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[2/24/13] - HF News

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The edition you are currently reading is the 131st full edition. To read any older editions of HF News, please go here.

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Sticky Special and Discount
Site owner Omniscient has announced that non-marketplace and non-hacking tabbed stickies are only $15 for this week only. You can purchase up to a month of stick time, or as low as a week. The price is normally $20 for a sticky out of the hacking sections, and Marketplace. Omniscient said, "This is your opportunity to promote a business, yourself, or a website." Omniscient sure seems like he's in a good mood lately. The official thread may be read by clicking here.

Year of DDoS and Changes to DDoS Protection
Site owner Omniscient has just officially announced that this has been the year of DDoS. Over the months of February 2012 - June 2012, HackForums have had regular standard DDoS attacks. Now looking over the past few months, HackForums has been DDoSed pretty heavily. You may see the graph of the attacks on HackForums throughout 2012 by clicking here. Omniscient also announced that some additional code has been written to increase the stability and protection of HackForums at this point in time. Omniscient also stated that he will have to setup and secure additional servers as well. Omniscient said, "I expect within 60 days that these style attacks will be greatly diminished because we'll increase our mitigation making attacks of these nature pointless." You may read the official thread located here.

Prefix Tag Color Changed and Group Owners Can Apply
The prefix tag color has been changed and was announced by Omniscient on Twitter. You may go to the tweet by clicking here. The color has been changed to a light purple, or some would say a dark pink. The color code is #CC66FF and looks like [This]. Omniscient also announced that group owners may contact him to have up to three prefix tags installed into their subforum. This thread may be read by clicking here.

Group Changes from The Angels to Void Officially Announced
Hexicidal has now officially made a thread regarding the group Void, previously known as The Angels, or Logic. The group will serve a purpose of a scientific discussion group. They have a goal to grow together as a community of intelligent members and thrive with the resources they are surrounded with. They say activity will vary from section revamping, community threads, occasional verbal discussions with the community, and scientific explanation threads. Hexicidal also announced that recruitment will be open shortly.

Group Changes to Illuminati
Group changes have been made to marketing group Illuminati, previously owned by BELLAGIO. The group is now owned by Αnonymous and Vіnnie. Illuminati is remaining invite only just like it always has been, however it does not appear like there will be any changes to the name, or reputation of the group itself. As Αnonymous stated, "We do not intend to change the concept, neither the name or graphics, of this group." Αnonymous claims they bought the group because they didn't want anyone else buying the group, and changing the concept, graphics and group completely. Αnonymous claims he has too much admiration for the group itself, and their goal is to keep it high quality and respectable.

Message from HF News Founder
I hope you'll all jump down to the section Sir's Second for the message that Yin has released. We've come a long way since his original introduction of the HF News to this community, and he feels that there's something to be said about that. Even if you don't usually spend your time beyond the first post, it would mean a lot to everyone involved if you went and gave it a look. Otherwise, enjoy your evening and send in an opinion!

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User News
adampelletgun was promoted to Mentor again.
Hexicidal hit 1,000 reputation. Congratulations!
Яǝʌǝɹsǝ reached 10,000 posts.

Repfucks

Bans

Awards
  • Mohatu received the Mad Scientist and Youtube awards for this thread.
  • Egregious received the Master Donator and DaBomb awards.
  • BELLAGIO lost the Hustler and Businessman awards.

Group Leadership Changes
Pali is no longer a leader of Illuminati.
Kohsti is no longer a leader of Illuminati.
BELLAGIO is no longer the owner of Illuminati.
Αnonymous is now the owner of Illuminati.
Vіnnie is now a leader of Illuminati.

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Aeon ‹3 - ❤ [¹4³] ♥30 Upgrades to spread♥ [¹4³] ❤
Morchid - [Infamous]★★ Ultimate Call Of Duty Walk Through ★★
QuantumTunnel - If the feds knocked on your door... what would you do ?
Vitani's Mate - 60,000 posts and 2 Years on HF! ♥
 

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Interview - Baked (Click to View)

Interview - Mohatu (Click to View)
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Mojang Releases New Games for the Humble Bundle
Over the past few days, the developers who brought us Minecraft have cranked out a few new games for charity; specifically the Block by Block and the Electronic Frontier Foundations. Mojang has teamed up with a few other indie developers to bring us a new humble bundle, a pack of games given to players who donate a penny or more to certain charities. They have dubbed this pack the 'Mojam' humble bundle, and all games within the bundle were inspired by certain words picked by the Minecraft community. In addition to this, the games were all made in a very short amount of time; in fact, they were all made within a time frame of 72 hours. Among the bizarre list of titles within the bundle are "Nuclear Pizza War", "Battle Frogs" and "Space Hunk". If you'd like to donate to a good cause and get a few fun games in the process, head over to the Mojam Humble Bundle webpage.

Planet Beacon News
  • Protection IV armor was added to the online store.
  • hihihih565, along with a few other members, opened a new casino where you can make IGM bets and double your money. To play, just ask one of the owners to teleport you!
  • Earlier in the week Dan. placed chests full of goodies in places all over the map as a treat to the community.
  • A new rank, dubbed the plus rank, was added to the server as a means of advertising. This new rank grants players a plus sign in front of their name but doesn't do much more besides grant an improved starter kit.
  • iNviZ and Morchid, being the adventurers they are, built a pirate ship and a space rover at spawn. They then gave space suits to a select crew of astronauts to take a daring expedition into space!

Featured server of the Week: ElementPVP!
Element PvP is a server based around PvP and raiding. Featuring factions, MCMMO, and a friendly staff team, Element PvP is a growing server run by Elements. To join, log in to 198.27.74.124.
If you think a server is worthy of being featured, be sure to leave your suggestion!

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Playstation 4 Revealed
Sony has officially announced the Playstation 4. It was revealed at the Playstation Meeting in New York on February 20. The system will have 8GB of system memory and a powerful GPU. Sony also revealed the Dualshock 4 controller - it has a screen, a mic, share button and a headphone jack. It also has a Move sensor. The event revealed the new console, however we still don't know what the console will look like! Hopefully we'll see it sometime in the near future. Along with the new console, a line-up of PS4 games have been announced and include Knack, inFamous: Second Son, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Diablo III, Destiny, Watch Dogs, New Final Fantasy (to be unveiled at E3 2013), Drive Club, Deep Down (working title) and The Witness. The PS4 won't require an always-on internet connection, which was spouted up by many rumours. The new console should release in late 2013.

Possible Xbox Event
A NeoGAF member may have uncovered a possible upcoming Xbox event. It suggests that Microsoft could be preparing to announce their next-generation console. WHOIS data shows that the domain "XboxEvent.com" was registered by U.S. Techs, who recently rebranded as Eventcore. He also stated that the company U.S. Techs registered "XboxE312.com", which was used for people to sign up for Microsoft’s press briefing at E3 last year. On top of that, U.S Techs also host the 2013 Microsoft Hosting Summit website. Dates for the event haven't been announced, however rumours say the announcement could be in April. Gaming news websites have tried to contact Microsoft regarding the new domain. "Microsoft often acquires various domain names as part of its ongoing business strategy, but beyond that we have no comment."

Xbox LIVE Ultimate Game Sale
Major Nelson announced that the Xbox LIVE Ultimate Game Sale will start on February 26. Sixty-one games from the games-on-demand service are set to be discounted throughout the sale period. Titles will be on sale for up to 75% off, with a handful on discount for 85% off. Halo 4, Borderlands 2, Dead Island, Max Payne 3 and Resident Evil 6 are just some of the games on sale. The sale ends on March 4. You can view the whole list of titles here. 

Latest Game Reviews
Crysis 3 - Reviewed by Game Informer

Latest Xbox Achievements (New Games)
Major League Baseball 2K13 - 50 achievements, 1000 points. 
Defiance - 50 achievements, 1000 points. 

Latest Xbox DLC Achievements
Halo 4 - Majestic Map Pack - 10 achievements, 250 points.

Upcoming Game Releases (March)
March 05, 2013 - Major League Baseball 2K13
March 05, 2013 - Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3
March 05, 2013 - Tomb Raider
March 12, 2013 - Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2
March 19, 2013 - Gears of War: Judgment
March 26, 2013 - Army of TWO: The Devil's Cartel
March 26, 2013 - BioShock Infinite
March 26, 2013 - The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct
March 26, 2013 - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14

Video of the Week
This week's video ties in with the Playstation 4 reveal. IGN tells you everything you need to know about the PS4 - there is a lot, so a video would be the best way to go.


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The Vatican: Sex, Drugs, Gay Priests
Lately, rumors of the Vatican linked to sex, drugs, and gay priests have become relevant. Many people have speculated that this is why Pope Benedict XVI has resigned. Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone denied all of the rumors, and he stated that there has been a recent appearance of "often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories...[that] cause serious damage to persons and institutions." The country's largest newspaper, La Repubblica, said that an investigation revealed the church was connected to sex, drugs, and homosexuality from low to high level persons working within the Vatican.

Span Continues to Boil
Protesters numbering in the tens of thousands rallied in cities across the country this Saturday. The protests come over complaints of too much austerity, corruption in the political system, and moves towards free markets. Alberto, an account administrator for a German multinational in Madrid, stated, "I'm here to add my voice. They're cutting where they shouldn't cut; health, education ... basic services. And the latest corruption scandal is just the tiniest tip of a very large iceberg." With Spain being in a economic downturn for the last half of the decade, protests have become a common thing for citizens. One of the main complaints is the deep spending cuts in the health industry.

North Korea Gives Warning to the United States Forces
The North Korean government said to the United States that destruction would ensue if "your side ignites a war of aggression by staging the reckless joint military exercises ... at this dangerous time." In recent events, North Korea has detonated a nuclear charge, and they publicly showed their cruise missiles were capable of remarkable accuracy. However, the United Nations Military Commission announced to North Korea that the United States and South Korea will be engaging in military exercises.

16 Dead and 117 Wounded
In New Delhi, India, twin bomb blasts have left 16 dead and 117 people wounded. Officials say that it is possible that this is a terrorist attack, and Sushil Kumar Shinde publicly stated that they are working hard to make arrests. The twin bombs were strapped onto bicycles in a busy marketplace. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has condemned the attack, and he has appropriated funds for the next of kin of those harmed or killed. It was also reported that the bombs were likely detonated by means of a timer. However, that remains as just speculation due to the fact that the bombs were improvised explosives.

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Microsft
Last week, Microsoft found that an undetermined amount of their computers were infected with malware. The company confirmed the infection of their PCs but claims that there was no sign of compromised user data. Matt Thomlinson, wrote on a blog post that "Consistent with our security response practices, we chose not to make a statement during the initial information gathering process. During our investigation, we found a small number of computers, including some in our Mac business unit, that were infected by malicious software using techniques similar to those documented by other organizations. We have no evidence of customer data being affected and our investigation is ongoing. This type of cyberattack is no surprise to Microsoft and other companies that must grapple with determined and persistent adversaries (see our prior analysis of emerging threat trends). We continually re-evaluate our security posture and deploy additional people, processes, and technologies as necessary to help prevent future unauthorized access to our networks."

LG
LG has no plans on marketing Windows 8 mobiles. According to LG, it is that Microsoft's mobile operating system is of no such huge demand these days. An LG representative said, "We want to give customers what they ask for." LG was one of the early partners that signed on with Microsoft, releasing the LG Quantum in the first wave of Windows Phone devices. Windows Phone has been slow to catch on with consumers or it finds difficult to catch up with iPhone or Android handsets. For the past few years, LG has been marketing Windows phones but now, they have decided to change to meet the consumer's needs. "When there's a significant market for it, we will be on board," said LG.

Sony
Sony announced its newer gaming console, PS4, last week at a press event held at New York. However, Sony didn't show the PS4. So, it is unknown how the device looks like. Sony says that the next generation video game console features a PC like body with x86 CPU, enhanced PS GPU, 8GB of unified memory, a local storage hard drive, and an updated DualShock 4 controller. Sony demonstrated to the people who attended the press about how it will be using the console but did not show the console itself. You may watch the video below.


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Mindy McCready Funeral News
The country singer Mindy McCready will be burried by her family next Tuesday. The 37-year old was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head on the porch of her Heber Springs, Arkansas home. USA Today reports a private funeral is scheduled for next Tuesday in her hometown of Fort Myers, Florida. The accommodation will be held at Crossroads Church. A memorial accommodation is scheduled for March 6 in Nashville, Tennessee. There will be an event at which various musicians will attend in her memory during the ceremony at the Cathedral of The Incarnation. A key piece of evidence pointing towards suicide is the fact that the body of her fiancé, David Wilson, was discovered in the same spot of their Arkansas home on January 13; his passing is still being investigated by police but they are close to confirming that the cause of his death was also suicide. Shortly after David's death, Mindy was admitted to a course in which they were going to decide whether she was mentally sound or abusing alcohol. She was relinquished two days later. Mindy's personal tragedies have been well documented through the years. She has struggled with mental health and alcohol abuse and has endeavored to commit suicide an abundance of times in the past. She was also notoriously hospitalized for slitting her wrists in 2008. 

Nick Carter Proposes to Girlfriend
The Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter is now officially engaged to actress Lauren Kitt. Whilst seemingly confident, he did afterwards admit that the process of proposing was a little nerve-wracking. 'I had the ring in my pocket for two weeks,' he told People.com. 'I was like, 'I don't want it anymore!' It was driving me insane. I just wanted to get it out of my hands and on to hers.' For the special occasion he had decided to take Lauren to the Florida Keys on a boat ride. However, the romance wasn't quite what he had hoped for after he discovered his old boat needed some major maintenance. "My boat was in such bad condition because I hadn't used it for, like, six years. It took me five days literally on my hands and knees, scraping up my body to fix it." By the end, the couple had decided to go on the cruise before finishing the maintenance, putting them at a minor risk. Despite stalling on the way, they reached their destination - an island Nick adored when he was a child. Lauren has now been dating the Backstreet Boy for four years, and she commented that being presented with a seven-carat diamond ring was an incredible surprise. "I wasn't expecting it. It just felt very surreal,' she said.

Katie Melua's Performance for British Army
Singer Katie Melua has recently returned from her "special gig", in which she performed to part of the British Army who were fighting in Afghanistan at the time. The artist performed a variety of her tracks during her visit to Forward Operating Base 'Shawqat' in Helmand Province's Nad-e Ali district which is the home to soldiers from 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment. The concert, held in an engineering tent at the camp's vehicle park, was organized by The British Forces Foundation (BFF) charity. After the event, she said: "It felt like such a special gig - all the soldiers were there and it felt really incredible. I was frankly captivated by the scene, just being out here in the desert, pitch black, just me and my guitar. I hope they liked it as much as I enjoyed being on stage." The day before the performance, Katie enjoyed the day touring the Forward Operating Base and speaking to a number of troops on duty at FOB Shawqat. Katie also agreed to play a song on special request after a meeting with the soldiers called "Just like Heaven". The event was the second time in which she has worked with the British Forces Foundation and she has said that she hopes to work with them many more times in the future.

Music Video of the Week
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This is basically my own little corner to type up my thoughts and some standpoints on different topics.
Alright guys, this week, we have a special treat. The founder of the HF News has asked that his message be put in our latest edition, so I hope you'll all join me for a read!

Yin Wrote:Hey there.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Yin.. creator of the very news your eyes are feasting on at this very moment. Dating back to 2009/2010, I was a member of the staff team and additionally kicked off projects like HF News and the Reviewers with Skill. We are now (at the time of this letter) in February of 2013.

I'd like to take some time to reflect on this project that simply started as a hobby and evolved into something much bigger. HF News is now 130 or so (weekly) editions deep. That is huge. For two and a half years, the forum has been provided with the news and what has been going on. I really do believe that the best part of HF News is the fact that you can go back and look at the very first edition or any of the 130 and you can see what happened that week. That is truly remarkable.

https://hackforums.net/showthread.php?tid=423656

Take a look at the very first edition. I was alone and very bored on a Saturday night when everyone was away. While I was browsing the forums, I wondered why we didn't have a simple news segment/article that could go out weekly detailing what had occured in that single week.

HF News took off. I posted the first thread in The Lounge, and shortly after Omni (without me asking, although a lot of people wanted it) made it a subforum. That was a very good feeling.

Eventually, I didn't do the news anymore and it was passed down before it landed into Sir's hands. I'd just like to thank everyone who has ever put time into this project and made it as spectacular as it is today. This is something that truly makes me happy to know that I started. Forget being a staff member or anything else I ever did, this truly is the greatest accomplishment.

Please acknowledge (if you haven't already) the amount of time it takes to do this sort of thing. This is a VOLUNTEER position and always has been. I never got paid a single cent, and that's the way it should be. This isn't something that takes 15 minutes, even the editions that I did (way shorter than they are now) took me at least 2 hours.

So comment. If you're reading this and usually don't post a reply, do it. Thank the team that is making this possible. It's a big deal and means a lot to me. Thank you to the Writers team and the people who take time out of their busy to day to read these.

Have a good one.

-Yin
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"Where do you see Hack Forums in five years? Why?"

"I see the member base continually evolving and getting more mature as it gets older."
-Omniscient

"Well, I see it bigger than it is now, look at it we are already the biggest
Mybb forum and Omni doesn't look like he is slowing down any time soon so I guess we
will continue to grow and bounce back from any attacks that try to bring us down. I also
see it as more of a lounge place since there seem to be a few members who get the
opinion that the lounge is the only section worth posting in, so eventually I think HF will
loose it's hacking feel and move to a lounge area of posting. But this is just me, not
everyone can see it this way but I know HF will always be a sort of home away from
home for me."

-Perfect Cell

"The growth HackForums has had in the past five years is well beyond most webmasters
dreams. This growth is due largely in part due to the first members who really took this
forum to heart and became active. It is these members who truly make a forum glow and
grow. HackForums now breeds these members, and there are new ones joining every day.
Over the next five years, I strongly anticipate that HackForums will continue to grow,
reaching new levels of recognition by both the media, for there are numerous members who
have grown and promote HF through their 'activities', as well as in terms of metrics. HF is
already the largest MyBB board out there, surpassing DP, it's only a matter of time before
HF becomes the largest discussion board ever."

-Valderino

"This is the opinion of a member who has started on this forum without even
knowing how to simply format my pc and today Iam handling servers and helping people in a
white hat manner. Ive been on Hackforums for almost two years now and I personally have
seen it going to higher level everyday, I want to thank Omniscient for giving us such a great
platform to show our skills and also learn while doing that. We have one of the most High
Quality users which provide great support to the forum. I personally will not like to name them
out because we have hundreds of them. With this kind of flow there seems to be no stopping
and I myself am willing to contribute as much as I can and with everyones support we can
take hackforums to a different level and about in five years hackforums will be the most
visited website producing a lot high quality users. I wish best of luck to this forum and I am
personally always there to support because today I am because of Hackforums. Thank you."

-Bohemia

The topic for next week is "How do you feel about the current state of groups on Hack Forums?"

To send in your entries for the next edition, PM Sir.



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HF News Team
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I think everyone did an amazing job this week. :3
Very nice edition Sir, I love the news.
Just got to be one of the first poster. Done!
,.
Great News edition Wrti3rs team!
Keep up the great work.
Wow, very nice edition sir. Can't wait for the next one to come out.
Awesome edition, as always Hf news team!

While reading the news I accidentally clicked on Mohatu's name and it redirects to Google.com
(just thought I'd mention it)
Very nice edition as always :)
Thanks!

(Feb 25, 2013 01:19 AM)Daisy ♡ Wrote:  Awesome edition, as always Hf news team!

While reading the news I accidentally clicked on Mohatu's name and it redirects to Google.com
(just thought I'd mention it)

Also yeah that is true.
The link to his profile from the interview page.
Great edition! Keep up the good work sir.
I usually read and don't reply. I don't see a reason to.
Loved reading the article by Yin. He must be feeling so proud.

Well done guys. ✌
Omg I loved Yin's post and also the first edition of the news.
There was so pretty solid news including "a forum member has shaved his pubes"
Really great edition always a great read. 👍
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