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News: Why LEGO's New Monster Fighters Screams Steampunk DIY

For those who don't know, LEGO recently came out with a new line called Monster Fighters. This set is about fighting monsters, sure, but it's about fighting classic monsters in a Steampunk universe. Just look at this promotional picture from the LEGO site: That LEGO dude (properly called a minifig) is wearing a vest, pocket watch, bowler hat, and a mean smirk. Not to mention that he has a robotic leg. You won't find the word "steampunk" anywhere in this marketing campaign, but I call Steampun...

How To: 50+ Creative, Useful, and Unnecessarily Dangerous Ways to Open a Beer Bottle

There's nothing worse than holding an ice cold brewski on a hot summer day and having no way to open it. If you're a Bud fan, you'll have no problem opening the bottle because most mass-market beers have twist-off caps. But if you have a taste for finer, more expensive brews, you'll more than likely run into the pry-off caps. Pry-offs are used mainly because companies believe it provides a better seal against one of beer's greatest enemies—oxygen. Plus it's a cheaper alternative for craft bre...

Hacker Fundamentals: A Tale of Two Standards

If you read my article on the OSI model, you got a good overview on communications from that model's perspective, but how does that relate to TCP/IP? We're going to take it a step further, getting into the idea behind the two address concept. How does an IP address and a MAC address work together? If you want to hijack sessions and all sorts of lulz like that, you need to understand these concepts. Let's get into it, mates!

How To: Code a Simple Java App to Kill Any Process After a Specified Time

I may be a bit weird, but I enjoy listening to music at night as I fall asleep. Sure, you could create a playlist of songs so that it stopped after all the songs finished playing, but I have a rather extensive database of music and I enjoy listening to them randomly. Also, I like to ensure it terminates after a specific amount of time (I don't want it playing all night). Or sometimes I use it when I am cooking so that when the music stops, I know I need to check on my food, etc.

How To: Build a Laser Trip Wire Alarm System

Building a DIY Alarm System: The Concept So, you want to protect your property, or maybe a room, car, or even your backyard. The concept of an alarm system is to notify the "alarm administrator" that there is an intruder entering the previously designated boundaries. The triggers for this boundary could be as simple as a pressure sensor, or as complicated as a laser network. They all do the same thing, but some work better than others.

News: The Ultimate SCRABBLE Word List Resource

To some, SCRABBLE is just a board game to play during family game night or during a casual get-together. Others think of SCRABBLE as a mere hobby. But with any activity, there will always be fanatics—the ones who would rather sell their soul than stop—the ones with a constant yearning for self-improvement—the merciless.

How To: Remove Annoying Auto-Playing Videos, Banners, & Other Distractions from Any Website in Safari

Ads aren't the only annoying part of navigating websites in Safari. Colorful banners, autoplaying videos, embedded objects, and other distracting elements can make it harder to read or watch what you want. Although ad blockers are one answer, they only get rid of advertisements, so you'll need something else to remove other irritating elements from your favorite websites.

How To: This Tweak Puts Your iPhone in Hibernation Mode to Save Tons of Battery

If running out of battery while out and about weren't bad enough, the experience is a lot more painful if your iPhone has a semi-untethered jailbreak. With that kind of jailbreak, when the iPhone dies, all of the mods will be disabled after the device powers back up. Fortunately, instead of restoring your jailbreak and tweaks manually after recovering from a critically low battery, you can avoid it altogether.

How To: Bypass Zoom's Attention Tracking Feature So Your Boss or Professor Can't Tell You're Slacking Off

When you're stuck working or learning from home, video meetings can help you stay connected to employers, coworkers, schools, students, and more. And Zoom is the hottest video conferencing service at the moment. While Zoom is easy to use, it does have a fair share of sketchy features you should know about, such as attendee attention tracking.

How To: Install MicroG to Replace Google Play Services & Prevent Data Mining

With all the talk about privacy concerns recently, Google's name keeps coming up because they are a very data-driven company. As an Android user, they know basically everything about you based on your device usage. That can easily scare some people off who are worried about their privacy and security. You do have some say in what personal data Google controls, but what if you want total control?

How To: Become a Better Reader Using Apple Books' Reading Goals

Whether you've made a resolution to try and read more books this year or are just looking to set time aside to listen to an audiobook a little bit each day, building good reading habits can be tough with a busy life. However, with iOS 13, Apple Books includes reading goals, which might give you that little extra bit of encouragement and accountability to help you reach your goals.

How To: Play Apex Legends on Your Phone Right Now

With EA chief executive Andrew Wilson stating the official mobile version of Apex Legends won't arrive until the 2021 fiscal year, fans have to wait at least another year to enjoy their favorite battle royale game on the go. But for those who can't wait, there are ways to play the game on iPhone and Android right now.

How To: Get Google's Call Screen Feature on Your OnePlus

Spam calls are one of the most annoying things to happen in the world of smartphones for more than one reason. Not only are they bothersome, but they can also be dangerous to people who don't know any better. Google has come up with a crafty solution known as "Call Screen" to let the Google Assistant handle the call for you while you listen in on the caller like a stealth ninja.

How To: Enumerate SMB with Enum4linux & Smbclient

SMB (Server Message Block) is a protocol that allows resources on the same network to share files, browse the network, and print over the network. It was initially used on Windows, but Unix systems can use SMB through Samba. Today, we will be using a tool called Enum4linux to extract information from a target, as well as smbclient to connect to an SMB share and transfer files.