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This year's big iPhone update, iOS 12, aims to solve many of the issues that arose during iOS 11's controversial, buggy tenure. With that in mind, it may be tempting to jump on board the new software immediately and leave iOS 11 in the dust for good. Here are some reasons why ...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

Hangouts is a great cross-platform messaging service from Google that works with almost any device, making it one of the few messengers that can be installed on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android gadgets alike. With its many useful features, one of the few debatable downsides is i ...more

Believe it or not, but people are actually texting less than they did before, and that's all thanks to Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and other split-second communication services. However, one communication method that is still going strong—and dominating—is email. ...more

We've all heard our fair share of roommate horror stories, or have some of our own, because we never truly know who someone is until we've lived with them. Cohabitation issues generally revolve around things like bills, chores, cleaning, and groceries. Approaching a roommate, ...more

So, you've finally converted from an iPhone to a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone. Great. Only now you're overwhelmed with the unfamiliar look and feel of the Android operating system. Switching from Apple to Android can be a tough transition, but you'll eventually get used to it ...more

Apple's latest big software update includes an entirely new Apple app, a controversial change in the TV app, better Siri control, an improved Shortcuts app, interesting Safari upgrades, Apple Music Sing, and more. Keep reading to see what iOS 16.2 has to offer your iPhone. Th ...more

If you haven't noticed yet, there are a lot of new features hiding in your iPhone's Messages app, and some of them are things users have been requesting for a long time. While iMessage is getting a lot of attention by letting us edit and unsend messages, it's only just the sta ...more

You may not always want to, but there will probably be a time when you'll want to know if an email you send — like a job application or a support request — is opened by the recipient. It's actually easy to implement, and you may be using an email client on your device right no ...more

When Tim Cook, Craig Federighi, and other core Apple leaders take the stage for WWDC 2021 on June 7, we'll hear a lot about exciting new things to come. We're likely to see what's in store for watchOS 8 and macOS 12, but more importantly, we'll get a glimpse at what iOS 15 and ...more

It is well documented that what you say and do online is tracked. Yes, private organizations do their best to protect your data from hackers, but those protections don't extend to themselves, advertisers, and law enforcement. Whether you are a journalist, a protestor, or a hi ...more

Up until Android 5.0 Lollipop, the actual text of incoming notifications would scroll by in your status bar. These ticker style alerts didn't pop on screen or interfere with what you were currently working on, but you could still read the message. They were replaced by the new ...more

Welcome back, my fledgling hackers! One of the first issues any hacker has to address is reconnaissance. Before we even begin to hack, we need to know quite a bit about the target systems. We should know their IP address, what ports are open, what services are running, and wh ...more

"You can never know too much" is a saying you hear all the time. Funny thing is, I have no idea where it originated, and neither do most of the people who continually say it. Nevertheless, it's a statement that very few would argue with. Thanks to the internet, gaining access ...more

Apple's iOS 14.0 update has come and gone, and now we're sitting on iOS 14.2, the latest version of the iPhone's operating system. While it may be too late for you to revert to the last iOS 13 version, if the iOS 14.2 firmware is giving you problems or you're not just digging ...more

If your new 2020 iPhone SE is frozen, unresponsive, or won't load the system, and a standard power down and up procedure didn't work, there are few more things you can try. Force-restarting the device may do the trick, recovery mode is a last-ditch option, and DFU mode is your ...more

If you're worried about the security of your Mac, there are easy measures to prevent the most dangerous attacks. Named after the tactic of accessing an unattended computer in a hotel room, we can thwart "evil maid" attacks with Do Not Disturb and LuLu, free macOS tools by Obje ...more

We recently set out to find the best phones for people whose primary usage revolves around social media apps like Facebook and Instagram. Samsung, Apple, and Google were the three brands that made our top five, and while the latter only had one finalist, the two bigger OEMs ha ...more

Creating GIFs of your own burst images has been possible for a while with third-party iOS apps, some of which cost money or include in-app purchases to utilize the full potential. Fortunately, with Shortcuts, Apple's automation workflow app, there's finally a native way to ach ...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

One of Apple's best features is AirDrop, which easily lets you send files to other Apple devices with a simple tap. That said, it might be a little too easy to use since just about anyone can send a file to your iPhone, whether you know them or not. The difference between AirD ...more

Just days after Google released the official Android 11 update, Samsung already had a pre-beta build of One UI 3.0 available for developers to test their apps on. So this year's main OS upgrade is likely hitting Galaxy phones even earlier than we thought. Some features in the ...more

Android 10 added the framework for OS-wide chat bubbles, a feature popularized by Facebook Messenger. The new system allows you to interact with incoming messages as if you were in the app — all without having to leave your current app. In Android 11, this feature is finally a ...more

The Digispark is a low-cost USB development board that's programmable in Arduino and capable of posing as a keyboard, allowing it to deliver a number of payloads. For only a few dollars, we can use the Digispark to deliver a payload to a macOS computer that will track the Mac ...more

When it comes to cybersecurity, one layer isn't enough. A complex password (or one created with a password manager) does a good job of protecting your data, but it can still be cracked. Two-factor authentication strengthens this by adding a second layer of security, giving you ...more

It's a strange time for us iOS beta testers. While Apple prepares for the general release of iOS 13 on Thursday, it's also beta testing that software's successor, iOS 13.1. An iPhone updated to iOS 13 on Sept. 19 will only have 11 days before seeing 13.1 in its Software Update ...more

Apple's iOS 13 is nearly here. After four months of beta testing, the latest iPhone software update promises over 200 brand new features, like system-wide dark mode and an overhauled Reminders app. That said, it'll be shortlived, as Apple plans to release iOS 13.1 as a supplem ...more

Why do you need augmented reality? Because enterprise, they say. And while that's certainly true for several disciplines, there's still that mainstream use case hanging out there waiting for users to discover beyond the realm of enterprise and gaming. After much thought — and ...more

The tactic of brute-forcing a login, i.e., trying many passwords very quickly until the correct one is discovered, can be easy for services like SSH or Telnet. For something like a website login page, we must identify different elements of the page first. Thanks to a Python to ...more

Traditionally, if you were looking for end-to-end encrypted messaging, you'd stick with something like iMessage, WhatsApp, or Signal. However, if you already use Facebook Messenger, you have all you need for truly private chats with its built-in E2E encryption. It's available ...more

The most common Wi-Fi jamming attacks leverage deauthentication and disassociation packets to attack networks. This allows a low-cost ESP8266-based device programmed in Arduino to detect and classify Wi-Fi denial-of-service attacks by lighting a different color LED for each ty ...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

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

If you're using a mobile device, it's a pretty safe bet that your apps are sending lots of information back and forth from their servers. To make sure there is no inappropriate data collection going on, it's worth setting up a web proxy to spy on this traffic, so you know exac ...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

Identifying vulnerable devices and services on a target router can be difficult without leaving logs and other traces of an active attacker on the network. However, there is a way to covertly decrypt and view Wi-Fi activity without ever connecting to the wireless network. Whe ...more

Now that smartphones have ensured that we're connected to the internet 24/7, online privacy has become more important than ever. With data-mining apps hoping to sell your information for targeted ads, and government agencies only one subpoena away from knowing every detail of ...more

Greetings my fellow hackers. As you may have noticed by my lack of posts, I've been away for a while working on a big project with a team (which won't be finished anytime soon), and I have also been putting together a small side project for Null-Byte that I will be announcing ...more

Brand loyalty is one of the main factors behind our decision to choose a particular mobile device, but it doesn't have to be the entire equation. Educated consumers know that certain devices simply fit their budget and usage better than others, which means you can't always let ...more

Considering that nearly half a million brand new apps were published to the Google Play Store in 2015, you can definitely call it a banner year for Android development. In fact, it's getting to the point where we're a bit spoiled as end users, since we've grown to expect somet ...more

Apple's new iOS 16 software update is finally here, and there are over 350 new features and changes for you to enjoy on your iPhone. There are major lock screen and home screen improvements, a pleasant surprise for the Contacts app, and tons of new upgrades to Safari, Mail, Me ...more

Apple released the second beta for iOS 15 on Thursday, June 24. The update includes FaceTime's "SharePlay" feature for the first time, a new Maps icon, updates to Focus mode, in addition to many other changes and bug fixes. SharePlay, one of iOS 15's most ambitious new featur ...more

Apple officially announced iOS 15 at WWDC Monday, June 7. With that announcement, we got our first look at brand new features like redesigned notifications, FaceTime screen and music sharing, and Focus modes in Do Not Disturb. All of these new iPhone features are available to ...more

Apple released iOS 13.0 on Sept. 19 and announced on the same day the release of iOS 13.1 on Sept. 30. But that deadline was pushed up to Sept. 24, and that's why we have 13.1 just five days after 13.0. But that's good news since we don't have to wait any longer for some of th ...more

FaceTime has been around since iOS 4, and year after year, things stayed pretty much the same aside from a few small changes. In iOS 6, calls over cellular networks were finally possible, and audio-only calls were officially supported starting in iOS 7. But the one feature mos ...more

Its official: On May 8, T-Mobile finally released the Android Oreo update for the LG V30 and V30+. Now, every major US wireless carrier has pushed the update. For me, this update is a big deal. Not only does Android Oreo bring some new tools and features, but LG has also inclu ...more

It's official — the newest version of Google's mobile operating system is called Android 8.0 Oreo, and it's in the process of rolling out to many different devices. Oreo has plenty of changes in store, ranging from revamped looks to under-the-hood improvements, so there's tons ...more

When WhatsApp first came out in 2010, it quickly gained notoriety as a great way to meet new people all over the world thanks to group chats, which allow multiple admins for each group that can all add participants from their own contacts lists. As a repair tech, I would buy ...more

Apple just made its most significant update ever to the iOS lock screen, with a lot of features to be excited about. The theme of this upgrade is customization, giving you complete control over the look and functionality of your iPhone's lock screen. The new lock screen capab ...more

Most of you have probably wondered at least once who has been checking out your social media profiles. While most platforms prohibit you from seeing who's viewed your profile, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, TikTok is one of the few places that lets you track profile ...more

Buckle up, iPhone users, because it's update time! Apple just released its latest iPhone OS to the public, iOS 14.4. This new edition isn't the company's most ground-breaking, but it doesn't come up short, either — you'll find support for smaller QR codes in Camera, a new "Dev ...more

Apple's latest update, iOS 14.2, is finally here. As the name implies, it's the second major update to hit iPhones since Apple released iOS 14 in the fall. The update brings at least 13 new features and changes to all compatible iPhones, including over 100 new emoji and eight ...more

Screen recording is an essential tool for sharing what's on our smartphones. If you want to send your friends and family an unsharable video you're watching, or a neat trick you discovered on your phone, recording your screen is one way to do so. Messenger, Facebook's standalo ...more

You're a busy, on-the-go professional, so you deserve an email client that keeps up with you. "Mail" on iPhone wasn't always the best option, but thanks to iOS 13, it feels like a completely different app. That said, there are plenty of alternatives that offer a different expe ...more

If we were to assign a theme for the 2019 edition of the Next Reality 30 (NR30), it might be something along the lines of, "What have you done for me lately?" Many of the top names in the industry from the 2018 edition remain the same, but their positions have shuffled. The p ...more

Yesterday showed us our first look at the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. But it wasn't all about hardware. Apple also released the iOS 13 Golden Master, making iOS 13.1 the main focus for us beta testers. Now, Apple just seeded the third public beta, followin ...more

It's a big day for Apple. First, the company announced its new suite of phones: iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. Then, we get the iOS 13 Golden Master, the beta version of iOS 13 that will eventually release to the general public on Sept. 19. Now, it seems the ...more

Apple's iOS 13 has been available for beta testing since June, and the stable release pushed out to everyone on Thursday, Sept. 19. To help you make the most out of iOS 13 for iPhone, we've rounded up everything you'll want to know, whether a colossal feature, small settings c ...more

Beta testing certainly has its perks. While you do need to deal with bugs, you're introduced to new features before the general community. And if we're talking iPhones, there are over 200 new features in iOS 13 beta. If you're already on board with iOS 13 public beta 6 for iPh ...more

September is nearly here, which means new iPhones are, too. We're looking forward to iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, as well as the more affordable iPhone 11R. All three iPhones will run iOS 13, so Apple's entrusting beta testers to ensure its new OS is ready. The latest update, ...more