Category Archives: New York

Hacking a NYC taxi screen

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UPDATE:
I did an interview for NBC about the potential hacking. Watch the video here or read their article about it.

Taxis have started installing screens in the back seats of cabs that display a map of your cab ride, some basic TV, Zagat, and of course, advertisements.

There’s not much you can do with the screen besides that. They also caused a bit of controversy among the cab community, resulting in a few strikes because of the GPS tracking.

When I got in a cab last night I was greeted with the error message to the left.

I’ve seen error messages in airports, on billboards and here is, the world’s largest error message. However, this was the first public error message that I could interact with.


After going through a few windows prompts, I was able to get Internet Explorer open. There was no internet connection, so I started the connection wizard.

There was a Sprint card listed as a dial-up connection. I chose it and got a live internet connection on the cab screen. The only problem was no keyboard, but I was still able to navigate around a bit. Below is me on Adobe’s site.

I also went to File -> Open, which is a good way to browse a locked computer. From there, I had full administrative access to everything on the PC. It was not only a security flaw, but people also pay with the screen if they use a credit card. That information could potentially be stored locally.

What I did was a much bigger problem than GPS tracking. You’re essentially giving strangers access to a computer that is shared with hundreds of customers.

It also isn’t far-fetched for anyone to do what I did. It was pretty simple.

You could even get around a keyboard by copying and pasting text. Both of those functions can be controlled through menus. I also could have installed any software I wanted, assuming I had it online.

3am at the Apple Store

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Betaworks now has an office and I needed a new mac for my apartment (the old one is going to the office). If you’re not familiar with it, Apple has a 24 hour store on 59th and 5th ave in New York City. I decided to go there at 3am and buy my mac.

During the day, the 5th ave store is packed. There are people buzzing everywhere, using the free internet, listening to music, playing with iPhones, etc. Lines to buy things are painfully long and just try to get a Genius Bar appointment.

When I walked in at 3am, there was virtually nobody there (that was expected) and Apple employees outnumbered the people in the store. They had around 15 people in red shirts walking around. The Genius Bar was empty with a couple of experts ready to help any zombies with computer problems. The rest of the population was as follows:

  • Internet users: Checking craigslist for apartments, checking their e-mail, looking for jobs.
  • Stoned people: Like a moth to a bright light, the Apple store apparently attracts high people. I smelled it on at least 3 people.
  • Buyers: It appeared that a few people were buying things.

When I told an employee I’d like to buy a computer, she looked at me a bit funny. I’m guessing they don’t sell too many at night. She also informed me that they get paid more to work the graveyard shift.

Overall, I’d recommend going at 3am. It’s so artificially bright that you get a Casino effect in your brain and forget that it’s the middle of the night. You’ll also have zero lines anywhere and a strong Apple employee to people ratio of 3:1 (instead of the normal 1:500). And of course, great people-watching.