Stuff like this is exactly why I come to Hacker News.
Liftyee · 1m ago
Great idea and +1 for excellent PCB art!
psunavy03 · 2m ago
Cool idea to audio-ize network traffic. Artwork is peak edgelord cringe, though . . .
riknos314 · 1h ago
> if possible disable encryption, then you can profit from not only timing pattern (of white noise), but also listen in on the plaintext payload. the NSA loves plaintext.
Haha, incredible.
On a more serious note this is a really cool idea. Would be interesting to listen to the same origin traffic in different network conditions to hear things like TCP rate control.
cole-k · 2h ago
This went over my head at first, but I really like it. So for those like me: it converts network traffic into audio output.
In NSA parlance, a "selector" primarily is a string that semi-uniquely identifies and addresses a persons intercepted data, such as
- an IP address,
- an email address,
- a phone number,
- a SIM card's MSIN
- a person's social security number,
- a national ID card number,
- a passport number,
- a social media handle etc.
(elsewhere also known as "accessor", "key", "handle" or "index")
jonathanstrange · 33m ago
They are interesting because combining and updating them is a non-trivial problem, as I've realized today while implementing a user ban system.
tptacek · 2h ago
There used to be a thing on SunOS (I think) where you'd get `ping` to write to /dev/audio so you could diagnose network stuff by sound.
schoen · 1h ago
You can "ping -a" nowadays to get beeps for each reply, but it's not quite as cool!
monster_truck · 1h ago
You can still do this with /dev/dsp or similar. Might need sudo these days
`cat /dev/urandom > /dev/dsp`
jdthedisciple · 50m ago
thanks this almost crashed my pc
dylan604 · 11m ago
some people learn the hard way that blindly copying and pasting things from the interweb directly to a terminal is not always the best of ideas. some times, they're bloody brilliant
fuddy · 2h ago
One of the funnier parameters to encounter in the snoop manpage.
ww520 · 1h ago
Good for network wiring diagnostic. It would be great if it can pipe the noise to Bluetooth audio. I can pair a headphone to it, plug this into the network in another room and still can hear it while checking the line connections on the switch/router.
hnuser123456 · 28m ago
That audio port is blasting out a total bandwidth of 100 Mbps (4 bits at 25 MHz) versus 768 Kbps for BT audio, assuming a high quality codec (16 bits at 48 KHz), so not without loss.
hottakesbun · 22m ago
The joke is on him - I used to get this functionality for free way back in the day when (what I presume was) RF noise generated during the processing of ethernet traffic would get picked up by my cheap ISA sound card and sent to the speakers. I never built a sequencer out of it though.
rurban · 1h ago
Don't forget the GHCQ which installs a mirror on each UK modem. I don't think the NSA goes to these extremes
godman_8 · 1h ago
I've worked with quite a few ISPs and exchanges. I haven't set up port mirrors for the NSA but I have setup temporary mirrors for the FBI upon request.
danesparza · 1h ago
The Snowden silkscreen is a nice touch. What a great hardware build!
simpaticoder · 46m ago
Really cool, but has anyone built software to do this locally on a PC? For example:
Haha, incredible.
On a more serious note this is a really cool idea. Would be interesting to listen to the same origin traffic in different network conditions to hear things like TCP rate control.
YouTube explainer: https://youtu.be/vfgySTaM1TI
- an IP address,
- an email address,
- a phone number,
- a SIM card's MSIN
- a person's social security number,
- a national ID card number,
- a passport number,
- a social media handle etc.
(elsewhere also known as "accessor", "key", "handle" or "index")
`cat /dev/urandom > /dev/dsp`
bit evil really, they shit up almost the entire 0-30mhz
but they do work...