hack

A security flaw that could affect millions of cars has been identified, with researchers warning that there may be no fix available to protect susceptible vehicles. The exploit works by overloading the so-called CAN, or "car device network", which connects all of the different aspects of modern vehicles together. With the right code, essential parts of the car's safety features - such as the airbags or antilock brakes - could be forced offline.

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Remember the big HBO hack? The latest one, that is. The company just suffered another blow as the hacker has leaked new Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes online, making them available for anyone to download. That's a big problem for HBO, which announced last year that it would be reviving the beloved series. The new show hasn't yet premiered on the network.

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Many iPhone users that play music in their car via the USB cable experience a common problem: as soon as the device is connected, it starts playing the exact same song automatically — whichever is alphabetically first in the music library. A new solution has emerged, however, in the form of a "song" that runs for 10 minutes with nothing but silence. And it appears to be music to iPhone owners' ears, as the track is racing up the iTunes charts.

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If console makers can create slim versions of their hulking gaming machines, why can’t computer makers do that too? Well, some do, but they have nothing on this computer that is only as thick as a few stacks of credit cards. You shouldn’t be surprised that no computer OEM is crazy enough to do that. Fortunately, the ever so creative, persistent, and insane N O D E has done it for the rest of us. Introducing the Raspberry Pi 3 Slim, which is really a fully functional computer that can almost fit in your wallet.

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Amazon's original Echo smart speaker can be hacked into a 24/7 live microphone, perpetually beaming anything it can hear to a remote server. The flaw was identified by Mark Barnes, a British security researcher who figured out that certain Echo models could be compromised with just a little hands-on time. While the exploit can't be used to remotely modify an Echo, it could nonetheless fuel the privacy complaints of those uncomfortable with putting internet-connected microphones into their home or office.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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”.

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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.

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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.

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