Apple TV Hack

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Apple TV hacked to run iPhone and iPad apps

Two iOS developers have created a hack that allows them to run iPhone and iPad apps, including Facebook and YouTube, to run on the Apple TV.
The Apple TV is basically an iOS device with an iPad-style A4 chip and a modified version of iOS 5 for its operating system. You can use AirPlay to stream videos from a nearby iPhone or iPad, but without this hack, you cannot have any actual Apple TV apps yet.

Developer Steve Troughton-Smith and tinkerer Nick “TheMudkip” worked together to make this possible. They built an interface and loader for apps on a jailbroken Apple TV. Their methods use a hack called MobileX which loads up an iPad emulator, and even comes with a custom-built SpringBoard, the Home Screen, that works with the Apple remote.

In the video above and screenshots on Troughton-Smith’s Twitter feed, Ars Technica noticed that default apps like YouTube, Safari, and Maps, as well as third-party apps like Angry Birds, Facebook, and even Cydia, all work very well. The hack resizes and moves interface elements to make better use of the expanded screen as well.

Troughton-Smith hopes that his hack might help move Apple towards building an app store for the Apple TV. “Remember how the unofficial iPhone apps back in ’07 forced Apple’s hand in creating an App Store?” he tweeted. On iPhone, jailbreakers were able to download apps months before Apple opened its own iOS App Store. “I’d like Apple TV to get the same treatment.”

Apple has started discussing the possibility of selling apps for the Apple TV. In fact, in September of 2010, the late CEO Steve Jobs told Bloomberg Businessweek that “when the time is right,” Apple could open an App Store for the Apple TV.

There have been rumors floating around recently that Apple will launch a full television set with a built-in Apple TV. This TV, so-called the iTV, could be sold in late 2012, according to Digitimes. Samsung would produce the chips and Sharp would provide the displays. The TV, just a rumor currently, could come in “32- and 37-inch sizes initially, noted sources in the supply chain.” Though you must understand these are indeed only rumors, it was “only rumours” that the iPad 2 would come out less than a year after the original.

Source: Ars Technica

Subway’s $3 Million Hack

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How hackers gave Subway a $3 million lesson in point-of-sale security

A band of Romanian hackers have been stealing credit card data from hundreds of small businesses, as well as more than 150 Subway restaurant franchises and at least 50 other small retailers. Using the point-of-sale (POS) systems, these businesses practically left their drawers open, so to speak, letting the hackers ring up over $3 million in fraudulent charges.

How many victims were there? Well, according to the US District Court of New Hampshire on December 8th, these hackers are alleged to have gathered the credit and debit card data from over 80,000 victims. “This is the crime of the future,” said Dave Marcus, director of security research and communications at McAfee Labs. The days of robbing with a gun are slowing, and criminals are resorting to targeting small businesses digitally.

While it may seem like hacking is very complex, the methods used by these hackers were actually unsophisticated. The systems that were attacked were discovered through a targeted port scan of blocks of IP addresses to detect systems with a specific type of remote desktop access software running on them. By doing this, the hackers could figure out which were POS systems, using the software to gain entry. The PCI Security Standards Council, which governs credit card and debit card payment systems security, requires two-factor authentication for remote access to POS systems, which the hacked retailers obviously didn’t have.

“With PCI compliance, those apps shouldn’t be on those systems,” said Konrad Fellmann, audit and compliance manager for SecureState, an IT security firm with a practice in retail security auditing. But small retailers who don’t store credit card data are not required to have the same level of auditing as larger companies, Fellmann said.

Subway is the main store in question, as the rest were primarily small businesses. Requirements were provided to the Subway franchises, but some of them “directly and blatantly disregarded” Subway’s security and POS configuration standards. “It’s not like they had to install something and they didn’t,” Schuman said. “They did it proactively,” he continued, “downloading low-cost remote desktop software from the Internet and refusing to use point-to-point encryption as Subway dictated.”

The Justice Department alleges that these hackers gained access to the remote desktop software by guessing or “cracking” the passwords. Fellmann isn’t surprised based on his previous experience with retailers. Weak passwords, such as “password” or “1234,” are one of the most common things he discovers during POS penetration testing. “Some people, you tell them what’s required, and they’d rather not do it. They had the tools, and could have easily blocked [the attack]. If they were using a validated POS application, the vendor should provide an implementation plan, which would have included making sure you have a firewall in place.” But, he said, “these people weren’t thinking about point of sale security – they were just thinking about making a sandwich.”

Source: Ars Technica

Tri-Tronics Sport Basic G3 Dog Training Collar

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The Tri-Tronics Sport Basic G3 dog training collar is a “compact, lightweight, ergonomically designed remote trainer built to Tri-Tronics’ high standards for ruggedness and reliability.” It even comes with a lanyard on the transmitter so you don’t have to hold on to throughout your entire training exercises. Now that the Sport Basic G3 is an EXP model, you can simply purchase more receivers and collars to add dogs to the transmitter. This model is expandable to control up to three dogs.

This collar features 10 levels of momentary and 10 levels of continuous stimulation. With the half-mile range and a button to activate a buzzing sound, there’s sometimes situations where the buzz is enough for your training purposes. For those aspiring to train their dogs to hunt, the transmitter and receivers are both waterproof. This device is even small enough for use with one-hand, which should make sure even more so that you are keeping an eye on your dog and not trying to multitask with both hands tied up.

Not only is it better for the handler, but the dog as well. It is lightweight and features an 8-second safety cutoff on all stimulation levels. There is also a no-stim setting to avoid accidental stimulation, similar to a safety setting on a gun. The transmitter can easily switch dogs that are being stimulated so as to avoid stimulating all of them. There are even interchangeable long & short contact points for different coat thicknesses.

Packed with a 30-day money back guarantee and a 2-year warranty, what’s not to love? These collars have been proven to be effective, and this model won’t let you down. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $266, but you can purchase this collar of off the Tri-Tronics website for $239.

Click here to read some reviews about the product on a Facebook page created by Rob Snell, co-owner of Gun Dog Supply. You can also find more information on the actual product at Snell’s Gun Dog Supply store here.

No Blogs for December

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I regret to inform all of the readers that this blog will not be updated for the rest of December. We are currently undergoing updates among other things, where posting blogs can disrupt the things we are doing. I hope not to disappoint anyone too much, and know that I will be back January 1st with all-new blogs with an all-new look.

I am sad to say I won’t be posting for a month, but look forward to our next journey together. Happy holidays to everyone!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to direct them to tyler@seowhat.com, which I will continue to check daily. Otherwise, message me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/tyler.weaver.92.

Until 2012, my readers. Be safe and take care of yourselves!

iPhone Self Combustion

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On Tuesday of this week, Australia’s aviation safety watchdog stated that it is currently investigating an Apple iPhone due to it “glowing red and emitting smoke on a passenger plane” last week. The device started melting and was doused by a flight attendant with a fire extinguisher.

While aboard Regional Express airlines flight ZL319, from the New South Wales town of Lismore to Sydney, the device began glowing red hot and was dropped by the person whose it was. This all happened shortly after landing in Sydney. The phone was then given to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) as part of an investigation into the incident in cooperation with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, who is also investigating the same case.

“We are investigating, it’s quite early on in the investigation,” a spokesman for the ATSB confirmed to AFP.

“However, we do have the phone, it’s in our custody, and we will be undertaking a technical examination of it.
“We will be interviewing directly involved parties and also in our technical examination of the phone we are going to be consulting with the manufacturer as well.”

This incident became known around the internet shortly after Regional Express put out a press released titled “Mobile phone self combustion.” This press release included a photograph showing a broken and scorched phone, which is the same picture as is located at the top of this post.

Regional Express stated that a flight attendant had to rush to grab a fire extinguisher, in which she then extinguished the red glow in line with standard procedure. No one was injured from the incident, and the phone’s owner is not being identified at this time.

Apple stated that they are looking forward to helping and working with investigators, as they have never seen something like this before. They are interested and especially concerned if it is something on their end, though they are doubting that at this time.

The ATSB spokesman did not state which generation iPhone the unidentified owner had that started emitting the red glow, but did say that this was unusual. “We have no previous records of iPhones undergoing spontaneous self-ignition,” he said.

Source: Fox News

Apple Approves iTether App

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For one reason or another, Apple has officially approved an app that lets users bypass monthly carrier tethering plans in order to share your iPhone’s wireless connection with your computer.

The name of this app is iTether. It connects to Mac and Windows software to share the iPhone’s web connection for a one-time $14.99 fee. In comparison to the app, AT&T and Verizon offer iPhone tethering functionality for an additional $20-a-month. It’s moves like this that shows the power that Apple truly has on the mobile industry.

Apple has previously banned apps that ran similarly to this one. According to Tether.com, the Canadian company that developed the app, Apple knew exactly what the app was trying to do. “We were very clear with Apple what our app did. They asked us a bunch of questions and then approved us,” the company stated on Twitter last night.

This app only works over USB, so Wi-Fi or Bluetooth tethering are not available. Apple may have thought that since iTether doesn’t allow any sort of wireless tethering, it wouldn’t be much of a threat to the plans given by mobile carriers.

Despite the thoughts, iTether’s homepage has been overloaded with traffic since the app went live last night. As MacRumors pointed out, the app seems to authenticate with iTether.com whenever you launch it, so the actual tethering service has been facing issues as well. Tether.com says it has had to add 20 additional web servers because of the “insane demand.”

Even though Apple approved iTether, that doesn’t mean AT&T and Verizon will take it lightly. While the carriers cannot stop the app from working, they can scrutinize users who use lots of mobile data without purchasing a tethering plan. Data used via the app will count against your monthly allotment of mobile data, so keep an eye on your bandwidth limits.

Make sure you check if you have an unlimited data plan as well, for some that are named “unlimited” can have caps of 10GB or 20GB.

Source: VentureBeat

Siri Jailbreak for iPhone 4 and iPod Touch

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iPhone4S 3up You can now put Siri on your iPhone 4 or iPod touch

Finally, developers have managed to crack the Siri security protocol, making it possible to install Siri on an iPhone 4 or an iPod touch. However, it isn’t a nice and easy process as people were hoping for.

The team from Applidium are the ones who claimed first that Siri has been cracked. If you want to install Siri on a device, you can use their tools to do the job. However, you will need to have access to a unique device identifier key (UDID) for an iPhone 4S, making this nifty little hack somewhat pointless for people who simply own an iPhone 4.

According to Applidium:

The iPhone 4S sends identifiers everywhere. So if you want to use Siri on another device, you still need the identfier of at least one iPhone 4S. Of course we’re not publishing ours, but it’s very easy to retrieve one using the tools we’ve written. Of course Apple could blacklist an identifier, but as long as you’re keeping it for personal use, that should be alright!

To sum up, you need an iPhone 4S or access to someone who is willing to give up their iPhone 4S UDID. Not too many people are willing to give you their iPhone 4S UDID, so don’t expect to simply get them off of the internet.

Whatever security hole that Applidium is using, it probably won’t be around for too long. My guess would be that Apple will be patching this is not too long. Otherwise, Apple will start blacklisting identifiers. We have yet to see a Siri hack that simply enables someone to put it on a jailbroken device. For now, I can see this being useful for people with iPhone 4S’s putting it on their iPod touches. That’s about it, really.

Source: Macgasm

Top 10 Smartphones and Tablets for the Holidays

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Looking for some holiday ideas for someone, perhaps even yourself? Looking for a tablet or a smartphone? Here is a combined list of the top 10 smartphones and tablets available. This list was made based on my critique and opinion and reflects serious consideration and an unbiased approach.

1. Apple iPhone 4S – Phone – The iPhone 4S is definitely a pretty obvious choice. This device has a dual-core processor, 8-megapixel camera, the ever-popular Siri, and it still retails for $199 for those who buy a two-year service contract. Apple has higher security and a stronger operating system than any other out there, so this one comes as no surprise. Even if you cannot get the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 4 would still be above any other phone. While the iPhone 4 and 4S do not have 4G support, they really don’t even need it and you won’t notice, especially if you have the ability to connect via WiFi.

2. Apple iPad 2 – Tablet – The iPad 2 is definitely the top tablet available, and really has been since the original iPad. The tablet starts at $499, but is definitely worth the price. With a 9.7-inch display, dual-core processor, and support for FaceTime, this is completely feature-packed. The iPad and iPad 2 have been above any other tablet since the idea was introduced, and no one has really come close. If you’re looking for Internet, the iPad 2 also supports WiFi, with 3G-capable models as well.

3. Amazon Kindle Fire - Tablet - While this tablet is very cheap, it is also pretty impressive. Selling at $199, this device features a 7-inch display and runs a modified version of Android unique to Amazon. This is made pretty much for reading books and not really so much for apps and surfing the internet, but is very good at what it was made for.

4. Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet - Tablet – This is another tablet designed as a cheap entry-level tablet. This tablet is also Android-based and comes with a 7-inch display and 16GB of storage. This device supports the Barnes & Noble e-book store and is a very good e-reader. This device sells for $249, so a little more than the Kindle Fire.

5. Samsung Galaxy S II – Phone – Some people don’t really care for the iPhone 4S, or perhaps it’s sold out and you just really want a phone. Well, then the Samsung Galaxy S II may be the phone for you. This device has a 4.3-inch screen and supports 4G networks. The design comes close to matching the iPhone 4S, but the software may be a little inferior.

6. Motorola Droid RAZR – Phone – This device has made quite the stir, and there’s good reason for that. This device comes with 4G support, allows users to stream content form their PC to the device, and even has a front and rear-facing camera. Motorola used the RAZR branding because they think this device can sell, and so far they are proving to be right.

7. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 – Tablet – The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is probably the best alternative to the iPad 2, but not the best e-reader around, which is why the Kindle Fire and Nook are rated higher. The rating also comes from the court debates. This tablet features 4G connectivity on its 10.1-inch screen. It runs Android software. While currently in court for patent infringement against the iPad, this device is still for sale and you may want to grab yours while you still can.

8. HTC Titan – Phone – Not everyone wants an iOS or Android-based device, and may even want the Windows Phone 7 operating system. For those people, the HTC Titan might be the best choice. This device has a 1.5GHz processor and a huge 4.7-inch display. The 16GB memory isn’t the greatest, but the design is pretty nice. The Titan is by far the best Windows Phone 7-based device on store shelves right now.

9. Motorola Droid Bionic – Phone – The Motorola Droid Bionic is a device that will appeal to holiday shoppers that want a strong Android-based unit. This device has a 4.3-inch display, 4G support, and the ability to share that connection with up to five other devices with its mobile hotspot feature. However, the low ratings come from the $249.99 price tag with a two-year agreement. All in all, not a bad device if you can afford it. Yet, there are better phones for lower prices.

10. Research In Motion BlackBerry Bold – Phone – If Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 7 are just not for you, or you find yourself really needing that physical keyboard, then the BlackBerry Bold may be right for you. This is the only phone on the list with a physical keyboard, basically because they add space and companies aren’t looking for that. Research In Motion isn’t the best company for mobile devices, but some users may find that the BlackBerry Bold suits their needs better than the other phones on the list.

I realize that the tablets and phones are mixed together, and some people may want either a tablet or a phone and not be open to both options. For those people, simply sift through. I have added “Phone” or “Tablet” after each name so that it may be easier for you.

This list may help you with your Black Friday shopping, or perhaps even your future Christmas shopping if you’re doing it later. But these devices will prove to be useful for more than just the holidays, and will perhaps be reliable and recommended for even a couple of years. Technology moves very quickly, so it’s time for some shopping!

If you have any questions or want more guidance, e-mail tyler@seowhat.com or comment on this post. Happy holiday shopping!

Pakistan Bans 1,100 “Naughty” Words From Texting

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Phrases such as “beat your meat,” “fairy,” and “lovegun” are among the lists of words banned in text messages by the Pakistani Telecommunication Authority. On November 14th, phone companies operating in the Islamic country were handed the list of words with a letter explaining that they have to block those words on their networks within seven days or face legal action. Operators will also have to submit monthly reports on the implementation of the block.

“There are more than 1,600 words in the list including indecent language, expletives, swear words, slang, etc. which have to be filtered. The filtering is not good for the system and may degrade the quality of network services–plus it would be a great inconvenience to our subscribers if their SMS was not delivered due to the wrong choice of words.”

Other highlights from the list, which was issued in English and Urdu and can be seen here, include “roach,” “pocket pool,” “deposit,” “hershey highway,” and “honkers.”

Officials from the Pakistani Telecommunication Authority refuse to comment on the ban, but Twitter has been ablaze with people mocking the move, using #ptabannedlist for a hashtag.

Sports blog Deadspin says the list actually comes from the NFL. It’s unclear if the Pakistanis used the list as a starting point for their English-language censor list, but a Pakistani official did state that the texting blacklist is meant only for “testing.”

Source: Ars Technica

Anonymous Exposes Gmail of Cybercrime Investigator

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On Friday, Anonymous’ Operation AntiSec published the private e-mails of a California Department of Justice investigator. The hackers have posted the 38,000 e-mails in a Gmail account that appears to belong to Alfredo “Fred” Baclagan, a California Department of Justice special agent supervisor in charge of computer crime investigations. They published these to a hidden site on Tor, as well as to a torrent listed on The Pirate Bay. They have also included Baclagan’s personal address and phone number.

The effort by Anonymous is part of the attack on law enforcement as part of a response to their activities surrounding the Occupy Wall Street protests. It began as a protest by Anonymous and LulzSec against government monitoring and censorship of the Internet. While LulzSec has went into the dark again, Anonymous has kept going for years.

In a Twitter message, Anonymous said that their attacks on law enforcement also “has to do with FBI’s targeting of anons, re: imprisoned during opPayback and others.” Operation Payback included the DDoS attacks on Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal after they cut off contribution processing to WikiLeaks.

The e-mails posted by Anonymous include archives from the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists’ private discussions, where they discussed computer forensic methods. There are also the reactions of IACIS members to a post of threads from the list to the Twitter account of Sabu, a well-known Anonymous hacker, and an e-mail from Baclagan’s hacked Google account rickrolling the entire list. The IACIS is down “for maintenance” because of the disclosures.

Anons also claimed to have listened to Baclagan’s personal voicemails and read his SMS logs, as well as his personal Google Voice account. They said they used the Google Voice account to text and call his friends and family.

“We lulzed as we listened to angry voicemails from his estranged wives and ex-girlfriends while also reading his conversations with girls who responded to his ‘man seeking woman’ craigslist ads,” the hackers wrote in their post.

Source: Ars Technica