WhatsApp is a great app to keep in touch with friends and family across phone brands and countries, but sharing a post on Instagram hasn't always been as easy as it should have been considering Facebook owns both companies. Now, whether you have Android or iOS, all it takes is ...more
Boomerangs are a staple camera feature for Instagram and its users. The idea is to take up to 20 frames of video, which Instagram then processes into a looping movie that plays forward and backward. Since Facebook owns Instagram, it was only a matter of time before the feature ...more
Single sign-on (SSO) lets users login across different sites without having to manage multiple accounts. I'm sure most of us appreciate the convenience of seeing "Sign in with …" buttons that let us login with a single username. Hackers, however, see a possible avenue for expl ...more
You're in constant communication with your friends and family. The only issue? Nobody uses the same app. Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp — you have contacts spanning all three, and the resulting balancing-act to keep in touch can be overwhelming. That's why Facebook — who owns ...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
A group ironically called the "Guardians of Peace" hacked into Sony Pictures' computer systems and released a mountain of internal information such as medical records, leaked scripts, work complaints, and even celebrity aliases. Why did this happen? Sure, a lot of well-though ...more
The new iOS 11 was just released by Apple, and you can install it right now. Overall, it's got some great features, but how does it fare battery-wise on your iPhone? And how can you increase daily battery life for more juice and less charging every day? No matter the iOS vers ...more
Users on Instagram have taken the app's new "Questions" sticker and run with it — it's tough to find a story in your feed that doesn't proudly sport "Ask me a question." However, it appears there's some confusion when it comes to the anonymity of your answers to these question ...more
Instagram Stories is one of the most flexible ways to share creative and original content with your followers. It allows you to alter text, markup images, and add cool graphics and stickers, along with other fun ways of expressing yourself. The way you can use Stories goes be ...more
By now, there's no way you haven't stumbled upon a TikTok video, whether it was on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube. Just watching these addictive short-form videos is enough to make you want to join up and make your own, and when you do, we've got some tips that will ...more
Everything you post on social media lives there forever — even if you delete it. Just ask anyone that's ever posted something stupid. Instagram does not provide built-in tools to save or download images and videos from other users, but there are workarounds. Third-party tools ...more
Conducting phishing campaigns and hosting Metasploit sessions from a trusted VPS is important to any professional security researcher, pentester, or white hat hacker. However, the options are quite limited since most providers have zero-tolerance policies for any kind of hacki ...more
Directory traversal, or path traversal, is an HTTP attack which allows attackers to access restricted directories by using the ../ characters to backtrack into files or directories outside the root folder. If a web app is vulnerable to this, an attacker can potentially access ...more
Welcome to another Community Byte announcement from Null Byte! The goal of the Community Bytes is to teach people in a co-operative, hands-on manner. Learning from experience and immersing yourself in a subject is the best way to learn something foreign to you, so that is exac ...more
Sometimes, paying for the whole Xbox LIVE service might seem like a waste of money. You're constantly experiencing lag, you've got people modding and cheating, kids are being loud and obnoxious over the mic, and your kill-to-death ratio is getting dumped on. Basically, the who ...more
Null Byte is looking for forum moderators! Last Friday's mission was to accomplish solving HackThisSite, basic mission 9. This mission delves a little further into Unix commands and remote directory traversal (which is just a fancy term for going through folders blindly). Th ...more
Shortening URLs has become a necessity in this age of Twitter and limited-character status updates. It not only allows us to cram more words into our oh-so-important Twitter statuses, but it also helps us with a few other things. Some Benefits of URL Shorteners We can create ...more
Google's monthly Android security updates are generally welcome—at the very least, they provide a feeling of security that our device is now somewhat safer than it was 30 days ago. Vulnerability patches, slight enhancements to performance, and overall bug fixes are generally i ...more
When first released, Snap Map made a lot of users uneasy. Beaming their location to the world at all times isn't necessarily the definition of privacy, but Snapchat's map is nonetheless intriguing, offering users a view into the lives of people across the globe. Now, you don't ...more
Nintendo's first ever game for Android has finally touched down (unless you actually count the abomination that is Miitomo). Fire Emblem Heroes, a classic turn-based RPG optimized for mobile gaming, has come out for Android and iOS in Australia, Europe, and Japan, and is due o ...more
The Google Assistant is great about understanding what you actually mean, so you don't have to issue exact commands like you do with Amazon Alexa, for instance. But even though it's a master of colloquial speech, it could still be better, and that's where shortcuts come into p ...more
Short for Ask Me Anything, AMA threads are one of Reddit's signature features. They enable you to directly interact with a whole range of interesting personalities, from common folk with amazing life experiences to influential celebrities that help shape politics and culture. ...more
While it's easy enough to take a screenshot of an end-to-end encrypted Telegram chat thread using an iPhone, it's an entirely different story on Android phones. Telegram disables screenshots for Secret Chats by default on Android, and not everyone can turn it on. Sometime in ...more
It's never fun when you install an app and then proceed to be bombarded with constant notifications. The SoundCloud app, while great in other regards, tends to have a bit of an issue on this front. So it's only fair that I share with you how to turn off every single one of th ...more
T-Mobile's credit-checking system was recently hacked, and this one is about as bad as it gets. The names of 15 million customers, their date of birth and social security number, as well as driver's license numbers and additional information was illegally accessed, meaning the ...more
Over the years, the internet has become a dangerous place. As its popularity has increased, it has attracted more hackers looking to make a quick buck. However, as our dependency on the web grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to sever all ties. This means we have to prote ...more
With troves of sensitive information, like receipts and password reminders, hiding in your email, your inbox can become a sort of Holy Grail for hackers—or anyone with your password. Although my crazy ex-girlfriend had no hacking experience, using my email login, she was able ...more
When you've exhausted your data plan, streaming isn't an option unless you want overcharges. While Apple Music makes it easy to download songs for offline listening, you need to add the music to your library first. This creates an extra step in downloading music, but it doesn' ...more
There have been a number of rumors about the iPhone 8 over the past couple of months, but the latest speculation about the device's dual FaceTime camera, that could take 3D selfies, has definitely grabbed our attention. Mac Otakara reports that there is a "possibility" that a ...more
When it comes to news, updates, and arbitrary nonsense, it's hard to find a better source than Twitter. And for some of us, the best way to consume Twitter is through the web (versus a mobile app). But as much as I prefer the standard browser version, it's easy to make it bett ...more
It's no secret that HBO has some ... mature content. Just watch the first five minutes of Game of Thrones. Yeah, I know. What a ride. But here's the thing — HBO has kids content, too, and it's good stuff! HBO now owns Sesame Street, of all shows. So parents should be allowed ...more
It seems that every major social media platform is adding a "Go live" feature to their apps lately. Twitter, in particular, has been at the forefront of the live broadcasting craze for quite some time now. The company has previously only allowed those with a Periscope account ...more
We'd like this to be one of the last HTS mission announcements, at least for now. As soon as Null Byte finds a server to play with (anyone want to donate one?), we are going to start doing root the box competitions, which is like king of the hill, except you have to hack a ser ...more
The community tore up the first realistic mission last week. You've applied the techniques learned in the basic missions to a real scenario, so I'm pretty content. The realistic missions are where the learning gets intense and where we can apply real knowledge to extremely rea ...more
Skype is a great way to stay in contact with friends and family over the internet, and people tend to share a lot in their chats, so why not try and find a way to hack it! Once a Skype account is hacked, you can view all conversations within the last three months, see how long ...more
So, how does someone keep their hacking life completely secret? What This Is: I'd like to know how hackers keep their hacking life secret. So with a bit of experience and knowledge obtained from elsewhere I want to share what I know, and also ask a few questions to become ev ...more
The options for finding random or specific music to listen to are vast. Spotify is excellent for streaming popular music and new releases, while SoundCloud provides a healthy dose of user-generated remixes and originals. And then there's YouTube for everything else. Only prob ...more
Since the release of Windows 8, Microsoft has been heavily encouraging users to use Windows with a Microsoft account. According to Microsoft, the main benefit of using a Microsoft account is the ability to sign in and sync your information across various Microsoft devices and ...more
After my hard drive crashed recently, I lost everything. Old college essays, half-written stories, short films, and most importantly, all of the photos that I had saved from the past five years... all gone. Since I didn't back up my hard drive (stupid mistake #1), or upload p ...more
Welcome to the Google+ Insider's Guide to all things Google+. We're dedicated to keeping you updated with all the latest news, tips and tricks on Google+, and this official index will serve as a one-stop catalog of all our How-To articles, as well as all the news & updates we' ...more
Do you ever wonder how all these celebrities continue to have their private photos spread all over the internet? While celebrities' phones and computers are forever vulnerable to attacks, the common folk must also be wary. No matter how careful you think you were went you sent ...more
Update February 25: The Nokia 9 PureView was announced at Mobile World Congress! Read all of the official specs and details at our full rundown of Nokia's latest flagship. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Nokia 9 PureView is the flagship device most Nokia fans have b ...more
Believe it or not, there are legitimate iOS apps beyond the App Store that you can install on your iPhone. Some of them even work for iPad, Apple TV, and Mac, and there are also benefits to using them over apps found in the App Store. Not all of you will want to try these app ...more
Steganography is the art of hiding information in plain sight, and in this tutorial, I'll show you how to use Steghide — a very simple command line tool to do just that. In addition, I'll go over a bit of conceptual background to help you understand what's going on behind the ...more
We might never truly know all of the colors behind old and classic black-and-white photos, but thanks to technology, we can get a pretty accurate colorization. Although Photoshop is a popular way to colorize these images, you can now use your iPhone, along with a nifty shortcu ...more
So, you want to become anonymous? well let me give you everything I know (or at least most of it) to you. Introduction Part: So this is a serious only about being anonymous on the internet and while hacking. This series will cover: (further steps might be added if I decide ...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
Over the past couple of weeks, there have been a series of high-profile hacks and leaks. From the rooting of CombinedSystems, to a secret FBI conference call leak, all the way to the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on U.S. government sites—with a lot in-between. A ...more
When you think about your Apple Watch, what comes to mind? Fitness tracking? Replying to texts? There are a lot of things Apple Watch is good for, but social media doesn't appear to be one of them based on the App Store. If that's your perception, however, it's time for a real ...more
Despite a rocky start with plenty of feature disparity, the Google Assistant now provides a pretty consistent experience regardless of what device you're using it on. Be it Android, iPhone, or Google Home, the AI behind the Assistant is virtually identical — including its quir ...more
Using just a small sticky note, we can trigger a chain of events that ultimately results in complete access to someone's entire digital and personal life. Imagine arriving home one night after work and there's a Post-it note on your apartment door with the website "your-name- ...more
The conversation of which operating system is most secure, macOS vs. Windows, is an ongoing debate. Most will say macOS is more secure, but I'd like to weigh in by showing how to backdoor a MacBook in less than two minutes and maintain a persistent shell using tools already bu ...more
I remember a time when I had to rent a VHS from the local video rental store. It wasn't all that bad, with the only real annoyances being the trip to and fro, having to rewind the movie and the possible malfunction of my VHS player, which liked to eat tape from time to time. ...more
Twitter is a science. The smarter you post and engage with others, the better chance you have at building a bigger audience. Scheduling your tweets is one way to get there. Most engagement occurs at specific hours, but you may not be around then to post your tweet manually. Wh ...more
My first ever post on here was 'Keeping your hacking identity secret' and it did very well, and its not something I see here on null byte. So read along. Disclaimer: I didnt introduce you this subject in my last post, but I while do that now. First, I want to clarify that t ...more
Beginners learning brute-forcing attacks against WPA handshakes are often let down by the limitations of default wordlists like RockYou based on stolen passwords. The science of brute-forcing goes beyond using these default lists, allowing us to be more efficient by making cus ...more
Twitter replies have traditionally acted like public spaces. Once a tweet is out there, pretty much anyone can reply to it. In some cases, that makes for good discussion. In others, it can lead to disaster, abuse, and harassment. Twitter's looking to change that by giving you ...more
While you might suspect your MacOS computer has been infected with malware, it can be difficult to know for sure. One way to spot malicious programs is to look for suspicious behavior — like programs listening in on our keyboard input or launching themselves every time we boot ...more
We've all seen the login pages that allow you to log in to third-party accounts using your credentials from Facebook, Google, or Twitter. It saves you the trouble of creating another account and remembering more passwords — but it can also become a privacy and security issue, ...more
The Raspberry Pi is a credit card-sized computer that can crack Wi-Fi, clone key cards, break into laptops, and even clone an existing Wi-Fi network to trick users into connecting to the Pi instead. It can jam Wi-Fi for blocks, track cell phones, listen in on police scanners, ...more