Hacker Samy Kamkar in “The Dating Game”
Samy Kamkar is one of the most innovative and notorious computer hackers in the United States. He’s also a well-known whistleblower. If you want to learn how Samy hacks everything from online dating to car alarms, this episode is for you.
He is best known for creating the fastest spreading virus of all time, a MySpace worm named “Samy.” He got raided by the United States Secret Service for that one. More recently, he’s created SkyJack, a custom drone that hacks into any nearby drones, allowing him (or any operator) to control a swarm of devices; and Evercookie, which appeared in top-secret NSA documents revealed by Edward Snowden. He also discovered illicit mobile phone tracking by Apple iPhone, Google Android and Microsoft Windows Phone mobile devices.
His research and findings led to a series of class-action lawsuits against these companies and a privacy hearing on Capitol Hill.
To see Samy help me hack my online dating, click here for the “Dating Game” episode of my new TV show.
But to get us started, here is an epic, wine-fueled conversation with Samy about all things hacking-related…
You can find the transcript of Part 1 of this episode here. You can find the transcript of Part 2 of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
- Listen to this episode on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as”.
As a bonus, here are other podcast episodes from experts who appear in The Tim Ferriss Experiment: Josh Waitzkin (Chess Prodigy + Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), Neil Strauss (The Game), and Ed Cooke (Memory Champion).
Don’t miss Samy’s site, his outstanding YouTube channel, and his Twitter.
This podcast is brought to you by Mizzen + Main. Mizzen + Main makes the only “dress” shirts I now travel with — fancy enough for important dinners but made from athletic, sweat-wicking material. No more ironing, no more steaming, no more hassle. Click here for the exact shirts I wear most often.
This episode is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results.
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What precautions have you taken to protect yourself in a digital world? Please share in the comments here.
Last, if you haven’t yet seen The Tim Ferriss Experiment, please check it out! It’s currently the #1 TV show season on iTunes and Apple TV, beating out Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, and Mad Men (!). See what the buzz is about.
Enjoy!
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
Speaking about hackers, to watch the bonus videos on Vessel one has to register and give credit card info.
Yep. Vessel is free for 30 days (cancel anytime), and then I think it’s $2.99 per month after that. Pretty straightforward and another platform I’m hoping will help me (through advertising rev share greater than YouTube) earn back what I spent on the TV show so that I can do more.
All good Tim! The only problem is that you cannot watch the videos in this plataform if you are outside United States…
What computer and OS does Samy use?
A real hacker uses Windows 8.1 64 bit with 8 GB RAM.
I think he uses Mac OS X. At least that’s what I saw in his youtube channel: youtube.com/user/s4myk/videos
In the dating episode of The Tim Ferriss experiment where he consulted on he was shown using 2 Mac laptops with OS X. I believe they were MacBook PROs, but I’m not sure. He also had two massive flat screen monitors which looked to be hooked up to his laptop, but it’s possible he also had a desktop computer hidden somewhere.
It’s possible though that they showed that over a Linux or *BSD interface in order not to confuse viewers. However on the website of his USBdriveby project he talks about at the beginning of the podcast he writes:
“While this example is on OS X, it is easily extendable to Windows and *nix.”
which suggests that at least for some projects OS X is considered the main OS.
OS X is quite convenient as it shares many of the basics of a *nix system, so for many purposes it is just as good as any Linux distribution, while retaining the positive aspects of the Apple eco-system.
Also most hackers use several operating systems in order to understand them and what kind of vulnerabilities they might have. I’m sure Samy has both Linux and Windows images at his disposal.
Thankyou to both of you, this was SO interesting. Mindblowing revelations on what goes on nowadays. Also when/if the Dating episode of Tim Ferriss show is available in the UK on iTunes will be a defo watch.
Good shout out for the book “Influence” We have a very spammy UPVC company called Everest in the UK. I remember getting a generic sales letter from them in the post and underlining every single one of the 7 “persuasion” principles from that book in this sales letter just after I read it. Those spammy sales letters often handcrafted and honed over the years often get binned immediately, but pure artform in persuasion ad copy in there often overlooked.
Hi James,
Just to check, I want to read this but there’s no clear reference yet to the author. Is it by Robert B. Cialdini? Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion?
Thanks 🙂
Loved this podcast so much 🙂 I’ve heard a few different people in Samy’s world speak (Pablos Holman, Kevin Mitnick, etc.), and I’m always fascinated by how supremely insecure our world actually is. For anyone interested in going down this rabbit hole of awesome: https://www.youtube.com/user/defconvidoes/videos
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What precautions have you taken to protect yourself in a digital world? Please share in the comments here.
“in the comments here.” is linked to an inncorrect page 🙂
Fantastic interview. Sammy has an atypical personality for a hacker (set against public opinion). Such an enthusiastic and entertaining guy.
QOTD: My travel laptop has all usb inputs disabled until you get into the OS. There are other hoops to jump through to get into the OS. I also use a VPN.
Also…just had my first cup of coffee via the 4-hour chef method. Fucking god what have I been doing all this time! Such a pleasant experience. Inexpensive. I am sure I will get many “happiness hits” because of this one change. Thanks for all your info, Ferriss. It has led to a radically different life/business.
Thanks, JScott! Great tip, and enjoy the coffee experiments. The AeroPress is my fave. Put 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil in the finished product for a real mental boost 🙂
Quick note – when I click on the link above to go to the comments, it takes me to the comment section from the recent CrossFit episode:
http://fourhourworkweek.com/2015/03/04/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-crossfit/#respond
To answer the question, I use 1password for managing login inform information and only use my own devices to access banking/email/social media.
Thank you, Ryan. Fixed!
Tim, the iTunes link does not work for me (I’m in Europe). I understand you are having difficulties distributing here (hope you find a way soon), but maybe a heads-up would be nice because the link does not do anything, not even an error page…
Same here, in Australia.
He has mentioned several times that he doesn’t have international rights. Have you tried getting a US IP address? I did it when I was overseas. Good luck!
Use a VPN. How it works, you connect to a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that gives you a USA IP address, and whola, you avoid any local restrictions. If you’re in a country with no free speech, or monitored access, you’ll have to get crafty (tor, vpn, different computers, never the same user id, or access accounts, run a browser on a USB… etc). Note: ITunes may phone back home so you may need to set up another ITunes account.
what an amazing interview – though it was clear towards the end that every drop of those two bottles were having an affect! I felt like I was allowed in on a fun and interesting private conversation. I stayed awake far too long to finish it. Just a note – the Tim Ferriss experiment isn’t available down under yet. Can wait to see the espisode discussed in this podcast.
What an enjoyable show! Laughing my ass off. Time to get in to the hacking game. Great advice!
Sounds like Samy can hold his alcohol better than Tim. 😉
Seems that way, or I was chugging like an idiot. Or both.
Sounds like good stuff… I’m having a tough time finding it though.
Sounds like good stuff – I’m having a tough time finding it though. (Their website lists a distributor which doesn’t help me that much.)
Geez easy on the wine next time timmy! Cool stories though.
I personally use an app called “PeerGaurdian” which blocks my ip and allows my computer to be a ghost online. This program is especially useful with torrent use. Also a common sense practice that is often overlooked, especially with males, is to not go to untrusted porn sites. This is one of the most common sources for malware and unwanted spam on your computer.
is there any way we can help you bring your TFX show into canada? petitions, manifestations, hunger strike… we just want to help! 🙂
Thanks, Guylaine and all asking about international. I am thinking on this and hope to have answers soon 🙂
May be possible to use a VPN to change iTunes locator to US and get access to US store… or so I’ve heard
thanks daniel for the suggestion. i have indeed tried to *hack* myself into the US itunes store while using a VPN. unfortunately an itunes account, which is connected to a credit card, which is connected to a physical address, is only usable in one country based on that address. so i got a lovely apple message and got immediately switched back into the canadian store.
i also tried vessel.com through a VPN again, and thinking if i paid with paypal i might bypass the credit card address issue, but they don’t take paypal.
i am opened to other hacking solutions though… 😉
Thanks for the info
What happened to show notes? Seems like they aren’t done anymore.
Tim! Notes, please. There were a lot of useful tools and links on this one.
I want my TFS icons back. Where did they go? I’m a non-iTunes human who downloads the .mp3’s. I used to get a cool icon to go with my files. What happened to them? Bring them back!
See linked screenshot: http://www.ronblouch.com/ferriss_icons.JPG
strangely- or not, there are those of us who would love to be able to get a transcript pdf of the podcasts. it’s faster and just my preferred way to absorb info. just a thought… keep up the fantastic work Tim!
Agreed. I’ve never listened to the podcasts, even though they seem to be very interesting. I would be happy to read the transcripts.
🙂
Tim,
Great conversation, horrible insights about security…will I ever sleep soundly again?
I have used LastPass since its inception with incredible, reliable results. Further, I have asked/recommended/demanded that hundreds of my clients use it to simplify their businesses. Now, if only I can get my wife to implement. Oh well!!
Hackers are such interesting people … great podcast as always Tim!
FUCK YOU!!!
Now that I have your attention – You two are absolute legends! 😀 Great episode, Thank you and keep it up! 😀
I’m a female & new to the Tinder world – so could really relate to the dating talk which just cracked me up.
I’m listening to Infected Mushroom as I type this and am going to put a post-it note on my laptop camera as soon as I get back to my room at the mining camp I live in. :/ Hopefully none of the guys up here are hackers!
Meditation, gratitude and finding/following happiness seem to be reoccurring themes among the successful. Which I love hearing & am incorporating into my own life with mind blowing results.
I’m on the edge of jumping out this rat race and into a world of permanent travel and adventure.
Would love to hear from you.
I am on the edge as well! Getting into screenplays as a possible remote way to earn income. VERY motivated to cease “punching a time card” for someone else. Best wishes on your journey! Kyle
quick, send a copy of the 4 hour work week to india with 200 dollars to hire an indian mba to make you rich beyond your dreams!
Hello Tim
Thank you for your inspiration. I will get right to my point. I work at a hospital and have a rewarding job that gives me blocks of time off. I want more time. I am an entrapeneuer bursting at the seems. Please give advice and guidance to people who work nights and do a very important job. I can not work from home, I and many in my situation have a hard time getting a morning ritual. I am tired all the time. Please help us get out of the rut. I don’t know where to start!
B
Thanks for an interesting conversation!
Regarding TrueCrypt – I stopped using it a while ago and I now use BoxCryptor Classic instead. Still free, but the “container” is not a static size, and you can add as many files as you want to encrypt.
Also I would definitely recommend using FileVault for Mac and BitLocker for Windows, to encrypt all files on your drive.
And finally, I’m living in Romania now, and I think you should maybe say something nice about it as well, so people don’t get the impression that it’s only populated by hackers. Because, as you know, it’s not. 🙂
Great show Gentlemen!!! Although the online dating is not my thing, I am apart of a new real estate company and I think we can use some of the profiling techniques to attract the target market.
Scared the shit out of me when i jumped onto Samy.pl . Made me think that I have to do a better showing my family how to better protect themselves.
Thx!!!
Stay in expensive hotels who will clean and iron your shirts and you can chat with multi millionaires in the bar. 🙂
I use a VPN at all times, a must for any public Wi-Fi, but also important for home or office.
Being in China working on a new start-up, I’ve tried all the VPN services available. Even before the Chinese government crackdown on VPN services, EXPRESS VPN is the best choice.
I am only half way through and I am totally fascinated. I know the basics of programming and although it has been a long time (over 10 years) since I took a programming (now coding) class I am inspired to pick it back up just for the fun of it.
Hey Tim-
I’m amazed at how much good content you’re putting out these days. As a result, I found myself giving you a stellar review of your new TV show BEFORE watching very much of it just to support what you’re doing (since I don’t normally pay for this content…).
I noticed that a fair # of people comment on things you put out before they get a chance to listen/watch them and I’d be interested to know what the motivations are. Are people just wanting to be in on a conversation or, like me, do they just want to support the good work you’re doing and offering up for free?
In any case- Awesome work on the podcast. It continues to be exciting to listen to.
Personally, I would leave out the online dating sites since that guys that I like are most likely not on there and instead implement OSINT (open source intel), interact a bit (but not too much – think of the game theory!), build up the interest, then finish off with a very good impression IRL. Preferably in a hotel, like the W.
There is too much noise on the big dating sites like OkCupid and even apps like Tinder. I’m not on Tinder but was on OkCupid (a semi-real profile) for a very short while and scrolling through all the profiles just makes my eyes blurry. There are however smaller sites that are more niche (think misstravel.com) where there is a smaller pool of men which may or may not work in the You-Look-Hot/Interesting-Chat ratio. I tried it for a day with a semi-fake profile but didn’t find it interesting enough.
It doesn’t matter -too- much. I’m in industries where there are a lot of really great guys to choose from (that’s not the reason why I’m in it btw) so more power to me. 🙂
– Leila
Tim Tim, my friend, I have got to say that the shows with you enjoying the company of your friends over a few glasses of wine are the most exciting to listen to. Super happy that you finally introduced the Red Team to the 4H fan base. Side note, the inbetween-isodes with the authors reading their work is super inspirational as well. Thank you sir for doing us all this great service!
Cheers,
Mickey
Samy Kamkar – wow that is the best +2 hours I’ve spent listening to something for a long time. A fascinating story told with humility and honesty. I look forward to hearing more from Samy over time.
Parents: listen up. You need you listen to this interview.
I’m a father of two young boys and I think every parent should listen to this interview and take notes.
Doing well in school is important, but Samy’s story shows the importance of giving kids the opportunity to tinker and play OUTSIDE of traditional education.
This guy could have stayed in school, gone to college, and been a nobody.
I know guys here in Chicago that went to University of Chicago and Northwestern (business and law school) and can’t stand their jobs. They work 60-70 hour weeks and are dead inside.
Yes, they do get better opportunities, but it’s a GRIND for a long time.
They’re 4 and 7 now, but I want my kids to start coding and build a business by the time they’re 10. Sure, I want them to do good in school. But I want them to have a side hustle… experience failure, and push the envelope at an early age.
Tony Hsieh’s parents understood the importance of buying a computer for him at a young age. If I recall the Inc. Magazine cover story about him a few years ago, he created his first business at a teenager.
Doesn’t have to only be coding.
I just want them to follow their passions and push the envelope in whatever they like.
Nice podcast. Totally unrelated to this post but wondering when you will be announcing winners to King Sumo contest. Hoping I’m one of the lucky winners.
Thank You,
Christian P.
What was the music steam Sammy said he like to listen to? something “molly”
Audiomolly 🙂
http://audiomolly.com/
Thank you Tim for such an inspiring interview, it’s a real gem!
Since you touched so many topics, it is nice to refer on one regarding passwords, hence the cut from J. Oliver / Snowden interview: https://youtu.be/yzGzB-yYKcc – it sounds a bit funny, but the man really makes the point here.
For those in love in electronic music, great advice from Samy on Infected Mushroom (check out this live performance: https://youtu.be/sYsgfm8Thmk)
But most of all, Samy is my hero now.
I rarely listen to podcasts, but I listened to every last minute of this one. It was interesting, entertaining, and a little scary giving my conspiracy theory paranoia a huge meal. Thanks for this truly excellent podcast!
I feel like a noob after listening to this. Thanks guys
Great content! Can’t wait to watch the surfing episode.
Hi Tim. Great episode I truly enjoyed it. I laughed my butt off listening to Samy. I also want to let you know that I went to buy the Mizzen+May shirts you recommend using your code and I got this message “this discount has reached its usage limit”
Thanks for this, it was interesting to hear his approach to problem solving and how he uses a lot of code. I can not help thinking he had a hard path in life and what an asset he would be, working for the FBI.
Surely these people of talent should be out there defending us against the wicked ?
Is the TFX ever coming to Canada?
Which version of “Influence” was Samy referring to? I saw several of the same title on Amazon. Thanks.
All versions contain essentially the same information. This is the classic http://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Revised-Edition/dp/006124189X
This is one if the most entertaining pod casts I have heard. Liked it a lot. But where are the show notes?
Very entertaining to hear you two giggling away and slurring your speech ha! I appreciated Samys humility and wish to be honest and not hurt anyone. I’ve been too nervous to listen to most guests cos I can’t stomach the potential chest beating talk of how rich and fabulous they are. I don’t dig exploitation and i associate that with The Market and uber wealth, rightly or wrongly. Anyway lot of controversy about TrueCrypt- the message on website advised switching to Bitlocker which everyones knows is nsa broken was thata clue that Truecrypt is really okay? SelfDestructing Cookies beats evercookie but if you set Firefox to protect against known forgeries, a google cookie will live in your browser perpetually bypassing detection! Delete the cookie and uncheck that reporting option. We didn’t get to hear the silk road story! Samys site crashed my phone-the too clever accelerometer graphics not so easy to use-took me ages to figure out what was going on. Amazed Tim needs to have a housemate, as a dream home owner- and ne eds to use online dating! Tim you must meet interesting people all the time?! Anyway you both seem like really nice lovely people and this was an enjoyable listen thankyou. Samys really helping a lot of people and being unique and individual. Love from Queensland Australia
Theres a great TED talk between Jacob Applebaum and Ed Snowden which is very insightful. I recommend looking up interviews with each of them to learn more about staying secure. Don’t confuse privacy and anonymity. I usr Adblock Plus and Ghostery ( Disconnect is better but not free anymore) to bloxk corporate tracking. I keep bluetooth, wi fi & sharing capacity & visibility turned off. Malwarebytes is considered the best malware scanner-and its free. I have heard point of sale terminals are insecure, no encryption nor fibre optic-just an open line. Dont use pay wave! I have a chip-less atm card i applied for specially . why on earth did they make those chip cards when they are MORE vulnerable! Does anyone know how to prevent people randomly scanning your card in public as Tim says Pablo did with his magic wand?
He demo-ed something similar on this TEDx talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqKafI7Amd8
Basically, get a steel wallet or one with a metallic mesh which essentially creates a Faraday Cage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage)
In the podcast you mentioned you would link to his google docs page for his current software toolset. I didn’t see it on his site, any help? GREAT INTERVIEW – renewed my passion for coding and “experimenting”
Here you go:
https://samy.pl/tools
This was fantastic Tim. One of my favourite episodes yet. Sammy seems like such a great guy…and seriously smart!
Great podcast! Where are the show notes you mention in the podcast??
This was THE most fun episode I’ve heard this far….but then again I’m a techie (not a hacker btw) Thank you and more of this please!!
Hey, great episode!
Does anybody here know how to spell that chinese expression for ‘taking the back door’ or ‘accidentally bribing officials’?
Thanks!
Great show, this was one the episodes that I have enjoyed the most. Tim it really sounds like the wine got a hold of you on that one.
Great listen. Thumbs up from Honduras!
To elaborate on my previous RE: using Self Destructing Cookies ad-on (and others like Ghostery or Disconnect etc) to defeat EverCookie as reported by Samy. In Firefox (many consider FAR safer than Chrome and IE and much more respectful of your privacy) there’s a setting under Security ‘ Block Reported Attack Sites’ & ‘Block Reported Web Forgeries’. If you select these, the Omniscent Google reports constantly to your brower about whats safe and what isn’t. In essence, these two settings allow Google to bypass your cookie (read: spying) protections.
1) Open Firefox/Preferences/Privacy/Show Cookies/Cookies and remove all google.com cookies.
2) In Firefox/Preferences/Security, deselect “Block reported attack site” and “Block reported web forgeries”.
3) When a user selects those settings, the google.com PREF cookie will reinstall in the browser after the user removes the PREF cookie.
4) Quit and close Firefox. This is a necessary step. Otherwise the remaining steps will fail to prevent the google.com PREF cookie from reinstalling in your browser after you remove the cookie.
5) Open ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/[current Firefox profile folder name such as 9skvsz0g.default-1402623486951, or whatever is the folder name]/cookies.sqlite
6) Drag the “cookies.sqlite” file to the Trash folder. Every conventional cookie in your browser is in that file. You will lose all of those cookies until such time your browser installs them again, except the google.com PREF cookie will not return.
7) Restart Firefox.
8) Firefox automatically will generate in the Profile Folder a new “cookies.sqlite” file in place of the file you put in the Trash folder. The file will not contain the PREF cookie.
9) Before you delete the “cookie.sqlite” file that is in the Trash folder, you can prove that the “cookie.sqlite” file contains the google.com PREF cookie.
10) All *.sqlite files are text files. Right click the “cookies.sqlite” file that is the the Trash folder and chose “Open with TextEdit.app” or any other text editor application.
11) Read the text in the “cookies.sqlite” file.
12) The text “google.com PREFID” will be present somewhere in the long list of characters in the file.
13) The new “cookies.sqlite” file that replaced the offending file will not have the google.com PREF cookie in it.
14) The google.com PREF cookie will not return to the “cookies.sqlite” file unless you select “Block reported attack site” and “Block reported web forgeries” in Firefox/Preferences/Security.
Came here looking for the radio Samy recommends. Molly music or something? Anyone have a link?
I was looking for the same thing. Found it yet?
http://audiomolly.com/
😀
where are the show links?
Where are the show notes?
Anyone remember what the name was of that book Tim mentioned about the word “fuck”?
Will there be show notes?
iMacros plugin works wonders for automating tasks on the web. You can even use it for mundane processes like online dating messaging. Of course a little javascript background will help expand the functionality.
OMG – this podcast is further confirmation of my nerd-ness. I HAD to listen to the whole thing (almost 3 hours).
I started while I was hiking, continued while driving back home, unloaded the dishwasher, went to the grocery store, made dinner, finally had my own glass of wine to feel like I was part of the show.
Samy is SUPER interesting and I loved the dating story, one of my good friends has been on Match, Millionaire Match and now is trying J-Date (she’s not Jewish)… emailing her next.
Thank you Tim and Samy for all of the info and entertainment.
Cheers!
Samy’s tools: http://www.samy.pl/tools
Click on that link at your own peril — and then maybe ask Sammy to send you a free USB drive 🙂 … Tom
It redirects here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TMxYnPBJC801tAqFzgR-icedU2z1Gft25li2hDgffK0/pub?output=html actually, so — no worries 😉
What’s the site Samy recommended for testing profile pics out to improve conversions on dating apps ?
Is this it for the Show Notes or are more detailed ones pending?
I hope the tim ferris show will also be available in Europe. I can’t get it from itunes.
Tim, This was a great podcast – thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve done some coding to extract web site data and put into Excel for analysis, and may be able to help out with your project. Email me if you are interested and I can send you a sample of what I do – I assume you have access to the email address with this comment.
Regards,
Tom
Show notes? There were quite a few points I wanted to look into. OR am I missing something? At this moment I wanted to find the ?Mollie sumthin? music recommendation by Samy.
Quite the long episode… but one of my most favorite ones yet!
So entertaining, loved the dating profile hacks (had a dating-ish podcast myself once upon a time ago), and was entertained the entire time, even before you finished off the second bottle of wine.
Fascinating story by Samy, and I was probably one of the many with the hacked MySpace page!
fuck off….Loved the interview
Get OkCupid responses nearly 100% of the time. This is how I met my girlfriend of four years.
Sort by ‘Most Recently Joined’ and only message them.
The longer ago they joined the more ‘Wanna fuck?’ messages they’ve seen and the more ‘over it’ they are.
Went from a 1% response rate to a 90% response rate. Best if you are one of the first messages they receive.
Great advice.
Tim – great podcast with Sammy! Keep them coming!
I’ve been meaning to make some guests suggestions and here they are:
1. Professor Alexander Arguelles. A foreign language master.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Arg%C3%BCelles
http://www.foreignlanguageexpertise.com/
2. Oscar Wegner. Tennis coach and previously a tennis professional.
He has an unconventional, and controversial, way of approaching tennis instructions.
This could be one of your experiments, learning to play tennis 5 days.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wegner
3. Andre Agassi, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Kei Nishikori (Japan’s rising star). A high performance tennis athlete like these guys.
Can’t you tell I’m into tennis yet?
4. Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple. On primal living.
Finally, I’m a software developer and have enjoyed, very much, the interviews with Matt Wullenweg and Sammy.
So, how about another one of those guys that have learned their way around software, and is rising, or risen, to the top of the game?
5. John Sonmez of simpleprogrammer.com and getupandcode.com, Richard Campbell or Carl Franklin of .NET Rocks, Scott Hanselman of hanselminutes.com, or Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob), etc.
Another experiment, learn a computer language and produce a small app in 5 days!
In any case, thank you for this awesome service you do. Keep it up!
-Luis
I really enjoyed this episode.
I have a question that is related…
Is there (or will there be) any way to get your tv series other than itunes?
I don’t have an itunes account and am loathe to add one just for your TV show. -But I am really keen to get your series.
Thanks,
Chris
There were some links mentioned in the podcast, about tools Samy uses that I thought you said you were going to include in the show notes. I must be missing something since I can’t seem to see these links on this page.
Here they are (was searching myself for some time =):
https://samy.pl/tools
where are the show notes for this episode?
Let me open by saying that I don’t approve of hacking in general, and when it causes real damage and costs to somebody or some company, the hacker should be fully accountable and punished.
Let me also say that I sensed Sammy’s genuine remorse, and where I the presiding judge, I would have been lenient.
Let me close by saying that listening to the bit about My Space, I was… laughing… my… f’ing… a** off. Tears streaming sown my face. Great story. I’m glad it all worked out in the end.
Great interview overall, as always. Keep ’em coming.
Ed
It would be interesting to use a combination of Machine Vision and Neural network algorithms to get a computer to learn what you find attraction, and then swipe on tinder for you on automation to girls it thinks you would find attractive.
Hey Tim,
I think this is my favorite episode of your podcast. Kinda bummed there’s no show notes though.
Show notes? There was a lot of great stuff that I was hoping would be here.
Hey Tim!
Loved the episode (“Dating Game”). Found it really fascinating considering I’m currently dealing with similar challenges in the dating field.
That being said, there’s a lot of good pick up information for men and how “the game” goes, but how would Neil advise the modern woman? If I ever approach a man (which isn’t often) it’s done in a very similar manner (based off of curiosity, not a psychological algorithm, but I suppose it all comes from the same place. Not to say that’s not at play, but it’s not my personal focal point).
I’d love to know how to navigate the dating game if the odds are stacked against you and how the intimidation factor can come to play (ie. young twenty something woman, self employed, lots of free time, outgoing, active, always learning, my looks won’t blind you that’s for sure, but I have my days…haha!). Think, if Tim were a lovely young woman how would she go about this? Considering the character of your person is the same in this hypothetical situation, how would things be different, if so?
Also Samy talks about hiring someone to program and filter the online dating field. Although it sounds simple enough, it seems very unlikely, unless he or someone else has already created a program to do that (other than the obvious one for his personal use). I’d definitely pay for that!
Thanks for the info and look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Hey Tim! Just discovered your blog/podcast after reading all your books!
Where do you post the books/references mentioned in each of your podcasts if not on these individual pages?
Thanks!
Bonfire will like 200 people at time on Tinder. Just a little more efficient than the record player setup!
Why no shownotes?
If you are going to learn the new way of attracting a mate or finding hot dates, why would you want to pay before you know online dating “rules” and etiquette.
Hey Tim,
I am attempting to recreate what Samy did with his match profile, but I am having trouble. Where can I find more detailed information on how to do this? Is there anywhere to find further quantitative research that can improve results in the online dating game?
Does anyone know any online dating gurus that have already figured this stuff out?
This was an excellent show. I read future crimes based on Peter Diamandis’ recommendation in an earlier episode, and it was a great primer for this episode. I am fascinated at how the internet still really is the wild west, and until we change the incentive structure for software engineers to put out better code, security threats are going to become more of a problem each day.
Self Destructing Cookies is a wonderful ad on – the detailed instructions someone provided in these comments, for additionally removing the google PREF cookie manually, is not necessary anymore – it appears SDC updated their software. Phew.
Ed Snowden in an interview recently provided 4 ways one can radically improve security on their computer. 1. Stay away from google and facebook, they are ‘dangerous’ 2. Use an anti tracking/anti cookie browser ad on.
(I find Ghostery to be effective and easy, and doesn’t break sites. It also lets me access content it would otherwise block by providing a overlay) 3. Encrypt your entire hard drive and phone. Also use end to end encryption for email.
4. Stay far away from Drop Box. Use a privacy-respecting service like Spider Oak (thats the one he mentioned)
Elsewhere he has advoccated using a really strong password as essential.
an offline password manager is an excellent idea, Key Pass is considered to be the best of the best. it’s free
Lifehacker recently did an independent survey/study and found Avast to be the best Anti Virus and Malwarebytes to be the best anti malware. They both happen to be free (with paid premium versions available)
Electronic Frontier Foundation, The Guardian Project, Reset The Net and the website called ‘My Shadow’ are excellent public services to support your privacy and security and educate oneself ‘
Do some study before you get into something. Open DNS and Unseen were two companies that seemed really, really appealing for security and privacy, a bit more reading by tech geeks in forums (thankyou) made it clear they were absolutely not walking the talk.
i’m not involved with any of these I’ve just found them all to be extremely helpful supportive tools and advice
How can I access the video for “How to Hack and Win Online Dating
” at https://www.vessel.com/videos/fAdS-0LDI?
I’m in the UK and I am told that it is blocked in my region. 🙁
Cheers,
Rob.
Way better than a record player:
https://youtu.be/SpSj-RekZvc
I heard a few different people in samy’s world speak on youtube.
Tim, the comment you made about drone pilots thinking they are playing a first person shooter is incredibly ignorant and condescending. There is a massive difference b/w playing video games and serving as a professional in the armed forces.
Morally and ethically speaking, slitting someone’s throat as you look into their eyes fading is the exact same outcome as pushing a button and watching it on screen.
This is a decent article describing the experience:
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/06/a_chilling_new_post_traumatic_stress_disorder_why_drone_pilots_are_quitting_in_record_numbers_partner/
Hi Tim, I just watched the episode and thought you nailed both the strategies for finding love in the modern age / the right approach to first interact with potential dates: at your own, curated party where you can see them and they can see you in a more contextual light. I’m doing a podcast episode about Tinder and was curious if any of the people you met at that party turned into a longer term relationship? And if that didn’t happen, did the episode help you in your dating life afterwards? Thank you so much for your time and life lessons.
Hi Tim / staff – I was actually just watching the Tim Ferriss Experiment about dating and you were with Neil Strauss (among other experts) picking up all kinds of great tips about how to increase your results in the right way, with dating. I am a single female in Los Angeles, and I would love, love, LOVE if you did a podcast episode with a female leader in dating breakthroughs for women. Is there a female version of “the game?” Its so incredibly hard for us out there too, and I would love to hear an expert advice. For your female listener base, this would be huge! Love your show, and thank you!