Hacks

This high-speed CD cannon is a killer way to destroy old CDs

Give a person a fish and they’ll eat for a day. Give a person a workshop full of tools and they’ll build an utterly amazing cannon that launches CDs and DVDs like a machine gun. If there’s a better way to destroy a stack of misburned CDs, the internet hasn’t seen it yet. This creation…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski Jul 7

Crazy Hacked Typewriter Is Now a Percussive Printer

Well, this wins points for creativity. Computer scientist Chris Gregg of Tufts University decided he wanted to turn his vintage, 1960s Smith Corona electric typewriter into a printer. It turned out to be quite a bit more work than he bargained for, but the resultant invention is marvelous. When Gregg purchased the typewriter, he had…

Tech News Maddie Stone Jun 27

Here’s an Apple Watch Running a 20+ Year Old Version of Mac OS

When it comes to hacks, the question is most often “can I or can’t I” instead of “why?” Because if you try to find a practical reason for why someone would get the 24-year-old Mac OS 7.5.5—aka System 7—running on an Apple Watch, you’re going to come up empty. Using the Mini vMac emulator, developer…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski Jun 23

Hey Android Users: Avoid These Insecure Apps

Here’s some bad news for Android users. Security researchers have discovered 100+ more apps that fail to encrypt your login data properly, making it frightfully easy for hackers to steal your password. What’s worse: the vast majority of the app makers aren’t doing anything about it. The specific issue, an HTTPS vulnerability, is hardly a…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jun 19

How Do You Keep Your Stuff Safe Online?

Hacks are writ large in the headlines, most recently the news that millions of U.S. government files with personal employee info were stolen, and LastPass’s embarrassing breach. So how do you secure yourself in the wilds of the internet? https://gizmodo.com/am-i-an-idiot-for-still-using-a-password-manager-1711673486 It seems like every week a world government or big company suffers a potentially disastrous…

Privacy & Security Kaila Hale-Stern Jun 16

MLB Teams Are Hacking Each Other’s Dumb Passwords Now, Apparently

The FBI’s Houston office is conducting an investigation into an alleged cyberattack against the Houston Astros by the St. Louis Cardinals, according to a New York Times report today. It’s the first time a pro sports team has hacked a rival (or the first time they’ve gotten caught), and involves—surprise!—a terrible, awful, embarrassing password mistake.…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Jun 16

Awesome Dad Upgrades a Power Wheels With High-Speed Brushless Motors

Fisher-Price’s Power Wheels toys promise kids all the thrills of driving, without the need for a license. But in reality the battery-powered vehicles are usually disappointingly slow, unless your dad is Richard Whelan who upgraded his daughter’s tiny pink Mini Cooper Power Wheels with brushless electric motors giving it a lot more get up and…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jun 8

You Can Hack a Children’s Toy to Open Random Garage Doors

Do you value what’s in your garage? Then you’d better make sure your garage door opener uses a secure wireless system, because it is frightfully easy to hack the more basic ones. Security researcher Samy Kamkarjust proved as much when he turned an old Mattel toy into a scary universal garage door opener. The toy…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes Jun 4

IRS Failed to Update Security Systems Making Recent Hack More Likely

Reports issued to the Senate Finance Committee by a governmental watchdog reveal that the Internal Revenue Service has failed to upgrade its systems to fend off digital attacks, making the recent theft of 104,000 taxpayer details more straightforward than it should have been. On Tuesday, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe Jun 3

Ghosts Should Still Fear a Single Pixel Pac-Man

At 35 years old, Pac-Man has managed to remain a popular video game for decades. If only his dated graphics weren’t really showing their age. Instead of giving the yellow hero a facelift, though, Hackaday’s Mike Szczys has instead made the game’s graphics even simpler with his 1-Pixel Pac-Man de-make that you can build yourself.…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jun 2

Looks Like Russian Hackers Stole 100,000 Americans’ Tax Returns Online

The Internal Revenue Service suspect that Russian hackers are the culprits who stole the tax records of at least 100,000 people this year, and—yep, you read that right. Russian hackers! If you’re getting déjà vu, that’s because this marks the third time in very recent history that US government websites have been preyed upon for…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs May 29

New Malware Tracks Subway Riders With Just Smartphone Motion Data

Even when you’re unable to maintain cellular and GPS connections underground, hackers may still be able to keep track of you. Researchers have discovered that they can trace the movements of subway rider with 92 percent accuracy, using just the motion sensing aboard smartphones. A team of researchers from Nanjing University has developed a technique…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe May 26

AdultFriendFinder Hack Might Expose Your Sexual Orientation

When a company or website you trust gets hacked, it can be pretty unnerving. Particularly if you trusted that company with your credit card or medical information. But what if the hackers had knowledge of your sex life instead? That could be a reality: AdultFriendFinder has suffered a massive data breach. https://gizmodo.com/targets-data-breach-settlement-could-pay-victims-10-00-1692327242 The UK’s Channel…

Privacy & Security Sean Hollister May 21

1.1 Million User Records Stolen From Health Insurer CareFirst

The health insurer CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has announced that a cyber attack has stolen 1.1 million records of both current and former members. The insurer, which operates in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, has a total of 3.4 million users. In a statement made yesterday, it admitted that 1.1 million of those records…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe May 21

Beautiful Two-Stroke Engine Lets You Watch Its Inner Workings

Combustion of fuel—a process that you, me and everyone else we know very much relies on—is usually hidden from sight inside that big hunk of metal called an engine. But Huib Vissier saw something beautiful in this process, so he built a simple engine that showcases combustion rather than concealing it. Enter the two-stroke 1C,…

Tech News Maddie Stone May 17

Hackers Broke Into a Spying App and Stole Data

Spyware company mSpy—which lets people pay for software to secretly track their loved ones, employees, and really whoever they want—has been hacked, and a huge data dump posted on a Tor-accessible website. Since mSpy provides a dubiously legal way to trace someone’s online footprint, right down to their location and calls, texts, photos, and browsing…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs May 15

Hackers Are Using the Starbucks App to Skim Bank Accounts

Good passwords are obviously important for banking apps and sensitive email accounts, but a new scam highlights why you should never, ever use a crappy password, even if you’re just signing up for a mediocre franchise coffee house rewards card. Starbucks app users are getting their bank accounts drained by password-guessing thieves. People with Starbucks…

Tech News Kate Knibbs May 14

Cybersecurity Firm May Have Hacked Its Own Clients To Extort Them

When you hire a firm to take care of your cybersecurity, you’re hiring a team of experts whom you assume you can trust. But one such firm allegedly used the trust of its clients to straight-up extort them with made-up “data breaches.” CNN Money gives us a rundown on Tiversa, a still-operating cybersecurity company that…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan May 8

I Want To Build This Weather-Predicting Lamp

I’ve always been into multi-functional furniture: like the wave-activated lamp that used to sit on my bedside, lighting the room, and scaring away any potential mates. So I desperately want this LED-powered lamp, which not only looks cool, but tells you in a glance what it’s like outside. Project Aladdin — yup, that’s right —…

Tech News Chris Mills Apr 30

This Hacked App Lets You Play Bloodborne In Any Room Of The House

Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice to play a little Bloodborne tonight? Shame my wife will be using the TV. If only I had a way to stream games from my PlayStation 4 to another device. How about a hacked version of the PS4 Remote Play app that works on Android phones and tablets—and my Nvidia…

Tech News Sean Hollister Apr 15

This high-speed CD cannon is a killer way to destroy old CDs

Crazy Hacked Typewriter Is Now a Percussive Printer

Here’s an Apple Watch Running a 20+ Year Old Version of Mac OS

Hey Android Users: Avoid These Insecure Apps

How Do You Keep Your Stuff Safe Online?

MLB Teams Are Hacking Each Other’s Dumb Passwords Now, Apparently

Awesome Dad Upgrades a Power Wheels With High-Speed Brushless Motors

You Can Hack a Children’s Toy to Open Random Garage Doors

IRS Failed to Update Security Systems Making Recent Hack More Likely

Ghosts Should Still Fear a Single Pixel Pac-Man

Looks Like Russian Hackers Stole 100,000 Americans’ Tax Returns Online

New Malware Tracks Subway Riders With Just Smartphone Motion Data

AdultFriendFinder Hack Might Expose Your Sexual Orientation

1.1 Million User Records Stolen From Health Insurer CareFirst

Beautiful Two-Stroke Engine Lets You Watch Its Inner Workings

Hackers Broke Into a Spying App and Stole Data

Hackers Are Using the Starbucks App to Skim Bank Accounts

Cybersecurity Firm May Have Hacked Its Own Clients To Extort Them

I Want To Build This Weather-Predicting Lamp

This Hacked App Lets You Play Bloodborne In Any Room Of The House

The Trump Regime Really Wants You to Know About Its Cool Secret Agent Gadgets

Artemis 2 Day 9: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Chimpanzees Are Murdering Their Former Friends, and Researchers Can’t Wrap Their Heads Around It

Yellowstone’s Dreaded Supervolcano Has an Unexpected Power Source, Study Says

Meta Is Pulling Down Ads That Seek to Recruit Clients for Social Media Addiction Litigation

One of the Greatest ‘Star Wars’ Characters of All Time Is Getting the Action Figure She Deserves

Antarctic Expedition to ‘Danger Zone’ Accidentally Discovers Previously Uncharted Island

How Two Indie Darlings Are Challenging a Collapsing Industry With Their Next Game

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

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