Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: New Malware App Turns Your Android Phone's Camera into a Data Stealing Spy
Robert Templeman from the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Indiana and several of his friends from Indiana University recently developed an Android application that is capable of gathering pictures and videos from mobile devices in order to reconstruct a user's environment in 3D. The malware would come coded inside of a camera application that the user would download. The malware, called PlaceRaider, would then randomly take pictures throughout the day and carefully piece them together ...
How To: Mod Your NES Duck Hunt Zapper into a Real-Life Laser Gun
Who doesn't love Duck Hunt? It's arguably one of the most popular games ever created for the original NES system, even in spite of the mocking dog that everyone hates. I'm sure a lot of people still have their old controllers in the attic somewhere, so unless you're lucky enough to have an NES that still works, why not put that childhood nostalgia to good use?
How To: Hide and Rearrange Your Apps in the New Apple TV 5.1 Update
Apple gets a lot of flak for their lack of customization on their devices, but hey, at least you can move your apps around on your iOS device—that's customization, right? Well, you couldn't even do that on your Apple TV—until now. The newest Apple TV 5.1 software update released earlier this week added the ability to move apps and icons around the interface.
How To: Forget Chimes—Make Your Doorbell Send You Text Alerts Whenever Someone Rings It
Want to know when you have a visitor, even if you're not home? You could always set up a security system and live-stream it with your iPhone. But if you don't have a spare iPhone, or just don't want to go to the trouble, this simple hack will add text message alerts to your doorbell so that it lets you know when someone's there.
How To: Samsung Phones Aren't the Only Android Devices Vulnerable to Remote Wipe Attacks—Is Yours at Risk?
Yesterday, we pointed out that hackers could remote-wipe certain Android-based Samsung smartphones like the Galaxy S III using a USSD exploit. All they have to do is hide a small code into any webpage or text—even barcodes—then once you click on it, the phone resets to factory settings in a matter of seconds. The video below shows just how easy it is.
How To: Shut Down Your PC and Send Other Commands Remotely Through Twitter Using TweetMyPC
Ever been halfway to work or school and suddenly remembered you forgot to log off your computer? A lot of people are constantly logged in to email and social media accounts, so if you have a mischievous roommate or sibling, this situation could be disastrous. That's where TweetMyPC comes in—it's a free Windows application that lets you send commands to your computer just by tweeting. Image by Twittermania
How To: Unlock Your Non-Contract iPhone 5 from AT&T via iTunes
Did you buy your new iPhone 5 without a contract? We'll, if you bought it from Apple, AT&T or Verizon, you can have it unlocked pretty easily. Why Have It Unlocked?
How To: Oops! Hit "Send" Too Soon? Here's How to Recall Sent Emails on Almost Any Platform
Send an email prematurely? Forgot to attach a file? Accidentally addressed it to the wrong person? It happens to the best of us. But what can you do to get it back? Hack into the other person's email account and delete the email before they get a chance to see it? Unless you're a hacker extraordinaire, that option is unlikely. So, what can you do? If the email has already been sent, you're probably out of luck. Even if they didn't read it yet, your chances of retrieving it are slim. But some ...
How To: Make a Dynamic Mic and Sound Recorder Stand from an Old Hard Drive
There was a dynamic mic in my junk box, but without any stand or connection cable. I needed a high-quality microphone to narrate my project videos, so I had to think of a way to build a stand for the mic. This is what I came up with.
How To: Get Free Traffic and Branding Using a Gravatar
Many marketers are NOT using this powerful strategy to get free traffic and increase their brand exposure. It's as simple as signing up for a free Gravatar account and commenting on blogs in a similar niche. See some good examples and some bad examples...
How To: Turn Any Magazine into an iPhone Stereo Sound Dock
Coca-Cola has unleashed a brilliant marketing campaign to celebrate the one year anniversary of their online Coca-Cola.FM radio in South America. In the latest issue of the popular Brazilian magazine, Capricho, the Coca-Cola advertisement literally turns the magazine into an iPhone amplifier. Attached on top of the real cover, the advert has two precisely placed flaps on the back page. Simply roll up the magazine, secure the flaps, then pop in your iPhone. Check out the video to see exactly h...
How To: Eavesdrop from a Distance with This DIY Parabolic 'Spy' Microphone
Want to find out if your neighbors are talking about you? You could always hack their webcam or turn your iPhone into a secret spy camera, but unless you have a key to their house, that could be tricky to do without getting caught.
How To: Unlock Turn-by-Turn Directions and 3D Views for Apple Maps on a Jailbroken iPhone 4, 3GS, or iPod touch (4th Gen)
It's no secret that most people who got an iPhone 5 (or upgraded their old iPhone to iOS 6) have been sorely disappointed with Apple Maps. We may all miss Google Maps, but the Google says they aren't even working on an app for iOS 6 yet. Even worse, Google exec Eric Schmidt says they're waiting on an invitation from Apple, and if we know Apple, that could be a while. Users who didn't get an iPhone 5 have had an even worse time of things—Apple disabled 3D maps and turn-by-turn directions on ol...
How To: Hackers Can Remote Wipe Your Samsung Smartphone—Find Out If Yours Is Vulnerable (And Fix It)
Security researcher Ravi Borgaonkar from Berlin has discovered that hackers can hide an 11-digit code in a webpage that can wipe out all of the information on your smartphone—contacts, photographs, music, applications, and anything else of importance. The attack takes no more than a few seconds and nothing can be done about it. NOTHING. This begs the question—are you susceptible?
How To: Get Around the Nonexistent iPhone 5 Dock
For the first time in history, Apple has decided to scrap the dock for its new iPhone release. As if the maps fiasco wasn't enough, users took to the web to complain not only about the dock ordeal, but why Apple decided to make it obsolete. 9to5mac first posted about a concerned iPhone user who decided to email Phil Schiller, Apple Senior VP of Marketing, to ask why there were no docks included in the iPhone 5 package. Schiller replied with,"We do not plan on making a dock for the iPhone 5. M...
How To: Create a Personalized Web Browser for Your Android Device
Android's operating system has garnered much of its popularity due to the high amount of customization the user has at their fingertips. Whether it's customizing your home screen, lockscreen or even operating system, Android has always been one step ahead of Apple in the customization department. And now you can even design your own web browser.
How To: Avoid "Scuffgate" and Other iPhone 5 Problems
Getting a new phone is like getting a pair of new socks—you can't wait to try them on and when you do, they feel totally awesome. Maybe that's just me, but for many customers that have already received their highly anticipated iPhone 5 in the mail, awesome is definitely not the word they are using.
How To: Take Your Phone Pranks to the Next Level with the Prankowl Caller ID Spoofing Dialer
In college, I enjoyed eating, sleeping and making my roommate's life a living hell. My most satisfying prank involved 500 red cups stapled together, filled with water, and strewn across his bedroom floor. He was not happy. To clean up, he had to unstaple each cup, carry it to the bathroom, and dump the water. He was furious, but I was okay with sacrificing our friendship in exchange for a fantastic story that I'll probably tell my grandkids one day. If you're not as cruel as me, there are oth...
How To: | 3 DIY Electronic Geek Chic Pieces for Him
Stand out from the high street fashion clones with stuff you’ve fashioned yourself. It’s easy to take old pieces of electronic junk and transform them into all sorts of fun ‘n’ funky geeky accessories. Like a totally useful tote bag, a what-on-earth-is-that wallet and a bedazzling belt. It’s terribly geeky but chicy too. Here’s how…
How To: Keep the Government Out of Your Smartphone
We use smartphones for just about everything, and while that may be beneficial to us in our day-to-day lives, it can also be used against us in the court of law.
How To: Don't Have an Apple TV? Use AirPlay to Stream Content to Your Mac Instead
AirPlay is probably one of the most underutilized features in Apple products. It allows users to wirelessly stream photos, music, or video directly from their iPad, iPhone, iPod touch or Mac to their Apple TV or AirPlay-supported speakers. The Apple support page has a complete list of all the supported and needed devices. Mirroring is also available, but only for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and iPad 2, all of which need to be running iOS 5 or later.
How To: Find or Reinstall Your Missing Apps After Updating to iOS 6
For everyone who's having a problem downloading new apps in iOS 6, or are missing apps that didn't transfer over from iTunes, here's a super quick solution.
How To: Have Your Friends Ever Used Pandora on Your Computer? Well, You Can Steal Their Passwords
If you've ever logged on to the popular music application Pandora, your password is saved onto that computer in the local storage...for good.
How To: Track the Shipping Status of Your New iPhone 5
Over 2 million people are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new iPhone 5, which has caused a few shipping problems, to say the least. There has been a considerable amount of confusion about when, exactly, the iPhone is going to ship, depending on where it was bought and how it's being delivered.
How To: Access Hidden Mac OS X Settings in Lion and Mountain Lion Without Using Terminal
There are a lot of hidden settings in Mac OS X that you can change by using the Apple Terminal, but if you're not familiar with it, it can be tricky. Mountain Tweaks and Lion Tweaks are two apps created by Fredrik Wiker that cut out the extra step by letting you change those settings without having to use Terminal, therefore making it ridiculously simple. Since Mountain Lion is the latest version of OS X, we'll focus on Mountain Tweaks. There are three categories of tweaks. General Tweaks are...
How To: Downgrade Your Apple Device from iOS 6 to iOS 5.1.1
Since the release of iOS 6, there has been a bit of an uproar over some of the new features (the new Apple Maps replacing Google Maps) and certainly over the glitches that always come attached with new operating systems. Downgrading Your iOS
How To: 10 Handy, but Hidden Features in iOS 6
There's definitely a lot of new things to get used to in iOS 6, with over 200 added features, but which ones stand out about the rest? Well, it all depends on what device you're using. Some features will only work on newer models, but most of the hidden features are accessible to all.
How To: Jailbreak iOS 6 on the iPhone 4, 3GS, and iPod touch
Even though iOS 6 has only been out for a day, the folks over at iPhone Dev-Team have already released a Redsn0w jailbreak that works on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch (fourth generation). As of right now, there's only a tethered jailbreak available, which means that you'll have to connect your device to your computer every time you power it up, but an untethered version that works on more devices is more than likely on the way. Until then, tethered is better than nothing, so here's...
How To: Hate Apple's New Maps App in iOS 6? Try Out One of These Free Alternatives on Your iPhone
To say that I am disappointed with the new Maps application in iOS 6 is an understatement. And it seems like the rest of the world is with me, so I needed to find a solution—and quick. Installing the Google Maps web application is a nice quick-fix, but those looking for a beefier navigation solution should check out one of these free map apps.
How To: Fix Passbook Problems in iOS 6 (Or Just Download a Free Alternative App Instead)
In an effort to appease iPhone fans eager for an NFC-equipped device, an option that is available on many other smartphones, Apple created Passbook, their version of a digital wallet.
How To: Stop Your iPhone's Battery from Rapidly Draining in iOS 6
With iOS 6 coming out yesterday, there were bound to be plenty of glitches. iPhone users filled Apple's forums with complaints, with battery drainage issues leading the way. Many users complained of rapidly increasing battery drainage after updating to iOS 6, specifically with the iPhone 4S.
How To: Can't Connect to the App Store in iOS 6 on Your iPhone or iPad? Try This Quick Fix
Since iOS 6 was officially released yesterday, several bugs have been reported, including issues with Wi-Fi, Passbook, and battery life (although Apple has apparently fixed the Wi-Fi bug). Some users are also having problems connecting to the iTunes Store, which is probably insanely frustrating because the first thing you want to do with a new OS is try out new apps. Luckily, there's a way to fix this by tweaking the date and time settings. Open Settings, then go to General >> Date and Time. ...
How To: iOS 6 Broke Your Wi-Fi? Here's How to Fix Connection Problems on Your iPhone or iPad
Several people have been reporting Wi-Fi problems after updating to iOS 6 on both iPads and iPhones. The connection might work sometimes, but it usually cuts out or takes forever to connect to anything, only to time out shortly after.
How To: Trick Your Twitter Followers into Thinking You're Verified (By Hacking Your Header Photo)
Have you ever wanted to be famous? Of course you have! Now you can make your Twitter profile look like it's verified, just like professional skater Lil' Wayne. With Twitter's new header, you can now upload a cover photo onto your profile to be seen online and on mobile devices. Just click here and change your header with the images below to get "verified" in seconds! Note that this will not work on the newer Twitter profile designs, since the verified symbol is located outside of all images.
How To: Scavenge High-Voltage Components from Your Neighbor's Trashed Microwave
For this project, I decided to rip apart a microwave I found in my neighbor's garbage can to see what was inside. With permission, of course! True story!
How To: Get a Refund from Apple in iTunes or the Mac App Store
If you don’t have any little children to blame for an inadvertent or misguided app, book, or music purchase from Apple, you might still have a fighting chance. Apple has a very strict return policy, specifically stating that all sales and rentals of products are final for purchases made in the iTunes Store, Mac App Store, App Store, and iBookstore. But if you play it carefully and do a little digging, a return and full refund may still be possible.
How To: Reinstall the Google Maps App on iOS 6 (And Your New iPhone 5)
For those of you still waiting for the new iPhone 5, you may be a little annoyed when you start using the new Maps application. If you're one of the many Apple users that has already updated your current iPhone to iOS 6, then you're probably already missing Google Maps. While the new Maps does have turn-by-turn directions and sweet 3D imaging for a few large cities, it misses out on everything that made Google Maps legit. Public transit routes—gone. Street-view—missing. High-res imaging of sm...
How To: Control Your Android Phone via Your Computer for Easier Multitasking
In our society, multitasking is an obsession. Whether it's driving while using your phone (DON'T DO IT) or drinking a cup of coffee while typing up some work, we multitask at every turn of the day. People that work all day in front of a computer are especially prone to multitasking, and that's why XDA-Developers member Floyd1973 has developed a way to control any Android phone while connected via USB to a Windows or Linux PC. Android Remote Phone Tools
How To: Cut and Sand Your Micro-SIM into a Nano-SIM Card for Your New iPhone 5
Planning on getting the iPhone 5, but want to keep your SIM card? The new nano-SIMs that manufacturers are adopting will be even smaller than the micro-SIMs that most of us currently use. It's fairly easy to cut a regular SIM down to a micro-SIM, but because the nano-SIM will be thinner as well as smaller than the micro, cutting it down to size will require a little more work. Photo by Tech Digest
How To: Root the New Kindle Fire HD
Yesterday, the entire Internet was talking about how the new Kindle Fire HD was supposed to be incredibly difficult to hack. Turns out, the folks over at XDA Developers are smarter than they thought—one day later, the mystery has already been solved. The exploit is the same one found by sparkym3 in Ice Cream Sandwich, but Amazon must have forgotten to patch it. As with any root, you can cause some serious damage, or brick your device completely if it's not done properly, so proceed at your ow...