Flip flops and ticking quartz
A really nice look at how a watch ticks and includes a flip flop – a binary counting method to get the timing spot on. Well worth a watch (no pun intended)
Hacking passwords
Your password is rubbish. Statistically speaking that statement is probably true. This video gives a demonstration of thousands of passwords being hacked during the video. Year 11 have recently been looking at cyber security so this has done interesting ideas about weak passwords explored.
Taking apart old laptops
Whilst this isn’t the most entertaining watch, it does show the principles of reusing tech, laptops in particular. Laptops are stuffed full of really good tech and it’s great to be able to reuse it.
Hacking WhatsApp
https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/23/21068815/whatsapp-two-factor-authentication-how-to-security-privacy-hacking-pin-backup The above article is advising how to secure your WhatsApp account to not get hacked. Worth reading and worth following for all. It’s especially interesting for GCSE students as it’s using a particular exploit, and then exploiting the prevention measures. Cheeky, interesting and cool.
Game making tutorials in Python
http://kidscancode.org/lessons/ The above page is essentially a link to loads of videos which are going through making specific games. One series is a space shooter, one is a platformer, one is a zombie shooter. It covers a lot of really advanced concepts but shows you every line that’s being written. Useful for anyone interested in …. Read More
PC building mistakes
A lot of my students consider building their own computer at some point. It’s a fantastic exercise for multiple reasons. This series of videos (this is just number 3, it’s worth going back through the others) give you a few good tips on what to look out for. My advice would be the PSU part. …. Read More
Create your own Crypto currency
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-49826161 I was asked about creating a new currency, it is indeed possible but not easy. It starts touching on the essence of what money is. Facebook tried but didn’t get far. This article is an interesting one where someone tried to create a new currency, got lots of momentum, and then disappeared. The woman …. Read More
Hard drive disassembly
Want to take a hard drive apart and put it back together again? Want to take the data from a broken hard drive and put it into a working hard drive? Don’t. This video shows how an independent repair shop does it properly. A great look at the inside of a working disc. You can …. Read More
Moonpig Hack
Customer details were hacked from Moonpig, this is a breakdown of what happened, but also important thoughts about what should be done when someone finds a vulnerability.
Who Invented the Keyboard and is the Dvorak Really Better than the QWERTY?
If you’ve done lesson 6 of the understanding computers module in year 8, you may have seen the history of the computer include the typewriter which is where the weird order of letters on your current keyboard comes from. If you’ve wondered why they’re placed in this weird order or if there’s a better way, …. Read More