hackers

The 404 134: Where the interns broke the studio

CNET interns Jeff and Jeremy give the Webcam a premature Fourth of July fireworks show and fuzzify the viewers, but we'll forgive them this time. In other news, we also take apart the Great Firewall of China, beg for Rush Limbaugh's scraps, voraciously consume watermelon with a vengeance, hack a few ATMs across the country, and question Wilson's stubborn refusal to see GOOD MOVIES.

EPISODE 134 Download today's podcast

OurSignal puts the follies of social news all in one place

On Wednesday morning, I read about a new site called OurSignal, which mashes up the top headlines from Digg, Reddit, Delicious, and HackerNews, promising to show a more diverse array of what the Web's recommending. Kind of like OriginalSignal for social news.

Unfortunately, when I loaded up OurSignal, staring me in the face was "Goatse In Spore," a reference to an extremely crude graphical Web meme (don't Google it, please). Not exactly the kind of top headline I was looking for.

The concept is kind of cool: "warm" colors mean a story is gaining … Read more

First Look video: ZoneAlarm

Every computer user needs security software to keep him or her safe on the Web. Along with antispyware and antivirus programs, a good software firewall is a must-have to keep hackers away from your data. Firewalls also are useful for determining which programs are making contact with outside sources. If you're looking for a solid software firewall, look no further than ZoneAlarm .

For a quick rundown of how the ZoneAlarm firewall protects your computer, check out this First Look with CNET Download.com's Jason Parker.

Networking with hackers

On Facebook, you can poke your friends and test your movie compatibility. On the House of Hackers social network, members share information about securing computer systems, exploiting vulnerabilities, and all sorts of things related to hacker culture.

Some people think of hackers as the bad guys who break into computer networks and steal data. In actuality, the term can be applied not just to people who circumvent computer security, but to home computer builders like Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, open-source programmers, and people who in general like to tinker with technology, test the limits of information systems, and think outside … Read more

Phoenix Mars Lander Web site hacked

The Web site for the Phoenix Mars Lander mission was hacked over the weekend with readers of the main news article redirected to an overseas Web site, a spokeswoman for the mission said on Monday.

Someone was able to access the site Friday night and change the "read more" link to connect to an outside site that was in a foreign language, said Sara Hammond, spokeswoman for the mission being led by the University of Arizona. She was not sure what language it was.

Several hours later another attempt to hack the site was made and site administrators … Read more

Teens await arrest after Comcast attack

Updated at 12:15 p.m. PDT to clarify that Comcast wasn't technically hacked, but that its domain and Web site were hijacked.

Two teenagers who say they hijacked Comcast's Web portal on Thursday also say they expect to be arrested for their actions.

"I wish I was a minor right now because this is going to be really bad," 19-year-old "Defiant" told Wired's Kevin Poulsen, who managed to get a one-hour phone interview with Defiant and his 18-year-old cohort "EBK."

"I slept in my clothes, because the last time … Read more

The 404 110: Where it's not a virus, it's a worm

Mess with the best, die like the rest! We don't hack the planet, but we do spout off about the MediaDefender's hack (code name: IRONY), pedagogical foursomes, John Wayne as a weapon, and Korean child star Ju-On's surprise appearance in Denver. We also bust out the old squawk box for some much needed Disney sing-alongs. EPISODE 110 Download today's podcast

Hackers attack Russian nuclear power Web sites

In what Russian officials say was a coordinated effort, hackers knocked Web sites for nuclear power plants offline temporarily last week amid false reports of an accident at a plant, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Several Internet forums had false reports of radioactive emissions from the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant near St. Petersburg at the same time as some official Web sites that provide real-time information about radiation incidents were attacked, said a spokesman for the Rosatom state nuclear corporation.

"This was a planned action by hackers, which has brought down almost all sites providing access to … Read more

Hacker confab 'Last HOPE' to track attendees with RFID

People attending the Last HOPE hacker conference in New York City this July will be getting more than just an agenda and badge when they check in.

The badges will have electronic tracking devices, using radio frequency identification technology, that will be tracking their movements throughout the three-day event.

Conference attendees can then participate in games created around the tracking system, such as by trying to protect their privacy, finding vulnerabilities in the system, and employing data mining techniques to learn more about other participants.

Large monitors at the show will display in real-time the activities of the badge carriers … Read more