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Although it's getting a little late for top 5 lists, Darkreading recently released their five coolest hacks for 2007. The stories were chosen for their ingenuity and ability to surprise an unsuspecting public. I've agreed with them on a few of these hacks, but we also found some other stuff that was just a little bit quirkier or a little more appealing to the average user. 5. Navigation systems: A vulnerability was discovered that let hackers insert fake messages or shut a nav device down. The weakness was found in the primary satellite system for all traffic information. An attack on the device could also shut down a driver's stereo and A/C. What's the solution? Encryption. Unfortunately, that solution is still another five long years away. (Source: darkreading.com)
4. John Harvard: No, the namesake of Harvard University was not brought back from the dead. But, a bunch of MIT grads got together the night before the release of Halo 3 and turned John Harvard's statue into the Master Chief (that's the guy with the gold visor on his helmet). It's pretty lo-tech for a hack, but hey it's still fun. 3. iPhone: Zzzzzzzzzz.....yeah, yeah we all know the iPhone is going to top everybody's list. But, wait! We aren't talking about hooking your phone up with T-mobile. Hackers discovered how to make an unsuspecting victim's phone vibrate just for fun, or if they're more malicious they can hijack the phone entirely! 2. NYC Taxis: Last year, NYC taxis started installing interactive screens in the passenger area. These oh-so-annoying interfaces greeted riders with 30-second news bites and annoying advertising. What's worse, if you turn them off you end up with a large 'Touch Screen to Begin' message that burns into the back of your brain. Hacker Billy Chassen reports that one day in 2007 he got into a cab and was greeted with an error message on the screen. After a little bit of effort he was able to open up Internet Explorer, and eventually he was surfing the net on his way downtown. (Source: anerroroccurredwhileprocessingthisdirective.com) 1. Second Generation DVDs: Back in January hackers started sticking it to the Hollywood types by breaking down the barriers to Blu-ray and HD DVD content. This caused ecstatic cries of joy from PSP and iPod users everywhere. The studios struck back by patching up the vulnerability, and as of April it was up to the hackers to try again. I haven't seen anything on this lately, but with HD DVD on its last legs Blu-ray may receive more attention than it bargained for in the very near future. (Source: reghardware.co.uk)
-- Related newsletter articles:
2007/10/04 Samsung Challenges Apple, iPhone to Duel (phone)
2007/03/21 Palm Plans to Rival Apple's iPhone (phone)
2007/11/07 Gphone: Google Opts for Software Over Hardware (phone)
2007/06/05 Apple Expectations Too High for iPhone? (phone)
2007/12/28 Adobe Flash Flaw Threatens Websites (hackers)
2007/11/30 Al Gore's Website Hit by Spammers (hackers)
2007/09/21 Web Protectors Falling Behind (hackers)
2008/01/07 Gmail Flaw Drives Domain Dupe (hackers)
2006/12/14 Flash Lite: The Future of Mobile Phone Technology (phone)
2005/02/17 Different types of Hackers? (hackers)
2007/10/16 Storm Worm Continues to Scare (hackers)
2007/11/20 Playstation 3 First Console to Get Internet Security Software (hackers)
2007/11/30 Verizon Opens Network to Any Phone (phone)
2007/04/19 Geek Squad Member Busted Peeping on Customer (phone)
-- Recent articles (from all channels): 2008/05/13 Today in History: for Tuesday, May 13, 2008
2008/05/13 [ShellX 20080513]: 'Drive Spacio', and 'Youtube Batch Downloader'
2008/05/13 Congressman Calls For Second Life Ban In Schools
2008/05/13 Trying to Exit MS Excel 2007
2008/05/13 Problems Reported With Windows XP SP3
2008/05/12 [ShellX 20080512]: 'Remote Manager', and 'Cyber Bandwidth ...
2008/05/12 Video Gaming Trade Group Struggling
2008/05/12 T-Mobile Finally Joins 3G Phone Race
2008/05/12 Apple Slammed by Environment Watchdog
2008/05/09 [ShellX 20080509]: 'Advanced Run', and 'Diver Windows Manager'
2008/05/09 Texas Refuses Facebook Friend Request
2008/05/09 Photo-Enforcement Technology Replaces Officers On Patrol
2008/05/09 Cuban Government Says 'Ok Computer'
2008/05/09 Excel Can E-Mail Your Weekly Reports For You!
2008/05/08 [ShellX 20080508]: 'Shell Enhancer', and 'Lansweeper'
2008/05/08 Xobni: MS Outlook Social Networking Technology for your Inbox
2008/05/08 Music Companies Jump on GTA IV Bandwagon
2008/05/08 Fascinating: Memristor to replace Binary
2008/05/08 Adobe Hopes To Make Flash Master Of The (Mobile) Universe
2008/05/08 Spiffy Envelopes and Labels in MS Word
2008/05/07 [ShellX 20080507]: 'Winbin2iso', and 'Loop Typer'
2008/05/07 Yahoo Adds Security Warnings To Search Results
2008/05/07 Apple to Lose Money on iTunes Movie Releases
2008/05/07 Amazon.com takes New York Tax to Court
2008/05/07 Need Glasses for the Slide Sorter View in MS PowerPoint?
2008/05/07 After Winning The DVD Format War, Blu-Ray Sales Tank
2008/05/06 [ShellX 20080506]: 'Visual Basic 6.0 Portable', and 'Double-...
2008/05/06 Yahoo Outsources to Jajah
2008/05/06 New HP Circuit Could Change Technology Forever
2008/05/06 Movie Downloads To Match DVD Release Dates
2008/05/06 Microsoft Ends Yahoo Bid
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