Hack

Siri Controls an Entire Room Using the Power of Voice

Oliver Haslam ∙ November 28, 2011

We're just going to right come out and say it: we're pretty much in love with SiriProxy, and we're not ashamed to admit it.

Created by Pete "Plamoni" Lamonica, SiriProxy lets Siri interact with pretty much anything on a network, and people have done some pretty awesome things with it, ranging from opening car doors to launching apps on a Mac.

As is so often the case with such hacks, the clever people of the internet have not stopped with new ways of using SiriProxy, and a new video just popped up on our radar that we think you'll like, especially if you've ever been a fan of Star Trek...

Exclusive Interview with Pete “Plamoni” Lamonica, the Creator of SiriProxy

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated February 6, 2016

SiriProxy has been making the headlines as of late. The server technology makes it possible to use Siri to unlock your car, interact with apps, and even set your thermostat.

The man behind SiriProxy, Pete Lamonica, has taken Siri and shown Apple what it looks like to think outside the box. If enthusiastic geeks have the technical knowledge, the possibilities of SiriProxy are nearly endless.

Pete has let iDB in on the development process for SiriProxy and explained what his motivation was for putting the proxy together. This is his first official interview since SiriProxy went viral...

Siri Proxy Used to Control TV, Gives Us a Glimpse at the Future

Cody Lee ∙ November 27, 2011

Ever since Pete Lamonica, a.k.a plamoni, unveiled his Siri proxy project last week, we've been excited to see what developers would come up with. The project allows knowledgable programmers to "teach" Siri new commands using a public proxy server.

We've seen Siri control a Wi-Fi thermostat, and we've even seen her start a car, but all of that is child's play compared to what this user taught the digital assistant to do. Using the proxyand a Plex command line interface, he uses Siri to control his TV...

FastPdfKit: First Siri-Controlled App Hits the App Store

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Apple's Siri is certainly the hot property these days, and it is at its best when in the hands of hackers who create tools like SiriProxy. Offering a way of making Siri interact with pretty much anything on a network, SiriProxy has opened doors left and right, and now app developers are getting in on the action.

FastPdfKit, an app now available on the App Store, claims to be the first to offer Siri integration using SiriProxy. More accurately, FastPdfKit's developer, MobFarm, is the first to spend the time to create the commands required to interact with its app, but we'll let them off with their bold claim just this once.

The result is the ability to ask Siri to complete in-app tasks, such as paging forward or searching for text. The app even has a party trick, with Siri on an iPhone 4S being able to control the FastPdfKit app on an iPad...

MobileMonitor: The Creepiest iPhone Jailbreak App Ever!

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 24, 2011

Want to see something really creepy? I mean, really creepy?

MobileMonitor is a jailbreak app that just appeared in Cydia, and as its name implies, it lets you monitor mobile devices remotely.

It really has to be seen to be understood, but MobileMonitor basically allows you to track virtually every facet of an iPhone's usage remotely, completely unknown to the user of the device. Full video inside...

A Helpful Explanation of How Siri Works and Why a Port Can’t Be Released

Alex Heath ∙ November 22, 2011

Ever since rumors of an impending Siri port started circulating, non-iPhone 4S owners have been wondering why Siri can't be made available on older iDevices. We've seen video of hackers running Siri on the iPhone 4, iPod touch 4G, iPhone 3GS, and even video of Siri controlling random devices, like a thermostat.

While these specific instances show that Siri can indeed run on non-4S devices, publicly distributing Siri poses a whole other set of problems. The complex system that Apple's servers use to authenticate with Siri on the iPhone 4S is one of the main reasons that a Siri port can't be made available to everyone at the moment.

Siri Hacked to Control on All Kinds of Non-Apple Devices, Thermostat Included

Alex Heath ∙ November 21, 2011

A hacker that goes by the handle of plamoni has created a Siri proxy server that anyone can use to make the voice-based technology control a range of non-Apple devices. A development firm by the name of Applidium recently hacked the Siri security protocol and detailed the process for anyone to implement.

Since then, plamoni has taught Siri new commands that allow it to communicate with any standard, Wi-Fi-capable thermostat. With the server's source code available for free online, anyone with access to an iPhone 4S unique identifier and a good understanding of networking standards can hack Siri in a similar fashion.

How to Enable Native FaceTime Over 3G Feature in iOS 5

Cody Lee ∙ November 16, 2011

In the onslaught of rumors that we saw leading up to Apple's Fall iPhone announcement, there was talk that iOS 5 would finally allow users to make FaceTime calls over 3G. As most of you know, FaceTime has been limited to Wi-Fi since its introduction.

As it turns out, the option actually exists in iOS 5, it's just hidden. Apple obviously isn't ready to release it to the public. But as usual, hackers have figured out how to enable the secret feature...

Siri Security Protocol Cracked, Third-Party App and Non-Apple Device Support Now Possible

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

Ever since Apple unveiled Siri last month, hackers have been hard at work trying to free the technology from the company's iron grip. Like most things in iOS, the digital assistant's abilities are limited in order to maintain security and stability on the platform.

But, as with jailbreaking, hackers have the power to loosen Apple's grip, and they are. The folks over at Applidium have reached a major milestone with the iPhone 4S-exclusive feature. They've apparently cracked Siri's security protocol...

Siri Mind Control Hack Proven to be Fake

Alex Heath ∙ Updated February 24, 2017

We recently told you about Project Black Mirror, a seemingly-ambitious attempt to control the iPhone's Siri technology with only mind waves. When we watched the original video of the project demonstration, we all — including the rest of the internet — got excited about the possibility of futuristic mind control.

It appears that the "hackers" behind Project Black Mirror were only controlling all of our minds, not Siri's. Several sites are now reporting that the project is fake...

Hackers Are Able to Control Siri With Their Minds

Alex Heath ∙ Updated March 18, 2019

The geniuses behind Project Black Mirror have created a way to control Siri with their minds. By constructing an elaborate system involving the Arduino prototyping platform, a MacBook Pro, and ECG pads to capture analog brain waves, these hackers can have Siri make a call by merely thinking.

Yeah, we're not kidding.

How to Enable the Hidden Autocorrect Bar in iOS 5

Alex Heath ∙ November 10, 2011

Another hidden feature has been uncovered in iOS 5. After we told you about the panorama mode in the Camera app, 9to5Mac uncovered an Android-like autocorrect keyboard bar that can be enabled without a jailbreak.

Instead of the classic method of offering corrections in iOS, this secret feature offers suggestions in a bar above the keyboard, much like the Android OS. This autocorrect bar is relatively easy to enable.