News: Baby with Severe Zika-Related Birth Defects Born in San Diego County
A baby with severe Zika-related birth defects was born in San Diego County this week, prompting officials to urge pregnant women to avoid disease hotspots.
Tastelessly Revealing Search Results
News: Snapchat Has Made This App Explode
Bitmoji has experienced explosive success this year thanks to Snapchat. The app allows users to create their own personal emoji and send responses to other friends, and even though it's only two and a half years old, this customizable emoji app is growing at an impressive pace.
News: HTC Rumored to Reveal Snapdragon 835 Flagship with Touch-Sensitive Frame
HTC is working on another flagship device that's expected to be released in mid-April. After the disastrous reception of the recently released HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play, this new model could be the true HTC 10 successor we've all been waiting for.
News: Apple Built Its Augmented Reality Group with Outsiders from Oculus & Microsoft
Apple is combining internal and external talent in an effort to give them in edge in the augmented reality market, though we still don't know what form their foray into alternative realities will actually take.
News: Apple Granted Patent to Make Augmented Reality Maps—Hinting at a Cool, Futuristic Version of Our Well-Worn Maps App
Apple recently scored a patent (number 9,488,488) to create augmented reality maps, hinting at possible AR integration into the iOS Maps application for iPhone. Does this mean we'll be seeing super visionary projections of places in the app in the near future? Maybe.
News: Google's Allo Seems to Leak Search & Location History in Chats
Google's personal messaging service Allo could reveal your search history and other private information to friends if the Google Assistant bot is called upon in chats, according to a story from Re/code.
News: These Pictures Show How the Note7's Death Could Have Been Avoided
The Note7 fireworks bonanza was unprecedented in scope. A recent report suggests that Samsung could lose upwards of $20 billion in lost profit due to this fiasco.
News: A Siri 'Feature' Makes Personal Information Accessible from a Locked iPhone
If you follow tech, you're probably familiar with Siri, Apple's personal voice assistant, which has been integrated heavily into iOS ever since iOS 5. But you might not have known that Siri is capable of performing some tasks when the iPhone is in a locked state. The default state of iOS is to allow access to Siri from the lock screen, most likely for the convenience of hands-free access to the phone.
White Hat Hacking: Hack the Pentagon?
The Null Byte community is all about learning white hat hacking skills. In part, this is because I believe that hacking skills will become the most valuable and important skill set of the 21st century.
News: Leaked Pics Just Revealed the Samsung Galaxy S7
There have been plenty of rumors and lots of speculation about the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, and now we're finally getting our first look at Samsung's newest flagships—in the form of two images.
Hugging the Web (Part 1: Introduction)
Greetings, hackers and friends! I know it has been a while since I posted a tutorial, and hopefully I can make up for that by posting a series.
How To: Get the 6S's New Front-Facing Selfie Flash on Any iPhone Right Now
Apple revealed the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus at their September 9th event, and there are two particularly awesome features built in just for selfie photogs. The first is 3D Touch, which gives you a quick shortcut to taking selfies just by pressing the screen in a certain way. The second feature is a front-facing flash to help illuminate your face in dark lighting.
How To: Use Instagram in Any App from Your iPhone's Keyboard
In the U.S., smartphone users spend more time on Facebook and Instagram than on any other app. If this sounds surprising for any reason, it shouldn't. Anyone that's browsed Instagram in a moment of boredom knows that a few minutes can quickly turn into an hour down a rabbit hole filled with Likes, Follows, and straight-up lurking.
How To: Fix bObi's Main Brush Motor
One of the quickest repairs for bObi is replacing the main brush motor. To do this, you'll need a Phillips head screwdriver and a replacement main brush motor.
Google Feud: Family Feud-Style Gameplay with Google Search Suggestions as Answers
Family Feud is one of the longest-running game shows in American TV history. Its viewer base spans generations, and this is mostly due to the fun nature of the show. Contestants have to guess the most popular answers to survey questions that were posed to 100 random strangers, and the responses often range from silly to downright funny.
News: Windows 10 Will Be a Free Upgrade with "Windows Holographic" on the Horizon
Microsoft dropped a couple of huge bombs at their Windows 10 event Wednesday afternoon. Free operating systems and holographic glasses? This must be a Sci-Fi novel or a Hollywood blockbuster, because it reeks of fiction.
How To: Keep Your Desktop Tidy by Hiding Inactive Windows on Your Mac
To contemporize a popular quote, "A cluttered desk(top) is a sign of a cluttered mind." Of course, it's difficult to maintain a tidy desktop... as you read this, mine is cluttered with screenshots, folders, Word documents, videos, pictures, and apps.
How To: Repel Mosquitos, Dogs, & Annoying Friends with High-Frequency Tones on Android
There are few sounds that actually make me cringe whenever I hear them: silverware scraping on a plate, nails scratching on a chalkboard, and piercing high-frequency tones. While the former two terrors require some physical hardware, sending out high-frequency sounds is as easy as downloading an app.
WANTED: Hackers for Bug Bounties
In previous posts here, I have pointed out that hackers are in high demand around the world and in nearly every industry. Every military and espionage unit of every country is trying to hire high-quality, experienced hackers as fast as they can to hack their adversaries' computer systems in order to gain a strategic advantage and to spy.
How To: Track Your Sleep Using a Galaxy Gear Neo
With developments from tech giants Apple and Samsung being shared throughout the interwebs, the term smartwatch has become increasingly popular over the last year. That being said, smartwatches have been around for a while.
How To: Hunt Down Space-Hogging Files on Your Mac with Disk Inventory X
I love my MacBook Air, but the fact that it runs on only 128 GB of flash storage causes me to move most of my files to the cloud. I don't mind having to be connected to the internet in order to access my files, but it's definitely a hassle trying to figure out which files I should move in order to save the most space. Usually, I don't even bother even trying until I see the dreaded "Your startup disk if almost full" warning. Currently, the only real way to find your biggest files in Mac OS X ...
How To: Finally, an Easy Way to Share Large Video Files from Android
Sharing files has always been one of Android's greatest strengths. A system of "share intents" allow apps to freely exchange data with each other, making it possible to take a picture with your favorite camera app, then send it over to your choice of photo-sharing apps, for instance.
How To: Remove Password Obfuscation from Your Nexus 5 for Easier App Logins
When it comes to passwords, the longer and more complex they are, the better the security. Even professional hackers say so. But if you've ever tried to type in such a password, you've surely noticed that it can be a bit of a pain. Mistype one character, and you're probably going to have to clear the field and start all over again.
How To: Unlock the Hidden Menu & Run a Diagnostic Test on Your LG G3
If you notice any issues with your LG G3, pinpointing the culprit can be an arduous task. It could be a hardware issue, a resource-heavy app, or a bloatware-infested operating system.
How To: "That Movie With" Makes Finding Films Starring Two Actors Beautifully Easy for iPhone
There have been countless times where I'd be racking my brain over the name of a movie I saw, and I don't like giving up. Usually, a few specifics can be remembered, but not enough to come up with a title on my own.
How To: You Might Not Understand Wine, But Music Can Make You Think You Do
Buying and drinking wine can be intimidating. There's so much to know, and so many ways to reveal your ignorance. If you're completely befuddled by wine and how to describe it, don't worry, you're not alone.
How To: The Good & Bad About iOS 8's New Swipe Gestures in Mail for iPhone
Staying on the move while managing email is a priority for many of us, from parents to students to business professionals. Seems that Apple had this in mind when improving the stock Mail application in iOS 8, which now includes swipe gestures that make marking messages as read/unread, as well as flagging and deleting, a whole lot quicker.
Siri Exploited: Bypass the iPhone's Lock Screen to Browse Contacts, Make Calls, Send Emails, & Texts (iOS 7.1.1)
If you've haven't had your fill of Apple's security issues in recent weeks, Siri is now the latest to join the slew of problems with the most recent version of iOS (7.1.1).
How To: Encrypted Sites May Not Be Safe to Visit Using Chrome's Default Settings
As you may have already heard, the worst bug in OpenSSL history went public yesterday, dubbed Heartbleed. While we can go deeper into the technical details of it later, the short version is that OpenSSL, the library used to encrypt much of the web running on Linux and Apache has been vulnerable for up to two years.
How To: Keep Wandering Eyes & Smudged Fingers from Revealing Your Galaxy Note 2's Password
Figuring out someone's password, pattern, or PIN isn't very difficult—simply watching over their shoulder or following the oil marks left across their screen is enough to figure them out and bypass whatever lock screen security they have.
How To: Stop Those Annoying Persistent Notifications on Your Samsung Galaxy S3 for Good
I love getting notifications for every email received on my Samsung Galaxy S3 and whenever a download finishes, but there are some alerts I could definitely do without.
News: Samsung Locks Out Third-Party Accessories, but the Community Brings Them Back
Update January 27, 2014: Samsung has released a statement to address the flip cover issue, claiming it as a bug with a "fix" coming soon:
How To: Bye Bye, Inbox Zero? Gmail Is Going to Let Anyone on Google+ Email You—Here's How to Block It
As of this week, Gmail is going to start letting Google+ users email each other using a new option called "Email via Google+." There's nothing wrong with making it easier to get in touch with people you want to hear from, but the default setting allows anyone with a Google+ account to send a message to your Gmail inbox. After the feature is in use, Gmail will start to suggest Google+ connections along with your other contacts as recipients. Email addresses will not be displayed for Google+ co...
News: How Spammers Can Steal Your Personal Info from Snapchat
For a photo- and video-sharing app based around privacy, Snapchat sure has a lot of security holes floating around. At one time, you were able to take screenshots of Snapchats in iOS 7 without the sender knowing, which is something that you can still do on rooted Android devices.
How To: You Can Now Jailbreak Your iOS 7 iPhone & iPad, but You Totally Shouldn't—Here's Why
Update 1: Evad3ers have released a statement to the jailbreak community, claiming that the safety and security of their users is the most important thing to them and that all speculations about malware being encoded into the jailbreak is simply not true. You can read the full letter over at Evasi0n's site.
How To: Drill a Hole in Ceramic Tile
Drilling holes in wall tiles is a fairly easy skill to master once you know how. Follow these simple steps on how to drill a hole in a tiled wall for a hassle free experience.
How To: Add the Simple iOS-Style Multitasking Bar to Mac OS X
Managing multiple applications on an iPhone is as simple as double-tapping the home button, long pressing the app you want to close, and tapping on the minus sign in the red circle. If you're using Mac OS X, the dock at the bottom of the home screen plays the role of the multitasking bar on the iPhone, just not as sleek or simple.
How To: Make a Working Speaker Using Only a Magnet, Wire, and Masking Tape
Duct tape is the king of all household items. You can use duct tape for practically anything, like this sweet wallet. But duct tape isn't the only crafty tape out there; masking tape holds its own, too.
How To: Make a Fake, Pirate-Worthy Gold Bar on the Cheap
I loved the Gold Rush unit back in third grade. We went up to the American River and panned for gold, and my panning skills balled above all. I got like three tiny pellets. Of course, it was all fool's gold, aka pyrite, but it was still pretty legit. And this was before wearing gold chains was cool—or not.
How To: Share Your Links More Securely Using These Temporary, Self-Destructing Short URLs
We share links on an almost daily basis, usually not even thinking twice about it. Whether you're sending a funny cat video to your sister, or letting your coworker know where to go to download relevant files, there are plenty of reasons you might be giving someone a URL.