Another week has passed on the online battlefield as the CISPA legislation continues to grind away at our freedom. Here at Null Byte, we try to keep our community informed and knowledgeable at the same time—and that means creating content for them to learn from.
Representative Henry A. Waxman is in charge of California’s 30th Congressional district. He is part of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Ever since he began his career in the government business, he has been involved with health and environmental issues. He represents cities such as Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu, Westlake Village and West Hollywood, as well as such areas of Los Angeles as Beverly-Fairfax, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Beverl...
Here's another delicious Byte. Ucha Gobejishvili, a Georgian Security Researcher under the handle of longrifle0x, discovered two cross site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities on the official website of Forbes. He discovered the hole in two different locations on the site, and has already informed the website of the vulnerability.
In Linux, all password hashes are normally stored using the MD5 hashing algorithm in the /etc/shadow file, but MD5 is algorithmically weak due to collision vulnerabilities. The new recommended standard are the higher level SHA-2 hashing algorithms, SHA256 or SHA512. As a friend pointed out to me, Ubuntu is currently the only distro implementing SHA-2 as the default. With SHA-2, your passwords take an unreasonably larger amount of time to calculate. This will greatly decrease how many password...
Hideo Kojima is one of the biggest names in Japanese game design. He's the man behind every Metal Gear game, each of which has been beautiful but divisive. He's an auteur, a rarity in AAA game design, managing business, design, and programming for Kojima Productions. Last week he made a rare public appearance at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, which contains the school's video game programs, and gave a 90-minute talk about his career, influences, and the specifics of his new Fox game design...
Lifehacker posts an article on the art of cracking weak passwords, courtesy of Internet standards expert, CEO of web company iFusion Labs, and blogger John Pozadzides. Pozadzides certainly knows a thing or two about password logic. (Note: this information is not intended to hack into accounts, but rather to protect you from using weak passwords).
Social Profile Change the privacy settings on your social profile (Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Twitter, etc.) so that the following information can't be found by a random person who you didn't accept you as a friend:
Dress up Johnny Knoxville as his old man counterpart. He then needs to strip down to his underwear at a MLB or soccer game and streak across the field. If possible he should really bring a walker and hold it out while he is scrambling from security. Most people wont know who he is, but it will be a huge hit with all of us fans who will recognize him immediately and be thrilled with the opportunity to see a prank in action without being able to interfere with the filming.
Half-hitches are great knots, but only when use in combination with other knots. By itself, a half-hitch is unsafe and unreliable, but when joined with other knots, can be quite the opposite. Tying two half hitch knots together is great for attaching a rope or line to any object. The half hitch and double half hitch are used throughout specialities, most notably as a boating knot, outdoor knot, and paddling knot.
Check out our video walk-through of part one of the final boss encounter in Resident Evil 5! This includes lots of game spoilers.
The figure eight follow through boating knot is one of the strongest knots. (also can be used for paddling). It is generally rated at 70% - 75% of rope strength. Due to it's strength and the fact that it is easy to visually inspect, it is commonly used by climbers as their "tie-in knot" - the knot that connects the climber to the rope. It forms a secure non-slip loop at the end of a rope. For even greater security, finish the tag end with a backup knot such as one side of the double fisherman...
In a riveting interview on TruNews Radio, Wednesday, private investigator Doug Hagmann said high-level, reliable sources told him the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing for “massive civil war” in America.
As hard as you try to protect your valuable information with strong passwords and anti-doxing measures, there's nothing you can really do when someone else gives up your goods. And that is the case with the recent Global Payments breach.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lashed out against Russia and China after a meeting in Tunis. The meeting aimed to increase pressure on Syria to stop its bloodshed. Hillary represents the US as an ally for the rebels.
Merry Christmas all! I hope you are all having a very wonderful day!
This article relates to changing the settings in Adobe Flash so that you can improve your overall computer security and privacy. Changing these settings might have a negative performance impact on your computer - but it is worth while.
Security awareness seems to be a hot topic these days on the web, with developers making apps and devices that can hack networks and machines with just a few clicks. But these applications aren't only exploiting security flaws in systems and networks, they're being used by amateur and wannabe hackers who want to have a little fun, but don't want to learn how to actually "hack" anything.
SQL injection is a common web application attack that focuses on the database backend. WebGoat is a deliberately insecure J2EE web application maintained by OWASP designed to teach web application security lessons. I plan to use WebGoat for a few future videos. This first WebGoat video will show the basics of installing WebGoat and doing two of its SQL injection lessons. Hack websites with SQL injection and WebGoat.
Unbeknownst to you, hundreds of retailers, shopping malls, coffee shops, and airports track and log your movements. Using sensors installed by retail analytics companies, businesses sniff out your smartphone's MAC address, a unique fixed identifier to your device, whenever your device interacts with their Wi-Fi hotspots.
Security is always a top priority for our smartphones. Leaving your phone at the bar or even at a friend's house can leave you open to hacks and lead to the loss of sensitive information.
The new Jelly Bean 4.2 is a great improvement over previous Android versions for the most part, except one thing—the lockscreen. Users have voiced their complaints in regards to Android 4.2's new lockscreen features, and it's not pretty.
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to change the default password on a NET-GEAR router. Begin by opening your web browser and go to this site: Router Login. When the Prompt window opens, type in your router's user name and password, and click OK. In the sidebar, under Maintenance, click on Set Password. Now type in the old password, new password and re-type the new password once again to confirm. Finish by clicking Apply. This video will benefit those viewers who use a NET-Gear router,...
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to change the default password on Apple Airport Base stations. Begin by selecting the Apple Airport Express item. Then double-click the Apple Airport Express item or press the Configure button on the bottom right of the screen. Now enter your password and click OK. Then click on the Airport tab and click on Change Password beside your Airport name. Now type in the new password, confirm it by re-typing it and click on Change. Finish by clicking on Upda...
In this tutorial, we learn how to set and encrypt a Wi-Fi password using WPA in Netgear. First, type "www.routerlogin.net" into your internet browser. Next, a pop-up window will appear, type your user name and password into this dialog box. A new window will pop up, click on the tab on the left hand side of the screen that says "wireless settings". Type in your user name and password once more, then find where it says "security settings", and click on the "WPA-PSK" radio button. Now, make a p...
Safari v1.0 is a web browser for Mac OS X. This simple video explains how to disable accepting cookies in the Safari web browser. There are only 4 very easy steps to follow. Open your Safari web browser window. On the your Safari browser left menu tab click on Safari, a drop down will appear once you click it.
Watch this video to learn how to encrypt Wi-Fi using WEP password on Linksys in 4 simple steps. Connect to your wireless network. Open your Web browser and type in the web address http://192.168.1.1. Press enter key. Type in the User Name for your network. Type in the Password, press OK button. Select the Wireless text tab, select the Wireless Security text item. Pull down and select the WEP menu item. Type in a good password. Click the Generate button. Click the Save Settings button. Encrypt...
Check out this hacking video tutorial to learn how to hack a cell phone with a magnet. You can easily hack Verizon's Motorola RAZR mobile phone to bypass the user password.
In this tutorial, you'll learn how to exploit weak security questions to take control of a given Yahoo! Mail account in much the same way Sarah Palin's Yahoo! account was recently "hacked." (To access Sarah Palin's account you will need, in addition to the tutorial, some manner of time travel device.) For a detailed, step-by-step reenactment of the "hack" (scare quotes very much intended), take a look. "Hack" Sarah Palin's Yahoo! Mail account.
Looking for a front-yard upgrade that'll have visitors beating a well-lit path to your door? The answer is an easy to install pathway lighting set. Too often, we're forced to choose between form and function. But when it comes to the route that leads to your front door, you can have it both ways: a pathway lighting system that combines the safety and security of good exterior illumination along with decorative elements that enhance your landscaping. Even though you might not have any experien...
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 your network as a spring board for who knows what. When the police come a few days after, they are coming to your door—and not to talk about how nice your lawn is. Don't be that guy.
Chicago cops, the FBI, Homeland Security, Secret Service and a large number of unnamed others have established a high-tech secret command center to surveil people exercising their First Amendment right in Chicago as the NATO war council unfolds this weekend.
Just a few days after a senior US counter-terrorism expert warned that US drone strikes were turning Yemen into the “Arabian equivalent of Waziristan”, US drone strikes yesterday aped the tactic of ‘follow up’ strikes used by the US in Pakistan.
Soon, Americans may find every private email they write could be opened, copied and inspected by government snoopers. The latest cyber security bill – called CISPA – has passed the House of Representatives, coming a step closer to becoming law. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the act, if it goes through in the Senate. He cited civil liberty concerns as the reason for his threat. CISPA has raised a massive outcry with internet users and freedom activists, who say it’s a hard hit ...
National Security Agency whistleblower William Binney reveals he believes domestic surveillance has become more expansive under President Obama than President George W. Bush. He estimates the NSA has assembled 20 trillion "transactions" — phone calls, emails and other forms of data — from Americans. This likely includes copies of almost all of the emails sent and received from most people living in the United States. Binney talks about Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and challenges NSA Dir...
There is a vast amount of knowledge out there on computers! In fact, it is so vast that no single person could ever possibly ever learn everything there is to learn about hacking or computers in general. People usually specialize in a certain field: cryptography, computer security, networking, software development, testing, and so on...It's probably a bit premature to decide what you want your speciality to be, but keeping the question in the back of your mind will help give you direction in ...
Monday 27 February, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files – more than five million emails from the Texas-headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The emails date from between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal’s Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agenc...
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 we've accrued over the years? Even if you still use an external USB one, chances are you're not using it daily, so why not come up with a better use for it?
Here's a trophy guide for Payday: The Heist that requires excellent teamwork. To get the 'No Photos' trophy, you'll need to take out all of the security cameras in the level First World Bank within ten seconds of drawing your weapon.
About two months ago, the massive Gawker Media hack was a wake up call for many web denizens on the importance of proper password security. Data analyzed by the Wall Street Journal revealed the three most popular passwords recovered from the hack were downright idiotic—123456, password, and 12345678. If past events weren't motivation enough for crafting a strong password, then maybe a racy 8-bit stripper is. Naked Password is a jQuery plugin by Platform45 that rewards you with an accelerating...
When choosing a security system for the office, Billy Chasen decided to ditch the traditional lock & key barricade for something a little more 21st century. He hacked together a device that uses a web server, servo motor and some parts from Home Depot to enable locking & unlocking via text message. Chasen maintains a list which gives access to green lit office workers, who enter by simply texting "lock" or "unlock"... and voilà, open sesame.
