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Hacker delves into secret world of warranties

Nobody likes read the tiny, legalese-ridden warranty statements that come tech products. But a 17-year-old hacker at Defcon has been so, and has advice for consumers and companies .

LAS VEGAS -- A young hacker here Defcon 20 has pulled back the dense curtain of text and ambiguity surrounding warranties to show consumers they can hack the warranty system -- and to tell companies how improve their warranty management.

"Darkred," as he prefers to called, explained to a standing-room only session that it's the manufacturers manage serial and warranties that allows the system to hacked.

"The serial number you the owner of a product," said the 17-year-, a high school senior from Texas. Darkred declined to provide additional identifying information.

Once you have a serial number a product, he explained, the manufacturer presumes possession. It's a bit presuming I'm you, simply I have your Social Security number. And having a serial number isn't just an exercise pattern prediction: Darkred says it can lead to tangible benefits. For example, he said that registering a serial number Amazon will get you one month free of Amazon Prime.

A lifelong interest math and algorithms led him to explore those lengthy strings of numbers the back of nearly every product out . "I started comparing serial numbers on the items to see if there was a pattern," he said.

One example he explained was Apple generates its serial numbers. "The first four digits are manufacturing facility, the second four are unique identifiers, and the last four describe the model and color." Many companies follow similar serial number generating practices.

Manufacturers could be better protecting against serial number fraud, he said. Some serial numbers are easy guess because they are generated sequentially, while some companies you an unlimited number of attempts to register a particular number. "Nobody is going to misread their serial number 200 ," he noted.

The manufacturers could be more cautious removing serial numbers from demonstration or floor models, help people figure out how to create a serial number. Other techniques warranty hackers could use involve e-mailing people Craigslist or eBay to check a real number the online product database, or looking through image search results, he said.


Adapted from: CNET, July 27, 2012.