Article Explores Search Results

How To: Manually Update Your PlayStation 4 to the Newest 1.51 Software via USB Flash Drive

It's sad to say, but the chances of a new system launching without any hitches or glitches is just not realistic. If you're one of the lucky few that has gotten their hands on the new PlayStation 4, or if you are waiting in line right now to get one, the first thing you're going to want to do before gaming is update your software to the newest version. This update isn't required, as most single-player games can be played without an Internet connection and without signing into the PlayStation ...

Hack Like a Pro: How to Conduct OS Fingerprinting with Xprobe2

Welcome back, my novice hackers! I've written a couple of articles on reconnaissance and its importance, and as I've said before, a good hacker will spend 3 to 4 more times doing reconnaissance than actually exploiting the system. If your recon isn't good, you'll likely fail, or worse—end up serving time and becoming Bubba's wife for a couple years. I can't say it enough—recon is critical.

How To: Make Your Own Homemade Glow Sticks

Glow sticks, a popular favor at parties and outdoor events, and a must-have on Halloween, can be traced back to the United States Navy in the mid-1960s. The military desired improved visibility during night operations, and glow sticks, with their small-size portability and lack of batteries, were a perfect tactical solution.

How To: Play Almost Any Retro Video Game on Your Nexus 7 Tablet

Arcades, Nintendo, Sega, and 16-bit graphics ushered in a new level of gaming that was leaps and bounds ahead of the early Pong days. I remember loading quarters into the machines and playing 2D fighting games until all my money ran out. When I wasn’t in school, you could usually find me at the arcade playing Street Fighter, The King of Fighters and Marvel vs. Capcom. At home, I had my Super Nintendo and Super Mario World keeping me glued to the television until the next boss stage.

How To: Get Beats Audio on Your Nexus 7 and Take Your Music to Another Level

BEATS by Dr. Dre started making their studio-style headphones and speakers over four years ago, which claim to help listeners actually "hear" music as it was intended by the artists, since commodity headphones and earbuds are known for producing lackluster results. But you can only go so far with Beats Audio headphones, since your computers and mobile devices weren't built to take advantage of high quality audio equipment.

News: Why Nikola Tesla's Wireless Power Was Fated to Fail Due to Exploding Airships

Nikola Tesla is one of the most tragic figures in the history of science, a history that is practically filled to the brim with tragic figures. Francis Bacon, a 16th century philosopher and scientist, caught pneumonia and died because he was trying to stuff snow into a dead chicken. Marie Curie died as a result of her long-term exposure to radioactivity, and her papers from the 1890s are too radioactive to touch without protective gear to this day.

How To: Increase Battery Life on Your Nokia Lumia 920 and Other Windows Phone 8 Devices

It doesn't really matter what kind of cell phone you have—battery life is one of the most important features for any electronic device. We've written tons of articles on how to get better battery life from your Android, iPhone, Kindle, and more, but we've never really covered Windows Phones before—until now. The Nokia Lumia 920 and other devices running Windows Phone 8 suffer from battery problems just like any other mobile device. So, if you've got one in your hands that can't seem to make i...

How To: Trick Websites into Thinking You're on a Different OS or Browser

There are a number of reasons why you might want to trick a web server into thinking you're on a different operating system (OS) or web browser. One might be that you want to test the mobile version of your website from your computer. Or perhaps for some reason a website is restricted to a certain OS or browser and you wish to circumnavigate that barrier. Today's guide shows you how to do just that!

How To: Breeze Through Black Friday with These Helpful Deal-Finding Apps and Websites

Every year, Black Friday gets a little more insane. People get up at ungodly hours, wait in lines forever, and get into some of the most ridiculous fights you've ever seen. All in the name of saving some cash. Everyone loves saving money, but without a game plan, you could end up missing all the good deals and going home with nothing. Luckily, the Internet is here to take some of the stress out of holiday shopping. With these sites and apps, you can find out about all the best deals before yo...

How To: Make Your Xbox 360 Games Region Free

You've had your Xbox 360 for a few years now and your game collection is pretty extensive. Maybe it's not that extensive, but it's still substantial. Now imagine that you live in Europe and you're moving to the United States. I don't know why—maybe your dad got a job offer. Don't ask me, ask your parents. They're the ones that are making you move. Anyways, as most Xbox users know, games are coded by region. Games that work in Europe might not work in the United States. Does this mean you shou...

How To: Fix Unmatched Song Errors and Duplicate Playlists in iTunes Match

Apple's iTunes Match service is a great feature for people who have large libraries or want to sync their music across a lot of different devices. It lets you store any song in your library that exists in the iTunes Store on the cloud, even songs you imported from CDs, and even improves the quality of some of them. But, like any new service, it's not without its problems, and the fact that it costs $25 a year makes those problems seem even worse. Among the issues that users reported, unmatche...

How To: Are You Being Followed? How to Check Your Car for GPS Tracking Devices

There's been a lot in the news lately about tracking devices, and it's been pretty much all bad. They can be useful if your car gets stolen, but if you weren't the person who installed it, chances are you don't want it there. Just type "GPS tracking device" into Google and on any given day you'll find an article about someone who got busted by one of these things. Even if you don't have to worry about getting into trouble, you still don't want people following you. Here's how to make sure you...

How To: The Top 5 Home Remedies for Treating Poison Ivy & Poison Oak Rashes

Summer is the best friend of poison ivy, oak, and sumac. When the weather is hot outside, people spend more time in the great outdoors, which means more people accidentally running face first into some poisonous shrubs, leaves, and vines. If that sounds like you, instead of suffering through the itch or spending money on expensive pharmaceutical solutions, try some of these home remedies out.

How To: The Hardware Hacker's Introduction to Microcontrollers, Part One: Anatomy of an Arduino

In this article, I'll be explaining the basics of how microcontrollers work, physically and virtually. First off, microcontrollers are no simple thing, so don't be discouraged if you find it mind-boggling! The world of microcontrollers is fascinating, engaging, and an awesome hobby; it never gets boring. I'll be focusing more on I/O and analog based microcontrollers, such as those running Arduino, and using Atmel chips as examples (these are most commonly available, and easy to program).

How To: Tell if a pearl is real

There’s nothing more special than a beautiful pearl necklace. But how do you know if they are real? Knowing some qualities that pearls have should help you determine when there is an obvious fake in your presence. It might ultimately be necessary to leave it to a professional to authenticate those pretty little presents from the sea.

How To: Add Custom Shortcuts to Your iPhone's Share Sheet & Reorganize Them for Quicker Access

With Shortcuts, Apple has designed a way to create your own tools and automations right on your iPhone. And to top it off, your creations can be accessed in a variety of ways, including Siri phrases, widgets, and the Shortcuts app itself. Perhaps even more useful is adding them as custom actions to your Share Sheet and making them available to you system-wide.