A couple of days back, we got word that a group of developers had found a way around the Galaxy S8's iris scanner. According to the folks at Chaos Computer Clubs, the iris scanner in the Galaxy S8 can be beaten with a high-resolution, infrared photo of the iris in question with a contact lens laid over it. That, obviously, is a pretty discouraging bit of news, but now Samsung has responded to this report.
As if it weren't already difficult enough to steer clear of suspicious downloaded programs, some hackers have managed to infiltrate even legitimate sources of software to turn them into sources of malware. That was the case last week when it was discovered that HandBrake, a popular open source DVD-ripping and transcoding program, was carrying and installing the OSX.Proton malware through no fault of HandBrake itself. It's all because someone managed to hack HandBrake's website and replace a legit copy of the program with an infected one.
Gaming fans may remember back to 2015 when a prototype of the legendary "Nintendo PlayStation" was discovered in a box of junk — it was barely functional, but it was the first time the hardware was seen in the wild. The early '90s saw Nintendo and Sony collaborating on the system — a SNES updated with a CD-ROM drive, allowing it to play both cartridge and disc-based games — but the partnership fell apart, and Sony went on to release the original PlayStation as we know it. Jump to today, and modder/hacker Ben Heckendorn has managed to repair the prototype.
Some computer hacking incidents are frightening, like those that play with your personal information. Some seem like playful, but still illegal, antics of children. Then there are those in the middle, bordering on being a nuisance, but with potentially disastrous results. Such was the situation the residents of Dallas found themselves in when, in the dead of night, the city's 156 emergency sirens blared loudly for 90 minutes, causing not just a ruckus but a growing distrust of the warning system.
The Pokemon fever has hit the Apple Watch. Well, sort of. We’ve seen all sorts of crazy, and admittedly useless, antics done on Android Wear smartwatches but not so much on the Apple Watch. Well, the Apple Watch does have some “hacks”, and sometimes for things that matter the most. Like, for example, being able to play Pokemon Yellow on the Apple Watch 2, thanks to an Game Boy Color emulator “appropriately” named “Giovanni”.
That took long enough. When you have a super high-profile device that is also super closed, like the Nintendo Switch, you are practically giving hackers an open invitation to test just how strong your defenses are. Unfortunately, if you have a high-profile device, chances are, those defenses easily crumble under expert hacker hands. A little over a week since it launched, famed iOS jailbreaker qwertyoruiop has revealed he found a way inside the Switch, and hackers have to thank Apple for that.
If you've been paying to the launch of the new Nintendo Switch at all, you know that its greatest feature is its ability to seamlessly transition from home console to hand-held portable. Unfortunately, at this point its biggest drawback is the lack of a wide selection of games — you know, besides the new Zelda. But you know what system has a huge library of great games? The Super Nintendo (SNES). That's why one Japanese modder has the right idea by turning his old console into the perfect portable machine.
Watches are a personal thing and no one size fits all. Maybe that’s why smartwatches have had a hard time becoming as mainstream as smartphones. Not everyone might be satisfied with just having Android or watchOS on their wrists. Some might want an honest to goodness desktop OS they can wear. So 314rcreator, a.k.a. Lord_of_Bone on Reddit, whipped up a quick hack that put a Raspberry Pi A+ that ran Windows 98. Because, well, why not?
The fast food franchise Arby’s has confirmed that it was hit with a data security breach, one involving ‘malicious software’ on its payment card systems. The company went on to state that it notified law enforcement after discovering the breach, as well as ‘leading security experts,’ one of which was Mandiant. The investigation into the matter is said to still be ongoing, though the malware itself has been removed from the affected systems.
As beloved as certain games might be, even the biggest fan has, at one point in time or another, wondered what would have happened of the game had this or that feature or was made with this kind of technology. Such thinking has led to not a few fan-made "remakes" of popular titles. Like this "Mega Man 2.5D", which gives the popularly difficult platformer a half new dimensions. Considering the lukewarm, even negative, reception that the Mega Man Mobile launch received, fans of the blue bomber might be hungry for some thing new, refreshing, and daring.
Imagine lounging back on your comfy chair watching Netflix when you suddenly feel the urge to pause, skip, rewind, or switch videos only to realize that your smartphone has fallen out of reach. Maybe the remote has disappeared into the abyss that is your couch. Maybe you really just feel too tired or apathetic to tap on the right buttons. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just think of what you want to do and make it so? With MindFlix, you can! Provided you have a mind-reading Muse head band. Or if Netflix ever makes this hack available to the public.
Over the weekend, Apple silently pulled out what was previously an effective anti-theft measure, the Activation Lock status checker webpage. Despite increased media coverage, Apple has remained silent on exactly why. Although it still hasn’t confirmed it, some speculation by MacRumors may point to the reason both for the removal of the tool as well as Apple’s silence. The anti-theft tool might have ironically been abused as a tool to bypass locked devices and gain access to those.
