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Las Vegas (CNN) -- Don Bailey says he can unlock thousands of cars across the United States simply by sending a few texts from his Android phone.

And that's not even the scary part.

Bailey, a senior security consultant with iSEC Partners, said in an interview with CNN at the Black Hat security conference here at Caesars Palace that the same hack he has used to demonstrate unlocking and even starting a car via text message also could be used to attack industrial systems, the power grid and the water system.

"I could care less if I could unlock a car door," he said. "It's cool. It's sexy. But the same system is used to control phone, power, traffic systems. I think that's the real threat."

Bailey would not share details about which cars or which auto systems are vulnerable to the hack that he showed off publicly at the event.

The hack affects many kinds of devices that connect to cellular GSM networks, like the one used by AT&T. As cars and plenty of other stuff -- from pill bottles to trees, he said -- start connecting to cell grids and the Internet, Bailey said they become more vulnerable.

Certain electronic components that accept wireless signals are vulnerable to the hack, he said. Those components are in the cars Bailey said he can unlock remotely.

Again, he would not name which cars have them.

Strangely enough, Oprah Winfrey kinda-sorta inspired this research.

Bailey said he was watching an "Oprah" show about a device called the Zoombak, which the TV host said could be used by parents to track the locations of their kids.

"I heard that and thought, 'Oh dear God no. Please Oprah, no, no no!' " he said in a presentation at Black Hat. "This was my thinking: That's dangerous. That can definitely be owned. Let's own that thing."

In hacker-speak, "own" means to take control of a device.

Once he figured out how to take control of the kid-tracker, Bailey moved on to cars, which he said was more difficult but still not impossible.

"I couldn't just straight-up text message it and be like, 'Gimme yo' datas!' " he said, referring to the car parts. "So it was a little more work."

It's not all doom-and-gloom, though.

Bailey said manufacturers could purchase more expensive parts that would keep these types of hacks from being possible. He thinks industry associations should put out recommendations suggesting this approach, even though cost increases would be "highly significant."

"We have to," he said. "We have to find elegant ways to find that sweet spot between cost and security."

Black Hat is an annual gathering of hackers and security professionals in Las Vegas. Researchers hope that by showing off how to hack certain systems, the computer industry will take steps to make infrastructure and consumers safer.

 These apps and services that will ease your conscience -- even if you're working through the seven deadly sins

Editor's note: Brenna Ehrlich and Andrea Bartz are the sarcastic brains behind humor blog and book Stuff Hipsters Hate.
When they're not trolling Brooklyn for new material, Ehrlich works as an associate editor at Mashable.com and Bartz is news editor at Psychology Today. Got a question about etiquette in the digital world? Contact them at netiquette@cnn.com.

(CNN) -- Chances are, you have one or two vices. And that's OK, we do, too -- and we're not talking about the determinedly indie magazine.

While the Web can be a prime locale in which to nurture said ills and watch them flourish in "real time," turning one's soul into an eight-byte mess, it can also serve as a way to keep tabs on your own bad habits -- essentially taking on the work of the long-gone angel who once perched upon your shoulder.

Read on for seven apps and services that will at least make you feel like a better person as you live your life in line with the seven deadly sins. We admit it, though: We largely subscribe to Billy Joel's famous axiom that "the sinners are much more fun."

Being that we reside in America (aside from everyone reading CNN International, yo), otherwise known as "the land of plenty," there's a good chance everyone reading this is a glutton of some sort. In this case, we're going to forgo the obvious "FatBooth" recommendation and instead address smokers, aka gluttons for self-punishment.

If your lungs are aching to ache, might we suggest downloading Quitter, a free iPhone app that tells you how much money you're saving by not smoking? Sure, all that cash could lead you to indulge in No. 2 on our list, but we're just getting started...

Blew all your cigarette money on moonshine and snooker? Well, once you shamble back from the 1920s, alleviate your soul-crushing guilt by giving back: Sign up for Catchafire, a service that will match you up with a social good organization based on your skills -- whatever they may be.

Granted, you'll only be able to offer up your services (pro bono) if you have skills, which leads us to sin No. 3...

This is a tough one, because the Internet basically breeds more sloth than the rain forest -- especially where that great time waster, Facebook, is concerned.

For the students among you, we suggest checking out hoot.me, a Facebook plugin that turns the social network into a study group, allowing you to connect with other users and get homework help. For those of us whose school days are long gone, maybe just exercise a little self control -- or, if all else fails, have a friend change your password and bravely suffer the pangs of withdrawal.

We can say it once, we can it say it 1,000 times: A public forum is not the best place to get out your rage -- unless you work in a field that encourages said rage, like the arts or talk radio (in which case we No. 5 you, carry on).

For the rest of us cubicle supplicants, here's a little toy to help you reign in your wrath: RageGage Connect, a USB gadget that hooks into your Facebook, allowing you to "punch" your friends and co-workers in effigy. Think of it as a really high-tech version of punching your pillow.

Your friend just posted an entire album to Facebook titled "My New Summer Condo!" Your former drama-school classmate just tweeted that he will be appearing on "Entourage." Your sister just Instagrammed a photo of her new convertible.

Aside from the fact that it seems like everyone you know is a total tool, you're feeling jealous of their success. Instead of busting out the voodoo dolls, do something that makes you feel better about you (cue the Muzak), like asking for a raise.

GetRaised will help you on your quest for fiscal feast by helping you create a letter outlining why your deserve a raise. Pro tip: "Because I do!" probably should not be included in the text of that letter.

Really proud of your poem/nature photography/"Buffy The Vampire Slayer" fan fiction? Well, then, post it in an anonymous forum. That should smack the smug smile off your face.

Or visit Opinionaided, a much more positive Q&A experience -- with badges for good advice given, etc. -- than, say, Formspring, if you need to talk about yourself but you're overly prone to crying.

As we said before, the sinners are much more fun, so we're not about to suggest using the Web to quell your lustier desires. However, if you are in dire need of some sort of cool down, here, look at these baby animals.

 After struggling, a huge price slash made the HP TouchPad one of the most sought-after tablets.

(CNN) -- For a "dead" gadget, the HP TouchPad keeps showing remarkable signs of life.

Nearly two weeks after Hewlett-Packard announced that it was discontinuing mobile devices and dramatically slashed the price of the TouchPad, customers are hunting them with renewed zeal.

The tablet has sold out, according to the company. Meanwhile, HP is considering making more of the devices -- and continuing to support them, despite the fact that independent developers are working to hack the tablets to run on Google's Android operating system, instead of the now-killed webOS.

"We have been surprised by the enthusiastic response to the TouchPad price drop, and we understand that many customers were disappointed that HP and our retail partners ran out of supply so fast," HP spokesman Mark Budgell wrote in a blog post Monday.

Like virtually every other device in its class, the HP TouchPad failed to make much of a dent in the iPad-dominated tablet market when it was released early last month.

But after HP announced August 18 that it was discontinuing mobile devices, remaining TouchPad inventory was slashed to fire-sale prices: $99 for a 16-gigabyte model and $149 for a model with 32 gigabytes of storage.

The device, which had originally sold for about $400 more, all of a sudden became one of the most sought-after item in the gadget world.

Via Twitter, Budgell let potential customers know Monday that there's no official word when, or if, HP will be making more TouchPads.

"Don't rush...no availability today," Budgell wrote.

He said there would be more information "in the next few days" on whether more of the tablets will become available.

But in an e-mail Monday, a spokeswoman described TouchPads as "temporarily out of stock."

For gadget lovers, the discounted TouchPad is a tradeoff. The assumption has been that the discontinued device won't get software updates, there will be no new apps created for it, and webOS, the operating system created by Palm and purchased by HP, will essentially become a dead platform.

But for many, a device that got largely positive reviews and was selling for $400 less than the iPad was a powerful temptation to jump into the still-emerging world of tablet computing.

"The bottom line is that the TouchPad, right now, is worth $99. Even if it never sees another ounce of code added to it, a gadget whose software soul is forever frozen in August 2011," wrote Matt Buchanan, a gadget reviewer at tech site Gizmodo. "The TouchPad is the second best tablet you can buy, at any pricepoint. It nailed all the big ideas about what a tablet should feel like".

And things could get even better.

In an e-mail Monday, an HP spokeswoman seemed to keep the door open to supporting the machine in response to the massive interest.

"We expect that HP TouchPad owners can look forward to an over-the-air update that will enhance the platform and add functionality and a growing applications catalog," the spokeswoman said. "We plan to continue to investigate the best ways to leverage webOS software and grow the applications."

HP never released sales figures for the TouchPad and declined to do so in the e-mail. But quick discounts in July suggested poor sales, and at least one report from AllThingsD said retailer Best Buy sold only 25,000 of the 275,000 TouchPads it ordered.

Meanwhile, outside developers are trying to keep the TouchPad vital in their own way. The website Hack N Mod is offering a reward for anyone who can prove they've modified the tablet to let it efficiently run Google's Android operating system.

That would mean the "discontinued" tablet would all of a sudden be able to run updated software and continue to have new apps available even if webOS dies out.

By Monday, an Android "mod group" had released a video purporting to have succeeded. Wired reported that the team, CyanogenMod, said that the hack was relatively easy and that the hard part has been actually getting their hands on a TouchPad.

Which is the main trouble that potential customers still face.

On the blog post, Budgell addressed a concern many have expressed since the fire sale began: that people are scooping up dozens of the tablet at a time to turn around and sell them at a profit.

Some early customers have reported having orders confirmed by third-party retailers at or near the $99 or $149 price point, only to have that order canceled.

On Monday, the least-expensive new 16GB TouchPad on Amazon was selling for $239.99, and 32GB models were going for $265.

"If more inventory is available in the future, there will be an order limit," Budgell wrote.