Hack Play for Your Club

I know people who hate mayonnaise. I know people who detest ketchup. But I know almost no one that hates mustard, and that's because mustard has a complexity and depth that bland mayo and ketchup do not. Mustard runs the gamut from smooth and subtle to sharp and spicy, especia ...more

Welcome back, my hacker novitiates! Eluding and evading antivirus software and intrusion detection systems is one of the most critical tasks of the hacker. As soon as a new exploit is developed and discovered, the AV and IDS developers build a signature for the attack, which ...more

Injustice: Gods Among Us is one of the most popular games to come out over the last couple of years. It was a hit on video game consoles, and it's got a solid 4.5 rating on both Google Play and the iOS App Store, with almost 2 million people rating the game combined. The game ...more

The first few times I posted on some of the Android forums out there, I asked things like "Does anybody how I can make my phone do this or that?" Without fail, the responses to these types of questions were always one word—Tasker. If you're not familiar with it, Tasker is an ...more

Many modern Android devices use a display technology called AMOLED. These screens differ from traditional LCD displays in that each pixel emits its own light, so a backlight is not required. Even better, when rendering a black element on the screen, AMOLED displays simply don' ...more

When it comes to Thanksgiving, some people live for stuffing (or dressing, if that's what you call it). Personally, I love all stuffing, even the boxed kind. However, even the classics can start to feel a little staid and dull after a while. Why not try giving your Thanksgivi ...more

The new Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 models will be shipping with Android 5.0 Lollipop preinstalled, and the Nexus 4, 5, 7, and 10 will be getting the new OS update from Google very soon. But where does that leave the rest of us? All non-Nexus devices running versions of KitKat will h ...more

If you've ever noticed that the stock launcher on an Android device seems to just feel faster than any third-party home screen replacement app, this is not a placebo effect. Most manufacturers, Samsung included, force their stock launchers to reside permanently in your phone's ...more

Kale is the new baby spinach: it's taken over salads everywhere, and for good reason. This nutrient-dense vegetable is a member of the brassica family, which also includes cabbage, broccoli, and watercress. Recent studies show that people who eat more brassicas tend to have le ...more

Getting a new phone is exciting, but having access to its exclusive apps ahead of its release is what we're all about here on Gadget Hacks. If you have a Galaxy Note 3, you've probably only had it for a year or less, so upgrading to the Note 4 may not be a viable option when ...more

The build.prop file in an Android device is home to many system-level values and settings. Everything from screen density to video recording quality is covered in this file, and people have been editing these entries to get new functionality and better performance since Androi ...more

With a root bounty of over $18,000 up for the taking, developers were highly motivated to get the AT&T and Verizon Wireless variants of the Samsung Galaxy S5 rooted. Legendary hacker George Hotz, aka Geohot, has won the race and can now step up to claim his prize. Hotz is not ...more

Welcome back, my hackers apprentices! To own a network and retrieve the key data, we only need to find ONE weak link in the network. It makes little sense to beat our heads against heavily fortified systems like the file and database server when we can take advantage of the b ...more

To really customize your Samsung Galaxy S3, you'll need to be rooted, because most of the coolest mods and hacks require root access. If you haven't rooted yet, you're just barely touching the surface of what your GS3 can do for you. However, if you've never rooted before, it ...more

Welcome back, my fledgling hackers! If you're like most aspiring hackers, at one time or another you've probably spent too much time playing Call of Duty and not enough time preparing for your final exams. So for today, we'll look at how to break into your school's server to ...more

The best part about April Fool's Day is that everyone is fair game. Even big tech companies like Google and Twitter get in on the action every year. It encourages even the most uptight, unfunny party-poopers among us to have a little fun driving each other crazy with pranks — ...more

One of the best things about the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the ability to modify the device in countless ways, as with any other Android device. A recent guide on adding softkeys to the GS3 from mod Faisal inspired me to share some information on how to edit build.prop, which is y ...more

You (or your partner, or both) are a Steampunk. Let's get away from all the mindless, unfeeling commercialism for a few minutes and think about dates instead of gifts—where do you take your significant other for Valentine's Day? What would be the ultimate Steampunk Valentine's ...more

Back in 2007, YouTube user HouseholdHacker posted a parody video on how to make a high-def speaker for under a buck. MythBusters took on the challenge and busted it. Although that particular method doesn't seem to work, that doesn't mean you can't make your own speaker for le ...more

As people continue to upgrade their PCs to Microsoft Windows 8, more and more developers are adding content to the Windows Store. While the offerings are not as vast as Google Play or the iTunes App Store, it does have some solid apps for both productive users and those lookin ...more

When browsing the web, I enjoy my privacy. It's reassuring that I can peruse the internet without the worry of having my activity tracked back to me, allowing me to leave fun, anonymous comments when I get the urge to troll. Anonymity can also be important when sending a mess ...more

There are more actions available for the Action button, but only a handful of iPhone models have that button. However, there is another button with new features you can use, and you can access all the fresh features on any iPhone model that can run iOS 18. The button in quest ...more

I have always favored a neat and tidy Home Screen on my iPhone, and one of the best ways to achieve that is by removing all the app, folder, and widget names. With a few workarounds, you can do this on iOS 17, but Apple finally just gave us an official feature on iOS 18 to hid ...more

Since Shazam became available on iPhone, it's been easier than ever to identify a song playing somewhere in the background. You could hear something you like while watching a movie or sitting in a coffee shop, and all you have to do is open the Shazam app and have it listen fo ...more

The latest 17.4 update for Safari includes a prompt for EU users to choose a different default web browser available in their region. It also gives us new ways to customize the Favorites Bar on an iPad. And Apple Cash virtual numbers are now supported as an AutoFill suggestion ...more

Apple's Podcasts app just got a big feature: transcripts. Before, you had to rely on third-party services or the off chance that podcast creators posted transcription links to each of their episodes. Now, you can view, read, and search show transcripts directly in Podcasts, wh ...more

There's a world of hidden features on your iPhone just waiting to be explored, and one of them is hiding in plain sight right in front of you. You likely see it multiple times a day after performing a routine action without ever thinking twice about what else it can do, and yo ...more

Because our smartphones are ever present, frequently used apps become the topic of conversation in social situations. This often leads to sharing app links via messages, either by copying/pasting an app's URL or sending it through the sharing menu. However, there's another way ...more

Apple had a version of this feature on its Mac computers for almost 40 years, so why did it take Apple over 15 years to finally add it to iPhone? Since the first Macintosh computer, Apple's included a startup chime that sounded off every time you powered on. At first, it was ...more

You can wake up to ringtones, music from streaming services, or downloaded audio files when setting alarms in Google's Clock app for Android, but that's not all. The latest feature lets you turn your own voice into an alarm sound, saying whatever it is you need to say to wake ...more

Apple just delivered an early Christmas present to Apple Music subscribers and karaoke fans in the form of Apple Music Sing, a singalong mode that lets you take over as lead vocalist for your favorite tracks. Until now, karaoke aficionados had to either go to karaoke night at ...more

When iOS 16.0 was still in early beta testing, Apple teased us with a slew of new Books actions in the Shortcuts app, but none of them materialized in iOS 16.0 or 16.1. That changes with Apple's latest software update for iPhone. The only Apple Books action in Shortcuts you'l ...more

Emoji characters give you a multitude of colorful characters to express yourself with on social media and within messages, and stickers give you even more symbols to play with. While Android and iOS both have a healthy arsenal of emoji and stickers, Android goes a step further ...more

You don't need to pay for an app or subscription to have your audio notes transcribed for you on your Android smartphone. There's an easy, free way to do it on almost any Google Pixel, and you can even use it on other Android devices. Google introduced its Recorder app with t ...more

Unlike Apple Maps, Google Maps can tell you when a restaurant, bar, club, or other business you're thinking of visiting is busy. It's extremely helpful if you want to avoid peak times or wait for the place to be empty. If you can't pry yourself away from using Apple Maps, ther ...more

If you have a screen recording with distracting UI elements, black borders, and other unneeded visuals, Google Photos can help you crop out all the junk from the video, leaving you with only the important stuff. Google Photos' crop tool also has a companion rotate functionali ...more

While you can use Google Assistant on your Android phone to identify songs playing around you, you may still prefer Shazam's music recognition service, which has been available on Android since 2008 — a full nine years before Google Assistant's audio-fingerprinting technology. ...more

YouTube Music just refreshed the user interface for playlists, seemingly taking away the ability to shuffle the songs in your playlists. While the update has been rolling out for months, you might just be getting the updated look on your smartphone, and there's no giant "Shuff ...more

To record an audio message in the Messages app on iOS 15, you would tap and hold the audio messages button in the text entry field of the conversation. Then, you could let go to preview it before sending it or swipe up to send it right away. That's no longer the case on iOS 16 ...more

One of Apple's most prominent iOS 16 features lets you unsend iMessages, but those aren't the only things you can take back. Your iPhone's Mail app also has the Undo Send feature, and unlike the Messages app, you can even customize the amount of time you have to stop an email ...more

Safari's advanced experimental features give you access to new browser initiatives, upcoming web tools, element changes, behavior adjustments, and other preliminary feature tests in development by Apple. If you use them on your iPhone, you can either improve your Safari experi ...more

You're caught up on "Squid Games," and you've rewatched "Seinfeld" for the umpteenth time. You're looking forward to the next season of "Stranger Things," but it isn't out yet. Why not play Stranger Things on Netflix instead? In addition to watching movies and binging TV seri ...more

With its latest version of Apple Maps, Apple has made perhaps its strongest push since the launch of the app to dethrone Google Maps from its perch atop the App Store rankings. Available now via the iOS 15 update, Apple Maps now includes highly-detailed 3D maps, an AR mode fo ...more

Accessibility features — such as spoken content, reduced motion, and voice control — help those who might have hearing, vision, learning, or physical and motor disabilities better use their iPhone devices. These features are very welcome, but when enabled they work system-wide ...more

Apple's iOS 14.5 overhauled the Podcasts app, combining new aesthetics with smart and efficient features. While you might find the app better at playing your favorite podcasts than past versions, you might also find something negative about the update on your iPhone: it may be ...more

Back in Android 9, Google took away the expanding mini-menu for Bluetooth connections. The way it used to be, you could long-press the Bluetooth toggle in your Quick Settings, then the panel would turn into a fast-access menu for Bluetooth settings. It was a fairly minor featu ...more

I'm always looking for solutions to problems people are having with their smartphones. This means I spend a lot of time browsing forums and release sites looking for new apps. In doing so, I find a lot of apps that don't quite solve a major problem, but are nonetheless pretty ...more

You don't have to be hearing impaired to appreciate one of Android's best audio accessibility features. This one can notify you when a baby is crying, a smoke alarm is going off, or when various nefarious sounds such as breaking glass are heard. It's a native feature for most ...more

When creating video content for social media, such as a story on Instagram, it's common practice to add captions or subtitles to the post so that people can watch it wherever they are on silent. Doing this by hand is time-consuming and frustrating, but Instagram has a solution ...more

Most of you probably hate ads on your smartphone, but they're a part of modern digital life. As long as apps like Instagram are free to use, then we'll need to pay by dealing with posts, videos, and pop-ups trying to sell us stuff. Well, not necessarily, so long as you're OK w ...more

With its emphasis on well-rounded audible entertainment, Deezer gives all music and podcast fans the best of both worlds. As great as the app is, it's inconvenient to constantly tell Siri to play your music and podcasts through Deezer so that it doesn't default to Apple Music ...more

If you're using a VPN-based ad blocker with full HTTPS functionality on a Samsung phone, you'll get a notification informing you there's a third-party security certificate in use. No big deal, except it shows up every time you restart the phone. Samsung isn't alone in this typ ...more

After a slow phase-out, Google Play Music was shut down in December 2020. The songs you uploaded or purchased are still on Google's servers, but even those will be deleted on Feb. 24, 2021. If you plan to jump over to YouTube Music, the transfer process is straightforward and ...more

Videos hosted on Streamable may be fleeting or forever. So when you come across a cool video that you want to watch again later, it's a good idea to download it to your device in case it's one that disappears after a few months. There is no built-in download button in the Stre ...more

Many podcasts you come across will tell you to check out the episode notes for information and links about whatever that show's topic is. Easy enough, unless you're using Apple Podcasts, where these episode notes don't appear to be anywhere at all. Luckily, they're just hiding ...more

There are modded Spofity APKs floating around that essentially give you a Spotify Premium account for free, but the music streaming giant has been aggressively banning users who go this route. So if you're tired of listening to ads, but you don't want to do anything illegal, y ...more

You shouldn't care what other people think, but sometimes, it's unavoidable. Take your music tastes, for instance. Sure, you might want your friends to think you only listen to the coolest songs, but we all have our guilty pleasures. If you're uncomfortable with your peers see ...more

The Pixel 5's beautifully slim and symmetric bezels don't leave much room for extra hardware like a notification LED. But with the Ambient Display feature and an inventive app, you can turn the display cutout for the front-facing camera into an animated notification indicator. ...more

Apple released iOS 14.2.1 for iPhone today, Thursday, Nov. 19. The update includes fixes for a bug where some MMS messages might not be received, an issue where iPhone 12 mini lock screens would be unresponsive, and a problem where "Made for iPhone" hearing devices would have ...more

Google's version of Android is best described as AOSP with extra features. But while the Pixel's UI is rightfully praised for its simplicity, those "extra features" aren't as numerous as they are on other OEM skins like Samsung's One UI. Case in point, there's no real system-w ...more