How to Turn Your Samsung Galaxy S4 into a Wireless Shutter Release Remote for Your DSLR Camera

From amateurs to professionals, DSLR cameras are the standard weapon of choice for most photographers. If you own one, then you probably know how expensive of a hobby photography can be. A good starter camera can run between $400 and $500. Then there are accessories like tripods, lenses, filters, and memory cards that can slowly empty out your wallet.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy S4, one accessory you don't have to spend money on is a wireless remote shutter release. The GS4 has a built-in IR (infrared) blaster, just like the HTC One does, which can be used to control TVs, radios, and you guessed it—DSLR cameras!

Follow along and I'll show you how to use your GS4 to wirelessly take photos with your DSLR. This works great for group photos that you want to be in, or when capturing photos from a distance or at odd angles.

Step 1: Make Sure Your DSLR Is Compatible

The app we'll be using, DSLR Remote, utilizes your Samsung Galaxy S4's built-in IR blaster, so you'll need a DSLR with an IR receiver. For this tutorial, I'll be using a Nikon D3000, which has the IR receiver on the front, under the red accent on the grip.

Some cameras may have them on both the back and front, or not at all. Consult your DSLR's manual if you're not sure. If you don't have one, scroll down to the bottom of this article for an alternate method.

Below is a list of camera manufacturers that the app supports.

Step 2: Set Up the DSLR Remote App

DSLR Remote was created by developer Bitshift and can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store.

From the app's main screen, tap your GS4's menu button, then tap onSettings.

Make sure to configure the following settings:

1. Set Remote Type to Infrared.
2. Set Hardware to Samsung IR Blaster.
3. Set Camera to your DSLR's manufacturer.

Step 3: Enable Remote Mode on Your DSLR

Now we'll set up remote control shooting on your DSLR. The menus pictured below will be from my Nikon D3000. It's an older model, but the process and general layout of the menus should be similar amongst newer models.

Navigate to your camera's Release mode. By default, it's set to [S] for Single frame.

Change it to a Remote setting (the icon will be a remote along with wavy lines). Both Nikon and Canon have options for quick-response remote and 2 second delayed remote. The latter is useful if you want to get into a shot, fire the shutter, and pocket the phone so it won't be in the picture.

Your DSLR's shutter can now be activated via remote!

Step 4: Use Your New DSLR Remote

From DSLR Remote's main menu, tap on Remote.

Here you'll be greeted by a very simple screen — a single button in the middle, labeled with an S for Shutter.

To take a picture, simply frame your shot, point the top of your Galaxy S4 towards your DSLR, and tap the S button.

Timer, Random, and HDR Modes

There are three additional shooting modes, all of which are easily accessible from the main menu.

Timer mode works great for time-lapse photography. Since you can control the camera without physically touching the shutter button, you can prevent accidental camera shake from ruining your photos.

Here are the settings you'll have to tinker for Timer mode:

• Delay: How long before the shutter fires.
• Shutter: How long your shutter is open (to be used in conjunction with your DSLR's Bulb setting for long exposures; on my Nikon this setting was found in Manual mode by scrolling through the shutter speeds).
• Interval: How long between shots (if you have more than one).
• Shots: How many shots you want taken.

Once you've adjusted the settings to your needs, tap the Start button to start shooting.

Random mode lets you set a certain amount of time, and will fire the shutter at random times (however many shots you choose).

Just set the min. and max. times to however long you want the interval to be, how long you need the Shutter open (if necessary), and how many shots you want to take. Again, you would point your GS4 at your camera and pressStart to begin shooting.

Last, but not least, is HDR or high-dynamic range mode. HDR photos are a composite of the same photo taken several times at different exposure levels, bringing out a richer array of colors.

There's a Stops option to change the exposure value (EV), however it didn't seem to work with my Nikon, possibly because it's an older model. I had to manually change the exposure on the camera itself in-between shots.

The Shots option is how many shots you want taken, and Center is the length of time to base your shooting sequence around. For example, pictured above is a sequence with 20 seconds as the center. The camera will take pictures at 5 seconds, 20 seconds, then 1.3 minutes.

No IR Receiver on Your DSLR? Make a Bluetooth Dongle

If you're an experienced DIY-er, you might have some fun putting together aBluetooth cable for the app. For required materials, and step-by-step guides, check out developer bitshift's Hardware page on his website. For camera compatibility, as long as your DSLR has a remote option for using a 2.5mm jack, it should work.

Once you've fashioned together the cable and dongle, don't forget to head into the app's settings and change Remote Type to Cable instead ofInfrared.

Able to get some really cool time-lapse or HDR photos with the help of this app? 

How to Use Smart Switch to Update Your Galaxy S6—Even It's Rooted

In the past, updating a rooted Samsung Galaxy device has always involved the complicated process of downloading the proper firmware for your variant, installing device drivers, then sideloading the update with Odin.

Luckily, though, with the release of the Galaxy S6, Samsung has debuted a new software for Windows and Mac that makes updating a breeze—even if you're rooted. This new software, called Smart Switch, serves as a more robust version of its smartphone app counterpart, and allows you to backup, restore, and update your Galaxy S6 in a few simple clicks.

Step 1: Prepare Your Phone

To get started, make sure your phone is at least halfway charged, because you don't want to lose power in the middle of an update. Beyond that, have your phone powered on and booted up, then connect it to your computer with a USB data cable.

It should be noted that, while you won't lose any data by updating your device, you will indeed lose root if you were previously rooted. As of right now, developers are still working out the kinks for rooting Android 5.1.1 on the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, so you may not be able to re-root for a little while.

Step 2: Install Smart Switch for Mac or PC

Next up, from your PC or Mac, click one of the following links to download the Smart Switch desktop program:

• Smart Switch for Windows
• Smart Switch for Mac

Once the file has finished downloading, go ahead and launch it, then follow the prompts to get Smart Switch installed on your computer.

Step 3: Back Up Your Existing Data

Once installed, Smart Switch should automatically recognize your device type and download all corresponding drivers without any further interaction from you. This means that as soon as you finish with the setup wizard, you're ready to use Smart Switch.

One of the first things you should do is create a backup of your existing firmware, data, and apps. To do that, just click the "Backup" button near the bottom of the screen, then wait about 10 minutes for the process to complete. Should you ever need to restore this backup, the process is equally simple—just click the "Restore" button, then select the backup you made, and Smart Switch will handle the rest.

Step 4: Update Your Firmware

If there is an available firmware update for your device, Smart Switch will inform you of this with a message near the top of the screen. Just click the "Update" button directly to the right of this message to begin the update process—even if you're rooted.

From here, you'll be asked to confirm your choice, so click "Update" again on the subsequent popup.

Next up, you'll get a message detailing the update process. While it does say that "a rooted device may cause updates to fail," the vast majority of rooted users have reported that Smart Switch updated their devices successfully, and I've personally done this with two rooted Galaxy S6 phones myself. Even still, if the update were to fail due to root, you'd just be right back where you started on your old firmware, so there's not much to lose in trying.

After clicking "OK" on the previous message, Smart Switch will start the process of updating your phone's firmware. While this is happening, do not touch or interact with your phone at all.

Depending on your computer, the update process may take up to 30 minutes, but when it's done, you'll get a confirmation dialog. As it says, you should disconnect and reconnect the USB cable at this time.

Your phone will take longer than normal to boot back up, but once it does, you'll be running the latest version of Android. After your phone has finished booting, it's safe to disconnect the USB cable entirely.

How to Spoof MAC Address on Android Phones

Srikanth Ramesh

A Media Access Control address (MAC address) is a 12-character unique identifier assigned to a specific piece of hardware such as the network adapter of your WiFi device. In simple words, a MAC address can be used to uniquely identify your Android phone on the Internet or the local network.

Spoofing MAC Address on Android Devices

Even though MAC address is embedded on the hardware device during manufacture, it can still be spoofed to input a new one of your choice. Here is a detailed instruction on how to spoof MAC address on your Android phone.

Before you spoof the MAC address, you need to record the original/current MAC address of your device which can be done according to the instruction below:

• On the Home Screen of your phone, tap Menu button and go to Settings.
• Tap About Device and go to Status
• Now scroll down to record the 12-digit code shown under Wi-Fi Mac address. An address would read something like:
  Example MAC address: E5:12:D8:E5:69:97

Requirements for Spoofing the MAC Address

1. Rooted Android Phone
2. BusyBox app installed on your phone
3. Once BusyBox is installed, you need to install Terminal app

Once the above requirements are satisfied, follow the instructions below to spoof your MAC address:

1. Open the Terminal app and type the commands as listed below:
   
   $ su [HIT ENTER]
   
   
   $ busybox iplink show eth0 [HIT ENTER]
   
   (This will show your current MAC address, just for your confirmation)
2. Now, type the following command:
   
   $ busybox ifconfig eth0 hw ether XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX [HIT ENTER]
   
   (In the above command, replace XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX with your new MAC address)
3. You have now spoofed your MAC address successfully. To check for the change enter the following command again:
   
   $ busybox iplink show eth0 [HIT ENTER]
   
   (Now you should see your new MAC address)

I hope you like this post. For feedback and queries, pass your comments

3 Best methods to Hack Wi-fi using Android Phones

Today's stroll, I would brief you guys on the 3 Best methods to Hack Wi-fi using Android Phones.



Weeks back ago, I got lots of mails from most of my blog readers requesting for apps that could make them hack into any vulnerable wi-fi network amongst their area through the use of their android phones. With the tips I would be breifing you on, bet me, there is a 99.9% chance for any password protected Wi-fi network to be hacked.



Method 1: Hacking of WPA2 WPS Routers

Step 1: Firstly, if your android phone isn't rooted, try to root it, and also make sure that such android phone have a Broadcom bcm4329 or bcm 4330 chipest unlike the Nexus 7, Galaxy S1/S2, Nuxus 1, Htc Desire HD, etc. The presence ofCyanogen ROM on your device can be of use to make the bcmon app work through.


Step 2: Then download and install bcmon, it's essential because it helps monitor mode on your broadcom chipest that helps in the PIN Cracking.

Step 3: After installation, run the app and tap "monitor mode" option.

Step 4: Download and Install Reaver app which helps to crack the WPS Pin to retrieve the WPA2 passphrase.

Step 5: After installation of reaver app, launch it and do an on-screen confirmation, which is, confirming that you're not using it for illegal purpose, then tap the APN or access point you'd wish to crack and continue. Most times, you might need to verify monitor mode to proceed, and this would cause the bcmon to open again. 

Step 6: Verify your settings and also make sure that you've checked the Automatic Advanced settings" box.


Step 7: Finally, start cracking process by tapping start attack, at this final stage, it can take 2-10hrs for the cracking of WPS to be successful.


Method 2: Hacking of WEP Routers


Step 1: Firstly, if your android phone isn't rooted, try to root it, and also make sure that such android phone have a Broadcom bcm4329 or bcm 4330 chipest unlike the Nexus 7, Galaxy S1/S2, Nuxus 1, Htc Desire HD, etc. The presence ofCyanogen ROM on your device can be of use to make the bcmon app work through.


Step 2: Then download and install bcmon, it's essential because it helps monitor mode on your broadcom chipest that helps in the PIN Cracking.


Step 3: After installation, run the app and tap "monitor mode" option.


Step 4: Then tap the "Run bcmon terminal" option and type "airodump-ng" and Enter. Once the airodump loads finish, you would be directed to the prompt command in which you're to type "airodump-ng wlan0" then tap the Enter button.


Step 5: In this stage, a Mac address would appear, in which you're to jot down.


Step 6: Start scanning the channel by collecting information from the access point before attempting to crack the password, then type, "airodump-ng -cchannel#--bssidMAC address-w output ath0" and tap enter, then it would start scanning, try scanning till it reaches 20,000 - 30,000 packets.


Step 7: To finally crack the password, return to the terminal, but make sure you've reached the suitable number of packets, then type "aircrack-ng output*.cap" and tap enter at the terminal.


Step 8: Once the password is cracked successfully, you would receive a message alerting, 'Key Found' and would display the key in hexidecimal form. So when entering the key, make sure you eliminate the dots '.' or double dots ':', i.e if it displays 12:34:56:78:90, then enter 1234567890 as the code.

Best Alternative: Best Wifi Password Hacker App for Android

The use of osmino wifi app seems to be the best any easiest method when hacking into a wifi network. Actually, it doesn't do any hacking but it serve as help to retrieve the already hacked password by someone else. It also tracks down the location of such vulnerability and gets connected it's network.
To download osmino wifi app, click here.

Disclaimer: Please I won't be held responsible for any illegal activity this tips is used for, it's just for knowledge sake.Thanks Happy Hacking