tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72477009592689421122024-09-01T13:30:31.494-07:00Hack the PlanetWesley Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675525279929459379noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247700959268942112.post-36477556759084793622008-03-30T06:15:00.000-07:002008-03-30T09:17:00.495-07:00<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bestbuy.com/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclJJIsLRqZDBW_C0A046y8Nr86DeNJhknDb0s9i1sTA_l9OnVGWIdfuzOkm9xoVcOXiYB_Fq9-29FhugTPyQRfnT51X-soiYgKGlibp0fRkI6-RwLedqkNdka2fkqpn8bsoduJFi_aw0/s320/150px-Best_Buy_Logo.svg.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183526278567795698" border="0" /></a>From time to time, I like to go to <a href="http://www.bestbuy.com/">Best Buy</a>. On my most recent trip I discovered a Best Buy Kiosk. It is set on the Best Buy site and doesn't allow you access to anything else (in theory). I couldn't wait to see if I could find a way to get to other sites. The screen had a bunch of menus for Best Buy and no address bar. I tried all the controls that normally let one break out of a kiosk window (<span style="font-style: italic;">Alt+F4</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">F1</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Alt+Tab </span>(if they had other windows open), <span style="font-style: italic;">Ctrl+Alt+Delete</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ctrl+Alt+Backspace</span> (Linux)). Pressing <span style="font-style: italic;">Ctrl+L</span> yielded a message saying something about the keystroke being blocked. This showed me they had customized some browser (that's normal). There was nothing I could do to get to a web site of my choosing. Or was there? <span style="font-style: italic;">[Evil laugh]</span>. I clicked on the <span style="font-style: italic;">RSS</span> link. Ha! They provide a link to <span style="font-style: italic;">Google Reader</span>, from there you can click <span style="font-style: italic;">Google Home</span> at the bottom of the page. Here are some screenshots:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESEUyX1OyDht3ZKr7A6ZYIFVKOgDZYF-KnXzgd5eqUu5RvFBF-cEZy4MUUQ5ckgNe1bmdSIWFvXYATQm8JLZwG684lNtwDRfau3ZHFNFAXXYPmB4rPRbr5-syMI3zhrwbZRtBguIZlAw/s1600-h/step_1.png"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESEUyX1OyDht3ZKr7A6ZYIFVKOgDZYF-KnXzgd5eqUu5RvFBF-cEZy4MUUQ5ckgNe1bmdSIWFvXYATQm8JLZwG684lNtwDRfau3ZHFNFAXXYPmB4rPRbr5-syMI3zhrwbZRtBguIZlAw/s320/step_1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183564843079146498" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Step 1</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgae229CPKHVpD7DE9b-1lT_FLpyjwNu-rheq7G-qeYPQmbtB657w5v1Dv20CwybfI9kg-EUtxu01Fh_FM9sBy3n_7Os7IeQpagt5D5zGozjZ1joWivr5olwoZT8xsCuC9XaerFyIV5UhI/s1600-h/step_2.png"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgae229CPKHVpD7DE9b-1lT_FLpyjwNu-rheq7G-qeYPQmbtB657w5v1Dv20CwybfI9kg-EUtxu01Fh_FM9sBy3n_7Os7IeQpagt5D5zGozjZ1joWivr5olwoZT8xsCuC9XaerFyIV5UhI/s320/step_2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183564851669081106" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Step 2</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirfNYlu0e9o849yh4xrPuYbVHaNeUY_50ICG7spidG8BDKCrvV4i9XWl2fM7pEpiM-ce42B08nzZDoi1FTG3n-Sq9jc-ZhMkje0swUp_OEATI9rohV46c0KWSNX4o0piFdNUVeGS4U2U/s1600-h/step_3.png"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirfNYlu0e9o849yh4xrPuYbVHaNeUY_50ICG7spidG8BDKCrvV4i9XWl2fM7pEpiM-ce42B08nzZDoi1FTG3n-Sq9jc-ZhMkje0swUp_OEATI9rohV46c0KWSNX4o0piFdNUVeGS4U2U/s320/step_3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183564855964048418" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Step 3</span><br /><br /><br />I also put up a website that includes <a href="http://www.bitty.com/">Bitty Browser</a>, but has a "Best Buy interface". Visit it <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/kioskbrowser/">here</a>. It may be useful if you can get to it in the store. If not, just go to Bitty Browser's site. The problem is, Bitty Browser's site doesn't have a very big version of the window. Opening it in a new window probably won't help (the <span style="font-style: italic;">Ctrl+L</span> key press show it's a customized browser and opening a new window will just keep the same restrictive interface), but you can try. <br /><br />I used this little hack to do a Google search. If I hadn't done this search I probably wouldn't have bought the product in question. So my workaround actually helped Best Buy make some cash!<br /><br />Have fun,<br /><br />WesWesley Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675525279929459379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247700959268942112.post-90287293655075370282008-03-29T09:39:00.000-07:002008-03-29T09:56:45.637-07:00Hey, I'm Wes. I am a hacker. Don't run, it isn't a bad thing. A hacker is someone who knows a lot about computers, and usually they don't break into other people's computers. I won't lie, there are some hackers who do bad things. I however, am not one of them. On this blog, I'll be posting cool information, helpful hints, and opinions on technology (I'll also be posting about anything else that interests me). I hope you enjoy my blog.<p><br />Cheers,</p><p><br />Wes</p>Wesley Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01675525279929459379noreply@blogger.com0