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30 devices to please your friends
1. Ubertooth One
Official site
Ubertooth is an open source piece of hardware for all sorts of fun with Bluetooth and Bluetooth LE. Ubertus is capable of capturing and demodulating radio signals in the 2.4 GHz ISM band with a 1 MHz bandwidth and using frequency modulation.
Why is this needed? Bluetooth now connects a ton of wireless devices, including smartwatches, bracelets, keyboards, and electronic locks. Many of them do not encrypt traffic in any way. Eavesdropping on a wireless headset will not work on the fly - this would require full GFSK support and methods to crack encrypted traffic. But there is a chance to upgrade skills in Bluetooth (and at the same time to intercept the signal of the keyboard and a couple of other devices). The price for such fun is not that high - about $ 120.
2. Levenhuk DTX 50
Official site
This digital microscope is a great tool for inspecting PCBs, evaluating solder quality, finding micro defects, and reading chip markings. In fact, this is a slightly modified webcam, with the front lens turned upside down. The refinement consists in the installation of a circular illumination with adjustable brightness, a ring for changing the focal length and a tripod.
Cheap versions of such microscopes cost from one and a half thousand and are equipped with a matrix with a resolution of 0.3 megapixels (the Chinese will write at least 10 megapixels for such microscopes, meaning useless digital zoom and software interpolation). But even with it, you can achieve interesting results, although it will be inconvenient to work.
More expensive models (from five thousand) are equipped with CMOS 1.3–2 megapixels and higher quality optics. It is better to look for a separate tripod in advance, since the stands from the kit are stupidly made. The device costs about 6,500 rubles.
3. Philips Hue Starter Kit
Official site
Smart bulbs in homes are still a rarity, so a smart home starter kit is still an interesting gift. Philips products are not cheap, but they have proven themselves well. A starter set of a hub and two bulbs (without color diodes - with shades of white) can be found from 7 thousand rubles, a cooler version with three bulbs and a switch costs 15. If you order abroad, make sure that the hub and plug are suitable.
4. LimeSDR Mini
Crowd Supply
SDR (software-defined radio) are digital radio receivers with channel scanning function, adapted for hacker research. External antennas of various types are connected to them, and there is specialized software for them, including tweaked drivers and firmware.
The typical range of these devices is in the order of 24-1700 MHz. This range includes the lion's share of entertaining radio air - from conversations between pilots and city services to live broadcasts from the ISS. It also contains the control signals of electronic locks and warning systems, television and radio broadcasting and cellular communications. The scope for research is enormous! Read more in "Hacker".
LimeSDR Mini is just an inexpensive SDR, the younger brother of the already popular LimeSDR. For just $ 140, it lets you enjoy your radio traffic to your heart's content. If HackRF and BladeRF are incompatible with your budget, then pay attention.
5. Trezor Bitcoin Wallet
Official site
Hardware wallets for storing cryptocurrency have been around a few years ago, and Trezor Bitcoin Wallet was one of the first. Today it is one of the best ways to secure your wallet.dat and keep it mined by hard work. To make payments, you need to enter the unlock pin code and connect it via USB to your computer.
A 128 x 64 pixel six-line OLED screen displays information about the actions being performed. Mechanical buttons are used to confirm transactions. This allows you to be sure that the transfer amount corresponds to the entered one, and the payment itself will go to the specified address, even if it is made in an untrusted environment (for example, on someone else's computer).
In addition to Bitcoin, the device supports various altcoins, in particular Litecoin, DASH and Zcash. Inside the device is an ARM Cortex M3 microprocessor and its own operating system.
Trezor Bitcoin Wallet supports Windows, Linux, Android and macOS, but in practice it can be used with any OS that can run a browser. This useful piece will cost 90 euros.
6. BeagleBone
Official site
You have probably already tried different single-board computers yourself and you know that the choice is huge - from the branded Raspberry Pi, which is good as a gift for a beginner, to Chinese things like Banana Pi, which is better to take for your experiments. But if you choose a base for hacking devices, then BeagleBoard is an excellent choice.
This scarf can serve as the basis for your own router for Wi-Fi hacking or a dedicated station for immersing yourself in the world of various kinds of interfaces. And this is not only about receiving rutshells via UART or programming chips using SPI. Everything is much more interesting. For example, it is possible to be in the status of an evil SPI slave device.
Well, and perhaps the main trump card is the ability to proxy USB due to the presence of a USB host and USB OTG out of the box. For single-board devices, this is very rare. Plus there is a lot of cool software on GitHub . This miracle will cost from $ 50.
Alternatively, there is always a Raspberry Pi. The 3B version with four USBs is great for a beginner. In Russia, the entire set with a case, charger and a USB flash drive can be purchased somewhere for 5-6 thousand rubles.
Raspberry Pi Zero W
As an interesting, but more budgetary option, you can look at the Raspberry Pi Zero W: this baby has few ports, but it has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. In Russia, such a scarf will cost about 2,000 rubles.
7. Orico HDD External Docking Station
AliExpress
Docking station with eSATA and USB 3.0 interface for connecting SATA drives (HDD / SSD) of different form factors (2.5 / 3.5 ″) and any size. Disks are installed literally in one motion - like memory cards in a card reader. No tools required. Passive cooling (no noise!).
Especially hot drives can add a 120mm case fan. It fits perfectly and just sits side by side. If you power it from 5 V (for example, from USB or old telephone charging), you get almost silent airflow.
Devices for geeks and advanced users are always released in small batches. They quickly disappear from the market, as happened with hard drive docking stations. If earlier Sarotech and ViPower supplied excellent cradles with eSATA interface to Russia, now on the market you can find only consumer goods with USB 3.0.
Orico helps out, and even for only $ 30. The same company makes old school docking stations with eSATA, which allows you to access drives without any restrictions. Bad sector remapping, HPA change, AAM management, data recovery - all this is possible only with a native interface.
8. Apple AirPods
Official site
If your friend is overlaid with Apple technology or at least uses an iPhone, then AirPods should delight him. They are lightweight, sound good for their size, and most importantly, they switch between devices without the inherent Bluetooth hemorrhoids. Another nice feature is that they turn off automatically if you remove one earphone from your ear (but you can turn it back on if you want). The official price in Russia is 12 thousand rubles.
9. Batband
Official site
Bone conduction technology to get rid of earbuds or on-ear headphones and send sound directly to bone is far from new. The AfterShokz company has been successfully producing these for several years, and on AliExpress you can find several of its clones at once. But they all look so that you don't really want to wear them. Batband is a more elegant solution that works great as a gift. Price: $ 200.
10. Arduino Mini
Variants of "Amperka"
The Arduino platform and its many Chinese clones are good for learning the basics of microcontroller programming. With their help, you can quickly learn how to write control scripts, receive information from sensors and pull any devices.
In the Russian version, which is done in "Amperk", much attention is paid to the convenience of study. Russian-language descriptions, ready-made schemes - all this is on the site, so this is a great option for a beginner's gift. Everything in the kit costs 1400 rubles.
But if you donate, don't forget to warn the recipient that this thing is good for teaching and prototyping. But figuring your bigdog or a fancy smart house on Arduino and other ready-made components is not a good idea. All the same, then you have to switch to ATmega328P or something similar.
11. "Technokub"
Official site
When you buy a beginner maker's kit as a gift, it's a good idea to find one so that you can immediately assemble something working from it. This role is quite suitable for "Technokub" - one of the sets of "Amperka". This is a cube with LEDs that stands on the table and notifies you of various things. But the most important thing is, of course, to assemble it yourself. The set costs 2,500 rubles.
12. STM32 Discovery
Official site, " Chip and Dip "
Real embedded developers, of course, don't sit with Arduino. Who designs 8-bit hardware in the 21st century when you can take a 32-bit ARM from the STM32 family for the same money? If we make a pairwise comparison of Arduino boards with their STM32 counterparts, it turns out that STM32 gives more megahertz, kilobytes and interfaces for the same money.
We recommend starting your acquaintance with STM32 by purchasing any development board from the STM32 Discovery family. These boards cost from 1,500 rubles and contain two STM32 chips at once, one of them (usually STM32F0) serves as a debugger for the second, main and more fat microcontroller. The fact is that ST-Link v2 technology allows one STM32 chip to debug another.
The debugger chip on STM32 Discovery boards can be used to flash or debug any other ARM microcontroller, not just STM32, by uploading the official firmware, which turns it into a J-Link.
A pair of jumpers are responsible for controlling the switching between the chips, so if there is a desire to reflash another ARM, then it is enough to set the jumpers and connect the body being flashed to a separate output group of pins with the self- explanatory name SWD.
13. HydraBUS
Official site
Another interesting STM32 hacking device is the HydraBus. This board allows you to work with a huge number of interfaces on embedded hardware, and for this, as a rule, you do not need to write anything! The HydraFW firmware contains a small, straightforward command interface that you can get started with any supported interface in five minutes. Moreover, the firmware supports scripting to automate typical actions. The scripts are stored on the SD-card, it is also possible to autorun the script for execution, which, under certain conditions, plays a decisive role. This useful piece of hardware will cost only 50 euros.
14. HydraNFC
Official site
In addition to the HydraBus itself, there is also a hardware extension called HydraNFC. HydraBus + HydraNFC is the best NFC hacking kit out there so far. Moreover, the ability to script the attack plays an important role in this matter. And at a price it is much cheaper than the notorious Proxmark!
You must admit that it is easier and more inconspicuous to attack a card reader on a turnstile using a small device that writes traces to an SD card, rather than standing with a laptop and a board waiting for the inevitable appearance of security with interesting questions. But we, of course, strongly advise against doing such things. But what we recommend is to buy HydraNFC - both to a friend and to yourself. The version of the headscarf separately from the "hydrobass" will cost 80 euros, and in the complete set - 150.
15. MiniPro tl866cs
«Technocentre», by AliExpress
A universal parallel programmer that supports over 13 thousand integrated circuits. It is most in demand in car chip tuning and odometer correction. Also used for flashing mainboards and ICs of household appliances.
MiniPro TL866CS is connected via USB. There are drivers for Windows of different versions - from "vintukei" to 64-bit "eight". It should work under the "ten" too, but from personal experience we recommend strictly Windows 7 x86. Price - 3000 rubles.
16. FT2232H USB 2.0 Hi-Speed breakout board
Seeed store
Boards based on the FTDI FT232 chip are convenient multifunctional devices that allow you to solve a variety of problems related to hardware. In particular, it is possible to establish work with a whole family of serial interfaces: UART, SPI, I2C, JTAG.
The presence of a software "jerking" mode with a separate leg (GPIO bit-bang) makes it easy to implement a simple on / off diode or work with a specific low-speed interface, such as 1-Wire. This lowering and raising the level of the leg is used to implement software support for SPI, JTAG, AVR ISP, I2C.
An ordinary board based on the FT232RL chip now costs a penny, but don't rush to take it, since bit-bang significantly limits the speed of the interface due to its software essence. It's better not to skimp and, having spent a couple of bucks, buy yourself something based on the FT232H chip for the role of the programmer. Well, or look for something on AliExpress.
The reason is the implementation of the MPSSE (Multi-Protocol Synchronous Serial Engine) mode in the FT232H. This technology allows hardware emulation of the listed interfaces, which results in a significant increase in operating speed.
The FT232H board allows operating at 12 megabaud in UART mode and up to 6 megabaud in MPSSE mode. In the case of the FT232R, we are talking about a speed of only 3 megabaud in UART mode and less than a megabar in bit-bang mode. So I advise you not to skimp on FT232H and save yourself time and nerves, avoiding the ordeal with bit-bang lags. Moreover, such a high-speed charm is worth only $ 27.
17. Bus Blaster v4
Seeed store
If the speeds and capabilities of FT232H seem too modest, pay attention to devices based on the FT223H chip. In fact, these are two FT232Hs in one package. This means twice as many interfaces and twice as speed. It is on the basis of the 2232H that most of the "proprietary" programmers are made.
Of the ready-made devices, Bus Blaster v4 is good, which can be bought for $ 45. The peculiarity of the device is that, in addition to the FT2232H chip, there is a small CPLD manufactured by Xilinx on the board. This CPLD is used as a logic buffer to convert logic levels of 1.5-3.3 V to an FTDI understandable 3.3 V chip.This will allow you to connect to interfaces on mobile phones, where, as a rule, a logic level of 1.8 V is used. for energy efficiency. Moreover, the CPLD buffer can be programmed to support various JTAG modifications, thereby implementing, for example, the SWD interface, which replaces JTAG.
Another argument in favor of the FT223H is the presence of an example of the implementation of work with NAND based on this chip.
In terms of software, FTDI chips are supported in the popular OpenOCD debugger and Flashrom programmer. And there are also a lot of libraries for different programming languages, so you can create yourself what you don't have yet.
18. Pastilda
Crowd Supply
One of the brightest representatives of the STM32 family is the Pastilda hardware password manager. It is a completely open platform that solves the problem of secure authorization in an untrusted environment. Pastilda looks like a long flash drive with two USB ports - one connects a keyboard, the other connects a cable to a computer.
Pastilda can work in one of two modes: transparent and secure. In transparent mode, all keystroke scan codes are simply transmitted to the USB port without changes. In protected mode, access to the password database occurs, which is stored in the KeePass format and is decrypted only in the internal memory of Pastilda. All kinds of keyloggers and trojans cannot reach it, because the computer still "sees" the Pastilda module as a keyboard.
Let's make a reservation that we have not tested this device, but we are interested in its description. The device can be ordered for $ 65 in the minimum version.
19. PulseRain M10
Crowd Supply
FPGA-based development boards are often used to expand the capabilities of single board computers. They increase the number of available GPIOs, independently process some of the data and transfer it to the main processor. They can even turn your Raspberry Pi into a JTAG programmer.
PulseRain M10 is an interesting FPGA development board. Unlike many analogs, it offers an Arduino-compatible software interface and form factor. The PulseRain project is completely open source - from board design to system and application code. Now you can grab a pre-order scarf for only $ 85. Of course, it will not be in time for this New Year, but take note.
20. Xiaomi Mi Band 2
Official site
Mi Band 2 has been on the market for several years, but it continues to be an ideal gift for those who have not yet acquired a smartwatch or fitness tracker. The bracelet is practically weightless, it works for a month on a single charge, allows you to track steps, pulse, sleep phases, gently wake up the owner in the morning, notify about calls, SMS and events in any applications. It is not afraid of water, is compatible with iPhone, Android and costs only 1,500 rubles.
21. Nokia Steel HR
Official site
Withings, which came under the wing of Nokia, makes smart scales, thermometers and blood pressure monitors, but these are far from the most fun gifts - especially if your friend really needs some of these. But a fashionable watch, which at the same time works as a pedometer, is able to monitor sleep and measure the pulse - that's the thing. They are sold with us and cost about 20 thousand rubles.
22. PocketCHIP
Official site
This is a docking station for a single-board computer CHIP, made on the basis of Allwinner K8 single-chip. PocketCHIP adds a touchscreen display (480x272) with LED backlighting, a miniature QWERTY keyboard and a lithium polymer battery, all in a lightweight transparent body. Also on PocketCHIP there is a video output and a 1/8 ″ headphone jack. GPIO pins can be easily opened to connect different peripherals. The UART pins are for debug access to the CHIP itself.
In general, for $ 70 you can get a hardware hacker terminal - a microcomputer the size of a credit card that can work up to five hours offline. It will have an ARM v7 processor with a clock speed of 1 GHz, 512 MB of RAM, GPU Mali 400, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and most importantly - programmable I / O and its own display with a keyboard.
Wait, did we write "can you buy"? Alas, you cannot at the moment - orders are still suspended until a new batch arrives. What you can buy (and even give as a gift) is a license for the fantasy retro console emulator PICO-8, for which PocketCHIP was developed.
22. Sparrows Lock Picks
Official site
Lockpicking, or picking locks, is a long-standing hacking hobby - for the most part, of course, purely entertainment. Simple locks can be opened with a paper clip, but for exercises with more complex ones, lockpicks will be required. They are different for each type of locks and can be legally purchased in many countries, including Russia. For starters, the Sparrows Lock Picks are great. Locks and picks from 20 bucks per pack will delight the heart of a novice bugbear.
23. TP-Link WN722N
Official site
If you want to give something practical, so that it will probably come in handy on the farm, then the TP-Link WN722N Wi-Fi adapter is an excellent choice. But the "whistle" on the Atheros chip opens up the possibility of carrying out a variety of attacks on Wi-Fi. Low power consumption allows you to connect it to Android devices via USB-OTG. Such an adapter costs about 700 rubles, but you need to look for version 1.x. The second version, alas, is already based on the Realtek RTL8188EUS chip.
25. GL-MiFi
Official site
A portable router that can distribute mobile internet is a useful device, regardless of whether the recipient of the gift will use it as a hacking device or not. The GL-MiFi is a small box containing an Atheros AR9331 chip, a mini SIM card slot, a battery, and (optionally) a pair of external whip antennas.
If you want to get hold of a mobile and anonymizing router or make your own WiFi Pineapple, MiFi is your choice. Stable and cool Atheros AR9331 + Quectel EC20 / EC25 modem = amazingly successful and inexpensive device.
OpenWRT / LEDE is easily assembled on Atheros SoC, the manufacturer initially supplies the firmware based on OpenWRT. You can also download ready-made builds with Tor support from the manufacturer's website. However, it is better to build the firmware yourself and supplement it with software from WiFi Pineapple.
Find the best practices for turning any suitable router into "Pineapple" in the repository of Oleg Kupreev, one of the authors of this article.
By the way, the Quectel EC20 / EC25 modem deserves special attention, as it is the most hackable at the moment. That is, the firmware can be modified to suit your needs, as well as change the IMEI or make an IMSI Catcher. All this and much more can be done with this modem, since it has a Qualcomm MDM9615 chipset inside it.
Also, a bonus in the form of a GPS / GLONASS receiver in the modem allows you to use the router to create your own Wi-Fi map using the Kismet + GPSD bundle. A router is an unambiguous must-have - it will come in handy for sure.
Fully loaded GL-MiFi will cost about $ 100, there is delivery to Russia.
26. WiFi Pineapple
Official site
A well-known device for quickly carrying out MitM attacks over Wi-Fi. The device pretends to be another access point (for example, an open hotspot in a cafe) and harvests traffic from wireless devices of gullible users.
Technically, WiFi Pineapple is a miniature router with OpenWRT firmware and three network interfaces: one LAN and two WLANs. Both wireless interfaces can be switched to monitor mode. The firmware is loaded with Karma, PineAP and other hacker utilities (the set depends on the version). There are even miniature switches on the device for carrying out typical attacks.
The cheapest version of NANO Basic will cost you 100 dollars, more often it will cost up to 230. We don’t want to do anti-advertising (Pineapple has a lot of fans), but, in our opinion, the device is too expensive. If you want to give just this, take it. But it is much more interesting to try to build something similar on the basis of GL-Inet routers.
27. GPD Pocket
Indiegogo
What do you know about miniaturization? Whatever the answer, the guys at GPD know a lot more about it. They managed to cram a full-fledged laptop into a body the size of a seven-inch tablet. And this is not some scrap of a clamshell phone, but a pretty good system based on a quad-core Intel Cherry Trail X7-Z8700 with 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of permanent memory, two USB ports, HDMI-out and Windows 10 on board (like option: Ubuntu). Price: 30 thousand rubles, which is very good for an almost perfect ward driver tool.
30. Ockel Sirius B
Official site
This thing looks like an external hard drive, but in reality it is a whole computer with full-fledged Windows 10. You take it out of wide legs, plug in a monitor, keyboard and mouse and you can work. The specs, of course, match the size and price: 4GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of flash, an Atom x5-Z8350 chip. Such a computer costs from $ 299, delivery to Russia can be arranged if ordered through Indiegogo.
30. Asus VivoStick PC
Official site
Another laptop with Windows 10 (Home edition), this time in a very tiny package and plugs directly into HDMI. On the side, however, there are two USB and audio output. Yes, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of flash memory is not enough, but the same Atom x5-Z8350 is far from the fastest processor. But for a media center or some other fun it should be enough. It is sold with us and costs about 10 thousand rubles.
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