Help! Teens Are Using Digital Drugs to Get High [Digital Drugs]

Kids around the country are getting high on the internet, thanks to MP3s that induce a state of ecstasy. And it could be a gateway drug leading teens to real world narcotics.

At least that's what Kansas News 9 is reporting about a phenomenon called I-dosing, which involves finding an online dealer who can hook you up with 'digital drugs' that get you high through your headphones.

And officials are taking it seriously.

'Kids are going to flock to these sites just to see what it is about and it can lead them to other places,' Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs spokesman Mark Woodward told News 9.

I-dosing involves donning headphones and listening to 'music' - largely a droning noise - which the sites peddling the sounds promise will get you high. Teens are listening to such tracks as 'Gates of Hades,' which is available on YouTube gratis (yes, the first one is always free). Those who want to get addicted to the 'drugs' can purchase tracks that will purportedly bring about the same effects of marijuana, cocaine, opium and peyote. While street drugs rarely come with instruction manuals, potential digital drug users are advised to buy a 40-page guide so that they learn how to properly get high on MP3s.

Kansas' Mustang Public School district isn't taking the threat lightly, and sent out a letter to parents warning them of the new craze. The educators have gone so far as to ban iPods at school, in hopes of preventing honor students from becoming cyber-drug fiends, News 9 reports.


Here's a video of one wholesome kid getting high - startlingly so - on an MP3:


We at Threat Level are stunned and have hundreds of questions.

Will future presidential candidates defend their I-dosing past by saying, 'But I had it on mute'? Are we supposed to declare a war on cyber-drugs or a cyber-war on cyber drugs? How will police know if a teen is with headphones on is I-dosing or just listening to Justin Bieber? Is the iPod the bong of the future? What would happen if some ne'er do well took over the console of the Super Bowl and dosed the entire country? What if kids smoked dried banana peels and listened to these trippy tunes at the same time - could they O.D.? What happens if someone sells a tainted MP3?

Perhaps most importantly, what will happen if the kids move onto harder stuff like Steve Reich, Philip Glass or even Janet Cardiff's The Killing Machine?

Here's a sample of the heavy stuff that some light experimentation with drug drone music could lead to. (Note: The following video is only for informational purposes and should only be viewed by responsible adults.)


Image by doortoriver



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Use Dropbox for More Than Just File Syncing [Dropbox]

Ever since Lifehacker turned me on to Dropbox, it's become one of the most essential pieces in my daily workflow. Sure it syncs files extremely well, but Dropbox is an excellent tool for so much more.
Dropbox, at its core, is a simple file synchronization utility that stores your data in the cloud and makes it accessible across Windows, Mac, and Linux machines—or via the web interface from any browser. What sets Dropbox apart from other file syncing tools is that changes are nearly instantaneous, uploads are blazing fast, and it just works.
Dropbox doesn't have to be limited to simply syncing your documents, photos, and music, however—with the proper setup you can completely synchronize your digital life across any PC.

Sync Your Passwords Across PCs

If you're really serious about security, you've already learned how to choose secure and memorable passwords and probably started securely tracking your passwords with a password manager like KeePass--an ideal candidate for using Dropbox as the ultimate password syncer. Since both Dropbox and KeePass are cross-platform applications, you can access your passwords from Mac, Linux, or Windows. (Though if you're on a Mac, Dropbox is also great at syncing with password management tool 1Password.) You can also synchronize your web passwords with Dropbox and Roboform, and since the Dropbox web interface is available from any computer, you can even store the portable version of KeePass there and just download the files onto any computer to access your passwords.

Sync Your Pidgin Profile

The Pidgin multi-protocol IM client not only works on both Windows and Linux, but the profile directory can be synchronized across both operating systems with Dropbox and a little symlink trickery. The basic idea is that we'll move the profile folder into our Dropbox folder, and then create a symlink from where the original used to be so Pidgin won't even know you moved it.
To accomplish this, you'll want to exit out of Pidgin, move the Pidgin profile folder from your %appdata% folder (hit Win+R, then paste %appdata% and hit Enter) into your Dropbox folder, open up a command prompt (in administrator mode for Vista/Win7), and then use the mklink command to create a symbolic link between the folder in Dropbox and your AppData folder like so: mklink /D %appdata%\.purple C:\Path\To\Dropbox\PidginProfile. This will make Pidgin see the folder in the same location as it's always been, even though the files actually reside in your synced Dropbox folder. For more detailed information and doing this on XP, check out our guide to syncing files and folders outside your Dropbox folder. Linux users can use the ln command to accomplish the same thing.

Access Portable Applications from Any PC

These days, almost every application has a portable version for use on a thumb drive, but what you may not have known is that your portable applications work perfectly when you add them to your Dropbox folder and synchronize them across all of your machines. You've already shared your favorite portable applications, from Portable Firefox to VLC player, but you can add almost any tiny and awesome Windows utility to your Dropbox folder, and as long as they don't require installation, they should work perfectly across all your Windows PCs—complete with all your custom preferences. As if that wasn't enough, you can even sync your thumb drive with Dropbox.

Control Your Computer Remotely

Dropbox is designed to simply sync files and folders, but you can use it to trigger other tasks by simply adding files to Dropbox in a particular folder and monitoring that folder on another computer. For instance, most popular BitTorrent applications include a folder-monitoring feature that checks for and automatically opens new torrent files in a user-specified folder, meaning you can easily trigger a BitTorrent download from any computer by telling your home computer to watch a folder inside your Dropbox folder for new torrents.
If you are running Linux, you can remote control your PC using Bash scripts, and a similar method can be enabled on Windows by creating a scheduled task to run a batch file in a folder within your Dropbox. On my home computer, I have a scheduled task that runs an AutoHotkey script inside my Dropbox\bin\control\home\ folder. Once the script is executed once, it renames itself so it won't be run again. It's definitely not a substitute for setting up a VPN with Hamachi and controlling your PC from anywhere, but it does work in a pinch.

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So what clever uses have you found for your Dropbox? Let us know in the comments.


The How-To Geek has been known to close Microsoft Word using AutoHotkey and Dropbox when he forgot to save his changes at home. His geeky articles can be found daily on Lifehacker, How-To Geek, and Twitter.