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Google open-sources Omnitone library for decoding spatial audio on the web

posted onJuly 25, 2016
by l33tdawg

Google today announced that it has open-sourced Omnitone, a piece of software that developers can use to incorporate spatial audio into websites. The software is available now on GitHub under an Apache license.

To give people a sense of what’s possible Google has also posted two videos featuring spatial audio to demonstrate what’s possible with Omnitone.

The hack that almost wasn’t: How a pen test led to Mr. Robot’s ransomware

posted onJuly 17, 2016
by l33tdawg

Near the intermission of Mr. Robot's two-part season two premiere, fsociety hacker Darlene boots her desktop computer and opens up something called the "Social-Engineering Toolkit." She scrolls through a list of options including a "Java Applet Attack" (done through a Remote Administration Tool) then chooses to unleash the "F-Society Cryptowall." Suddenly, tellers and high-level employees at one of the world's most powerful banks all stare at the same screen (above).

Hacker was able to take complete control of a computer running Popcorn Time

posted onAugust 5, 2015
by l33tdawg
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Popcorn Time, the Netflix-like website for pirated movie content, may be vulnerable to a hack attack, TorrentFreak reports. This is according to a Greek security researcher named Antonios Chariton who published a blog post this past weekend.

Using a series of techniques, Chariton wrote that he demonstrated how “someone can get complete control of a computer assuming they have a Man In The Middle position in the network.”

Kodi media player turns 15 with Isengard release

posted onAugust 3, 2015
by l33tdawg
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The XBMC Foundation’s Team Kodi last week released version 15 of its popular, open source Kodi media player and home theater framework.

The “Isengard” release of Kodi (formerly XBMC) offers enhancements ranging from new chapter support to an improved add-on manager, but the biggest news is the completion of the Android version.

Mr. Robot basically showed viewers how to hack into any Android phone

posted onJuly 15, 2015
by l33tdawg
Credit:

Have you seen Mr. Robot? The show is only three episodes in, but it’s already shaping up to be a surprisingly awesome hacking drama. And I don’t mean “hacking” in the CSI/NCIS/Scorpion “120WPM and 60 flashing windows” kind of hacking – the protagonist and his Anonymous-style compatriots use real methods and technology, mostly relying on a combination of known vulnerabilities, social engineering, and brute force attacks to play at being cyber-vigilantes. You should check it out – USA has the first three episodes available for free on its website.

Kim Dotcom’s MEGAchat promises encrypted video chats in browsers

posted onJanuary 23, 2015
by l33tdawg

Recent world events have gotten many tech companies concerned about security and privacy. Some of them have scrambled to add, enhance, or even enforce security measures like encryption while governments and their leaders, like Cameron and now Obama, have scrambled to have them blocked or at the very least weakened. Chat apps and services are one of the common targets and we've seen many old and new ones wave the encryption flag as a major feature. MEGAchat is just one of the latest to join that roster and it comes from a man who should know the situation all too well.

Plex streaming is now available on PS3 and PS4

posted onJanuary 21, 2015
by l33tdawg

For those uninitiated, Plex is a full featured streaming app which allows you to pretty much set up your own in-home Netflix. Aside from just streaming videos (as well as the ability to save where you were up to and continue on another device and so forth) Plex also allows a user to stream both photos and music as well, extending the capabilities of the streaming service.

Apple once loved unknown acts - what changed?

posted onOctober 26, 2014
by l33tdawg

In April 2007, only diehard Broken Social Scene fans salivated when band member Leslie Feist released a solo album titled The Reminder. Sales were moderate for the first five months, reaching an average of 6,000 per week.

But that September, Apple released its most impactful ad since it unveiled the Macintosh. The spot had a simple concept: a pudgy iPod Nano laid flat against a white table, with a hand repeatedly removing it to reveal another Nano in another color. Each Nano showed the same music video—the song "1234" from Feist.

Apple paid undisclosed sum to release U2's "Songs of Innocence" for free

posted onSeptember 10, 2014
by l33tdawg

As expected, Apple shelled out for the opportunity to give away a free copy of U2's Songs of Innocence to iTunes customers, a group that numbers nearly 500 million people, reports Time.

"We were paid," U2 frontman Bono said. "I don't believe in free music. Music is a sacrament." He also alluded to a broken music charting system and an industry that has tried, but failed, to keep pace in a digital age. Ironically, Apple's iTunes nearly single-handedly brought about the seismic changes to which Bono refers.