone with any type of media access is aware that Sony Pictures Entertainment was hacked on November 24th. Although there can be many interpretations and lessons drawn from this audacious act, there is one indisputable conclusion: it and its ripples across th ...more

People are always looking for ways to save money, and for the most part, saving money and cheating the system are synonymous when it comes to things like free internet access. Practically every new gadget is capable of connecting to the web, which means more and more people ar ...more

Welcome back, my greenhorn hackers, and happy New Year! Now that your heads have recovered from your New Year's Eve regaling, I'd like to grab your attention for just a moment to preview 2015 here at Null Byte. I hope you will add your comments as to what you would like to se ...more

Candy machine hacks are so popular now, one might think it's easier to get candy from a vending machine than from a ... baby. Debunker Mike from Mississippi has taken the craze head on, debunking many inaccurate methods of stealing candy. He dissects the coin collecting mecha ...more

Research group OpenAI, a research institute co-founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, says it is possible to trick driverless cars' neural networks into mistaking images for something else. In a blog post published on OpenAI's website, Anish Athalye, an undergraduate studying comput ...more

Arcade games have always been more about chance than skill (at least when I play them). Whether you're at a children's party at a Chuck E. Cheese's or drinking it up with your pals at a barcade like Dave & Buster's, you'll find similar games that hold the golden ticket to fun ...more

Silence spreads over these mountains like nothing I've ever felt. If I didn't have Moby blasting in my earphones, there'd probably be no other sounds around. Well, except for someone, Phil probably, murmuring in a nearby tent just low enough to make his words indiscernible. W ...more

Whether it's the new iPad Killer or not, one thing's for sure—the Motorola XOOM is hackable. Just hours after its release last week, Verizon's new Android-based tablet (running Honeycomb) was rooted by hacker Koushik Dutta, which seems easy enough. "Since it’s another Google ...more

WikiLeaks. In recent weeks, it's been the hottest topic on the web. It's been attacked on a multinational level by political influence peddling. First, U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman swayed Amazon's decision to stop hosting WikiLeaks. Then, Tableau Software removed graphs from th ...more

Security awareness seems to be a hot topic these days on the web, with developers making apps and devices that can hack networks and machines with just a few clicks. But these applications aren't only exploiting security flaws in systems and networks, they're being used by ama ...more

In my first installment in this series on professional hacking tools, we downloaded and installed Metasploit, the exploitation framework. Now, we will begin to explore the Metasploit Framework and initiate a tried and true hack. Before we start hacking, let's familiarize ours ...more

Today's post is a small go-to guide for beginner programmers in Null Byte. With many of our community members picking up programming from our Community Bytes, it only makes sense to lay out a one-stop guide for your reference. Hopefully this guide will help you make an educate ...more

There are lots of simple "hack-like" fashion projects on the web, but kudos to the Glamourai for bringing Style into the equation. Her "Scarf-tan-ette" is surprisingly chic considering it's simplicity. Relatively uncomplicated to make, all you need is a couple vintage scarves, ...more

Big Block Games has a pretty good indie track record. They've spent years developing their fun free-roving space game, Black Market, which is still in Beta. And they've spent just as much time with their much simpler, but fully completed physics platformer, Super Goblin War Ma ...more

Here's another home hack for you (1, 2, 3). The perfect way to make bacon? Ditch the frying pan. Instead, try Apartment Therapy's recipe for perfectly cooked, oven-baked bacon. You Will Need: High quality bacon (such as Niman Ranch) Baking sheet with a 1/2"-3/4" lip (to cat ...more

An iPhone-controlled drone unveiled at the recently held CES is expected to revolutionize the world of video gaming. Called the AR.Drone (AR stands for augmented reality), this new product will literally bring video games to the streets. Via Daily Mail, "The flying saucer-li ...more

Social engineering is described as the clever manipulation of the natural tendency of human trust. All of the passwords, locks, and encryption in the entire world are useless against a good social engineer who can charm or trick you into giving it up. But what once started as ...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

Have you ever been away from home or on holiday and noticed an open network connection? FREE INTERNET! But then you find out that every search or page redirects you to an "enter password" or "signup here" page. Well, there are ways around this. In this article, I'll show you ...more

Remember the good ol' days when you actually had to swipe your credit or debit card to make a payment at the store? Now all it takes is a flick of the wrist to purchase goods with your card, thanks to RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology from Chase (blink), Visa (p ...more

As a kid, my favorite thing to do at the Natural History museum was a midday stop, when my family strolled past an antiquated looking vending machine in the museum's musty basement. The Mold-A-Rama machine was oddly shaped, George Jetson-esque, and spewed out made-to-order, br ...more

Have you ever seen one of those Snapple machines with the lever coin return? I will show you how to get free drinks or snacks out of this type of machine. Don't Miss: 9 Vending Machine Hacks for Free Drinks, Snacks, & More Take your dollar and put it in the machine. Have a f ...more

As many of you know Windows is not the most secure Operating System in the world, but then again no OS is really secure if the user doesn't know how to protect themselves. Later I will show you how to lower the risk even more on your (the user's) end. Well onto the real stuff ...more