Ethical hacking and subverting the internet | Thomas Webb (Tom London) | TEDxBerlinSalon
Summary
TLDRIn this engaging script, magician Tom London, whose real name is Thomas Webb, shares his journey of blending magic with technology. He discusses his rise to fame with the keyword 'London' in his domain name, his America's Got Talent appearance, and his belief in revealing secrets to inspire. Tom demonstrates innovative tricks, including hacking smartphones to display colors and open apps, and a live 'blockchain' simulation using audience members' calculator apps. His talk highlights the power of coding and the magical possibilities it unlocks, challenging the traditional boundaries of both magic and hacking.
Takeaways
- 😎 Tom London is a stage name chosen for SEO purposes, with the real name being Thomas Webb.
- 🔍 Tom aimed to rank highly in Google searches for 'magician in London' by incorporating 'London' into his domain name.
- 🎩 He believes in revealing 'secrets' in contrast to the traditional magician's code of silence, advocating for transparency in the realm of hacking.
- 📱 Tom demonstrated an interactive presentation by having the audience use their phones to engage with a live website, showcasing the power of coding.
- 🤖 He utilized technology to create a 'hacking' experience without needing a Wi-Fi network, using mobile data to control audience's phones.
- 🎨 Tom's talk emphasized the idea that 'anything is possible when you can code,' highlighting the limitless potential of programming.
- 🔢 He performed a trick involving calculators where he seemingly predicted a complex calculation, revealing the trick as a simple memory function of the calculator.
- 🌐 Tom discussed the use of PubNub, a real-time data messaging platform, to control audience's phones and create interactive experiences.
- 🗺️ He shared the story of his America's Got Talent audition, where he used augmented reality and a custom app to make it appear as if he could predict and display world landmarks.
- 🤹♂️ Tom's performances blend magic with technology, showing that advanced technology can seem magical and vice versa.
- 🔄 The script concludes with Tom reflecting on the iterative nature of hacking and improving upon tricks, leaving the audience with a sense of wonder and curiosity.
Q & A
Who is Tom London and what is his real name?
-Tom London is a stage name chosen by Thomas Webb. He selected this name in 2014 to rank highly on Google searches by having 'London' as a keyword in his domain name, aiming to become the most successful magician in London.
Why did Tom London choose the name 'Tom London' for his online presence?
-Tom London chose the name to leverage SEO practices of the time, which allowed him to rank highly on Google by having a keyword in his domain name. He wanted to be the top result when people searched for 'magician in London'.
What is Tom London's stance on revealing the secrets behind magic tricks?
-Tom London, identifying himself more as a hacker than a magician, believes that hackers should always reveal their secrets because they are cool. He contrasts this with the traditional magician's code of not revealing secrets.
How did Tom London engage the audience during his talk?
-Tom London engaged the audience by asking them to use their mobile phones to scan a QR code, which led to a push notification directing them to a website. This interactive element was part of his demonstration of coding capabilities.
What was the purpose of the QR code scan during Tom London's presentation?
-The QR code scan was used to direct audience members to a webpage that could determine their device type and ask if they wanted to come on stage. It was part of a larger demonstration of hacking and coding in action.
How did Tom London simulate a blockchain transaction with the audience?
-Tom London simulated a blockchain transaction by having the audience input a series of numbers into their calculator apps, which were then added together to create a random number that everyone authenticated by participating.
What was Tom London's approach to 'hacking' people without a Wi-Fi network?
-Tom London used a combination of a QR code, a server running a webpage, and a real-time data messaging platform called PubNub to control audience members' phones over 3G or 4G networks.
How did Tom London manage to open Instagram and gain followers during his presentation?
-He utilized JavaScript's window.location property to change the webpage location, which allowed him to open the Instagram app natively on the audience's phones and pre-fill a follow request for his account.
What was the significance of the number '810,293' in Tom London's presentation?
-The number '810,293' was the result of a simulated blockchain transaction involving the audience. It was also pre-written on a postcard that Tom London revealed, demonstrating a magic trick that appeared to predict the outcome of the transaction.
How did Tom London explain the concept of technology being magical?
-Tom London suggested that people often overlook the magical aspects of technology, treating advanced apps as mundane. He believes that the underlying components of technology are magical and should be recognized as such.
What was Tom London's experience like during his America's Got Talent audition?
-Tom London described his audition as the best moment of his life. He used audience members' phones to execute a trick, which involved displaying a pre-recorded video of him holding a playing card that matched the judge's choice.
How did Tom London create the illusion of having an infinite number of videos for his AGT audition?
-He used Unity, a game development platform, to create an augmented reality app that could play videos based on real-time messages sent from an offstage assistant, giving the illusion of an infinite number of outcomes.
What challenges did Tom London face with the Bluetooth printer during his AGT audition?
-The Bluetooth printer faced issues with range and connectivity, often failing to print during rehearsals. Despite these issues, it worked during the actual performance, contributing to the success of his act.
How did Tom London travel to various world landmarks for his AGT audition?
-Tom London physically traveled to each of the world landmarks to record videos, which were then used in his augmented reality app to create the illusion of him being in those locations during the audition.
Outlines
🎩 Tom London's Magical Approach to Hacking
Tom London, a magician and hacker, introduces himself and his unique domain name choice for SEO purposes. He explains his transition from 'Tom London magician' to just 'Tom London' and his philosophy on revealing secrets in contrast to traditional magicians. Tom demonstrates his skills by engaging the audience with a QR code that leads to a website, showcasing his ability to determine the device being used and even 'hacking' someone's phone to open Instagram. He also simulates a blockchain transaction with the audience's participation, revealing a pre-planned number that he had written down beforehand, demonstrating the seamless integration of magic and technology.
🤖 The Art of Remotely Controlling Phones with QR Codes
Tom London delves into the technical aspects of his phone control trick, explaining the use of QR codes and real-time data messaging platforms like PubNub. He details the process of directing audience members to a webpage that sends their device information to his server, enabling him to control their phones remotely. Tom also discusses the challenges of hacking without a Wi-Fi network and how he overcame them. His narrative includes a humorous anecdote about attempting to use a Bluetooth printer for a trick and the creative process behind his augmented reality app, which he built using Unity and PubNub to play videos based on judges' choices.
🌐 Traveling the World for the Ultimate Magic Trick
Tom shares his ambitious plan to travel to world landmarks for a magic trick involving augmented reality. He describes the emotional journey of visiting places like the Acropolis and the Great Wall of China, and the technical challenges of creating an app that could play videos corresponding to the judges' choices. Tom's dedication to his craft is evident as he recounts the trials and tribulations of ensuring the app's functionality and the live demonstration of his trick, which involved his assistant sending messages to trigger the correct video playback.
🔢 The Calculator Trick and the Magic of Technology
In the final paragraph, Tom reveals the secret behind a simple calculator trick that creates the illusion of performing complex math, emphasizing the magic inherent in technology. He reflects on Arthur C. Clarke's quote about the indistinguishability of advanced technology and magic, and shares his personal experiences with blending the two. Tom concludes by expressing his excitement about revealing the secrets behind his tricks and the joy he finds in the endless possibilities of technology, leaving the audience with a sense of wonder and appreciation for the magic of coding.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Tom London
💡Magician
💡Hacker
💡QR Code
💡PubNub
💡Blockchain
💡Augmented Reality (AR)
💡API
💡Unity
💡America's Got Talent (AGT)
💡Social Engineering
Highlights
Tom London, a magician and hacker, reveals his real name as Thomas Webb and explains his choice of stage name for SEO purposes.
Tom discusses his philosophy on revealing secrets in magic and hacking, advocating for transparency in the latter.
An interactive presentation where the audience is prompted to use their phones for a QR code scan, leading to a push notification.
Tom demonstrates the ability to remotely control audience members' phone screens to change colors and display a pokeball.
A stage participant is chosen using a 'pokeball' selection method via phone interaction.
Tom shares his experience of winning America's Got Talent and his desire to 'hack' everyone without a Wi-Fi network.
An explanation of how Tom used real-time data messaging for his phone control trick, involving PubNub and QR codes.
Tom's creative use of JavaScript to open native apps and manipulate web pages for his magic tricks.
The revelation of Tom's method for simulating a blockchain transaction using audience members' calculator apps.
A detailed account of Tom's America's Got Talent audition, where he used augmented reality and a Bluetooth printer.
Tom's journey to world landmarks to create videos for his AGT audition, showcasing his dedication to the craft.
The technical challenges and solutions Tom encountered while building his augmented reality app for the AGT performance.
Tom's innovative approach to creating a seemingly impossible magic trick using technology and real-time video playback.
The story behind Tom's failed trick with the Great Wall of China and his emotional connection to the performance.
Tom's reflection on the nature of hacking and magic, drawing parallels between the two and their potential for innovation.
A final magic trick involving the audience's calculator apps, revealing a connection to the current date.
Transcripts
who's Tom London if you google Tom
London you'll find a Wikipedia page that
I created just gonna get this rule like
real early
my real name is Thomas Webb I chose Tom
London because back in 2014
you could rank highly on Google by
having a keyword in your domain name and
I wanted to be the most successful
magician in London so I decided to put
London in my domain name I was Tom
London magician so if you typed in
London magician man I was number one and
then I was like oh why don't just call
myself Tom London and before yeah I was
killing it so that was pretty good
it's funny actually I loved that
introduction which is you talking about
America's Got Talent and being a
magician I'm probably gonna get kicked
out of the Magic Circle for this because
I've decided that I'm going to break the
biggest rule of them all which is the
magician never reveals his secrets you
see secrets to magic tricks are usually
really really bad because tricks are
usually like not that interesting but
I'm not a magician I'm a hacker and I
think that hackers should always reveal
his secrets because they're really cool
so my talk today is gonna be about
anything is possible when you can code
I'm a big advocate of programming I
think if you can program in today's
world you can quite literally do
anything so to break the status quo can
everyone take out their mobile phones I
want everyone to take their phone out
and I'd like you to open up your camera
if you've got an iPhone you know just
tap the camera' camera thing if you want
Android you can just sit this one out
this was take-home so we're gonna do is
oh so you're doing already scat scan
this QR code and it what happened is a
push notification will pop up at the top
and you can click on that push
notification it says a website my last
name's web website yeah that was
expensive you should see a webpage that
will say what device using I could
actually just determine what device
you're using in the browser but I
thought you know it's kind of early
let's wake everyone up with their thumb
so just click what device you're using
and the next question is going to ask
you if you want to come on stage or not
I know some of us got social anxiety I
do so if you don't want to come on stage
just click no and then once you're done
there'll be a little holding page which
they keep this page open can I get a big
yes 17 people followed along so hey when
I won America's Holland I had this dream
I was like I really wanna be able to
hack everyone
the problem is hacking people was really
difficult especially when you don't have
a Wi-Fi network so the Wi-Fi in here I
don't believe is working so there's
design challenges like how do i hack
people without being able to you know
collect them inside a Wi-Fi network I
have to be able to do it through the
device over 3G or 4G so to create that
effect of hacking someone it was really
quite difficult but I realized I could
use a little magic just to kind of hack
the hack and that's what I've done so
what you you're on right now is I've if
I click this button here it with screens
going black and then I can make them go
blue red we can do a little party cool
right yeah it's free see and then what I
can also do is if I click this they're
all gonna flash them colors this is my
little hacking thing colors hacking and
then some of you maybe five of you are
gonna get the pokeball if you get the
pokeball that means I choose you who's
got a pokeball there's a pokeball okay
can we get a round of applause please as
he comes onstage
can you come join me that's great
in the meantime you should look at your
devices I think I may have opened
Instagram is that worked yeah you can
now follow me on Instagram
isn't that cool all in the browser how
did you get 40,000 followers Tom now you
know Hayden come on up so what we're
gonna do is I'd like everyone to open
the calculator app on their on their
mobile device mobile device who says
that I say that and once you've done
that here's get heating what's her name
Rohit's tom hold on to that he's we're
gonna I'd like can we just everyone has
to follow this like really precisely
we're gonna simulate a blockchain chain
2019 we're gonna say that about our
house is perfectly okay so can we just
start off with a hi there hey what's
nice feet do you have what size feet do
you have your shoes 37 what's that in
the UK sizes okay can everyone just type
37 37 and then on your calculator app
and then hit the multiply button and
just wait let's go is hey hey ding so
here right what's your credit card PIN
number
and I'm deadly serious no let's just go
with can I have a number between one and
ten hey that's a really good choice hit
eight and then hit multiply it again so
you should all have 296 can I get a yes
finally let's go is this guy here hey
sir how many girlfriends have you had
I'm really killing you today I'm sorry
no no no no what number do you live at
like your house or your apartment 32
everyone high only 32 and then hit the
plus symbol so we should now have nine
thousand four hundred seventy two this
is great okay it's all on you now buddy
I want you to put your thumbs over the
numbers close your eyes and I want to in
input a random element to this just so
you don't think I've planted people in
the audience because that's what
magicians do I always close your eyes
and hit hit six numbers at random don't
look at them
I get nervous at this bit okay what did
you type you've typed okay so everyone
you've hit plus now you need to type
eight zero zero eight two one so we're
gonna add eight hundred thousand eight
hundred and twenty one if you hit equals
the sum of those numbers is eight
hundred ten thousand two hundred ninety
three can I get a yes we have a massive
round of applause please take a seat
thanks so much thank you
I think we've got someone who's put this
on the thing have they oh they have cool
okay so there is eight hundred ten
thousand two hundred ninety three
everyone's got that on the device so
that's a random number we made and the
reason we simulated blockchain is that
all of you've authenticated what's just
happened because you've all taken part
in the transaction use your own
calculators there's no trickery going on
here it's that fair to say well inside
my pocket here I actually have a pen and
a paper I found this outside is a little
like postcard and there's no other like
things inside my pocket it's just you
know just one thing and I wrote on this
is very cool it actually has on here
where the magic happens and it's got
your comfort zone and so I drew my whole
circle I said magic and I wrote eight
hundred ten thousand two hundred ninety
three
isn't that cool I know you're thinking
he must have like 810 thousand postcards
all over his body that's logical so I
did this on America's Got Talent
that was the best moment of my life and
did it with their phones it was really
really cool so how did I do that well
let me break it down I've never told the
story I'm very excited to share with you
I put it life hack so what my goal was
to do was to be able to get everyone's
phones to be controlled by me the whole
phone so the design changes that is like
okay well how can I control the phone I
can use an app the problem is I have to
get ones download app that's impossible
so I can't use that Wi-Fi network if
I've Wi-Fi network I can send our beaker
and get a little message to pop up you
know like when you connect to a hotel
Wi-Fi and I could control that page and
their Wi-Fi in the auditorium scratch
that one so then I was like oh my god I
can use a QR code because in 2017 iOS
they added the QR code thing you just
used most people don't know about that
and you can have a webpage that's like
okay that's cool unfortunately the ADT
thing happened before that so what I did
is I actually have my assistant come on
stage wearing a jacket looking like a
techie and he was like everyone needs to
go on this web page we're doing a thing
and everyone's like okay I'll follow
along and they all did it so now
everyone's primed and ready they've got
no idea what's going on so how did I
make this little application it's
actually quite complicated
what's happening is that QR code falls
you onto my my server which is running
life hack doc tech
they're expensive domain name well you
lay on the webpage I use something
called Pabna PubNub is a real-time data
messaging platform what it does it
basically is like whatsapp for the
internet so if you've got like a like an
app or something and you want to
communicate between people and servers
you can use pop-up to do that really
really quickly so what does it send like
a little text message and it's so small
it takes milliseconds to get from A to B
so when you hit that webpage what's
gonna happen is your your phone's gonna
go my name is Tom and then it sends a
message to my server and my server goes
this is Tom and then when my server
wants to make your phone change color it
sends a group what's that message to all
of you and goes red and then on your
device it goes I got a message saying
red better change to red and it just
does it it's that quick apparently no
one's done this before so I was like
that's pretty cool okay so then I
realized I could also do links so I can
do window.location in JavaScript which
will change when you're in the web page
it will forward you want to a link so I
could do like a prefilled tweet like
sixteens Twitter with a prefilled tweet
that's like pretty fun and then they
introduced this whole thing or you can
do native opening apps natively which is
what I just did so I can actually open
the Instagram app for you and this
scales up to well theoretically millions
of people all unified together and this
one big whatsapp group over the Internet
so yeah that was my moonshot right there
it was really funny how I got in touch
with the guy so actually the guy who
come aside his company was huge huge
company and Steven Blum the CTO I found
on LinkedIn I dropped a little email was
like hey I'm a magician or do some magic
stuff yo can can you help me out and he
came back to me he was like PubNub is
magic
okay so I'm saying that like we're
excited like this San Francisco bigshot
just sent me an email two seconds later
are you real person oh so the phone
thing how did that work anyone any ideas
perhaps KITT okay so what I did does
these are really old tricks cool toxic
so what I did is when you type in a
number to a mobile phone on a calculator
you can hear plus zero times left
bracket and then the cancel button and
what that will do is it will store that
number you typed in at the start into
the memory bank and then you can do any
math you want and then when you're
equals it will just show the number so
I've done twelve thirteen fourteen so it
appears like you've done this equation
but when you get equals it just goes no
thank you and just puts the memory bank
number up in front of it you all just
came like a massive rap applause it's
just like it's that easy
thank you you say yeah any sufficiently
advanced technology is indistinguishable
from magic is what arthur c clarke said
i think any sufficiently advanced magic
is indistinguishable from technology and
i think that some youtube technologies
that we forget sometimes the technology
is magic
i hear more often not than not people
say that's just an app and i'm like yeah
but do you know how that works
no but it's an app i people just assume
the technology does all the work but
really there's so many components in
everything that are so magical so does
anyone I have ever had coffee with a
hacker
no my girlfriend how she could explain
it to you yeah it's basically like
should we get a oh is that a lie
could i hack that let me just play
around with have you got my soldering
iron in the back and I get carried away
so so the morning of this AGT audition
I'm in Apple that is like addiction to
Apple and I walk in and I see this this
is a Bluetooth printer it's this big
it's tiny and I see it I'm like ah I
could put that on my pocket and then if
someone said like a picture I could
print it out and be like haha
just like I did right except you know
use the pen that time but you get the
idea so I bought it was like a hundred
bucks and this is the morning of my
audition I should be practicing
something else but no no no I'm playing
around with this it's better than that
see when you take a photo of it it pairs
the photo to a video and then it has an
app which plays the video in augmented
reality is there Matt so my brains like
the possibilities they're endless if I
have a photo I compare that photo to a
video okay well there's this thing in
magical multiple outs multiple outs is
where you have more than one options so
let's say I say to you pick one of the
52 playing cards
there's only 52 outcomes right so if I
have a picture of every single playing
card that picture could then turn into a
video of me holding a playing card
saying you're gonna pick the seven of
Spades this is like two hours before
osment's do the most important audition
of my life but then I realized that it's
technology which means it's not just
eight videos it's an infinite number of
videos so anyway I get through the first
round and they're like what do you want
to do they already know because I said
them a text message before the auditions
saying guys this is what I'm doing for
next what Tom your auditions in ten
minutes what are you doing need to focus
on this like like Nats core I'll get
through it so good so the the printer
was great but I couldn't hack it I don't
have an API or anything was really
limited so I was like well probably can
make my own one so I did
turns out unity has this there's a
comical of euphoria a few lines of code
and you can actually build your own
augmented reality app this took me like
10 minutes I couldn't believe it a few
lines of code so that's a cube it's just
tracking onto the boarding pass that I
had so I was like okay this was crazy I
was like okay it's like Saturday night
this is possible
I think but I've not made it yet let's
run with the idea so I hop on a train
and I go all the way to Paris and this
is what I did there's four judges if I
take a video in front of a famous
landmark I could say in in front of the
you know Simon you're gonna pick the
Eiffel Tower I could enter the same
thing and say how are you gonna pick the
Eiffel Tower no you're gonna pick the
Eiffel Tower I've got one video for this
location for each judge meaning if I ask
the judge to say name one of the world
wonders and they said the Eiffel Tower I
just have to play the corresponding
video right can I get from saying okay
soso so for judges they always sit in
the same location so what I had to do is
make sure that the order of the video
when I'm doing it I always have the same
judge in the third position so third
position was Mel for example so Saturday
night hop on the train to Paris and I
decided over the next two weeks before
the audition to travel to every single
lap mark around the world and it's funny
cuz in the comments everyone was like yo
it's Photoshop definitely definitely not
Photoshop I actually went there it was
pretty much emotional I remember crying
the top Acropolis after being all over
around around the world I remember
getting drunk on when those trains were
you sleeping them like in a cabin and
there's like a chicken next to you you
know that kind of like whole experience
it's a real real cool and then my
friends like yo you should go to the
Great Wall China I like that's about I
did know I went there that was that was
crazy that was probably the most
incredible thing ever to see that the
only one there other girl were China so
in the meantime my app that I was
building started going really well
the tracking works I managed to get its
Lee would play the videos one after each
other so you can see now it's doing
Paris and then it's gonna start playing
the video in Pisa straight after so I
could have the camera playing and it
would just play each of the judges
videos in succession here we go magic
wipe and then BAM I'm in Pisa and so I
build that well in unity of basically
hacking it together with stuff that I
found online from other people so the
next bit was like how do I get the
actual picture itself doing the little
printer and the whole pocket idea you
know I can pull it hard but like hey
this is we picked so what I did is I I
wanted to have it my back in an envelope
so there's no question of like you know
I put it at the start that couldn't be
anything else in there so I made this
jacket that held the printer
but what's crazy is that it always went
wrong so I remember being in there like
practicing and this is so I get one
practice I'm standing there just like oh
jeez and my assistants on the side stage
trying to print it and it's not working
and the producers look at me like you're
gonna you're gonna die out there you
could have died and I'm like please work
um so yeah the range was really bad but
but it did work and it was incredible so
this is what happened this is it
happening in the flesh guess how I did
it though Pub nerve what was happening
is is my assistant had another iPhone
app hooked up to the iPhone app that was
on stage and it was sending a public
message you'd like I've just done with
you saying this job just picked this one
this judge picked this one and on the
app I had something see like a hundred
videos it was like a three gigabyte out
hundred videos and the app was just in
real time just go play this one this one
this one this one just like that super
fast I'm really kinda really happy to
tell you all this because no one knows
how this works and I'm like this is so
cool so yes I did it it was it was
really really awesome sadly they didn't
pick the Great Wall of China that really
tore me up inside cuz obviously that was
a very long way to go for no reason but
they did pick the pyramids which I
thought was great
because I went there and then I didn't
get through the guy who did a card trick
did so yeah great success no I'm not
salty about it it was it was awesome it
was so cool maybe I should have told
them all this stuff I did and they may
have been different but obviously I've
just revealed like all of my magic to
you right
[Music]
the way the way
it's the thing about hacking is that
like you always got a hack better right
so you memorize said about the
calculator thing you know the
programming thing one little problem
with that you guys will did it on your
phones I didn't program your phones
right three rounded numbers then you hit
an around the go ahead around a number
you will copied the number as well here
equals bam you get this digit I knew
what it was right yeah so I made a
little bit better also just for fun
anyone recognize the number what if I
take out their commas no what if I
reverse it today's date the third of the
ninth 2018 now guys think very much
[Applause]
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