[Fox™]

Headlines • Site News • Group News • User News • Notable Threads • Interview

Deal Dispute Thread Prefixes
On March 23, Omniscient announced that he had added some thread prefixes to the Deal Dispute section. This will help to make the section less crowded, and more organized. There are now prefixes for currency exchanges, product disputes, services that are not rendered and trade disputes. We should all use them to keep the section clean.

Prestige Requirement
Omniscient has decided to add a prestige requirement to the C/C++/Obj-C Programming section. From now on you need at least 5 prestige as a non-upgraded member before you can post in the section. At first it was said to be a minimum of 25 because of a logic error, but this was quickly changed to a minimum of 5. This will most definitely increase the quality of the section.

Member of The Month
There's a monthly contest called Member of The Month. Just like the news, we have a lot of members that are not even aware of the contest! Always check the MOTM section around the end of the month to nominate users. The actual contest itself always starts during the 1st week of the month, so be sure to take a look then as well. The section can be located here.

Site Statistics

• Total (Click to View)
  • Posts: 50,329,896 ( +0.19% )
    
  • Threads: 3,507,501 ( +0.25% )
    
  • Members: 3,084,956 ( +0.26% )

• Average (Click to View)
  • Daily Posts: 13929.56 ( -0.03% )
    
  • Daily Threads: 970.75 ( +0.03% )
    
  • Daily New Members: 853.81 ( +0.03% )
    
  • Posts Per Member: 16.31 ( -0.12% )
    
  • Replies Per Thread: 13.35 ( -0.07% )

Ban Statistics

• Last Weeks Bans (Click to View)
  • Staff Bans: 106
    • ... Change from Last Edition: +2
  • Vacation Bans: 16
    • ... Change from Last Edition: +2
  • Combined Bans: 122
    • ... Change from Last Edition: +4

Forum Counts

• Tab Counts (Click to View)
  • Notable Sections
    • Lounge Threads: 492,460 ( +0.16% )
      
    • Lounge Posts: 7,336,047 ( +0.15% )
      
    • RANF Threads: 64,555 ( +0.17% )
      
    • RANF Posts: 1,041,724 ( +0.14% )
  • Common
    • Threads: 757,804 ( +0.2% )
      
    • Posts: 11,355,310 ( +0.22% )
  • Hack
    • Threads: 648,319 ( +0.17% )
      
    • Posts: 5,678,465 ( +0.2% )
  • Tech
    • Threads: 199,155 ( +0.14% )
      
    • Posts: 1,681,179 ( +0.1% )
  • Code
    • Threads: 162,182 ( +0.11% )
      
    • Posts: 1,397,336 ( +0.07% )
  • Game
    • Threads: 430,432 ( +0.17% )
      
    • Posts: 4,415,656 ( +0.17% )
  • Groups
    • Threads: 6,874 ( +0.29% )
      
    • Posts: 300,686 ( +0.38% )
  • Web
    • Threads: 79,056 ( +0.2% )
      
    • Posts: 573,313 ( +0.19% )
  • GFX
    • Threads: 129,872 ( +0.14% )
      
    • Posts: 971,284 ( +0.14% )
  • Market
    • Threads: 919,994 ( +0.27% )
      
    • Posts: 8,343,038 ( +0.27% )
  • Money
    • Threads: 133,356 ( +0.16% )
      
    • Posts: 1,764,768 ( +0.17% )

Membership Counts

• Groups (Click to View)
  • Null
    • 25 Members ( -3 )
    
    
  • Nightmare
    • 27 Members ( -11 )
    
    
  • Red Lions
    • 18 Members ( ~ )
    
    
  • Dawn
    • 54 Members ( +6 )
    
    
  • Enigma
    • 36 Members ( -30 )
    
    
  • Squad
    • 142 Members ( +8 )
    
    
  • The Brotherhood
    • 63 Members ( -2 )
    
    
  • Echo
    • 46 Members ( -3 )
    
    
  • Fusion
    • 68 Members ( +1 )
    
    
  • The Order
    • 40 Members ( +4 )
    
    
  • Riptide
    • 63 Members ( +4 )
    
    
  • Eternal
    • 24 Members ( +10 )
    
    
  • Titans
    • 20 Members ( -6 )
    
    
  • Royalty
    • 34 Members ( +4 )
    
    
  • Legends
    • 49 Members ( +6 )

Group Changes

• Tɦɛ Gʀiɱ has rebranded Specialists into Nightmare.
  
• Realizm has rebranded Titans into Minecrafters
  

Leadership Changes

• Bull™ is now a leader of Nightmare.
  
• iHydra is now a leader of Minecrafters.
  

Site Group Recruitment

• Hack Forums News // Recruitment
  
• Writers - Wiki Team Recruitment
  

Current Open Group Recruitments

• [Recruiting] Dawn GFX Course
  
• Echo | Lounge Recruitment
  
• [Official] Engima Recruitment || Looking for Programmers
  
• [OFFICIAL] Fusion Recruitment
  
• [Official Group] Legends General Recruitment | {No Essay Needed!}
  
• [Recruiting] Royalty [Official Group]
  
• Riptide | Music Recruitment
  
• [Official] Squad Student Recruitment
  
• [Official] Squad - Blackhat Sector Recruitment
  
• The Brotherhood Innuendo & Emotional Support Team Recruitment
  
• The Brotherhood | Gaming Sector | Recruitment | [OFFICIAL]
  
• [Official Usergroup] The Order | General Recruitment | #3]
  

Group Related Buy-ins & Informational Threads

• Enigma | General Information
  
• [For Sale] Enigma Leadership
  
• [Official Group] - >> Eternal << - Information - Members - Contributions -
  
• Minecrafters | Official Group
  
• [OFFICIAL] Fusion Official Information
  
• [Official] Squad Official Information
  
• The Order // Official Group
  

Group Sales Threads

• Null - On Sale - Official Group of Hack Forums
  

User News

• Magicmann has reached 1,000 reputation.
  
• xadamxk has reached 1,000 prestige. Noob.
  
  

Bans*

• Cammy. was banned.
  
• ℳĄuℜⅈℭℰ was banned.
  
• Lacuna was banned. He was also Named & Shamed.
  
  

Vacations*

• random person has taken a vacation.
  
• NGMA has extended their vacation ban.
  
  

Closures

• Red Sоx was closed.
  
• Combustion was closed.
  
  

Rep Kills

• Pimp. was Rep Killed.
  
• Cammy. was Rep Killed.
  
• SecretEtymology was Rep Killed. He also had his posting privileges permanently suspended.
  
• A$AP R‎o‎‎cky was Rep Killed.
  
• TheJοKer was Rep Killed.
  
• Post Malone was Rep Killed.
  
• Combustion was Rep Killed.
  
• jimmix was Rep Killed.
  
  

Awards

• Regulus received the Member of The Month award.
  
• Delicious received the Spy award.
  
• Divined received the DaBomb award.
  
• Night Fury received the Cool award.
  
• Cibor received the Genius award.
  
• Support™ received the Silver Medal award.
  
  

* - As of the Friday prior to release.

Announcement Threads

---Deal Dispute Thread Prefixes - Omniscient
---Omniscient has decided to implement some thread prefixes in the deal dispute section that will help to make the section more aesthetically pleasing and organized.

---Prestige Requirement - Omniscient
---Omniscient has decided to put a prestige requirement on the C/C++/Obj-C Programming section. From now on you need a minimum of 5 prestige as an upgraded member if you want to post or create threads in the sections.

Informational Threads

---Safe Exchanging - By The Illusionist [Guide] - The Illusionist
--- The user Illusionist has created a thread where he teaches you how to decrease your chance of getting scammed while exchanging. Great read if you're an active member of the marketplace.

---Nominations: March 2016 - Froggy
--- The monthly member of the month contest is coming up again. Do you have someone in mind that deserves to be up in the poll? Let Froggy know by posting on her thread.

Entertaining Threads

---Turn Offs/Offs & Unpopular Opinions - Errors
---Errors wants you to post on his thread with your preferences when it comes to women and what some of your unpopular opinions are regarding the matter. This is a very fun thread to post on.

---Finally done, 9 weeks of dying - Wallet
---Watch Wallets hit the gym again by visiting his thread. It's entertaining and aspiring to see a member improving himself. Let Wallets know what you think about his lifting by posting on his thread.

Contests and Giveaways

---[UPGRADE GIVEAWAY] BACONS CONTEST - WIN AN UPGRADE - LOVE THE BACON, EAT THE BACON - Granny Bacon
---The user Granny Bacon is giving away a free upgrade. If you meet the requirement that are stated in the thread and are in need of an upgrade, this is your chance!

---RenRioku's Blowaway Giveaway [Upgrading 1 member each week] - RenRioku™
---RenRioku™ is upgrading one member each week. A very generous deed! If you need an upgrade, enter his weekly contest.

Member Feedback Threads

---3 years feedback - random person
---random person has blessed us with a feedback thread celebrating his 3 years of activity on Hack Forums. Maybe writing this made him so emotional that he banned himself, who knows? Read the thread if you want to know more about random person and his opinion about Hack Forums.

Miscellaneous

---In need of music - King Cin
---I need some music for a party I'm throwing next month. Already have the jungle juice and 151 ready. If you love me and don't want my party to be lame, help me out!

Interview - crazyycast13 (Click to View)

.Sinister: crazyycast13, I like to welcome you to the 284th edition of the HF News. Have any shoutouts you want to make before we begin?
crazyycast13: Sure. Shoutout to the memers I've met through Elusive and everyone I regularly talk to in the cryptography/hash cracking section.

.Sinister: I'm interested to know. What got you started on HF?
crazyycast13: So, back way in the day of breaking random online polls with /b/, I was hopping from IRC to IRC. One day hackthissite was brought up out of random mention, and then someone commented how HTS has no activity, and if you want to talk to lots of kids go to HF. I started off by posting very rarely, but a couple months later got in an argument with icyseptember about something involving the CLI, and have stayed since.

.Sinister: As a member that's been here for quite some time now, what are your thoughts of the old HF vs. the present HF?
crazyycast13: The forum has changed a lot, there's no doubt about that whatsoever. New people have come in, old members have left, and I think sometimes the older members focus too much on what they remember what the forum used to be like. The only thing that I've considered a loss during these years would be the group Void. I remember joining the group back when I had around 100 posts and was a complete nobody. There were a lot of great discussions about various topics, and even if you weren't actively participating, it was fun to read threads as a bystander. The hashing section was a nice addition, I never expected that to happen. Same goes for the anonymity section. Groups have been extremely monetized with a lot of groups focused on money making, which is funny. I'm hoping that another security group comes into existence once Null is sold, because not having a single group with some focus on security is kind of pathetic, don't you think?

.Sinister: I completely agree. I understand HF is a general discussion forum, but the topic of security is also important too. In fact, I've learned a lot from tutorials found on HF. What have you learned from HF?
crazyycast13: To expect that when someone posts something you're going to have to fact check them hard hahaha. I've mostly been on the teaching side of things, posting a lot in the crypto section and then randomly in BH/anonymity/Java/pentesting/wherever. I learned some things about writing rootkits from one of the members on the site, but as to people posting publicly, not much. The problem is people don't always know what they are talking about even when they say they do, so you have to be careful. However, if you want to check out C++, that new sticky in the c programming section is pretty on point.

.Sinister: I'll definitely check out that thread later on. You seem to be very involved in the field of IT. What got you interested? How'd you learn so much?
crazyycast13: For cryptography and anonymity, I've been interested in that since I was a really little kid. I received a spy book with codes and all these basic opsec principles, and that's probably where I started. For security, it was the combination of joining random ircs, learning to code, and having anonymous and [censored] regularly being in the news all happening at around the same time. I obtained A+ and security+ certs while always trying to research more about things in cybersecurity. Come May I'm going to have a full time security job with a company in the financial sector. Somehow it all worked out.

.Sinister: That's great to hear! What goals do plan on achieving?
crazyycast13: Obviously my first goal will be getting the work experience required to take and obtain the CISSP. My end goal will be CSO/CISO. It's the highest you can go in a company where your job function is still mainly about security. Besides that, I have nothing else I want to achieve other than being a cso in a bank. Paid very well, hard to get into, but once you are in it, you're set. Also you can move to become a COO and possibly even a CEO if you play your cards right.

.Sinister: Besides the things you do online, what do you like to do in your free time?
crazyycast13: So, even though I'm pretty certain I spend most of my time online, I like reading the wall street journal to gain insights on current market moves. I've been investing for several years now and it's definitely had its ups and downs, especially with the current problems regarding China. It appears the current problems with oil have been slightly resolved so that is a boon, especially to the people who got in at around 28 usd a barrel. 43% increase already for them/

I also like to participate in all forms of racing sports (mountain bike / boardercross / gokarts / motorcycles / cars), the thrill is like no other. The only sad part is that it can get expensive very quickly and it takes up a lot of time that I sometimes don't have.

.Sinister: You're quite a busy man. Do you like where you are in your life right now and why?
crazyycast13: At the end of the day, I sometimes wonder where I could have ended up if I picked a different career path that leads into upper management more nicely. The problem with security is that the there is a ceiling (CSO/CISO) and once you get there, trying to step into the position of something like COO wouldn't be easy at all.

If I could I would have split myself into 5 me's, ran them all through different lives, and found out where each of them wound up when all is said and done. But I can't do that, so I'm going to take this path I have set on. I want to hit the top, and if I get lucky, I might get there.

.Sinister: I believe you'll be able to do it. You can achieve anything you set your mind to. That's all we have for today. Thanks for your time! Do you have anything you want to say before we wrap this up?
crazyycast13: Yeah, to the kids in high school who go on HF and happened to read this interview: What you do now can fuck your entire life. It's all fun and games until you have no job no career and nowhere to go. On the flipside, don't try to do something that you hate, you won't get far doing that either.

Cheers

[Fox™]

Support HF News • Memo • World News • Tech News • Gaming News • Hacking News

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)

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Roadmap for the next few months
In the next week or two, a few sections will merge into one big section (haven't decided what to name it yet but currently "Media"). The week or two following that will introduce a few new sections that I will not name just yet. There will be two or three new sections coming to Hack Forums News. However, this mini roadmap is just an idea/proposed plan and things can change; it's why I say "week or two" or "two or three" as I am unsure how everything will play out until it happens.

Great Job iHydra! Great Job Writers!
I have started a new "program" to award Writers who put in effort and complete their work on time. I will be picking a new volunteer each week to compile and publish the news. I am not sick, on vacation, or stepping down - don't get too happy 😈. I just feel like there should be more incentives to being a volunteer for the HF News besides a userbar and subforum. Thank you all for the support and have a great week!

A message from Fox™
iHydra said I could add anything I wanted to the memo. Here's my contribution.
Spoiler (Click to View)

Google's Nik Collection is Now Free
Google has dropped the price of the Nik Collection, a suite of seven desktop plug-ins aimed at advanced photographers from $149 to nothing. Of course, there is a catch; Google says that it is continuing to “focus [on Google's] long-term investments in building incredible photo editing tools for mobile,” including Google Photos and Nik’s own Snapseed app for iOS and Android. Google went on to say that anyone who bought the Nik Collection in 2016 will get a full refund, which is a nice touch for folks who just bought the software.

Microsoft Deletes 'Teen Girl' AI After it Spouts Racist, Sexist Remarks
Within 24 hours, Microsoft's new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot "Tay" had been corrupted by social media users and was quickly taken offline. Tay, who was designed to resemble and respond like a millennial teenage girl, began spewing racist, violent, and misogynist messages to users. One such example would be this tweet; “bush did 9/11 and Hitler would have done a better job than the monkey we have now.” Another tweet praised Hitler and claimed that the account hated the Jews. These widely-publicized and offensive tweets led to the closure of the account, while Microsoft continues to "make some adjustments."

Apple Announces Four-Inch iPhone SE
Earlier this week, Apple announced the iPhone SE, the newest phone in their iPhone category that features a small 4-inch display. Apple CEO Tim Cook said customers had asked that the company continue making four-inch products. With the new iPhone SE, Cook believes this demand will be satisfied. Although it has the same size of an iPhone 5(s), the iPhone SE includes upgraded hardware that are on par with the likes of an iPhone 6s. The 16GB model will start at $399, with Apple offering a 64GB model for around $100 more. Pre-orders began on March 24, as it launches on March 31.

Microsoft Extended a Cross-Platform Invitation to Sony
Chris Charla, director of ID@Xbox, recently announced on Xbox.com that Xbox One would support cross-platform play between Xbox One, Windows 10, and other "online multiplayer networks." However, it will remain up to game developers to decide whether or not they want to support cross-platform features. The first game to support cross-platform functionally is Psyonix's Rocket League, which will enable PC and Xbox One players to enter games against each other. Sony's response to the invitation is up for interpretation. Sony stated that PlayStation has been supporting cross-platform play between PC and PS2 starting in 2002 with Final Fantasy 11. Sony also stated that they would be happy to have the conversation of cross-platform play with any publishers or developers that are interested. If Sony accepts Microsoft's invitation, a 10 year gap between consoles with come to an end.

I Am Setsuna: JRPG Nostalgia
Square Enix is gravitating back towards their roots with one of their latest title in the works, I Am Setsuna. Square Enix left their ATB gauges and poor, yet endearing, graphics in the 90s, but they are making a return. I Am Setsuna will incorporate various elements from earlier titles such as the incredible Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI. Most abundantly clear is the adaption of Chrono Trigger's battle system. With the ATB system as its base, the battle system is built around the movement of enemies and knowing when it is best to attack and when it is best to wait. If you were a fan of titles such as Chrono Trigger, this game is essentially made for you. Director, Atsushi Hashimoto, cited I Am Setsuna as a "spiritual successor" to the aforementioned game. I Am Setsuna was released in Japan on Feb 18 on PS4 and PS Vita. It is expected to make it to PS4 later this year.

Tomb Raider Meets 28 Days Later
Rise of the Tomb Raider's last addition to the $29.99 season pass is nearing its March 29 release. The DLC, entitled Cold Darkness Awakened, introduces a new mode in which Lara will encounter hoards of zombies. Lara will stumble upon an old Cold War era research facility and unintentionally release a contagious illness to permeate the surrounding area. The deadly disease converts Trinity soldiers into "bloodthirsty killers who thrive on carnage". Lara must use every tool in her arsenal to eliminate the soldiers before they can escape the compound and spread the illness. The trailer for Cold Darkness Awakened can be viewed here.

Facebook Alerts Users if Someone Impersonates Them
Social networks provide the opportunity for impersonation to thrive online. In light of this, Facebook's newest feature will automatically inform all their users if they're being impersonated, as opposed to previously only allowing users to report impersonation. The system works by finding an identical match of a name and profile picture. The same face recognition that Facebook uses to identify friends in photos you post could also be used here. To prevent doppelgängers from being tagged as an impersonator, the information could then be relayed to the core security team, who would analyze the profiles and monitor activity and posts.

Android Devices at Risk, Google Says
Google issued an emergency patch for Nexus devices that fixed a kernel bug. One application in the Google Play Store has been caught trying to exploit this bug, although the developers claimed that no misuse was meant from it. While Google is unable to patch all devices, they stated that rooting applications are dangerous enough. While unnamed, some rooting apps, on and off the app store, can lead to a "local permanent device." Google stated that a publicly available rooting app could compromise a Nexus device. They have also updated the Android Verify Apps security feature to detect the rooting app. While they've not seen any exploitation, a user would have to manually install the rooting app.

Google Chrome, Adobe Flash, and Apple's Safari exploited on First Day of Pwn2Own
Within the first day of Pwn2Own, $282,500 were awarded to researchers that found security flaws within Google Chrome, Adobe Flash, and Apple's Safari browser. Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Trend Micro were the joint sponsors of this year's Pwn2Own. The 360Vulcan Team received $132,500 for exploiting Flash and Chrome. Individual prizes for exploits over the three platforms ranged from $40,000 to $80,000.

[Fox™]

Battlestations • Art Gallery • Comics • HF News Team

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.

jallajalla21's Battlestation (reddit)

(Click to View)

|1| (Click to View)


|2| (Click to View)


|3| (Click to View)


|4| (Click to View)


|5| (Click to View)

View Team (Click to View)

• Scholars
  • MeshCollider
    
  • Raptor.
    
  • Queenie
    
  • Wires
    

• Journalists
  • Headlines
    • Cooligan
  • User News
    • illuminati▲ & OPEN
  • Notable Threads
    • Grievous & OPEN
  • Interviewers
    • .Sinister*, Armada, illuminati, Enterpriser, Clique
  • Group News
    • Nobility & OPEN
  • Site News
    • illuminati▲ & Hash G.
  • Hacking News
    • Wires & Fox™
  • Security News
    • Harbo5
  • Gaming News
    • Limit. & Buffy Summers
  • Tech News
    • Аngel & Gladly
  • World News
    • Phreakdaline & Astute
  • Art Gallery
    • OPEN
  • Comics
    • Wires

• Support
  • Graphic Designers
    • Designer
  • On-Call Team
    • Wires*,
      King Cin, Ariana
  • Supervisor
    • Froggy

*Those with an asterisk are supervisors of that team.

[Hydra]

Good job team! Hope you all enjoy this new edition and have a wonderful week!

[Night]

Love this edition keep up the work writers! Its weird seeing different people post the news each week.

[Heart]

Thanks Foxtrademark for another great edition of HF news!

[SIM-2908357]

So when are we getting the HF Drama Alert Section?

[wander is a multi dwc]

So when are we getting the HF Drama Alert Section?

If only we could have a KEEMSTAR in the HFNT..

Good job, team! 🤗

[Peptide]

That was a nice read nice edition!

[Roytoy]

Nice edition. Congrats Regulus on the award.

[๖ۣۜCitizen Z / Napalm]

Good Article Fox, Nice Message :)

[Bluffer]

Another great addition of HF news, great job!

[c x y k]

hello my long awaited friends

and goodbye again

[Krave]

Great edition. I'm happy Regulus got the MOTM award.

[King Cin]

Thank you for creating this edition Fox™, I really liked King Cin's sections.