http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerline_networking

I think what has been formalized as powerline networking is actually derived from a technology used by a band of thieves to control electrical/electronic devices including PCs and Macs. I believe there are ways to hack into a PC or a Mac if its only plugged into your power outlet and not through Ethernet or any other networking technology. The electrical/electronic circuits on the device itself would function as a transceiver and it would enable the attacker in enough ways to control the device's CPUs and other components, and perhaps to the extent of controlling the software - including the OS - running on the device.

I believe a lot of my research was stolen this way. I was hung out to dry by some people I was close to and there was no way I could figure out how I ended up being the sucker.

Now, before you hackers deny that this kind of attacks ever happen, let me warn you that this will get exposed and I'll be endorsing the people that cause that exposure in more ways than one.

I had cross posted this submission to http://discussions.apple.com/ and the post has been removed.

This is not the first time that a security related post that I had submitted to one of the forums on http://discussions.apple.com/ has mysteriously disappeared. Perhaps Apple is not such a white-hat company, after all.

I guess you'll consider me a 'hacker' because I'm here to tell you there is no possible way your computer was compromised, if it was just plugged into the wall (unless of course someone had physical access to it). The power line networking requires a special adapter to work; it cannot operate through your power supply on your computer. It was simply not designed for that. A PC's or Mac's PSU cannot carry data period. To use power line networking you must use a standard Ethernet cable attached to your NIC, then attached to an adapter plugged into the wall socket. Then on another computer the same must be true, adapter in wall, Ethernet from adapter to NIC. So unless your computer met those requirements you were not hacked by that.

If you still don't believe me go ahead try and 'expose' it all you want, but as it stands now you'll just be seen as to be trying to find some excuse for something you don't fully understand. Which is more than likely why your post was removed on the Apple forums. Frankly this post doesn't even really belong in this section as it's not a security question.

If the discussion turns somewhat GNU/Linux-specific, I'll ask if this can be moved back to Security. But for now, I'm moving this to General. I'll leave a redirect for a week or so.

Too many scifi/horror shows where a hacker's soul got trapped in the world's electrical system?

Seriously, I doubt anything like that could happen with just a regular power supply. The everyday power supply is nothing more than a few capacitors, resistors and voltage regulators. No electronics that would be able to handle any ones or zeros.

You might get along with this guy:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...please-606409/

You haven't understood my post. I've said that what was "formalized" as powerline networking could be used to hack into a PC or Mac plugged into a wall outlet.

You're too young to ponder this.

Try something else for a living, perhaps other than software.

And yes, I will be posting something about this on one of the Microsoft forums, its just that my "brew" is not done yet.

What this says to me is that somehow one could get into the computer through a regular power connection. That is what Bviper was reacting to.

What in fact was the configuration in use when you think your computer was broken into? Did you in fact have the special adapter, or were you just plugged in as implied above?

Here's a link that might help if you can read schematics. http://www.pavouk.org/hw/en_atxps.html

If you look at the very top left side of the schematic, you'll see one of the first steps that the power goes through is a filter. This filter "blocks" most signal that is not 50/60hz to clean up the electricity before anything else is done with it. The next step in the circut is to convert the AC to DC, ie Alternating Current to Direct Current. This would eliminate any type of signal that is comming in over the wire.

I'm not an EE, but I do know enough about electronics that I'm fairly certain that any type of waveform that is capable of carrying any type of data would be stoped at this point. All of the components in the powersupply up to this point are all descretes (resistors, electrolic capacitors, diodes, etc). These devices are not configurable, they are fixed value, so it would be practically impossible to "hack" past these without physically replacing them.

The way those adapters for running signals over home wireing work is by injecting a signal at a different frequency than house current has at one end, and filtering for that frequency at the other. The reason this works is because power supplies are designed to work at the normal frequency of house current (50hz or 60hz depending on where you are) and they filter out everything else. The adapter is designed to work at some other frequency (depending on it's design) and filters out everything except the frequencies it's designed for. The power supply and the adapter are not aware of the other even existing as they can't see those other frequencies.

Guys: all of what you've said is about how things should work under normal circumstances. I'll admit I haven't hacked into a PC or Mac this way - or any other way - so, I won't know how to circumvent how things work normally. If your PC or Mac is connected to anything, I believe it can be hacked into. And if it's been hacked into over your powerline network, no software firewall is going to help.

If Linux or any kind of open source movement, including the one that brought forth Darwin, is the next step in the evolution of software, I think we have to take more steps forward in order to make computing truly trustworthy.

Do you think that I could hack into the computer on your car by hooking up a battery charger?.....or that I could reprogram your VCR by attaching something to your meter box?

There are many ways to break into a computer, but hooking something up to the powerline is not one of them. Several people here have been trying to explain that.

If I configure my computer with an adapter that allows tcp/ip over the powerlines the--yes--you will be able to get into it. But I control that adapter and I can disconnect it.

I have no clue what you are saying here....

All of you can evade the issue all you want, but it doesn't make the facts go away. I think you're finding it hard to let go of this kind of way to rob people, so that's the real problem.

Would you do me a favor and give some kind of rational and substantive explanation of what you are talking about?

Things to cover:
What exactly are we evading?
What are the facts you refer to?
What technical errors did you find in the various explanations? (Be specific)

In addition to what Pixellany said I would like to remark that your next response will indicate the remaining lifespan of this thread.