secret

How to hide the Newsstand icon on iOS 5

That pesky Newsstand icon is sure to drive those who have OCD about placement of app icons on their iOS device crazy.

Technically the Newsstand icon isn't an app icon, it is actually a folder, and as we already knew, iOS doesn't allow users to nest folders. Thanks to TUAW blogger Dave Caolo, there is a workaround that allows you to place the Newsstand icon in a folder. … Read more

iPhone criminal case gives Apple more options

Criminal charges recently filed against two men who allegedly sold a prototype iPhone to Gizmodo.com have a not-so-obvious side effect.

A successful conviction in San Mateo County will make it easier for Apple to win a civil suit against the gadget blog, if it pursues one as its lawyers threatened last year, legal experts tell CNET.

"Will the criminal case help them? Absolutely," says Hanni Fakhoury, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who's a former federal public defender. "They're going to learn a lot more about what happened." (See related storyRead more

Security flaw found in feds' digital radios

Expensive high-tech digital radios used by the FBI, Secret Service, and Homeland Security are designed so poorly that they can be jammed by a $30 children's toy, CNET has learned.

A GirlTech IMME, Mattel's pink instant-messaging device with a miniature keyboard that's marketed to pre-teen girls, can be used to disrupt sensitive radio communications used by every major federal law enforcement agency, a team of security researchers from the University of Pennsylvania is planning to announce tomorrow.

Converting the GirlTech gadget into a jammer may be beyond the ability of a street criminal for now, but that … Read more

Secret Service uses Twitter to find bike mechanic

This could change your life in so many ways. If you're adroit with bikes, that is.

For the United States Secret Service needs someone to fix its Harley Davidsons. And it is reaching out to the coolerati on Twitter to find the perfect character. Perhaps the normal channels have brought up a string of duds. Perhaps, from Twitter's very public nature, there will emerge one fine bike mechanic who knows how to keep his mouth shut.

No, I cannot be sure the Service is in possession of Harleys. But I cannot be sure that it isn't. That'… Read more

Fox News reports Twitter hack to Secret Service

Fox News has alerted the U.S. Secret Service that the cable news show's Twitter feed was used today to publish false reports that President Obama had been killed.

The attack apparently was completed about 11 p.m. PT Sunday, when a tweet appeared that said, "Just regained full access to our Twitter and email. Happy 4th."

Shortly afterward came the first of several Obama-related tweets: "@BarackObama has just passed. The President is dead. A sad 4th of July, indeed. President Barack Obama is dead."

The tweets were still live on the Twitter Web site … Read more

Top 5 secrets of E3

For many gamers, going to E3 is an unfulfilled dream. Attendance is tightly controlled (depending on your definition of tight), so unlike a boat show or comic book convention, you can't just buy a ticket and show up.

But if you do someday make it to E3, the show secrets presented here may help you get the most out of the experience. Regular attendees eventually work out most of these tips, but we're always open to new suggestions--feel free to list your own E3 secrets in the comments section below.

(Note: Also below is a handy list of … Read more

The 404 831: Where Tupac Shakur will not cameo in 'The Hangover 3' (podcast)

We're back from the holiday weekend and we all had a good time--until "The Hangover 2" happened. The movie itself wasn't as awful as expected, so tune into a spoiler-free review on today's episode before you rush out and give Zach Galifianakis another $14 bucks.

The 404 Digest for Episode 831

PBS Hacked, claims 'Tupac alive' in New Zealand. " Literally Unbelievable" is a blog dedicated to Facebook posts that don't know The Onion is satirical. It's official: iOS 5, OS X Lion, and iCloud. Jeff show and tell: LightDims.

Episode 831 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS VideoRead more

Verizon: More breaches but less data lost. Huh?!

Verizon's Data Breach Investigations Report for last year is a bit of a head scratcher. It shows that while the number of data breaches from cyber attacks rose, the amount of compromised records lost has fallen.

While there were 760 data breaches recorded by Verizon and the U.S. Secret Service in 2010 (up from about 140 in 2009), there were only 4 million compromised records involved (way down from 144 million in 2009), according to the Verizon 2011 Data Breach Investigations Report scheduled to be released on Tuesday. The figures represent both a record high number of incidents … Read more

Motorola and Huawei settle legal disputes

Motorola and Huawei Technologies have patched up their legal differences in disputes over the potential sharing of trade secrets.

The companies announced today that they've entered into an agreement to settle all litigation in two separate legal matters, pending certain conditions.

China-based Huawei has agreed to withdraw its lawsuit against Motorola and Nokia Siemens Networks. The suit, filed in January, sought to block Motorola's sale of its wireless equipment business to Nokia Siemens on the grounds that Motorola could reveal certain Huawei trade secrets to Nokia Siemens.

Related links • Huawei sues Motorola over sale to Nokia • Motorola selling network gear biz for $1.2 billion • … Read more
T.J.Maxx hacker says feds gave him the OK

Albert Gonzalez, the hacker who pleaded guilty to leading one of the largest cases of credit card theft in the U.S., is asking a judge to toss out the pleas, arguing that they were part of his assignments as a paid government informant.

"I still believe that I was acting on behalf of the United States Secret Service and that I was authorized and directed to engage in the conduct I committed as part of my assignment to gather intelligence and seek out international cybercriminals," Gonzalez wrote in a 25-page petition filed March 24 with the U.… Read more