Hack Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Talking to Siri: Remote-controlling your Mac by voice with Siri Listener

by Steven Sande (Mar 27th, 2013)

In this episode of "Stupid Siri Tricks," I make my iOS devices control a remote Mac. How remote? Well, it should work anywhere on the planet (or off, if you happen to be on the International Space Station) with Wi-Fi or a cellular data connection. If you can take a note with Siri, you can make ...

Hacker sentenced to 41 months for exploiting AT&T iPad security flaw

by Mike Schramm (Mar 18th, 2013)

Hacker Andrew "Weev" Auernheimer was found guilty last year of spoofing iPad user IDs to gain access to an AT&T email database, and he's now been sentenced to 41 months in prison. The time was chalked up to one count of identity fraud and one count of conspiracy to access a computer without ...

Mac Hacks: Change your default Notification Center sound

by Erica Sadun (Mar 4th, 2013)

It's bad enough that a billion iOS devices all start chiming at me whenever I receive a notification. The OS X notification center plays that awful sound -- Basso, whenever my reminders trigger. Not sure what that sounds like? Open System Preferences > Sound > Sound Effects and click on ...

Using a Raspberry Pi to make an AirPlay speaker

by Steven Sande (Dec 28th, 2012)

If you're one of those people who loves to tinker with stuff and try to create functional equipment in unconventional ways, then you'll appreciate what blogger Jordan Burgess did -- he made an AirPlay speaker receiver out of a Raspberry Pi. For those who haven't seen me waving my Raspberry Pi ...

Use Siri and a Raspberry Pi to open your garage door with your voice

by Mike Wehner (Dec 17th, 2012)

Siri can already be used to complete some pretty nifty tasks, including fetching sports scores or directions across town, but having the virtual assistant manipulate things in your physical space is something entirely different. As Hack A Day reports, by combining some special Siri software ...

iOS hacker Comex no longer working for Apple

by Mike Wehner (Oct 19th, 2012)

Nicholas Allegra, known by his online handle "Comex," will no longer be lending his talents to Apple. The noted hacker posted the news on Twitter, stating that after a year as an intern he is now no longer associated with the company, though not because he was outright terminated. In a second ...

Turning an old Apple mouse into a modern Bluetooth mouse

by Mike Schramm (Aug 14th, 2012)

This Instructable is a pretty sweet project that some of you might want to take on this weekend: It'll teach you how to combine an 80s-era Apple mouse body with the innards of a modern Bluetooth wireless mouse, thus turning Apple's user interface innovation into a device usable with almost any ...

Amazon responds to iCloud account hacking

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Aug 7th, 2012)

Amazon is taking action after learning of the inadvertent role it played in Wired writer Mat Honan's digital nightmare last week, when his iCloud account password was compromised and his Mac was wiped. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris told Wired on Monday that processes were being reviewed, but ...

Mat Honan details the Amazon and Apple security flaws that let hackers wipe his MacBook

by Michael Rose (Aug 6th, 2012)

Late Friday, Wired writer Mat Honan ran into a digital buzzsaw as his iCloud, Gmail and Twitter accounts were compromised in rapid succession. The hackers did a tremendous amount of collateral damage along the way, spewing racist and homophobic tweets on Honan's account plus the Gizmodo Twitter ...

In-app purchase hack won't work in iOS 6, say coders

by Mike Schramm (Jul 23rd, 2012)

The IAP hack of the past few weeks allows users of iOS apps to make in-app purchases ... without actually paying. The hack is essentially a DNS exploit -- it fools apps running on your iPhone or iPad into thinking they're contacting Apple's in-app purchase servers when they actually are not. ...

DevJuice: Beeblex offers in-app purchase validation services

by Erica Sadun (Jul 18th, 2012)

The security of iOS in-app purchases is a hot topic after an IAP hacking server was launched last week by a Russian developer. When The Next Web talked to Alexey Borodin, he told them he's since turned the service over to an unnamed third party -- and, as of that conversation, he'd collected ...

Old reel-to-reel tape played back with Square reader on iPod touch

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jun 18th, 2012)

At first glance, you wouldn't think a Square reader could substitute as a reel-to-reel player, but it does and Evan Long has a video to prove it. Before you start calling shenanigans, remember that the Square reader is nothing but a magnetic head designed to read the magnetic strip of a credit ...

DIY external MacBook battery

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 3rd, 2012)

Evan Rodgers took a CCTV battery, a third party MacBook car charger, and some soldering tools to create a do-it-yourself external MacBook battery. As he points out in his post on The Verge, a little elbow grease and electronics know-how will save you from having to buy a costly commercial ...

Some iTunes customers still struggle with account hacking

by Kelly Hodgkins (Feb 11th, 2012)

Late last year, reports of hacked iTunes accounts and unauthorized purchases surfaced on Apple support forums. People complained their accounts were compromised and their gift card balances drained by in-app purchases. Most cannot remember falling for a phishing scam and had no idea why or how the ...

Foxconn server hacked, CEO's password revealed

by Kelly Hodgkins (Feb 10th, 2012)

Hacker group SwaggSec took a swipe at Foxconn when it broke into the company's servers. The group stole login information and documents, both of which were promptly leaked to the internet. SwaggSec claimed the information would let individuals place fake orders using accounts from Dell, Apple, IBM ...