Traffic service & campaign optimization ◆ Private Crypter - Unique Private Stubs ◆ Spoof Call and Spoof SMS set any caller ◆ ZexoCard: no-KYC virtual crypto cards ◆
Home Upgrade Search Memberlist Extras Hacker Tools Award Goals Help Wiki Contact
Hack Forums Hack Forums Official Information Site News › Hack Forums News // Edition 273

Thread Closed 

Hack Forums News // Edition 273
Hydra
Hydra Offline
Writ3rs
*****
HF Ub3r
Posts:
11,781
Threads:
1,226
Credibility:
300
Popularity:
888
βytes:
β 0
Game XP:
0
Jan 5, 2016 09:45 PM (This post was last modified: Jan 5, 2016 09:46 PM by Hydra.)


[Image: Title-273.png]

The edition you are currently reading is the 273rd edition of the HF News. To read any older editions of the HF News, please go here.



[Image: Headlines.png]
[Image: iHydra.png]

Locking Username Edit
Omniscient has started a discussion thread in regards to a new idea that may be integrated into Hack Forums. When hackers gain access to an account, they sometimes change the username of the account to impersonate members and this security measure could stop some of those attempts. >>Source



[Image: UserNews.png]
[Image: 630.png]

User News
  • KɪɴG has reached 1,000 positive reputation.

Bans*
Vacations*
Closures
Rep Kills
Awards
* - As of the Friday prior to release.



[Image: NotableThreads.png]
[Image: Ariana.png]

Announcement Threads
  • No announcement threads this week!

Informational Threads
---[INFO] Drone Safety | Registration | First Flight | & More!! - Green Goblin
---The Green Goblin gives HF users information on how to register their drones and much much more.

---Obsession with Trust Scan - Mr Kewl
---Mr Kewl gives a brief explanation on how the Trust Scan profile option should be really. Common sense, right? Not for some people!

---The PHP Section Bible | Information, Rules and Advices - Sakuto
---Saktuo has created a massive thread with great information regarding PHP and the section itself. If you are interested in getting started, click here!

Entertaining Threads
---What'd you do for New Years? - Dragunova
---Did you get drunk? Attend any parties? Check this thread to see how others spent their New Year! Do not forget to share your crazy stories too!

---Official Unofficial Hackforums Roast. [Entries] - Who Soup
---Want members of HF to roast that annoying friend of yours? Here is your chance to do it. Do not worry, it is all in good fun!

Member Feedback Threads
  • No member feedback threads this week! Be sure to post one soon and you may find yourself in the next edition of the Hack Forums News!

Contests and Giveaways
---[Red Lions] New Years Resolution Giveaway - eηerg1zer
---The Red Lions have some sweet prizes to offer for the start of the New Year. Awards, money, and much more. Anyone could be a winner!

---[MEGA] WEEKLY MEMBER UPGRADE UNTIL 2017 [MEGA] - Brahmā™
---Brahmā™ has started an upgrade contest where he upgrades a member once every week until 2017. If you're interested in Ub3r, L33t, or 3P1C now is your chance to get that upgrade!

Miscellaneous
---Hawaii is the first state raises smoking age to 21 - ZuGgY
---A good debate topic among members. Was it a good idea for Hawaii to raise the legal smoking age?



[Image: Interview.png]
[Image: Illuminati.png]

Interview - Durham

Spoiler (Click to View)

[Image: support1.png]
Hydra
Hydra Offline
Writ3rs
*****
HF Ub3r
Posts:
11,781
Threads:
1,226
Credibility:
300
Popularity:
888
βytes:
β 0
Game XP:
0
Jan 5, 2016 11:25 PM


[Image: SupportHFN.png]

We publish the HF News every week yet we have aged members who don't even know we exist! Wear any of the signatures listed below to support us and spread the word about HF News, HF Wiki, and Writers altogether.

Support Signatures (Click to View)



[Image: HackingNews.png]
[Image: Wires.png]

Mayhem Group Dubbed, BlackEnergy, Adds More Tools to Their Cyber Arsenal
BlackEnergy, a cyber group committed to causing trouble all over the internet, has now added a disk wiper and SSH backdoor to their arsenal. The group has been believed to of existed for over seven years. BlackEnergy target banks, industrial systems, energy sectors and many more. Their latest attack involves Ukraine media outlets and energy sectors according to researchers from the award winning antivirus company, ESET. BlackEnergy used a piece of software called KillDisk to delete over 4,000 documents and videos from media organisations. On the evening of Dec. 23, the group has been blamed for the power outage in the Ivano-Frankivsk district in Ukraine. This is not the only power outage the group has been blamed for. ESET researchers believes this was made possible by BlackEnergy using a virus which disconnects electrical substances.

Ransomware Affects the Most Dominant Operating Systems: Windows, Mac and Linux
Ransom32, a new type of ransomware, has been identified in Mac, Linux and Windows systems. The ransomware has been written in JavaScript and acts as a vault which holds a victim's files against their own will. Ransom32 encrypts a user's files with 128-bit AES encryption. It is now somewhat debatable that even the NSA cannot crack an AES encryption. As Ransom32 uses a JavaScript framework named "NW.js", it is harder to detect and it allows cross-compatibility between operating systems. The ransomware is being spread via email attachments and WinRAR archives so far. This nasty piece of ransomware is the first JavaScript ransomware which is able to affect multiple operating systems.

New Generation Console: Playstation 4, Hacked to Run Linux
The well known hacking group which goes by the name "Fail0verflow", have now managed to turn the Playstation 4 console into a PC. Fail0verflow are the first hacking group install the operating system, Linux, on the new generation console. It is absurd! The group also demonstrated how they were able to install an emulator and play Pokémon. You can view the demonstration here. It is believed that Fail0verflow used the same flaw which made it possible for the console to be jailbroken. This will be a huge set back for Sony.



[Image: WorldNews.png]
[Image: Phreakdaline.png]

Obama Pledges to Act on Gun Control
During the first official White House address of 2016, President Obama expressed frustration over the inability to make any real change regarding gun control in America. The president says that since Congress has failed to cooperate, he plans to use his executive powers to bring about the progress that has been sought by so many. The president said in his address "We know that we can't stop every act of violence, but what if we tried to stop even one? What if Congress did something - anything - to protect our kids from gun violence?" Any executive action will likely be met with serious opposition from the conservative right, despite the large number of gun related deaths. In the year 2015 alone there have been 353 mass shootings (defined as an incident in which four or more people are killed or injured by gun) in the United States, 62 which took place at schools. More information on these statistics can be found here. In 2013 a joint party bill to broaden background checks and ban assault weapons did not receive the 60 votes required to pass, likely due to the aggressive lobbying of gun groups such as the NRA. President Obama plans to meet with Attorney General Loretta Lynch to discuss his executive options which could include enforcing measures such as expanding background check requirements.

Dubai Skyscraper Catches Fire
The Address Hotel in downtown Dubai caught fire Friday, forcing an evacuation of the entire building. The fire started just before the New Year's fireworks display at the Burj Khalifa nearby, an event that draws thousands every year. The spectators were evacuated from the area before the show continued as planned. 14 people were lightly injured, and 60 people were treated for smoke inhalation and minor issues caused by the crowds evacuating the building. Bystanders reported seeing flames from the building as late as noon the following day, but it has now been fully extinguished. Building safety standards are now coming into question after a similar building fire just earlier this year. Dubai police are currently investigating the cause of the fire.

Tel Aviv Pub Shooting
A lone gunman opened fire Friday outside a pub in Tel Aviv, Israel. The unidentified man was seen on surveillance tapes standing inside a nearby store when he pulls a gun from a bag and begins pointing it at people. The man was seen running around the area while firing at anyone around. Haim Pinto is the owner of a jewelry shop on the street where the shooting took place. He said the shooter was "firing in every direction while he was running." Pinto also said that "(It was) lucky that today was cold and wet, so that there were not too many people out, Dizengoff Street on Friday is usually packed, and we are lucky that there was bad weather so there were not so many people." Two people were killed, four seriously injured, and three mildly injured in the attack. A manhunt is currently underway to find the shooter.

[Image: support1.png]
Hydra
Hydra Offline
Writ3rs
*****
HF Ub3r
Posts:
11,781
Threads:
1,226
Credibility:
300
Popularity:
888
βytes:
β 0
Game XP:
0
Jan 6, 2016 12:01 AM


[Image: GamingNews.png]
[Image: Limit.png]

Valve Apologizes to The Community For Its Issues During The Holiday Season
For PC gamers, Steam is the go-to place to buy games, especially during the holiday season. Every year Steam handles an influx of customers across the globe looking to buy games, however this year turned out to be a bit different. Due to large DDoS attacks, Valve put in caching rules to route actual users to their requested pages and the fake traffic elsewhere. This, theoretically, will put less stress on the servers. When the second wave of the DDoS attacks began, they implemented another caching configuration, but this time there were a few bumps in the road which caused users to see the store in different languages and currencies. Not only that, some users were able to see another user's personal info, this includes their billing address, last four digits of their Steam Guard phone number, and more personal info. So a week after this mishap, Valve apologizes for this issue and says they will continue to better the Steam Store so this will not happen again.

All of Major League Gaming Assets Sold to Activision Blizzard for $46 Million
Major League Gaming at one point was one of the largest E-Sports organizations in North America providing fans with organized E-Sports events over the course of many years. It started in 2002 hosting Halo and Call of Duty events before they began branching out to PC games such as Dota 2, League of Legends, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and more. However, MLG as of late has been in a slow decline, and it seems like they have hit the end of the road when on Jan. 1 all of its assets were sold to Activision Blizzard for $46 million. To add to that, MLG's CEO Sundance DiGiovanni has stepped down and was replaced by Greg Chisholm, their former CFO . Some may argue this price may be a bit low considering MLG was once at the top of the E-Sports scene, however that was the deal. It is unsure what is planned next for the company and what Activision Blizzard has set for the future.

Garry's Mod Surpasses 10 Million Sold Copies
What once started as a free mod for Valve's Half-Life 2, is now a huge hit as a standalone game being played by millions across the world. Back in 2006, Garry's Mod became a standalone game, not much attention was brought to it right away, but with time came success for its developer Garry Newman. With the attention the game was given, it became one of the most sold games during Steam's 2016 Winter Sale. Not only that, but Newman's survival game Rust became a huge sensation as well. On Jan. 2, Newman announced on Twitter that Garry's Mod had surpassed this milestone. Currently in the works in a sequel to Garry's Mod, which will support VR and many other things will be added. This is of course projected to be a huge success as well.



[Image: TechNews.png]
[Image: Angel.png]

ASUS ROG Announces Maximus VIII Motherboard
On Jan. 1, ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) announced a new motherboard based on Intel's Z170 gaming motherboard that will feature best-in-class CrossChill EK liquid cooling, sleekly strong ROG Armor, and Aura RGB LED lighting. The Maximus VIII Formula platform belongs to the ROG family and is intended for enthusiasts with custom-built liquid cooling systems as well as for demanding gamers. The ROG team got together with EK Water Blocks to combine resources and product in order to create this ATX motherboard's headlined USP. This partnership spawned the 'best-in-class' CrossChill EK liquid cooling setup which comes standard on this motherboard.

Google Chrome Vulnerability Exposes Personal Data of Nine Million Users
A free plugin for Google Chrome that promised to keep users safe has been doing the exact opposite. Google Project Zero researcher Tavis Ormandy discovered a vulnerability, since fixed, in AVG Web TuneUp, a Chrome extension that forcibly installs when users install the AVG antivirus software, a service intended to monitor search results and websites to ensure safe and secure browsing. The extension, which has over 9 million active users, contains a serious flaw that exposes users' browsing history, cookies, and personal data to attackers. "This extension adds numerous JavaScript API's to chrome, apparently so that they can hijack search settings and the new tab page," wrote Ormandy in the bug report.

Apple Faces $5 Million Class-Action Lawsuit Over Allegedly Slowing iPhone 4s
Apple prides itself on supporting legacy iPhones with the release of each new operating system, but did the company knowingly slow them down to get users to upgrade to their latest devices? More than 100 people have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple claiming that the company’s new iOS 9 software made their iPhone 4s phones unbearable, asserting that the new OS bogged down their iPhone 4s devices to the point of being unfit for daily use. The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 29 with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The suit was initially brought by a single Brooklyn man, Chaim Lerman, but any iPhone 4s users in New York who updated to the latest OS are eligible members of the group lawsuit.



[Image: GroupNews.png]
[Image: Ariana.png]

Group Changes
  • Nex+ rebranded Divine into Prism.

Leadership Changes
Site Group Recruitment
Current Open Group Recruitments
Group Related Buy-ins & Informational Threads
Group and Crew General Discussions Spotlight Threads
Group Sales Threads


[Image: SiteNews.png]
[Image: Wires.png]
Site Statistics
  • Total (Click to View)
  • Average (Click to View)

Ban Statistics
  • Last Weeks Bans (Click to View)

Forum Counts
  • Tab Counts (Click to View)


Membership Counts
  • Groups (Click to View)



[Image: Memo.png]
[Image: iHydra.png]

Welcome to 2016!
We made it through another year, yay!

Recruitment
Been asked a few times now about recruitment for Writers. We are currently not recruiting because a new recruitment system is in the works. It will be a stage-based recruitment that will offer a mass number of recruits a chance to earn a spot in Writers but filter them out through each stage to ensure the quality of Writers and HF News is not degraded. We hope this will be a smoother system and will allow us to see how well the recruits are as Writers.

[Image: support1.png]
Hydra
Hydra Offline
Writ3rs
*****
HF Ub3r
Posts:
11,781
Threads:
1,226
Credibility:
300
Popularity:
888
βytes:
β 0
Game XP:
0
Jan 6, 2016 12:28 AM


[Image: Battlestation.png]
[Image: iHydra.png]

Battlestations is a quick section of the HF News featuring two battlestations, which is a picture of a computer/tech setup. Members of Hack Forums can take a high quality photo of their computer setup(please make sure it is a clear and quality photo) and send it to me in a PM by clicking here and including an IMGUR link of your battlestation. If there are no submissions for that week, I will grab two battlestations from /r/battlestations.

Yazeed_2D's Battlestation (reddit)
(Click to View)

grtkbrandon's Battlestation (reddit)
(Click to View)



[Image: ArtGallery.png]
[Image: iHydra.png]

[Image: ArtGallery-273.png]



[Image: Comics.png]
[Image: Wires.png]

(1) (Click to View)

(2) (Click to View)

(3) (Click to View)

(4) (Click to View)



[Image: Credits.png]

View Team (Click to View)
[Image: support1.png]
B0ssMan
B0ssMan Offline
I am god
***
HF Ub3r
Posts:
1,242
Threads:
96
Credibility:
100
Popularity:
25
βytes:
β 0
Game XP:
0
Jan 6, 2016 01:01 AM
Great Edition. Good job guys. First.

~BossMan
[Image: f867383eee2e3f9d40e06c140dddffa9.png]
Vitani's Mate
Vitani's Mate Away
Certified gay melon!
**********
Pink LSZ
Posts:
41,903
Threads:
590
Credibility:
100
Popularity:
1,387
βytes:
β 0
Game XP:
483
Jan 6, 2016 01:15 AM
Looks like a good edition.
Going to read it now. :D
Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night.
I can see paradise by the dashboard light.
Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night.
Paradise by the dashboard light.
wander is a multi dwc
wander is a multi dwc Offline
a dust from the past
***
HF Ub3r
Posts:
2,092
Threads:
205
Credibility:
000
Popularity:
67
βytes:
β 0
Game XP:
0
Jan 6, 2016 01:26 AM
Battlestation images are broken.
Balding
Guest
 
Jan 6, 2016 01:30 AM
The news team section is a little off as well. Great edition as always.
PurpleIsAColor
PurpleIsAColor Offline
[closed@HF:]
Posts:
2,463
Threads:
104
DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS MEMBER
βytes:
β 0
Game XP:
0
Jan 6, 2016 01:31 AM
Damn, what's up with all those bans tho.
CRT
CRT Away
Custom user title
****
HF Ub3r
Posts:
7,127
Threads:
10
Credibility:
100
Popularity:
675
βytes:
β 25.76
Game XP:
43
Jan 6, 2016 01:32 AM
Damn Grevious got banned 😯

Good edition. I miss Grins comics 😟
wander is a multi dwc
wander is a multi dwc Offline
a dust from the past
***
HF Ub3r
Posts:
2,092
Threads:
205
Credibility:
000
Popularity:
67
βytes:
β 0
Game XP:
0
Jan 6, 2016 01:46 AM
(Jan 6, 2016 01:32 AM)CRT Wrote:  Damn Grevious got banned 😯

Good edition. I miss Grins comics 😟

Show some love for the new ones, can't be asslicking old-timers for a very long time you know
CRT
CRT Away
Custom user title
****
HF Ub3r
Posts:
7,127
Threads:
10
Credibility:
100
Popularity:
675
βytes:
β 25.76
Game XP:
43
Jan 6, 2016 02:14 AM
(Jan 6, 2016 01:46 AM)wander is a multi dwc Wrote:  Show some love for the new ones, can't be asslicking old-timers for a very long time you know

Go look at Grins comics and tell me they weren't good. 🤗
Hydra
Hydra Offline
Writ3rs
*****
HF Ub3r
Posts:
11,781
Threads:
1,226
Credibility:
300
Popularity:
888
βytes:
β 0
Game XP:
0
Jan 6, 2016 03:04 AM
(Jan 6, 2016 01:26 AM)wander is a multi dwc Wrote:  Battlestation images are broken.

Oops, forgot to upload them. Fixed.
[Image: support1.png]
wander is a multi dwc
wander is a multi dwc Offline
a dust from the past
***
HF Ub3r
Posts:
2,092
Threads:
205
Credibility:
000
Popularity:
67
βytes:
β 0
Game XP:
0
Jan 6, 2016 03:42 AM
(Jan 6, 2016 02:14 AM)CRT Wrote:  Go look at Grins comics and tell me they weren't good. 🤗

I understand, but low quality is better than no quality. -ClarkTheCoder
Sakuto
Sakuto Offline
[ssh@HF:]
****
HF Ub3r
Posts:
5,507
Threads:
97
Credibility:
200
Popularity:
755
βytes:
β 10
Game XP:
1,748
Jan 6, 2016 08:35 AM
Great, two of my shares are in this edition, I'm happy :D Thanks for sharing my thread in this news ! <3
Next Oldest | Next Newest
Thread Closed 


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread / Author Replies Views Last Post
by Mix10 hours ago 7 56 10 hours ago
Last Post: Raijin
by MixOct 10, 2026 09:57 AM 20 333 Oct 10, 2026 09:57 AM
Last Post: Jamika
by MixOct 6, 2026 06:08 PM 104 4,650 Oct 6, 2026 06:08 PM
Last Post: xadamxk