Jan 12, 2016 11:44 PM
(This post was last modified: Jan 13, 2016 01:03 AM by Hydra.)
The edition you are currently reading is the 274th edition of the HF News. To read any older editions of the HF News, please go here.
Possible Suicide?
Although no records show on the Australian Obituaries, it seems one of our own members here on the forum has taken his own life. Incendiary., a 15 year old boy from Australia, is at the center of claims depression and stress got the better of him. If you are in a similar situation, consider talking to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. >>Source
User News
Bans*
Vacations*
Closures- No closures were reported this week.
Rep Kills
Awards
* - As of the Friday prior to release.
Announcement Threads
---Locking Username Edit - Omniscient
---Omniscient has started a discussion based on if a members profile has recent changes to it then the members username will be locked to prevent impersonation. Do you think this would be useful?
Informational Threads
---Summary of PHP 7 features - Sakuto
--- Sakuto has created a lovely summary of the PHP features.
Entertaining Threads
---Why being the "nice guy" is wrong. - Tomvnoh
---Tomvnoh creates a thread based on why nice guys are considered the "wrong" of society.
Member Feedback Threads
--- No feedback threads have been created that were due for this edition of the Hack Forums News.
Contests and Giveaways
---Gift Award From Miki - > [#4] - Miki
---Get involved and get the chance to win the gift award!
---[55 UPGRADES] 1 MEMBER UPGRADE EVERY WEEK UNTIL 31st DEC 2016 [55 UPGRADES] - Brahmā™
---Get involved and get the chance to win an upgrade! Winner(s) will be chosen every week!
Miscellaneous
---Any HF members own any fast cars? - F U Z I O N
--- Do you drive a fast car?
---If you won the $1,400,000,000 Powerball what would you do? - Asynical
--- If you won the Powerball, what would you do?
![[Image: Armada.png]](https://hackforums.news/assets/v1/Armada.png)
Interview - True Demon
Armada: Welcome to the HF News Issue 274!
Before we start any shout outs or mentions?
True Demon: Yeah, I think it's appropriate that I send my condolences to the friends and family of .Incendiary. He was a friend of mine too, and a really talented kid. His passing has made it a really rough day for the community.
Armada: What can I truly say but, I think it affected us all, he was a good friend of mine as well.
His passing is a shock I believe to everyone.
True Demon: Agreed... We're all gonna miss him.
Armada: So, being a member of nearly 5 years, what brought you here to begin with?
True Demon: Well, actually, I originally came here in 2009 a few months after it joined the .net domain. I came here looking for another source for information on latest exploits and security tools. I was pretty young in my career then. It was a nice place to chill out and talk shop about hacking, and it was on the clear net, so it was easier to access than my other typical sources, and less shady. I disappeared for a couple of years and came back under a different name (after my previous account was closed, of course) in 2011, but was just an infrequent lurker until 2015 when I started charging for my career as a professional pentester full-throttle.
Armada: Nice, so you are a prime example of someone who started out minimal and made a career, very appreciative.
I see you around more than enough through many forums, despite a lack of posting in the game section your pretty much all across the board, what area interests you te most, and why?
True Demon: Most everyone here knows me as a penetration tester. I do game from time to time, but mass-multiplayer doesn't interest me. Security does. I love hacking. It's my drug. I can best describe it like an adrenaline rush that comes cheap and never gets old. I don't know if it's the satisfaction in the knowledge you possess, or the edgy feeling you get when you're tapping into another network. Sometimes, it's better than sex.
True Demon: That being said, you'll find me mostly in the advanced hacking section, mostly reading, but sometimes offering my advice. Most of my advice goes out to the beginner hacking section where the newbies and young kids starting out in their IT career need the most direction. I try my best to keep them from ruining their lives like I almost did.
Armada: Your Ethic is arguably one of the most notable points.
You openly wrote, published and endorse a manual for anyone I would personally argue should read and study.
Most pointed is the old school theory in principal, can you expand on where and why you felt this nessisary for the community at large?
True Demon: Hmm...that's really tough to say... I guess my inspiration started when I read "The Conscience of a Hacker" by Lloyd Blankenship AKA "The Mentor." He was one of the original members of the Legion of Doom, some serious old-school hackers. I got really inspired by it because I was just then figuring out how to start my own career. That was where I got the "Hacker attitude" but I didn't develop my ethic until, ironically, after I got busted. There were a lot of kids, like me, on the forum who thought they could just jump into this career head-first, and that there would be no consequences or challenges to overcome. Watching all of the "How can I hack my school" threads really eat at your soul after a while. I finally decided that I had to do something about that...
I guess in the end, I saw that a lot of people who claimed to be hackers lost the real meaning behind the word. It's not about showing off or getting rich off of high-profile crime. It's about knowledge for knowledge's sake.
Armada: "The beauty of the baud" if I am not mis-quoting.
Your profile runs high with the same conceptual framework, its no doubt you took The Mentors words to heart, and agreed, the true theory In my honest opinion has somewhat been lost to profit and greed. All that being said, what do you have in store for the community? Any projects you would be willing to share some light on?
True Demon: After seeing how popular The Hacker Ethos became, I can see how starved the community is for some real, quality reading material. Since I covered "Hacker Ethics" and the fundamentals of ethical hacking, I think it's only appropriate to take the next step and write a book about Operations Security. You can't really call yourself a hacker if you don't know how to secure your own system or network. There are WAY too many people out there that say "just turn your firewall/anti-virus off" when testing or using RATs or other attack tools. That's just plain stupid. Not to mention the problem in the US (from which I am a native) with our government becoming so stringent on it's security policies and arguably revoking our freedom and right to privacy. So, I'm planning to write a "Mastery Guide" to OPSEC, Anonymity, and of course, (Anti) Forensics. People in this world need to know how to secure themselves, not just from black-hats and identity thieves, but even their own governments, at times. As Edward Snowden put it, "Saying that you don't care about the Right to Privacy because you 'have nothing to hide' is like saying that you don't care about your Right to Free Speech because you have nothing to say."
Armada: Way to drop a bomb brother.
Let me address this point by point.
Agreed, the community in general requires the high quality content I have seen yourself produce, and not simply for the informational purpose, but I also would argue for the communities validity as well. Members like yourself and the now late Incendiary make the community great, and rich full of high quality content and information.
As a person who is active in the RAT section often I can also only agree to this, people belief they can simply wander in pick up some software off the fly without understanding the principals of how or why the software works the way it does, it irks me as well. I believe your efforts do well in the areas you speak to however.
A "Master OPSEC" guide you say, I want to know more... what would you include?
True Demon: For starters, Securing the end-point. Using fully encrypted hard-drives at all times, how to encrypt and use persistent bootable USB devices and mobile hacking devices like Raspberry Pi or Kali on ARM architecture. I really would also like to stress the importance of security software, the difference between Intrusion Detection Systems and Intrusion Prevention Systems, pointing out the good AVs from the bad, etc.
Network security: How traffic encryption works, Point-to-point tunnelling versus Layer 2 tunneling, using VPNs and not just proxies and why it's important. How SSL/TLS over HTTPS works, and why it should be used wherever possible to avoid becoming the victim of a man in the middle attack.
Last but not least, TOR. I love TOR. I can describe at least ten different legal and necessary applications for it. God-bless the U.S. Navy for bestowing this gift to us, haha. The problem is, not enough people know how to use it properly or about the vulnearbilities it has. Coupling it with a VPN solves that problem, and there are ways to do it.
All these are just a few examples. But I've got big plans for this book. Hopefully I can cram it all in...or it might turn into an encyclopedia...or worse, a series, haha.
Sorry for all the word-vomit, but this really does get me excited
Armada: The words of wisdom flow, clearly. It almost makes me giddy to see another use proper terminology such as "end points" - etc.
And TOR has proven to become an essential for communication - unrestricted for many various aspect, inlucding but not limited to obviously freedom of speech especially in tyrannical government regions where information and access to resources are limited.
When you think forward, what do YOU see in the future for us altogether as an internet community?
True Demon: It's hard to say. I'd like to think that we're moving in the right direction. I see a lot of really talented individuals that help push the real meaning behind the hacker ethic and the Hacker Manifesto, as it's now become known. But they seem to be buried in an avalanche of speculation and misconceptions about hackers that reduce us to titles like "criminals," "thieves," and "terrorists." The pranksters defacing dozens of websites at a time don't help either...
Some things definitely have to change. The community as a whole is still alive, but it needs to start acting on the principles which it was founded. Free information, open source development, and the fight against censorship are what the hacker ethos really means. If the community loses sight of that ethic, it will undo all of the work that community icons like Assange, Snowden, Blankenship, and the late Ian Murdock have done. I don't want to see the hacker community ostracized by the media anymore, and I hate watching greedy developers and corporations making good software an increasingly rare commodity.
I want to believe in this community...God damnit, I love it..., but it has to make some changes... Otherwise we'll just become what the world says we are.
Armada: Your words resonate. We can only hope they stick to the new generations to come, and old alike. But I must admit its time to wrap this interview up, but before we go, There is one final question to be asked.
If you could change anything on Hack Forums, what would it be, and why?
True Demon: Haha...uh... Let me try to word this without it ending with the ban-hammer coming down on me...
There seems to be a pervasive problem in the forum where money seems to be the rule of law. I know the forum needs to survive and remain profitable for its staff and members, since plenty of members rely on its revenue... But I see a lot of truly HIGH quality threads and members being ignored or cast to the wayside because they don't earn a spot on that pedestal that is the Sticky Threads. I don't think I have seen a sticky given out since I came back last year.
I think if I could change anything about HF, it would be that it return to its roots as being a source of knowledge, not just a source of income. That was why it was formed, right? To be a beacon of knowledge provided by its members, and their contributions not only being recognized for their monetary value, but the educational value.
Armada: Well, your input to the community and infrastructure is greatly appreciated. I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for the time and interview. My best regards.
True Demon: It was a pleasure, Armada.
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![[Image: Gladly.png]](https://hackforums.news/assets/v1/Gladly.png)
The Non-lethal “Bee-Sting” Like Gun
Traditionally, non-lethal rounds used to stop protestors and rioters consist of rubber bullets, bean-bag bullets, and sponge grenades. These face a similar problem in that their effective range is very low. Not only are they primarily effective at short distances, but they can also be deadly. To combat this, an Ohio scientist named Jeffrey Widder has designed a pistol that will safely stop a target from up to 100 meters away. Nicknamed the Pogojet, the gun uses gases to push forward a projectile that gives the target the feeling of a bee-sting in a small area, but with an intense feeling. Unlike other non-lethal rounds, Widder says it can also be fired semi-automatically, giving those who need to fire multiple rounds the opportunity to. To prevent it being lethal, it uses a laser to calculate its range, so the Pogojet shoots at the right velocity.
Oculus Rift Will Ship Late March
After a long wait from Kickstarter backers and supporters, and shortly after the announcement of preorders, Oculus have announced the ship date of their highly anticipated Oculus Rift. The virtual reality helmet is set to begin shipping on March 28th, and will retail for $599. With the $599 that you pay, the Rift includes an Xbox One controller, the Oculus Remote, and a tracking camera. It will also come with a copy of games Lucky Tale, and EVE: Valkyrie. If you’re one of the early supporters who paid enough for the development kit, Oculus will ship you a consumer edition of the Rift, for free. Oculus has additionally said that certain retail stores will carry the Rift beginning in April.
G.M. Invests $500M in Ride-Sharing Company Lyft
Being the largest automotive maker investment in a ride-sharing company investment, automotive giant General Motors has invested a whopping $500 million into Lyft, an Uber competitor. Aside from monetary investment, G.M. also plans on working with Lyft to create a system self-driving cars, as well as quick car rentals for people who need to pick up groceries, or run errands. When asked about the investment, G.M.’s Dan Ammann stated, “We think there’s going to be more change in the world of mobility in the next five years than there has been in the last 50.” Before the investment, Lyft has been valued at $4.5 billion, while their competitor Uber’s net worth was valued to be $62.5 billion. Neither Lyft nor G.M. has given an official date for their system of self-driving cars to be ready.
![[Image: Phreakdaline.png]](https://hackforums.news/assets/v1/Phreakdaline.png)
Music Legend David Bowie Passes Away
Music Icon David Bowie passed away this Sunday after an 18 month battle with cancer. A statement by his son Duncan Jones confirmed, saying "David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer". There have been rumors about Bowie's health for years, but his cancer was kept mostly a secret from the world. The last live performance Bowie played was in 2006 at a charity concert in New York, and his latest album Blackstar was just released Friday, on his birthday. Bowie captured the imagination of the masses for decades, creating many alter egos for himself in his music career such as the iconic Ziggy Stardust, as well as performing in several films. David Bowie was born David Robert Jones in Brixton, London, on 8 January 1947. He shares the same birthday as Elvis. He changed his name to Bowie in 1966. He will be missed by many.
Drug Lord 'El Chapo' Captured
Only one day after notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was arrested, the Mexican government intends to begin extraditing the cartel kingpin to the United States. In a statement, the Mexican attorney general's office said "With the recapture of Guzman Loera, the respective extradition proceedings should begin". Guzman was captured Friday after a six-month manhunt, and faces charges in many jurisdictions across the United States. Some of the charges are conspiracy to import and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy association, money laundering, homicide and possession of firearms. Guzman started his cartel in 1980, and built an empire that supplied marijuana, cocaine and heroin to the United States. The house in Los Mochis, Sinaloa where Guzman was staying was raided by the Mexican navy, who encountered gunfire from within. Five suspects died in the raid, and one navy personnel was injured. The navy soldiers then chased Guzman through the sewer tunnels, but were unable to capture him until he was found later in a stolen car outside of the city.
Hundreds Assaulted in Cologne During New Years Eve Crime Spree
The "open door" immigration policy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has come under fire after the massive crime spree in Cologne on New Years Eve. The majority of suspects were illegal migrants from North Africa and others seeking asylum in Germany. Just in 2015 over 1.1 million people flocked to Germany, fleeing other countries. Of the now estimated 516 criminal cases committed on New Years Eve, 40% are estimated to relate to sexual assault. Saturday, the streets of Cologne were flooded with anti-migrant protesters who disagree with the current policy that is allowing so many refugees into the country. Justice Minister Heiko Maas believes that the attacks were planned. He was quoted saying "If such a horde gathers in order to commit crimes, that appears in some form to be planned, nobody can tell me that this was not coordinated or prepared." Witnesses describe a scene where around 1,000 people, primarily men, flocked to the Cologne central train station, then leaving in small groups that assaulted women, robbing and molesting many. Many criticize the law enforcement handling of the attacks, saying that there was total chaos, with seemingly little response from authorities. Chancellor Merkel has proposed changes which would make it easier to deport migrants who are convicted of committing crimes.
Ex-IBP CS:GO Team Remains Banned
After nearly one full year of debate and discussions, Valve announces the ex-IBP team is permanently banned from all tournaments Valve is associated with. On Jan. 26, 2015 six well-known CS:GO professionals from North America were banned from all Valve related major tournaments due to match-fixing. Valve said at that time they would further discuss the bans and announce their fate in early 2016. Sure enough, Valve released a statement earlier this week which said these players would unfortunately remain banned. This caused an uproar across the community with posts on Reddit bashing Valve with insults and rants. Many consider these players to be some of the best of all time and it seems one bad decision costed them their whole career.
Writer for Valve's Half-Life Marc Laidlaw Retires From Valve
Probably one of the most well-known series of games has had its lead writer step down this past week. Marc Laidlaw, writer for Valve's popular series Half-Life, announced his retirement this past week. Laidlaw has written the scripts and plots for all of the games in the Half-Life series over the years. So why is this a big deal at all? Well, the community over the years has many conspiracies about the release of Half-Life 3 and its release. However, it's unsure whether or not Laidlaw had finished writing the plots and scripts for Half-Life 3 or not, that seems to be a well kept secret within Valve. He stated in an email that he wishes to pursue independent writing projects and wants to take a break from game production.
'Getaway' DLC For Battlefield Hardline Now Has a Set Release Date
Hardline is coming up on its first full year since release and it is hard to believe two expansion packs have already been released. The third one, 'Getaway', is now set to release on Jan. 12, 2016 for people who bought Battlefield Premium. Now, if you do not have premium, you will be able to purchase it on Jan. 26. The expansion will feature four new multiplayer maps, along with a new mode named Capture the Bag. Essentially, it is just Capture the Flag but with a twist. Along with the game mode, you will now be allowed to carry a fireman's axe with you to bash other player's heads open. The four maps consist of, Train Dodge, Diversion, Pacific Highway, and Double Cross. All of which are projected to support the new mode as well.
Group Changes- AnimeFAN! was sold to Raptor. and was rebranded into Fusion.
Leadership Changes- Raptor. is now the owner of Fusion.
- Euxine is now a leader of Fusion.
- Divined is now a leader of Fusion.
Site Group Recruitment
Current Open Group Recruitments
Group Related Buy-ins & Informational Threads
Group and Crew General Discussions Spotlight Threads
Group Sales Threads
Site Statistics -
- Posts: 49,337,697 ( +0.15% )
- Threads: 3,414,453 ( +0.18% )
- Members: 3,001,435 ( +0.16% )
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- Daily Posts: 13952.75 ( ~ )
- Daily Threads: 965.61 ( +0.04% )
- Daily New Members: 848.81 ( +0.02% )
- Posts Per Member: 16.44 ( ~ )
- Replies Per Thread: 13.45 ( -0.07% )
Ban Statistics -
- Staff Bans: 87
- ... Change from Last Edition: -11
- Vacation Bans: 6
- ... Change from Last Edition: -1
- Combined Bans: 93
- ... Change from Last Edition: -12
Forum Counts -
- Notable Sections
- Lounge Threads: 450,001 ( +0.14% )
- Lounge Posts: 6,397,848 ( +0.19% )
- RANF Threads: 48,943 ( +0.14% )
- RANF Posts: 635,073 ( +0.16% )
- Common
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- Posts: 10,869,046 ( +0.19% )
- Hack
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- Posts: 5,876,286 ( +0.12% )
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- Threads: 419,708 ( +0.1% )
- Posts: 4,316,494 ( +0.09% )
- Groups
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- Web
- Threads: 77,578 ( +0.13% )
- Posts: 563,837 ( +0.13% )
- GFX
- Threads: 128,273 ( +0.08% )
- Posts: 961,934 ( +0.06% )
- Market
- Threads: 869,008 ( +0.19% )
- Posts: 8,115,230 ( +0.2% )
- Money
- Threads: 128,953 ( +0.15% )
- Posts: 1,700,697 ( +0.12% )
Membership Counts -
- Null
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- Dawn
- Enigma
- The Black Lodge
- The Brotherhood
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- Fusion
- DARK
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- Royalty
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HI
Another normal week. :)
Jan 12, 2016 11:47 PM
(This post was last modified: Jan 12, 2016 11:49 PM by Hydra.)
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.
Zurqq's Battlestation (reddit)
Another great addition yet again, so great what you guys do and the effort you put in!
Damn I remember when Yin use to do it.
Funny thing, how I and iHydra get to read this before everyone else 🤫
(Jan 12, 2016 11:54 PM)wander is a multi dwc Wrote: Funny thing, how I and iHydra get to read this before everyone else 🤫
man, hows that funny
DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS MEMBER
This is really a good read, especially for those who can't be here 24/7.
Why am I still not in the wiki :-((
DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS MEMBER
(Jan 13, 2016 12:09 AM)c x y k Wrote: Why am I still not in the wiki :-((
because you aren't notable fgt!!
Good edition.
Shame about David Bowie passing away..
He is one of my idols.
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.
(Jan 13, 2016 12:39 AM)Vitani's Mate Wrote: Good edition.
Shame about David Bowie passing away..
He is one of my idols.
Same. 😭 I actually was writing and saw your post about it seconds after you made it, which was how I found out. Sad Time.
RIP Incendiary. My condolences to family. You were cool guy.
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