Have you ever heard symmetrical is sexier? Yep, according to scientists, symmetry is inherently more attractive to the Homo Sapien eye. Back in the days of Helen of Troy, Phidias, Plato and other great philosophers all observed the golden ratio, "a sum where the quantities to ...more
A devastating tragedy occurred in Japan on Friday when a monstrous 8.9-magnitude quake hit, causing a 10 meter (33 foot) tsunami to engulf the northeastern coast of the country. There are reports of over 1,000 people who have lost their lives, tens of thousands evacuated, and ...more
This past Sunday, a group called Gnosis launched a massive hacker attack on Gawker media, one of the web's most popular blog networks (Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Jezebel, io9, Jalopnik, Kotaku, Deadspin and Fleshbot). 1.3 million registered users' passwords were compromised, and 188 ...more
mIQ? What is it exactly? It's a handy web service that helps you manage your mobile life, with free and easy online access to all of the content and information stored on your mobile device. How does it work? Best Buy has answers. The Best Buy Mobile team explains how simple i ...more
JUAREZ. PH33R. SUX0R. If you know what these mean, then you probably spend way too much time on the internet. If you're as bewildered as I was, these words actually mean something in leetspeak. JUAREZ n warez (pirated software) PH33R v -S fear SUX0R v -S the leet way to say ...more
Google Reader is ostensibly just an RSS aggregator, a tool that lets you catch up on your favorite blogs. How could Google have anticipated that getting rid of its social features could have angered so many people who were actually using it as their default social network, and ...more
Now that you can invite anyone you want to Google+, the floodgates are open. If you've been bummed out about not being able to share the joys of Google+ with your friends and acquaintances, make use of that handy envelope icon the right side of your stream page. Just enter the ...more
Eventually, we plan on doing some root the box competitions here at Null Byte, but we're still looking for a server to play on. Anyone want to donate one? You won't regret it. Root the box is like 'king of the hill', except you have to hack a server and maintain access. Each s ...more
When it comes to webcams these days, most people are using their laptops over desktops. The cameras are centered, integrated, and require no configuring. They're a cinch and usually have great resolution. So, then what do we do with all of those old wired desktop webcams that ...more
Here's something fun for the Null Byte community to do—a coding competition! This week, I wanted to get everyone involved by offering you all a nice library of possible program types to choose from and try to code. At the end of this competition, all of the submitted programs ...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
We're aiming for 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, we are going to start doing root the box competitions, which is like king of the hill, except you have to hack a server and maintain acces ...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
Here's a nasty little Null Byte. An open redirect vulnerability was found in both Facebook and Google that could allow hackers to steal user credentials via phishing. This also potentially allows redirects to malicious sites that exploit other vulnerabilities in your OS or bro ...more
Community byters, it's time to get serious. We are finally moving on to the realistic missions in HackThisSite. This is where the learning gets intense and where we can apply real knowledge to extremely realistic situations. We will also be continuing the normal Python coding ...more
Welcome to the 10th Community Byte session for coding in Python and completing the challenges presented to us by HackThisSite. These sessions are created to bring our community together, to learn from each other, and grow together. Everyone is welcome, from novice programmers ...more
Paying for web hosting isn't ideal in most situations. If you have your own website, hosting it yourself is very acceptable and easy to do, assuming your internet bandwidth permits. Most people want to run a personal site, nothing crazy, so hosting from home on low-bandwidth i ...more
Null Byte is looking for forum moderators! Welcome to the ninth Community Byte for coding in Python and completing the challenges presented to us by HackThisSite. These sessions are created to bring our community together, to learn from each other, and grow together. Everyone ...more
When you buy computer parts, it can be a tough decision where you want to put all of your hard earned dollars into. Not only that, but when you buy a top of the line component, 3 months later (at most), your hardware will likely be outdated. This puts consumers like us in a bi ...more
Welcome to the sixth Community Byte for coding in Python and beating the challenges presented to us by HackThisSite. These sessions are created to bring our community together, to learn from each other, and essentially grow together. Everyone is welcome, from novice programmer ...more
Having an SSH or Secure SHell to tunnel your traffic through is something we have talked about many times at Null Byte. As we know, it allows us to securely route and encrypt our traffic through a remote server, effectively anonymizing us and protecting our traffic from all fo ...more
We've all made them. I remember making hundreds of paper snowflakes when I was in elementary school. You take a piece of paper and fold it in half, then fold it in half again. You now have a piece that is one fourth the size of the original. Now you fold it in half diagonally. ...more
Another Community Byte announcement from Null Byte! The Community Byte projects serve 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. In our sessions, we have st ...more
Increasingly, I'm turning to Google+ as a source of news, and it looks like I'm not the only one. On Thursday, news of a small earthquake broke on both Twitter and Google+. One curious user, +Keith Barrett, decided to try and find out which social network was faster with the n ...more
The lack of a search function within Google+ is driving me crazy. It takes me way too much time to find the posts I want to save and refer back to, and it's counter-productive for Google to launch their social networking product without an integrated search. Although Google h ...more
In a recent announcement, Hewlett-Packard announced that they're considering spinning off their PC hardware business, but even more recent was the decision to completely off webOS devices. Though they aren't eradicating the once popular Palm platform altogether, they are liqui ...more
As Google+ became available to more people, it started running into issues of accounts being suspended due to names that did not sound "real". According to Google+'s community standards, names that users "commonly go by" were encouraged, but not pseudonyms. Those who were usin ...more
As Google+ is still in its Limited Field Trial phase, joining can feel quite lonely. You can't exactly get all your friends and family in during the brief periods when the invitation system opens up. You can, however, add several interesting people to your "Following" Circle t ...more
We've talked about the deep web before, but we never really covered the details of what's out there. It occurred to me that a nice list of resources would be very helpful to all of you anons out there. Think of this like a helpful brochure to the hidden web. However, I should ...more
There are so many hackers around these days, and they are becoming very smart. So smart that they have successfully taken down many government websites. The most recent attack was on the Department of Justice (DOJ). To read about the history of these hackers, check out Wikiped ...more
Amazingly, a lot of people I know haven't even heard of SOPA or PIPA. Now, every English-reading person with an internet connection will finally have those two four-letter acronyms emblazoned in their minds. For the entire day today, Wikipedia's English-language site will be i ...more
Self-storage may not be a new industry, but it is one that is rapidly reshaping its operations to suit a progressively more modernized customer base. In order to stay competitive with your self-storage facility, you'll need to keep an open mind, embrace current marketing trend ...more
Haven't you ever wanted to live in a futuristic home? I think that homes are headed towards an era where they will be controlled by our computers and smartphones. No longer will you have to find your keys to unlock your door, or wait until you get home to monitor your security ...more
When your computer first connects to a nework, it sends out a request on the network to lease an IP from the router. The router then leases your computer an unused IP address, which is used as a unique routing address for sending traffic that is meant for you, to you. As every ...more
It's a question I've been pondering a lot lately. Technically, children under the age of 13 are not allowed to join Facebook. But according to a Consumer Reports in May, 7.5 million children 12 and younger are already on the site. Currently, federal law prohibits websites from ...more
Formerly ipchains, iptables is a script-based firewall that's included with both Mac and Linux operating systems. In my opinion, it's the best firewall in existence. The only downfall is that it's complicated for some people to use due to its script-based nature. But this shou ...more
Social network fatigue sets in when it starts to feel impossible to keep up with all that new content from your friends, followers, and acquaintances on a daily basis. You lose track of stuff you wanted to read more about, and you miss important news from your friends, but are ...more
There's nothing better than playing a game of Scrabble, feeling the smooth wooden tiles in your hand and savoring the heavy fumes of cardboard, cheap wood and plastic as you rearrange the letters on your rack into the perfect word. You try to keep a straight face while you wat ...more
Instagram is one of the hottest mobile apps to date, yet they have no way to upload photos straight from your computer. You can log into the Instagram web app to like and comment on photos in your feed, but that's about it. Fortunately, there are third-party apps that let you ...more
With the Google+ team members being generous and free-flowing with advice on some of the more advanced features of Google+, we'll be publishing a weekly summary of the latest pro tips. Chances are, if you've been following the Google+ team members, you've seen some of these al ...more
Movies like to show hackers breaking passwords with fancy software and ludicrous gadgets. The reality of busting passwords open is much more mundane. Simple as it may sound, most passwords are broken purely by guesswork. Check out this infographic from ZoneAlarm, as well as th ...more
The SCRABBLE Brand trademark has been around since 1948, but video advertisements for the popular board game didn't appear until the start of this millennium. Although there may be a few SCRABBLE video spots out there that predate 2000, I haven't come across them. Aside from ...more
Now that it's been a week since Google+ rolled out pages, we've gotten over our euphoria at finally getting the feature after a long wait, and reality is starting to sink it. It's not as flexible as a Facebook page, it seems to be time consuming, and you can't even get a uniqu ...more
In the first part of this series, we took a factual and technical look at the history of the Internet. I explained how all of these wires and servers got here in the first place. Obviously, a firm did not just create and build the Internet around 1995! Now that we know how the ...more
Wireless networks. Nowadays, everyone uses 'em, but most don't secure 'em. On average, I can drive up and down any block in my city and find at least one or two open or semi-open networks on any given day. With some changed MAC addresses for good measure, an attacker can use y ...more
Need help getting started on this week's WTFoto Challenge? Look no further! In this tutorial, I will teach you how to create simple chalk symbols and writing in Photoshop. So read through this post and try it out yourself—or I'll tell your cousin what you said when you were dr ...more
I want to write this article because in my childhood, I had experienced internet stalking which ultimately ended in physical stalking which then lead to several attempted abductions. I have now learned how to use the internet safely, who to communicate with and I've learned ho ...more
Some people are what is labeled a power user. I am one of these people. No matter how fast I get my system, or how quick of programs I have, it is never good enough. There is always at least one program that I could swap out for a more advanced, text-based counterpart that inc ...more
Welcome to Minecraft World! Check out our advanced tutorials and come play on our free server. While mining is a basic aspect of Minecraft, it is often overlooked. Every adventure requires iron and diamonds and other ore and if you're playing in hardcore mode then you need al ...more
Three years ago, Scrabble was one of the very first 500 mobile applications to appear on the new iTunes App Store, allowing iPhone users the chance to kill their Scrabble cravings on the go. It was a smart move for Hasbro and Electronic Arts (EA), but it's been two years and e ...more
I love SCRABBLE, but sometimes it's hard to find an opponent who'll play a classic, tournament style game in person. Don't get me wrong—I play on the computer and iPhone all of the time, but it's just not the same as an in-person match. This leads me to stray every now and the ...more
If you've run out of time for all of our more time-consuming Halloween costume ideas, here are some places on the web for free, downloadable paper masks. There must be at least 100 options among these links to satisfy your last-minute costume needs! Just download, print, and c ...more
QI and ZA. QI n pl. -S the vital force that in Chinese thought is inherent in all things ZA n pl. -S a pizza For over a decade, these words have been used in SCRABBLE play, but not in the US or Canada. It wasn't until their addition in the Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionar ...more
You've finally got an invite into Google+. Now what? At first glance, things can be a bit overwhelming. We've got some great tips to help you get started. 1. Fill your Circles The circles feature is the core of how Google+ lets you manage your online relationships with your ...more
The holiday season is here, and if you didn't already pick up a SCRABBLE set during Black Friday or Cyber Monday, then you still have time to buy the perfect gift for your lexical-minded friend. There's sure to be deals out there over the next couple of weeks, you just need to ...more
SCRABBLE. I miss it. That idiosyncratic smell of cardboard, cheap wood and plastic that rushes out when I remove the box's cover. The instant gratification of unfolding the board into the sweet spot of the table, smoothing it out into the perfect receptacle for a heated battl ...more
Once in a great while something comes along on the internet that’s so unbelievably simple and yet works so well. Twitter is one of them. On the video conferencing side, now we have MeBeam. MeBeam, which requires no software or drivers to be installed, is a web application that ...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
Slack's in-app web browser works fine, but it just doesn't offer the functionality and features that a dedicated browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Safari can. Features like the ability to bookmark a page, search for specific text, or request the desktop site are missing. Luck ...more
Twitter can be a wonderful place for people to express their emotions and chat with each other in brief. However, it can also be a breeding ground for hateful comments, foul language, and a whole lot of political talk. If you're tired of seeing certain content on Twitter, you ...more