Jan 06

PS3 custom firmware lets you ‘Install Package Files,’ piracy not allowed

Posted in: hack, hacked, Hacks, playstation 3, Playstation3, sony, Today's Chili

Well, that didn’t take long! Just one week after hacking collective (and chr0nic misspellers) fail0verflow revealed a hack that delivered the PS3’s private cryptography key on a platter, another hacker going by the MoNiKeR “KaKaRoToKS” has taken the next step, delivering tools that will convert your plain ol’ vanilla PS3 firmware (yup, even the latest security-minded 3.55 patch) into a fancy new custom firmware. One capable of running signed and encrypted executable .PKG files … not unlike the ones that Sony itself uses to distribute PSN games. But this custom firmware isn’t all about piracy. KaKaRoToKS writes, “Since the kernel is left unmodified, this means that this custom firmware is really meant for future homebrew installation, and it will not allow piracy. I plan on keeping it that way.” We suspect that myriad other, less scrupulous hackers don’t share that sentiment. If you want an “Install Package Files” option the Game section of your XMB, PS3-hacks.com has a guide just for you. Peep a video of a custom firmware installation after the break.

Continue reading PS3 custom firmware lets you ‘Install Package Files,’ piracy not allowed

PS3 custom firmware lets you ‘Install Package Files,’ piracy not allowed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 11:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 29

Hackers obtain PS3 private cryptography key due to epic programming fail? (update)

Posted in: hack, hacked, Hacks, Linux, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, sony, Today's Chili, video

The 27th annual Chaos Communication Conference already hacked encrypted GSM calls with a $15 cellphone, but there was a second surprise in store this morn — the souls who unlocked the Nintendo Wii’s homebrew potential (and defended it time and again) claim to have broken into the PlayStation 3 as well. Last we left the black monolith, Sony had won a round, forcing the community to downgrade their firmware for any hope at hacking into the console. Well, the newly formed fail0verflow hacking squad says that won’t be a problem any longer, because they’ve found a way to get the PS3 to reveal its own private cryptography key — the magic password that could let the community sign its very own code.

So far, the team hasn’t provided any proof that the deed’s been done, but they have provided quite an extensive explanation of how they managed the feat: apparently, Sony didn’t bother generating any random numbers to secure the blasted thing. (We don’t really know how it works, but we have it on good authority that dead cryptography professors are rapidly spinning in their graves.) The group intends to generate a proof-of-concept video tomorrow, and release the tools sometime next month, which they claim should eventually enable the installation of Linux on every PS3 ever sold. Catch the whole presentation after the break in video form, or skip to 33:00 for the good stuff.

Update: The proof-of-concept vid is a bit underwhelming — fail0verflow had to SSH into a PS3 over ethernet — but it’s here nonetheless. See it after the break, and find the team’s full set of presentation slides at our more coverage link. [Thanks, Paolo S.]

Continue reading Hackers obtain PS3 private cryptography key due to epic programming fail? (update)

Hackers obtain PS3 private cryptography key due to epic programming fail? (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Joystiq  |  sourcePSX-Scene, @fail0verflow (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 19

Google hacked site notification notifies you if your site is hacked (repeat this five times fast)

Posted in: Google, hack, hacked, Today's Chili
Those crazy cats at Google have been tinkerin’ with the search results quite a bit lately: in addition to the old standbys (malware notifications, updated image search), the company has recently rolled out Instant Search, Instant Preview… and now? That’s right: hacked site notifications in the search results. According to the Webmaster Central blog, the company uses “a variety of automated tools to detect common signs of a hacked site,” and if you have a Webmaster Tools account you’ll even be notified of the breach. Hit the source link for more info.

Google hacked site notification notifies you if your site is hacked (repeat this five times fast) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 09:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 20

Microsoft: I’m a PC, and Kinect open-source drivers were my idea

Posted in: education, hack, hacked, Hacks, kinect, Microsoft, mod, mods, open source, opensource, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

When word first reached Microsoft that the open-source community would hack the Kinect, the company’s response was pretty heavy-handed: “Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products,” a rep told CNET, pledging to “work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant.” But now that Kinect mods blow our minds on a near-daily basis, Redmond has changed its tone. Microsoft’s Alex Kipman told NPR Science Daily listeners that as far as the company’s concerned, the Kinect hasn’t actually been hacked thus far, and that Microsoft actually left the camera’s USB connection unprotected “by design” to let the community take advantage. Though he and fellow Microsoftie Shannon Loftis wouldn’t commit to official PC software drivers for the device, he did say that the company would “partner sooner rather than later” with academic institutions to get the hardware doled out, and suggested that some universities started playing with Kinect even before its commercial launch. Read a transcript of the pertinent section of the podcast after the break, or listen for yourself at our source link starting at the 18:22 mark.

[Thanks, Fred T.]

Continue reading Microsoft: I’m a PC, and Kinect open-source drivers were my idea

Microsoft: I’m a PC, and Kinect open-source drivers were my idea originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 12:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 15

PS Jailbreak gets support for PS3 versions 3.42 and 3.5, is no firmware safe?

Posted in: firmware, firmware update, FirmwareUpdate, hack, hacked, jailbreak, Playstation3, ps3, sony, Today's Chili
PS Jailbreak gets support for PS3 versions 3.42 and 3.5, no firmware is safe

The update wars continue, and call us crazy but it sure looks like Sony is on its heels. The PlayStation 3 firmware version 3.50 was supposed to be the one to really protect the console, forcibly installed with Medal of Honor and reportedly the cause of the latest (and last) Gran Turismo 5 delay. But, it was all for naught, with PS Jailbreak announcing downgrade support for firmware 3.42 and 3.50 “and beyond.” The only question now is: what’s the next firmware version going to be called? Maybe if Sony started naming these updates after delicious pastries we’d be a little less tired of applying them.

Update: To clarify, this will not let you play 3.42 or 3.50 games, but will let you downgrade your firmware from those versions to an earlier, more hackable release.

[Thanks, Mattias]

PS Jailbreak gets support for PS3 versions 3.42 and 3.5, is no firmware safe? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 07:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 07

Microsoft Kinect Hacked? Already?! [Video]

Posted in: hacked, Hacks, kinect, open source, rumors, Today's Chili, top, videos

Adafruit’s $2,000 bounty for an open source Kinect driver hack was only offered up late last week and already someone has allegedly delivered, said Adafruit’s Phillip Torrone in an email to us just now. This was inevitable. More »

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Oct 19

Apple TV jailbroken again with Greenpois0n, lets Shatter off the hook

Posted in: Apple, apple tv, hack, hacked, Hacks, ios, jailbreak, set-top-box, Today's Chili

The iOS dev community already shattered the new Apple TV, but now it’s been poisoned, too. What does this mean for you? It means that there’s still a chance your $99 set top box might be jailbroken to run apps, even though Shatter is gone. Now we’ll just have to wait and see if someone figures the hard part out, and gets some apps installed. Those Angry Birds don’t fling themselves, you know.

Apple TV jailbroken again with Greenpois0n, lets Shatter off the hook originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 23:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink 9to5 Mac  |  source@p0sixninja (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

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Oct 17

Limera1n and Greenpois0n iOS 4.1 jailbreaks now available for Mac, Linux

Posted in: hack, hacked, Hacks, jailbreak, Linux, Mac, os x, OsX, Today's Chili

We thought it was a wee bit ridiculous that Geohot’s original iOS 4.1 jailbreak only worked on Windows, but that’s a thing of the past now — limera1n now supports Mac as well, and the Chronic Dev Team’s greenpois0n variant can purportedly free your device from the Apple shackles of any of OS X, Linux or Windows. Mind you, there’s still no working carrier unlock for iOS 4.1, so be sure to back up your baseband and don’t expect to be making calls on T-Mobile USA — and remember kids, there are always risks to playing chicken with the Apple firmware train.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Limera1n and Greenpois0n iOS 4.1 jailbreaks now available for Mac, Linux originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Oct 2010 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 09

Limera1n jailbreaks the iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 4.1, angers dev community and neuters one of our phones (video)

Posted in: Apple, hack, hacked, Hacks, hands-on, ios, ipad, iPhone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, jailbreak, mod, mods, Today's Chili, video

Looking for a jailbreak for your iPod touch or iPhone running iOS 4.1? Your chariot is named limera1n — assuming you’re willing to risk your device on a software developer showdown. The infamous Geohot just upstaged the iPhone Dev Team and Chronic Dev Team by releasing a reportedly buggy beta exploit of his own, which you can find at our download link immediately below. It only works on Windows at the moment, hacks only official releases and iPhone 3GS isn’t supported right now, and it claims to be an unpatchable, untethered release for those of you who appreciate what those terms mean.

As you can imagine, rival developers aren’t terribly happy that Geohot’s back in the limelight. MuscleNerd (of the iPhone Dev Team) claims that limera1n will re-lock iPhones that were unlocked by his team’s ultrasn0w software, and recommends you skip limera1n, but the main reason the iOS hacking community is angry at Geohot is because if more than one exploit is released simultaneously, Apple can fix them both in one fell swoop. By releasing first, Geohot has allegedly forced other teams to decide between the good of iPhone users over the short term (by releasing a different, more stable exploit) or over the long term (by saving their exploit for future use) and so far it looks like both teams have chosen to prolong the fight — the iPhone Dev Team is asking folks to withhold its Shatter exploit, and Chronic Dev Team says it will modify its greenpois0n jailbreak to use Geohot’s hack instead. What a weird, wild world we live in.

Update: How might this work on an iPad, given that beta versions of iOS (like 4.2) aren’t currently supported? Good question. We’ve struck all references to iPad accordingly, until the powers that be figure it out.

Update 2: Video after the break! Also, we’re hearing that some folks have jailbroken their iPads successfully with limera1n, and we personally got it working quickly on a pair of iPhones with iOS 4.1… but one of the two was missing icons upon restart and didn’t regain App Store, Maps, Game Center and Calendar even after a restore. Be careful, now!

Sam Sheffer contributed to this report.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Limera1n jailbreaks the iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 4.1, angers dev community and neuters one of our phones (video)

Limera1n jailbreaks the iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 4.1, angers dev community and neuters one of our phones (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Oct 2010 18:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 23

Editorial: Firmware, forums, and desperation — the dark side of Android hacking

Posted in: Android, droid, froyo, Google, hack, hacked, leak, motorola, Today's Chili

That picture above is no joke — that’s where I ended up last night trying to revive my Droid X review unit. It was fun, in a hacky mad-scientist sort of way, but it’s also really sad — a testament to how Google approves Android device hacking with a wink and a nod, but doesn’t provide any safety nets for its most passionate users.

Let’s back up, though. How did I end up in such dire straits? It started when I had the nerve to update this Droid X to the leaked Android 2.2 build — a simple process that involved installing the file on a microSD card and restarting. Unfortunately, since Motorola refuses to provide a sanctioned upgrade path from the leaked build to the official 2.2 build released earlier this week, I was forced to downgrade back to 2.1 to get back on track. Based on how easy the update was, this would be a piece of cake, right?

Continue reading Editorial: Firmware, forums, and desperation — the dark side of Android hacking

Editorial: Firmware, forums, and desperation — the dark side of Android hacking originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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