A relay is an electrical component that works like a light switch, where it's turned on or off with an electrical signal. By connecting a relay to a Wi-Fi connected microcontroller like an ESP8266, you can build a connected switch that can be controlled from the web browser of ...more
To hack a Wi-Fi network, you need your wireless card to support monitor mode and packet injection. Not all wireless cards can do this, but you can quickly test one you already own for compatibility, and you can verify that the chipset inside an adapter you're thinking of purch ...more
While hackers adore the command line, working with the GUI (graphical user interface) of an operating system has some advantages. This is especially true when it comes to post-exploitation. When we can control the mouse and keyboard of a remote computer, we can truly say we ha ...more
Kali Linux is the obvious first choice of an operating system for most new hackers, coming bundled with a curated collection of tools organized into easy-to-navigate menus and a live boot option that is very newbie-friendly. But Kali isn't the only distribution targeted at pen ...more
Every time you make a call or send a text, you're giving the recipient your phone number. This can be quite the security vulnerability, opening yourself up to scammers, spammers, and the feds. In this how-to, we'll look at what a burner phone is, why you might want one, and ho ...more
If you're one who enjoys a good DIY project, or if you're just tired of paying exorbitant labor fees to have your vehicle serviced every 5,000 miles, changing your own oil can be a rewarding endeavor. Even though cars and trucks are becoming increasingly over-engineered these ...more
While you may not have loads of secret files hiding on your computer, there might be one or two items that need a little extra security, like a file of website logins or a folder of risqué photos. Mac OS X does have FileVault as a good security option, which uses XTS-AES 128- ...more
One thing Apple Maps always lacked was the ability to add stops along a route while planning a trip. Navigation would help you travel from the beginning location to the final destination, and the only places you could add between that were pit stops like banks and ATMs, coffee ...more
In a similar vein to Facebook's colorful backgrounds for text posts, Instagram has a way to add vivid text-only status updates for your stories. That way, you can conjure up colorful stories that make a statement without even needing to take a photo or video in the first place ...more
Kali Linux is probably the most well-known hacking distribution among penetration testers. However, there are alternative distros which offer versatility and advanced package management systems that are absolutely worth considering. One such distribution is Pentoo, a Gentoo-b ...more
Performance and stability improvements, as well as new features, are just some reasons to install iOS 12, but new changes mean new battery health challenges. It can be difficult to boost battery life while taking advantage of everything this update has to offer. Luckily, there ...more
Enterprise augmented reality software maker Scope AR is bringing the powers of its two productivity apps together like the Wonder Twins into the form of a single app. Announced at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Santa Clara on Thursday, the merged app brings together Remote ...more
The most significant customization aspect of the iPhone is most definitely the home screen. Before iOS 14, Apple only threw in a feature here and there to appease those who like a more personal touch on the most visible part of the operating system. Now, there are great custom ...more
IKEA won't be alone among ARKit apps for visualizing home décor and improvements when iOS 11 arrives next week. Unlike IKEA or Lowe's Home Improvement, Cambria and Markilux are hardly household names (no pun intended). Yet, with tools like ARKit and Google's ARCore, AR apps a ...more
When I first received my HTC One M8, I was in love with the 5-inch screen size, but the icons and font just seemed too big, wasting valuable screen real estate. Phablets, like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, have only slightly larger screens, but don't seem to have this problem sin ...more
Macs, like pretty much all Apple products, are notorious for not having a highly customizable UI. They do this to keep a consistent look and feel across all of their devices, but I've grown bored of it over the years. To help liven things up, Bhavin121 found a way to change t ...more
Casting Angelina Jolie as Maleficent was a no-brainer on Disney's part. No one else could project beauty, elegance, and fear simultaneously just like the animated villain in Sleeping Beauty did. But what sets the character apart from other evil witches, or any other Disney cha ...more
Like insurance, it's always better to have a computer mouse and not need it than to need it and not have it. Honestly, I don't want to carry around a clunky mouse with my laptop, so I don't. I do something else, something more convenient. I use my Nexus 7. If you want to give ...more
Spoofed phone calls originate from one source that's disguising its phone number as a different one, and you probably get these calls all the time. Maybe they're numbers from your local area code or for prominent businesses, but the callers are just hijacking those digits to f ...more
You can easily deck out your favorite phone with great wallpapers, ringtones, and icons, but what about fonts? Not all Android skins let you change the system font, and even when they do, the options are often limited to a few choices. Certain root apps can open up the system ...more
When you have an idea you want to jot down or a quick list to make, the Notes app on your iPhone is a great place to do it. However, by default, Notes use a blank canvas, which doesn't match the physical lined notebooks we're used to. If you've always use unlined or gridless s ...more
Prepaid phones are becoming more and more popular, and tons of people can see the benefits of switching now that some companies are offering prepaid services that are on par with the big players. For a lot of folks, the only thing keeping them from switching is the huge early ...more
Apple Notes has received many improvements over its lifetime, but noticeably absent year after year was the ability to easily add quick links in notes to other notes for reference. The latest software updates for iPhone, iPad, and Mac finally address this with a simple note-li ...more
Your iPhone's built-in Voice Memos app is a great way to record the audio around you, whether it be conversations, lectures, meetings, interviews, discussions, chitchat, gossip, or other kinds of talks. But if your goal is to record audio on the down-low without being noticed, ...more
You should feel relatively safe to watch and post videos on TikTok, but like with any online service, you're always at the mercy of hackers. It's unfortunate, but anyone can become a target for arbitrary reasons. Maybe your TikTok videos are controversial. Maybe someone has a ...more
Possibly the most popular feature in iOS 14, home screen widgets are here to stay. Apple created a ton for its own apps, and third-party developers keep building ones for their own apps. But home screen widgets go beyond that since you can make a widget for practically anythin ...more
PowerShell is an essential component of any Windows environment and can be a powerful tool in the hands of a hacker. During post-exploitation, PowerShell scripts can make privilege escalation and pivoting a breeze, but its execution policy can put a damper on even the best-lai ...more
A century-old opera is getting a revamp in the UK after swapping dusty wigs and curtains for augmented reality overlays and Snapchat filters. Adding augmented reality and games alongside a musical recording of "The Cunning Little Vixen," the Welsh National Opera is ensuring t ...more
Stories are everywhere in social media today, but that wasn't always the case. In 2013, Snapchat introduced the world to these temporary windows into our daily lives. Since then, stories have infiltrated other popular apps. However, to stand out, you can't solely rely on the a ...more
For the longest time, the only clickable link you could throw up on Instagram was in your profile's bio, and that's still true for a lot of users. The only way to add a clickable link aside from the aforementioned one is in an Instagram story, where users checking out your sto ...more
You may prefer reading news stories, web articles, and books on your iPhone over listening to them in spoken form. Still, sometimes it's necessary when driving, walking, cycling, cleaning, working, or performing other activities requiring a little multitasking. To help you out ...more
Kali Linux has come a long way since its BackTrack days, and it's still widely considered the ultimate Linux distribution for penetration testing. The system has undergone quite the transformation since its old days and includes an updated look, improved performance, and some ...more
In the case of Apple Watch v. Fitbit, the winner comes down to the judge at hand. Apple currently offers two smartwatches — the Series 5 and the Series 3 — while Fitbit offers three models — the Fitbit Versa 2, Fitbit Ionic, and Fitbit Versa Lite. Whatever your assumptions abo ...more
What appears to be an ordinary MP4 may have been designed by an attacker to compromise your Linux Mint operating system. Opening the file will indeed play the intended video, but it will also silently create a connection to the attacker's system. Understanding the Attack Whi ...more
Cases and stickers are always great, but they aren't the only way to customize an iPhone. The software on your device is full of customization options, from a better-looking home screen and cooler lock screen wallpapers to app icon changes and a system-wide dark mode. There's ...more
Any internet user will need to download files eventually, and most simply have faith that what they are downloading is trustworthy. This doesn't give much clarity into the contents of the file, but if the file's author published the original checksum, comparing it to the SHA-2 ...more
The ability of one microbe to adapt is giving it a whole new career as a sexually transmitted disease. Usually content with the back of the throat and nose of those who carry it, the dangerous pathogen Neisseria meningitidis has adapted to cause an illness that looks a lot lik ...more
UPDATE: Due to increased, uncontrollable spam, submitting anything other than comments on WonderHowTo and its affiliated network of sites is temporarily closed. Only current and past members who have previously submitted helpful news and guides may be able to submit forum post ...more
When you think of Terminal, you probably imagine some hacker sitting in front of their computer in a dimly lit room trying to break into an FBI database. In reality, it's just a simple tool that can make using your Mac much easier. Now, I'm not saying that learning Terminal c ...more
Many of us in the Steampunk community have pets that we love and cherish, myself included, and we want those pets to share our joy of Steampunk. In reality, they couldn't care less, but for some reason we still love to dress them up. Their reactions usually range from bemused ...more
When you don't have a steady cellular signal or immediate Wi-Fi access but need to communicate with others around you, you can set up an off-the-grid voice communications network using a Raspberry Pi and an Android app. There are apps such as Bridgefy that will create a mesh ...more
What if you could easily visualize which access point every Wi-Fi device nearby is connected to in a matter of seconds? While programs like Airodump-ng can intercept this wireless information, making it easy for hackers to use and understand is another challenge. Fortunately, ...more
No matter how good a display is, the idea of perfect color calibration is subjective — some prefer warmer more saturated colors, while others prefer the calmer cooler side of the color spectrum. It is almost impossible to create a single color calibration that everyone can agr ...more
Connecting to your headless Raspberry Pi on the go typically requires a network connection or carrying around bulky peripheral hardware like a screen and keyboard. With the help of an old-school connecting standard, though, you can log into your Pi from any computer using a si ...more
Break out the office supplies and kitchen utensils, because improving your morning makeup routine is about to get a lot easier. Some of the things you have lying around the house can provide the perfect solution for some of the most common beauty problems. We've collected 10 o ...more
The microwave oven is a monumental technological achievement that's saved college students and single people from starvation for decades. Almost 97% of all American households have one, which makes it the most-owned kitchen appliance in US homes right after the refrigerator. ...more
Apple's spring event, where the company will announce a new iPad model, is just around the corner. We also expect to see the long-awaited Apple Pencil (3rd generation), also known more simply as Apple Pencil 3, with several significant enhancements that promise to make it an i ...more
One of the most convenient features in the Netflix app is the ability to download movies and TV shows to your device, which lets you avoid potential streaming issues and watch content offline whenever you want. To make downloading even more convenient, you can automatically do ...more
We all want to be healthy, but in practice, it can be tricky, especially from the fitness angle. Our lives seem busier and busier, which makes hitting the gym quite the challenge. What if we told you there was a real way to work on your fitness in the comfort of your own home ...more
It's common for IoT devices like Wi-Fi security cameras to host a website for controlling or configuring the camera that uses HTTP instead of the more secure HTTPS. This means anyone with the network password can see traffic to and from the camera, allowing a hacker to interce ...more
Contrary to popular belief, augmented reality apps have been available for a while now. I remember using the Layar app (still available for iOS and Android) to explore nearby businesses and landmarks with varying success via an early-generation Android handset. It would be ha ...more
Clumsiness is the great equalizer when it comes to smartphones — it makes no distinction between the most expensive flagship handset and cheaper mid-range models. A hard drop onto pavement will usually result in a shattered screen, regardless of how pricey your device is. And ...more
Chris Brogan is no stranger to using multiple social media platforms all from the comfort of his phone. In fact, not only does he have over 350,000 followers on Twitter, but he's also an avid YouTuber, Instagrammer, podcaster, and blogger. That's just his online world too. Ch ...more
Full disclosure: I really like Apple's stock ringtones on the iPhone. After all, there are over 50 to choose from if you include the classic ones. With all that choice, why would you ever need more? Personally, I get bored easily, and I'd like my music to play when people call ...more
Widgets can display essential information from an app right on your iPhone's Lock Screen, but there's an even bigger reason you should be using them: fast access to your most-used apps. Thanks to iOS 16, you can add one widget above the time on the Lock Screen and up to four ...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
After a few months and a couple of beta versions, Android 11 is now ready not only for Pixel devices, but also handsets from OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Realme. The biggest changes can be found in the Notification Shade, where Google has revamped how it treats notifications fr ...more
The new iOS 14 for iPhone arrived Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2020, alongside iPadOS 14, and there are a lot of features to uncover. Improved widgets. Better home screen customization. Exciting Messages improvements. New abilities in Camera and Photos. There's so much here that it'll ...more
Samsung's lineup of Galaxy Note devices for 2020 include the specs-behemoth Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and the slightly more cost-effective Galaxy Note 20. Excuse the pun, but there's a lot to unpack here in terms of unique features and hardware. These are the first smartphones wit ...more
Phone specs get better and better each year, and multiplayer mobile games are right there with them. Instead of playing solo, jump into some real-time gameplay with co-op and player vs. player modes, and battle friends, family, and strangers from around the world. But which mu ...more