The Gadget Blog » hacks

Barnes & Noble Nook Hacked Into Web Tablet

Rico Mossesgeld — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:30:06 +0000

A development that will surely worry Barnes & Noble execs at best, and force the book retailer to come out with a firmware/software update at “worst”, a group of developers have managed to turn the nook e-reader into a sub-$300 web tablet—with free 3G access via B&N’s network access.

The process, which predictably violates the nook’s warranty and user agreement, first involves removing the e-reader’s internally stored 2GB microSD card. The next step requires connecting this card to a PC running Linux or Unix, editing an initialization file, and simply replacing the word “disabled” with—you guessed it—”enabled”.

However, that’s not the end of this story. As Top Tech News reports, “Users of the modified device must also find a way to download web-surfing and security Relevant Products/Services software onto the machine, as well as make these applications accessible on the device’s existing user interface.” The full details are available from the NookDevs wiki.

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What We Missed: Mac OS X Hacked in Less Than Two Minutes

Rico Mossesgeld — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:00:07 +0000

Now before you wave your flags in victory (if you hate Apple) or hiss disapproval (if otherwise), here are some relevent tidbits related to the following video:

The competition (CanSecWest) was held last February; Apple should’ve closed the hole exploited by now
The exploit became successful in the second day of competition, which featured a halved $10,000
That’s because on the first day carrying a $20,000 pot, no one could successfully compromise any system
Systems available to hack were running: Linux, Mac OS X, Vista

Now you can watch the report here (opens in a new window/tab).

In any case, it’s probably good news that, despite a $20,000 prize and the attention of some experienced exploiters, no computing system proved relatively easy to compromise. Perhaps this is a reminder to keep our systems running smoothly and practice safe computing habits, to keep the gates secure?

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How to Hack Those Roadsigns and Make Them Read Whatever

Rico Mossesgeld — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:30:11 +0000

It’s a bit ironic when you ask your readers to “NEVER TAMPER WITH THESE [ADDCO] SIGNS”, right before you provide detailed instructions on how to basically hack said signs and make them print out whatever suits your fancy. (I bet the promise of learning such illicit info also piques your interest)

Programming is as simple as scrolling down the menu selection to “Instant Text”. Type whatever you want to display, Hit Enter to submit. You can now either throw it up on the sign by selecting “Run w/out save” or you can add more pages to it by selecting “Add page”

** HACKER TIPS ** Should it will ask you for a password. Try “DOTS”, the default password.

In all likelihood, the crew will not have changed it. However if they did, never fear. Hold “Control” and “Shift” and while holding, enter “DIPY”. This will reset the sign and reset the password to “DOTS” in the process. You’re in!

For more info on gaining physical access to the sign control mechanism, check out i-hacked.com.

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