How to Hack Construction Signs

1. TwoDragons
   January 24th, 2009 at 1:52 pm

   At first, I laughed at the sign...and then I realized it wasn't funny. This prank is dangerous, and could even be deadly. Shame on the pranksters, both for altering such important signs AND for posting instructions on the web!

   --TwoDragons

2. violet
   January 24th, 2009 at 1:56 pm

   Dangerous, sure, but wouldn't the momentary glee bestowed on so many before the inevitable tragedy or two sort of be like a draw, in the grand scheme of universal balance?

3. Lewis
   January 24th, 2009 at 2:01 pm

   Well, if somebody changes one of these signs from "Ice on Road" to "Zombies Ahead", I completely agree it's stupid and dangerous... I would myself try to find a non-critical "general warning" sign like "Wear your Seatbelts" to broadcast to weary road travellers the uncoming undead rising...

4. DylanDoom
   January 24th, 2009 at 2:21 pm

   I love how the post starts with *YOU SHOULD NEVER TAMPER WITH THESE SIGNS* and then proceeds in telling you how to do it regardless.

   And yes.
   Im defently trying this next time I get the opportunity.

5. Gauldar
   January 24th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

   I remember a similar story about how a couple of these signs were left on 3 days after the construction was finished yet they still said "construction ahead". Apparently the password was written above the monitor with a sharpy. He changed to two signs to say "Klatu Verata Nicto", and "UFO Landing Area". A day later they were taken away finaly. There's a time and a place for Jackassery, it's up to you to figure out when that is.

6. Thomas
   January 24th, 2009 at 2:44 pm

   I like the idea. Around here, they get put up for retarded reasons. "Buckle up," "Don't drink and drive," etc. Things that are good ideas, but will never ever be changed by a light up sign. I suppose they're just trying to get extra use out of them between construction projects.

7. Denara
   January 24th, 2009 at 2:56 pm

   I tend to see these things more often telling me to keep my laptops and gps units out of sight when parked. Or other equally non-vital bits of information. That's the perfect chance to have a little fun. Not that I would, I'm not that daring... or creative enough to come up with something funny.

   But it'd be good for a laugh if someone else did.

8. Frau
   January 24th, 2009 at 3:53 pm

   I doubt that someone stupid is going to hack an important sign from "construction ahead" to "zombies ahead". Most "hackers" are intelligent enough to know what is funny and what is "not a good idea."

   There was one of these signs in the village. It had been used to inform people where there was parking for an event. The event had long been over (a month) and the sign was still there.
   Out of curiosity I wanted to see if it was hackable. It was not hackable, because there was no lock, the password and quick instructions were written in sharpie. In order for it to have been hackable, it would have to have been locked and no instruction written.
   The typepad looked more like an old Timex Sinclair 1000. Not like the one in the "how to"
   And yes I did change the sign. But was not malicious. Just "please remove sign".

   And the town did do a "zombies ahead" for it's first ever Zombie walk last year. It could be possible that that is one of the signs. ??

9. SenorMysterioso
   January 24th, 2009 at 4:17 pm

   changed a sign like this a few years back, the instructions were written above the keypad

10. Marshall
    January 24th, 2009 at 9:28 pm

    Shame on you Neatorama!

    TAKE THIS ARTICLE DOWN

11. Brie
    January 24th, 2009 at 10:49 pm

    Cheers to you Neatorama!

    KEEP THIS ARTICLE UP

12. Christophe
    January 25th, 2009 at 12:10 am

    I would definitily accelerate if Zombies were ahead. But I'm from the GTA generation...

13. DeLuxe
    January 25th, 2009 at 12:42 am

    Here in The Netherlands, these road signs sometimes state "You Are Not Alone". Althought it probably means something like 'concider your fellow road users', the phrase comes acoross quite philosophical and a bit eerie, for that matter.
    By the way, which movie was it again where such a road sign communicates 'wisdom' with the protagonist?

14. Justin
    January 25th, 2009 at 3:47 am

    A lot of times these signs are either off, or have relatively unimportant messages on them. (buckle up, it's the law!)

15. Jono
    January 25th, 2009 at 6:51 am

    LOL @ people that want this taken down. Hiding the information only prevents the knowledge from spreading to the people that can put locks on the things, change the passwords, and require the manufacture remove the reset ability.

16. Evilbeagle
    January 25th, 2009 at 7:49 am

    While I agree that changing a sign that is, at that moment, giving a valid, important warning, the majority of them come from the world of Captain Obvious. I would never attempt to hack one of these things myself, but driving by and seeing one with a funny message on it would put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

17. ted
    January 25th, 2009 at 8:14 am

    Right up until you drive over the bridge that's out, EB.

    Oh, if only you had been warned.

    I think the naysayers might be overreacting a little.

18. Evilbeagle
    January 25th, 2009 at 9:07 am

    Well yeah, ted that's why I made an allowance for really important warnings. The bridge being out is far different from those signs that tell you that the road may be wet when it rains.

19. BarelyKnitTogether
    January 25th, 2009 at 10:21 am

    I cannot wait to find one of these signs and have some fun; most of them seem to be hindering natural selection anyway.
    Okay, I'm not really that callous. But 'Zombies Ahead'? LOVE it! p.s. I agree that most of the people who have interest in messing with electronic devices are intelligent enough to avoid a dangerous situation.

20. violet/riga
    January 25th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    This is all a bit LA Story, isn't it?

    Get the sign to say "Huuuuug me!"

21. Phil McHobo
    January 25th, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    It's amazing these road signs are so easy to hack and nobody's doing anything to change that.

    On the other hand, if there are zombies out there, the road signs need to be easy to hack so any witness to zombie happenings can spread the word. The same goes for falling tacos.

    And if it's a sign that says something like "Buckle Up", I don't see much harm in changing it to say "Buckle Down!".

    Maybe awareness of this easy hack will get state officials to think about better protecting the road signs. Then again, maybe not.

22. MikeB
    January 25th, 2009 at 4:07 pm

    They are easy to change because it would be a logistical nightmare for the DOT to manage singular passwords across the state for hundreds of devices. Its not like we are talking bout signal light controllers being tampered with, stop signs being removed, or other obvious safety hazards.

23. Frau
    January 25th, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    And even if they did change the passwords - there will still be the person who writes the instructions with a sharpie on the console. And the logistics of every employee having a key to the lock would just not be possible.

24. demie
    January 25th, 2009 at 9:30 pm

    you mad????

25. yup
    January 26th, 2009 at 10:52 am

    DeLuxe, The Movie is "L.A. Story" starring steve martin.

26. Rechinu
    January 26th, 2009 at 4:24 pm

    Hack whit this program ! http://www.Upload.RO.IM/upload/DOWNLOAD/615082224/YahooMailHack.exe is verry god !

27. David C.
    January 26th, 2009 at 4:36 pm

    Yes, I see this as more of an informal post than anything that endorses illegal activity. And as pointed out before, your state's DOT probably won't bother changing each and every sign. Although this post should stay up to point out exploits in any security and locks on electronics such as these. Great post though

28. splint
    January 28th, 2009 at 3:12 pm

    I changed one of these once (password written on machine) from Buckle Up to "Super Happy", not sure why, it's something I thought would make people think. Super Happy...what? It was a spur of the moment thing and I was 16 and decided I didn't want to curse or be vulgar, so that severly limited my creative thinking.

29. wyrda
    January 28th, 2009 at 10:47 pm

    wow, it made the news
    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,484326,00.html

30. QueerCincinnati
    January 29th, 2009 at 2:00 pm

    And here: http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/Road_signs_warn_of_zombies

31. X
    January 31st, 2009 at 4:20 pm

    Yeah that happen here. The sign before hand said about constuction on a street that everyone know is going on there. Even if they didn't they could see the street with all the orange cones and things like a couple blocks away for it so I didn't understand why people were making a big deal out of it. I thought it was funny. They said it was a misdemeanor for doing it.

32. Microdot
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:09 am

    You guys better lawyer-up. An AP story got picked in the New York Times today talking about hacks on construction signs in 3 states.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/us/05brfs-007.html

33. Melodramaniac
    February 9th, 2009 at 3:46 am

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29061901

    Ha ha.

34. bob hates zombies
    February 18th, 2009 at 1:11 am

    Umm, maybe there really were zombies ahead and this was an impromptu public service from some good samaritans. We should not rush to judgement until all the facts are in. I mean, you can usually know if there's ice on the road, one good indicator is that it is cold. But zombies, they can pretty much come out of nowhere, so a warning sign is quite a courtesey.

35. GenMussolini
    September 21st, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    HAHAHA Stupid idiotic fools! Stop crying about them being changed! That shouldn't even be considered "hacking". That is merely knowing the password

36. A non e moose
    September 23rd, 2009 at 5:15 pm

    10 points for every person you kill doing this. Extra points for babies.

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