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Barnes & Noble reportedly pulls Linux magazine due to hacking cover story (update)

Barnes & Noble reportedly pulls Linux magazine due to hacking cover story (update)

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An issue of Linux Format magazine has reportedly been pulled from barnes & Noble shelves due to a cover story that teaches you to become a hacker.

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Barnes & Nobel store logo stock (1020)
Barnes & Nobel store logo stock (1020)

According to Linux Format, the February 2012 issue of the magazine has been pulled from Barnes & Noble shelves in the US due to a cover story called "Learn to Hack." The magazine says that the issue was removed after a complaint was made, apparently in response to the provocative cover and accompanying article — which claims will "teach you to break into networks, exploit services running remotely, beat encryption techniques, crack passwords, and more." To help those who may have tried to pick up the issue and failed to find a copy, Linux Format has made the cover story available for free on its website. We've reached out to Barnes & Noble for comment but haven't heard back as of this writing — though this news doesn't bode well for periodicals like Hacker Monthly being picked up by major book stores.

Update: Barnes & Noble has told The Verge that it "did not pull this magazine." We've also confirmed that the digital version of issue 154 of Linux Format is still available from the Nook newsstand.