Hacking
Monday, September 24th, 2007 |
Back in 1971, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (founders of Apple Computer Inc.) went into business to build ‘Blue Boxes’. A device that allowed free illegitimate phone calls by faking the signals used by AT&T (Apple’s exclusive network carrier). In the picture, you can see Steve Jobs with a ‘Blue Box’.
From Wikipedia:
An early freaking tool, the blue box is an electronic device that simulates a telephone operator’s dialing console. It functions by replicating the tones used to switch long-distance calls and using them to route the user’s own call, bypassing the normal switching mechanism. The most typical use of a blue box was to place free telephone calls - inversely, the Black Box enabled one to receive calls which were free to the caller. The blue box no longer works in most western nations, as modern switching systems are now digital and no longer use the in-band signaling which the blue box emulates. Instead, signaling occurs on an out-of-band channel which cannot be accessed from the line the caller is using (called Common Channel Interoffice Signaling (CCIS)).
(more…)
Posted in Apple, Apple iPhone, Hacking, Mobile | 22 Comments »
Thursday, December 28th, 2006 |
The copy protection seems to be ruined on the latest Blu-Ray and HD DVD technology has been broken, according to a code writer’s post at the Doom9 video enthusiast forums.
Someone on this forum has claimed to have written software, named BackupHDDVD, that bypasses the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) protection found on the new storage formats and allows users to copy data from the otherwise restricted discs to a PC.
Maybe this news is still in its rough form and maybe it is just limited to a handful of HD DVD titles, the program appears to confirm early fears that AACS is too similar to CSS, the encryption scheme used by standard DVDs and famously bypassed by Jon Lech Johansen in 2002.
If validated, this could force a radical revision of copy protection on future discs.
Posted in Computers, Hacking, Hardware, Security, Software | No Comments »
Monday, December 18th, 2006 |
Yahoo Messenger users are being urged to upgrade to the latest version after the application was hit by a ‘highly critical’ vulnerability.
The flaw allows for a buffer overflow attack against an ActiveX control bundled with the installer for the application. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability to take control of a system by luring a user to a specially crafted website.
Yahoo said in a security advisory that it is not aware of any attacks exploiting the flaw.
Danish security vendor Secunia gave the flaw a severity rating of ‘highly critical’, the fourth on a five step scale.
The flaw affects Yahoo Messenger versions 2005.1.1.4 and above. An update can be downloaded from Yahoo’s website.
Posted in Hacking, Internet, Security, Software | No Comments »
Thursday, November 30th, 2006 |
McAfee has recently predicted about the new patterns of the online crime that we may need to prepare ourselves as exploiters will continue to expand their malware tools in 2007 and it is most likely to include the emerging media such as video files and mobile phones.
Unfortunately the online criminals will develop malware for any application that attracts large numbers of consumers and, as a result, are likely to start creating movie Trojans.
When a user opens such a file in their media player, the software will automatically start downloading and installing malware or adware. A first example of such an online threat was detected earlier this month in the Realor worm that targets the Real Player. (more…)
Posted in Hacking, Internet, Security, Software | No Comments »
Thursday, November 30th, 2006 |
Adobe declared about a new discovery of a security flaw that could give attackers control over compromised systems. They have warned their users about its root cause.
The vulnerability affects the ActiveX components for versions 7.0.0 through 7.0.8 of both its Reader and Acrobat applications.
This vulnerability can be exploited when a user views a specially-crafted web page with Internet Explorer. Once the exploit has been executed, an attacker would have the ability to remotely install and execute malware. (more…)
Posted in Hacking, Internet, Security, Software | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 25th, 2006 |
A hacker known for cracking the copy-protection technology in DVDs claims to have unlocked the playback restrictions of Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod and iTunes music products and plans to license his code to others.
The move by Jon Lech Johansen, also known as “DVD Jon,” could pit the 22-year-old against Apple’s lawyers, experts say, but if successful could free users from some restrictions Apple and its rivals place on digital music. (more…)
Posted in Apple, Hacking, Internet, ipod | No Comments »
