This $170 “portable multi-tool for pentesters and geeks in a toy-like body” puts the power to explore RFID and radio protocols, as well as debug hardware using GPIO pins in your pocket. Also: People are already trying to get ChatGPT to write malware I posted my first impressions of the Flipper Zero the other day, and since them I’ve been bombarded with questions. Here I’m going to do my best to answer the most commonly asked Flipper Zero questions. First, you need a Wi-Fi dev board, and then you’re going to have to flash the firmware on the Wi-Fi board, install new firmware on the Flipper Zero, figure out what to do when things don’t work, and then learn how it all works. It’s allows me to read/copy/emulate NFC/RFID/IR remotes and sub-GHz wireless signals with ease. That’s a lot of power in a small tool. But don’t get carried away. If there are limitations to what the tool can do, a quick web search or a look on YouTube will give you a good overview of them. As to whether it’s worth the money, it depends. For the money, it’s hard to buy anything else that can do what the Flipper Zero can do. If you want something to experiment with NFC and RFID and sub-GHz wireless networks, it’s a nice all-in-one tool. The GPIO outputs are also cool if you’re into playing with hardware. It also gives you the ability to run BadUSB attacks on devices. But where I see the main power of Flipper Zero is less the hacking destination, but more the journey. The Flipper Zero is a brilliant learning tool, and you will be learning all along the way. What can you learn? How GitHub works, how to download and install firmware, how to flash hardware, what all the different networking and wireless protocols are and how they work, and how to work with GPIO – for starters. And this is a big negative for the Flipper Zero. These videos give people a false sense of what’s possible, and it’s going to mean that for every ten Flipper Zeros sold, a good nine are going to end up being resold or forgotten in a drawer or box. But for a good portion of that 10% that stick with it, the Flipper Zero could be their first steps to a long path of learning, and one that could end up in a career in tech. Then you can run a tool called Wi-Fi Marauder that will give you access to a bunch of wireless tools. There are no shortcuts though. Every step takes time and learning and some effort on your part. If it’s the Wi-Fi dev board you want, that’s quite easy to pick up. Also: How to choose the right Linux desktop distribution This will give you a lot more power than the Flipper, but it’s also a much steeper learning curve. I’ve had my Flipper Zero for a couple of weeks and I’ve crashed Wi-Fi on my router, temporarily stopped a car’s key fob from working properly (which could have meant a trip to the garage if I didn’t know how to solve the issue), and made an AC unit go bananas using the IR remote. Also: How to enable UWB on Android (and why you should) This is why you shouldn’t mess with things that don’t belong to you or that you don’t have permission to work with.
