Rooting is usually the first thing on the to-do list whenever one of us softModders gets a new Android device. Unfortunately our efforts are sometimes hindered by certain obstacles; a common one is a locked bootloader. What Is a Bootloader? A bootloader is the lowest level s ...more
Apple does not provide a native way to lock apps on your iPhone behind Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. For a long time, we've wanted that option for improved privacy and security, but Apple does allow developers to use its authentication protocols. Apps like Messenger, Ou ...more
It's easy to copy text from webpages, messages, documents, and other views on your Android device — except when it isn't. Many apps block or prohibit text selection, forcing you to take screenshots or write out the whole excerpt manually. But you don't have to resort to those ...more
Keystroke injection attacks are popular because they exploit the trust computers have in human interface devices (HIDs). One of the most popular and easily accessible keystroke injection tools is the USB Rubber Ducky from Hack5, which has a huge range of uses beyond simple HID ...more
Back in 2015, Amazon Prime Video was the first subscription-based streaming service to introduce the ability to download movies and TV shows for offline viewing on mobile devices. For travelers and users with limited data plans that like to watch films and episodes on the go, ...more
I think everyone with an iPhone should be making every purchase they can with Apple Pay. I also think everyone who uses Apple Pay should open the Wallet app ahead of time, instead of simply tapping their iPhone to the card reader. But there's a much faster way to open Wallet t ...more
Greeting cards. Everyone hates buying them, they're way overpriced, and the majority of them go right in the trash after they're opened. So why do we still buy them? If it's the thought that counts, you're much better off going with something handmade. You can personalize it ...more
Near Field Communication, or NFC for short, is a feature that allows our smartphones to wirelessly communicate with other devices over a short distance while using almost no power at all. Think of it like a slimmed-down version of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth that can send a small burst ...more
With an inconspicuous Android phone and USB flash drive, an attacker can compromise a Windows 10 computer in less than 15 seconds. Once a root shell has been established, long-term persistence to the backdoor can be configured with just two simple commands — all while bypassin ...more
Although Christmas is a time to spend with family and be happy and full of joy, sometimes it's nice to pull a prank here and there, especially since many will not be expecting them. In this tutorial, I'm going to show you 10 simple pranks and booby traps you can set up on you ...more
One draw that Samsung's Galaxy S line has had over the Google Nexus 4 and 5 and the HTC One (though the M8 appears to be following suit) is expandable storage. Pop a microSD card into the slot and you have extra storage for music, photos, and even apps themselves in some cases ...more
Apple's Wallet app lets you store boarding passes, concert tickets, gym memberships, vaccination cards, movie stubs, rewards cards, insurance info, student IDs, and more in one place on your iPhone, and you just double-click the Home or Side button to access them. Unfortunatel ...more
Inspiration for tutorial: Foxtrot's "How to Trap a Tracker" If you have been following my past tutorials, (and it's fine if you haven't,) you would know how much social engineering and doxing I do. During these moments when we are convincing people that we are a different per ...more
With all the things you can do with your Galaxy, it's easy to forget it's still a phone at heart, and incoming calls that take over your entire screen serve as a rude reminder of this fact. Thankfully, Samsung handsets like the S10 and Note 10 come with a setting built-in that ...more
Business cards are a great way to keep tabs on the contacts we network with. So why shouldn't our smartphones make them even more useful? Enter Google Lens, which will help you save, search, and expand on the contact information found on all of the business cards you've collec ...more
Buying a smartphone used is an excellent way to save money, but those savings come with a risk that your seller isn't as forthcoming as they claim. You don't want to end up buying a stolen smartphone because it might not work correctly ... and, you know, it's wrong. Luckily, t ...more
If your smartphone is ever lost or stolen, it's a terrible experience. If you file a police report, chances are the responding officer will need your device's IMEI or MEID number if you want to stand a chance of getting it back. Same goes for making an insurance claim on a los ...more
In the tech world, it's all too common to slap a fake label and packaging on a lower quality product, especially SD cards. If you've ever bought an SD card on the cheap from a slightly-less-than-reputable source (or even a reputable source, in some cases), how do you know if i ...more
If you have a custom recovery installed on your Nexus 5, you're able to flash custom ROMs and lots of other cool Gadget Hacks. But when it comes time to receive and Over-the-Air (OTA) update directly from Google, having a custom recovery installed can be a fairly big hindrance ...more
The biggest hurdle faced when text messaging (besides more convincing lies) is accurately communicating our emotion and tone. Anything we say can be interpreted in various subjective ways by the recipient, and that's why we have emoji—to illustrate what we actually want to say ...more
Google Play Music is one of the best cloud music services out there. Without ever paying a dime, you can upload as many as 20,000 songs to Google's servers, then use the app on your smartphone to stream these songs without taking up any of your storage space. And if you're wil ...more
In this how-to I will show you how to get Google Music in Canada (or any other country) without a VPN or Proxy. And it will only take 5 minutes What you'll need: Google Chrome Hola Better Internet Extension A valid credit or debit card Step 1: Get the Hola Better Internet Ex ...more
Unlocking your Samsung Galaxy S4 so you can use a different SIM card isn't the easiest thing in the world. In the states, unlocking cell phones was actually illegal, despite the White House's disapproval, though, a recent bill has making its way to the House floor and has made ...more
Your HTC EVO 4G LTE has been lying to you. It will tell you when you're connected to a 4G network, but it will say 3G even if you're connected on 1X, which is a 2G CDMA network! This issue is just one of the many things you can fix after rooting, which allows you to take full ...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
When it comes to paying with Apple Pay, showing your rewards number or coupon at a store, or paying for your coffee with a digital gift card, Apple Wallet is as convenient as it gets. But one issue you'll probably experience at least once on your iPhone is a persistent notific ...more
In this cardmaking demonstration I make a really pretty card using a range of pretty papers. The card is a 6x4in card and I go through the layers building up a beautiful card that could be made using any range of papers and any stamps for a multitude of occasions. Step 1: Item ...more
If you're a child of the '70s, then you'll probably remember Pop Rocks, those fizzy little candies that created such a buzz. They went out of style in the States for a while, but now they're back with retro status. I was surprised to see them in my kids' Halloween bags a few y ...more
The art of creating Snapchat Lenses is really only the beginning of the augmented reality experience on the social media platform. The real interactive fun begins when people begin to use the Lenses in deeply personal ways. One of those personal instances just became easier w ...more
The holidays are here, which means a slew of new smartphones are set to be gifted to loved ones in the spirit of giving. Of course, a great case to compliment and protect that precious flagship is a must, regardless of whether it's a OnePlus 6T, iPhone XS, or Galaxy Note 9. An ...more
Having your home and work addresses set in Apple Maps makes them incredibly easy to navigate to no matter where you're located. If you move to a new house, stay in a hotel or resort while vacationing, report to a different office, or have multiple job sites to visit regularly, ...more
Before many games make it to the US-based iOS App Store, they get "soft launched" in a smaller country to get real-world testing for bugs. It's a pilot program, so to speak, as countries like Vietnam or the Philippines have far fewer iPhone users than the US, thus offer a more ...more
Apple announced four different iPhone models during its Oct. 13 web-only event, but only two of them can be purchased this month: the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. Preorders have already started for the two smartphones, and you could have one in your hands as early as Oct. 23, ...more
Yes, that's right: Instagram has a sneaky, inconspicuous, cryptic, hush-hush way to change its iconic, colorful icon on your Android's or iPhone's home screen and anywhere else it shows up throughout iOS. The app really outdid itself too, with 12 alternative icon designs from ...more
"What's your Wi-Fi password?" That's usually the first thing guests ask for when you have them over. You tell them the network name, then try to explain your complicated hacker-resistant password, which becomes a whole ordeal. But there's a better way to do it, which doesn't r ...more
Removing unwanted apps from your iPhone is a straightforward affair — long-press an app's icon, then hit the delete button once it appears. Unfortunately, the same can't be said when it comes to uninstalling tweaks from a jailbroken iPhone. Many tweaks aren't very polished, a ...more
M — Facebook's AI-powered assistant unveiled to the public in April — is now better than ever. The latest update to M now allows it to provide three more suggestions: a function to save content to view later, birthday wishes, and call initiation. Don't Miss: Facebook Messenge ...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
The 2020 iPhone SE had been through the rumor mill for a long time, but Apple finally unveiled the second-generation iPhone SE on Wednesday, April 15. While it doesn't sport the 4-inch design of the original SE, it combines a small form-factor with modern specs. The big questi ...more
The holidays are here. From the week of Thanksgiving until the end of the year, retailers will be offering massive discounts on your favorite items. So if you're looking for smartphone accessories, this is the time to buy. From Walmart to Best Buy, there are deals everywhere o ...more
Imagine a scenario where you're nowhere near your iPhone, but it's on loud, and you really need to silence it. An alarm may be blaring, notifications could be spitting out sounds left and right, and calls may be ringing. Things can get annoying real quick for whoever's around ...more
Unwanted advertising is everywhere. Annoying pop-up ads, overly loud late night commercials, spam...it never ends. And before spam, there was junk mail. Junk mail is even worse because unlike TV commercials and internet ads, it's physical. You can't just delete or ignore it—an ...more
Thanks to its intuitive interface that makes sending and receiving money a breeze, Venmo has become the go-to app for millions in the US. In fact, you've probably heard the term "Venmo you" being tossed around between friends. But before you take the plunge and sign up, it's a ...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
Your iPhone is full of features, many of which you might not even know about yet. Still, Apple keeps adding feature after feature with each new iOS update, and iOS 14.5 is no exception. The latest iOS version adds at least 69 features for your iPhone that you should be happy 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
When you want to post a breathtaking landscape or picture-perfect portrait that you just took with your DSLR camera to Instagram, Facebook, or some other social platform, there's an easy way to do so — even if you don't have a computer handy, which is typical when you're out a ...more
When traveling or sightseeing, you may come across a landmark you can't quite identify and want to know what exactly it is and the history behind it. It could be a building, waterfall ... anything. If there are no signs around or they're in a different language, you'll have no ...more
Gboard is one of the best third-party keyboards available for iPhones, but you probably don't know everything you need to know about it to become a real Gboard pro and stop using Apple's stock keyboard for good. I've tried many third-party keyboards on my iPhone since they we ...more
Back in August, Google unveiled a new YouTube Gaming service meant to compete with e-sports streaming sites like Twitch. At its launch, the service was capable of broadcasting desktop PC gameplay, but when it came to the mobile segment, users were only capable of viewing strea ...more
Just recently, I was experimenting with a dual-boot Windows setup, and somehow managed to wipe my primary Windows installation in the process. "Why," I asked myself, "Why didn't I make a backup before I started this?" Still to this day, I'm going through the painstaking proces ...more
Aside from home screen widgets, one of the most exciting updates to the iPhone with iOS 14 is Picture in Picture mode. With it, you can watch minimized versions of videos on top of other apps so you can multitask like a pro. However, not every service is on board with Apple's ...more
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus has practically guaranteed that the virus, along with the phrases "social distancing" and "flattening the curve," will rank among the top search terms of 2020. USA Today combined the phrases in its latest augm ...more
So far, iOS 13's major point updates have all been pretty exciting for iPhone. We've seen iOS 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3 come and go, offering more than 60 new features and changes combined to that very first version of iOS 13. While iOS 13.3.1 was a minor update, its successor, iOS ...more
In this era of smartphones, we all know very well how easily we can get addicted to our devices. Spending hours each day doing the endless scroll through Facebook and other social media sites just because we feel like we'll miss something if we don't. Both Google and Apple are ...more
If you want to get started sniffing Wi-Fi networks, you usually need to start with a wireless network adapter. But thanks to a Wi-Fi sniffing library written in Arduino and the ultra-cheap ESP8266 chip, you might not need one. For less than $10 in electronics, you can build a ...more
When you need to know how to get somewhere, Google Maps is the app to beat, but the king of navigation doesn't want to stop there. Google aims to make its navigation app for more than just directions, as made clear by its recent feature that lets you follow businesses in the a ...more
Out of the box, Apple's digital assistant could be a godsend or a nuisance, depending on your daily interactions it. No matter which camp you fall into, Siri can always be better suited to your personal needs with a little customization. You can make Siri a powerhouse not to b ...more
Apple's macOS operating system is just as vulnerable to attacks as any Windows 10 computer or Android smartphone. Hacker's can embed backdoors, evade antivirus with simple commands, and utilize USB flash drives to completely compromise a MacBook. In this always-updated guide, ...more
Due to weaknesses in the way Wi-Fi works, it's extremely easy to disrupt most Wi-Fi networks using tools that forge deauthentication packets. The ease with which these common tools can jam networks is only matched by how simple they are to detect for anyone listening for them. ...more