The Edge of I-Hacked

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from defensedevices

Our friends at Defense Devices gave us some time to play with their credit card lock pick set.

Being a locksmith you know that carrying lock smith tools can raise a lot of eye brows. But with this slick device you can carry your tools conveniently and securely. This set is intended for the real skilled lock smith.

The card case is made out of hard plastic so it will hold up to everyday wear and tear. Packed with 4 stainless steel picks and 1 stainless steel tension tool. The case is just the right size to fit in your wallet or pocket.
As always you should check with you local law before buy lock pick sets if you are not a trained professional.

Dont forget to say ihacked for a 5% discount on your purchase!

Written by CodedChaos 

Quoted from Trackstick.com.

“The Trackstick is a tiny GPS recorder intended as a low cost alternative to real time tracking devices. Tracksticks are GPS data loggers capable of continuously recording their own location histories for extended periods of time. It is the perfect solution for companies and individuals looking for a way to track, record and validate the location of anything that moves. As with all of Telespial Systems products, the Trackstick integrates seamlessly into Google Earth for unrivaled mapping and use worldwide.”

I recently received a Trackstick from Telespial Systems. When I opened it, I found a black plastic stick, and a mini-cd with “Software & Installation CD” printed on it. Here’s some general info about the Trackstick, this list was formed mostly by me, based on my experience with this device, and specifications from their website.

Specifications
3 modes of operation: Full power, low power, and off.
Runs on two AAA batteries.
Software compatible with Google earth and Google maps.
Easy to use, low maintenance.
Horizontal Accuracy: 15 meters
Vertical Accuracy: 22 meters
Max. # of satellites: 12
Dimensions: 4.10″ X 1.20″ X 0.87″
Weight: 1.5 oz.
Capacity: 1.0 Mb (4000 records with Date, Time, Longitude, Latitude, Speed, Direction, Altitude and other information.)
Connectivity: USB 1.1/2.0

Battery life
24 hours (full power)
5-7 days (low power)

Overview of Functionality
The modes idea I liked, full power for accurate, closer interval tracking, and low power for longer trips, with no extra batteries. However one thing that is interesting, is the “off” mode, it’s still on in the off mode. I don’t mean that it still tracks while “off” instead it generates a solid high frequency tone (similar to the ring tone adults can’t hear). It produces this sound at all times, all modes. Now, I realize that producing this tone, where it’s so quiet you have to hold the trackstick to your ear to here it won’t consume much power, but it still isn’t truly off.

The software that the trackstick comes with is great. It will download the recorded entries from the trackstick, give you a battery level reading for the trackstick, memory information, and customization options for the trackstick. By customization, I mean that you can define intervals for recording, and it’s sensitivity to movement.

When you download entries from the trackstick, you can choose to export the entires to Google earth, but it also gives you a link for each entry that will take you to that location with Google maps.

So now that we’ve talked specifications, let’s talk usefulness.

Practicality of Use
The trackstick has only one real use, tracking an object by recording its location onto its memory, from which you download the entries later.

So what could the average person use it for? Tracking yourself for fun to see where you went or to make it easy to retrace your steps when you loose something? I suppose that could be a use of it, if you can accurately find exact coordinates by looking at the earth, or your carpet. Another use would be tracking others, which is illegal without their knowledge (sorry sexual predators), but what about parents, for their teens? This is probably the best non-business use for the trackstick. However, you would have to either leave the trackstick in their car constantly and check the batteries every few days, or you’d have to figure out a way to stall for 10 minutes while the trackstick syncs to a satellite and you put it in their car. Another flaw to this plan, if you’re trying to track them secretly, is that it can’t just be thrown into the trunk, it has to see the sky. Which means dashboard, or on top of the car, and if you choose on top, what happens when it rains?

Another flaw to the secret teen tracking idea, is that tone that the trackstick transmits. The parent may not hear it, but the teen sure will. If you put it in the car, they hear it before they start the car, and right after they stop the car (because once the car is on, their music is so loud it covers over the tone). And if you put it outside the car, they can hear it before they get in their car, and see the little LED blinking. Of course, you could remove the LED, but then, how would you know what mode the trackstick is in? You wouldn’t even know if it was on or “off”.

So the best use would definitely be commercial tracking, where it doesn’t matter if they know the trackstick is there or not because they’ll get fired if they remove it.

Rating
So as far as ratings I would give the trackstick a 7/10 in commercial use, and a 5/10 in personal tracking (teen tracking).

Additional photos

from Gizmodo

The eStarling digital picture frame arrived late yesterday, and here’s a warning: it’s even uglier than its unboxing pictures we’ve seen so far. Its USB dongle sticks out the top like an antenna, and the dog-ugly logo plastered across the top is not removable without marring its finish.

I plugged in its AC adapter and connected it to a PC via its USB cable and it simply won’t communicate with the Wi-Fi network. Even after configuring the Wi-Fi network to be completely open, still, no dice. There’s more bad news, too:

When I had no luck hooking up the eStarling picture frame to Wi-Fi, nothing else would work. You can’t even plug in a flash memory card and look at pictures unless you’re connected to the Internet.

So I followed the documentation’s directions to a URL that was not working (http://www.estarling.com/support). No, the actual support address is http://www.estarling.com/support.html. Sure, I figured that out easily, but many consumers will be stumped by that, especially grandma.
estarling_side.jpg
Then more bad news: this is a 16×9 picture frame that’s packing a mere 480×234 pixels. Besides being a resolution that’s way too low for its 7-inch screen, its aspect ratio isn’t going to work out too well with 4×3 pictures (think either black bars on each side or stretched photos), and it’ll fare especially poorly with vertically-oriented pics that will turn out to be just slim shots with expansive black bars on either side.
estarling_top.jpg
But wait, couldn’t you just orient the frame vertically? Well yes, but then that horrible logo across the top will be running up the side, standing on end and looking even dumber.

We’ll get some tech support Tuesday (between 9am and 7pm Eastern) and see if this thing will work at all, but so far, my assessment is that the eStarling is a highly undesirable product. It’s cheaply made, is in an non-standard 16:9 aspect ratio with a relatively low-rez screen, and it’s ugly as shit and can’t be covered up with a conventional frame because of its odd size and permanent construction. It has a so-far nonworking USB dongle that’s starting to develop an odd smell as it heats up.

And finally, its cheap screen makes a whining noise as you dim it, but it’s quiet at its full brightness. I can only wonder what the guy we linked to yesterday at Gizgadg was thinking.

It’s not looking good, and certainly not worth any heroic last-minute attempts to get one under your tree in time for Christmas. Caveat emptor. – Charlie White

I also bought into the eStarling hype. I pre-ordered two for Christmas gifts (one for Wife, and one for Parents) and when I received them, I was put in quite a pinch to find replacement gifts. There is NO WAY I would have given this piece of crap to anyone. Please beware of this product!

Lets put it this way:
This is what I purchased:

This is what I received:

"BlackJack Buster" card counting device from HackersHomepage.com

A quote from their site:
A silent, vibrating, pocket-sized device, designed to resemble a car alarm transmitter, that allows blackjack players to count cards easily, discreetly and accurately. You can accomplish in minutes what takes professional casino blackjack players years to perfect. By following the basic card counting strategy and using your Blackjack Buster, you can make expert, informed decisions before placing your bet or deciding whether or not to take a hit.

I recently received a "BlackJack Buster" device from the people over at HackersHomepage.com. Included inside the packaging was a small key-fob device (the card counter) along with a piece of paper describing how to use it and some general card counting tips (as well as some good blackjack tips). As you can see from the comparison shot below, the device does resemble a key fob from a car alarm system, and would probably fool someone with an untrained eye.

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Since we have received a lot of mail on what tools were being used in the Defcon Video, I decided to show off some toys from our friends at http://www.defensedevices.com/.
Now please keep in mind you should check with local laws before attempting to buy any of the tools that we are going to
show you in this article.

The first tool is the Southord Jackknife Lock Pick Set.

The handle is made out of light weight fiberglass/polymer.
It conceals four picks, one key extractor and a tension tool.

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