Remember when you used to make sure you were home at a certain time so you wouldn't miss your favorite TV show? That was called "appointment television", and those of you old enough to remember watching The X-Files or Friends when they originally aired know what I'm talking about. But, with the new USA Network show, Mr. Robot, it feels like those days are back again. Sure, I have my DVR set to record, but I will definitely watch it live. Since all my buddies are watching too, I will be itching to talk about it the next day.
Avast's new Hack Chat video series brings back that around-the-watercooler discussion. Watch our debut episode here (10:13).
Avast Hack Chat: Episode 1 "Hello Friend" Program Notes
In episode 1 of Avast Hack Chat, host Ariana welcomes special guest, security researcher and software developer, Pedram Amini.
In the first half of the show, they discuss the pilot episode of USA Network's new show, Mr. Robot. Ariana walks us through the highlights of the cyberthriller, and Pedram explains if these hacks are real-world or just Hollywood magic. You can also read our interview with Pedram on Are the hacks on Mr. Robot real?
One of the earliest hacking movies, War Games, starred Matthew Broderick as a young computer wiz who inadvertently finds a backdoor into the U.S. military's central computer. The technology he used is intriguing even now, and Ariana and Pedram discuss this old-school method in the Time Machine section.
Back to current day, Pedram answers Ariana's question about why the NSA would want to reverse engineer Avast software and if the I-have-nothing-to-hide attitude is the wisest one to take. You can also read what Avast's CEO, Vince Steckler has to say on the subject on Avast CEO speaks out about U.S. and U.K. spy agencies.
