New Xbox 360 hacked to play ‘backup’ discs, public release underway? (video)

If you’re looking for video proof of the latest and greatest Xbox 360 firmware mod, you won’t find it in the video after the break, but we’re almost willing to take it on Team Xecuter’s word and long-standing reputation that they’ve hacked the new Xbox 360. Banding together with Team Jungle and commodore4eva — the hacker who brought backups to the original console in 2006 — the group says they’ve successfully patched the DVD drive to play burned discs. Better still, they’re promising that a public release of said patch “will be available shortly” to help you unlock a Stealthbox by your lonesome. Just remember, kids, circumventing DRM isn’t always legal, even if you’re copying games that you bought right off the shelf.

[Thanks, Tito]

Continue reading New Xbox 360 hacked to play ‘backup’ discs, public release underway? (video)

New Xbox 360 hacked to play ‘backup’ discs, public release underway? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Examiner  |  sourceTeam-Xecuter  | Email this | Comments

Flash ported to iPhone 4, available for download (video)

Cydia is a great place to hang out, and we’re sure unlocking is pretty swell, but it’s quite possible you and your freshly-rooted iPhone 4 have already run out of fun things to do. In that case, might we suggest giving Frash a try? That’s right, Comex’s Strong Bad-inspired port of Adobe Flash 10.1 has been compiled once again, and though it’s still an alpha build there’s nothing keeping you from experiencing the joys of animated advertising on your iOS 4 device. Instructions are exactly the same as in our Flash how-to for iPad — jailbreak, download the .deb, upload it to a folder deep inside your phone via SSH, restart and you’re done — but if that sounds like too much work or you’re worried about your phone asploding prematurely, you can watch from a safe distance as Homestar Runner struts his stuff. You’ll find that and more in a video after the break, and a pre-compiled alpha build is available at our source link.

Continue reading Flash ported to iPhone 4, available for download (video)

Flash ported to iPhone 4, available for download (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGrant Pannell, Frash (Github)  | Email this | Comments

Apple: PDF security hole fix is already ready to go

JailbreakMe brought root to the iPhone 4-wielding masses, but also unearthed a nasty exploit in a PDF font. Thankfully for the rooted and those who never intended to root, Cupertino claims it has already patched the hole. “We’re aware of the reported issue, we have already developed a fix and it will be available to customers in an upcoming software update,” an Apple spokeswoman told CNET. We’re not sure exactly when it will arrive, but we’d lay odds on soon — in the meantime, don’t open any PDFs you don’t trust, don’t do anything illegal or immoral, and hit up Comex’s hack ASAP if your heart’s still set on that shiny new unlock.

[Image Source: F-Secure]

Apple: PDF security hole fix is already ready to go originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink 9 to 5 Mac  |  sourceCNET  | Email this | Comments

iPhone 4 jailbreak enables FaceTime video calling over 3G

We’d actually already hacked up a 3G FaceTime video call using an iPhone 4 and a MiFi, but now that Apple’s latest handset has been jailbroken, you can toss the extra hardware — you just need a little Cydia app called My3G, which lets you run WiFi apps over 3G. FaceTime video quality appears to be unaffected, but from what we’ve seen the framerates suffer depending on your connection — pretty much what you’d expect to get when running a video stream optimized for high-bandwidth connections on a smaller pipe. Still, it’s instantly the best reason to jailbreak your phone — check a video after the break.

P.S.- If you’re averse to jailbreaking, remember that Fring lets you make video calls over 3G without any shenanigans — and unlike FaceTime, you can also video call non-iPhone users. Just sayin’!

Continue reading iPhone 4 jailbreak enables FaceTime video calling over 3G

iPhone 4 jailbreak enables FaceTime video calling over 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Redmond Pie  |  source9 to 5 Mac  | Email this | Comments

JailbreakMe Unlocks iPhone 4, iPad With Your Browser

Jailbreaking has gone into the cloud. Visit the Jailbreakme.com website on your iOS device, slide the big button on the front page (which cheekily mimics Apple’s slide-to-unlock button) and you’re done. It’s that easy. It works for iPhones (including the iPhone 4) and also iPads running iOS 3.2.1.

Jailbreaking – the unlocking of an iPhone or iPad to allow access to the file system and install any app you like – used to be done via your computer with a downloaded program. You’d plug in the iDevice and work from there. It was easy, but this is easier still. No doubt the US federal regulators’ recent ruling that jailbreaking is legal has emboldened the hackers: Apple can’t have the site taken down now, after all.

The cat and mouse game that is jailbreaking is not over, though: Just because unlocking your iPhone is now legal doesn’t mean Apple has to support it. The hack works through a PDF exploit in Mobile Safari. Comex, a member of the iPhone Dev Team (the jailbreaking people), uses Safari’s PDF decoder to run the code. Because Safari automatically opens PDFs, the jailbreak code is run. Expect Apple to close this hole in an update, if only for security purposes.

So how does it work? That depends. Our own Brian X Chen unlocked his iPhone 4 with no problems. He reverted almost immediately because Cydia, the unofficial App Store, has almost nothing in it that is optimized for the retina display. OThers have reported that FaceTime and MMS are broken. Currently, my 3G iPad is stuck in an endless loop and cannot get past the boot screen showing a single, lonely silver Apple. Needless to say, you should back up before trying this, and be aware that you are visiting a website that is doing some rather scary things to your iDevice.

The return of jailbreakme.com! [Dev Team Blog]

See Also:

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.


Official: iPhone 4 jailbreak hits from iPhone Dev Team (updated with video)

The Library of Congress made it legal, MuscleNerd showed us it was a go, and now Comex and company have delivered the long-awaited jailbreak to the fourth rendition of iPhone. According to their new page JailbreakMe, the hack works right on the iPhone 4 (or 3GS, or 3G, or iPad, or…) itself, using via the handset’s Safari browser to reportedly break into most any iOS device. The servers are getting slammed pretty badly, and only a few Engadget editors have so much as seen the page pictured above so far, but rest assured we’re testing this as we speak and will have more details up soon.

Update: Sorry folks, we’ve tried repeatedly, but apparently the servers just can’t handle the load — Comex tweets that the purple screens we’re seeing are evidence of server fail. Here’s hoping for a Cydia celebration when the stampede is over.

Update 2: Comex says you might want to reboot if you got stuck staring at that purple screen, and you could also try their backup server (click our second source link) to help the Dev Team divide the load.

Update 3: We successfully got the jailbreak to start working, but it crashed Safari. Upon reboot of our phone we’ve got… nothing but the Apple logo. Take note, this can brick your phone, so proceed with caution! Video of the experience after the break. After a reset, our phone is giving us nothing but the Apple logo. (Update to the update, the phone has been restored).

Update 4: Our intern Sam has successfully jailbroken his iPhone 4 according to this pic, so it can be done!

Update 5: Comex reports that iPads running iOS 3.2.1 aren’t presently working properly, and that MMS problems after jailbreak are a known issue.

Update 6: Good news? Saurik (of Cydia fame) has pitched in to secure JailbreakMe some better hosting. Bad news? Reports indicate that FaceTime doesn’t work after jailbreak, either.

Update 7: Seven updates? You bet, because it’s looking like there’s already a fix for the missing FaceTime and MMS features. Head on over to Redmond Pie (in more coverage below) for instructions to install the Cydia package that brought video chat back to two of our iPhone 4 handsets. If you’re just downloading JailbreakMe for the first time though, you shouldn’t need to do a thing, as Comex claims both have been fixed in a new version of the hack that just went live.

Continue reading Official: iPhone 4 jailbreak hits from iPhone Dev Team (updated with video)

Official: iPhone 4 jailbreak hits from iPhone Dev Team (updated with video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink 9 To 5 Mac, @comex (Twitter), @MuscleNerd (Twitter)  |  sourceJailbreakMe (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Hacker intercepts phone calls with homebuilt $1,500 IMSI catcher, claims GSM is beyond repair

In 2009, Chris Paget showed the world the vulnerabilities of RFID by downloading the contents of US passports from the safety of his automobile. This year, he’s doing the same for mobile phones. Demonstrating at DefCon 2010, the white hat hacker fooled 17 nearby GSM phones into believing his $1,500 kit (including a laptop and two RF antennas) was a legitimate cell phone base station, and proceeded to intercept and record audience calls. “As far as your cell phones are concerned, I’m now indistinguishable from AT&T,” he told the crowd. The purpose of the demonstration was highlight a major flaw in the 2G GSM system, which directs phones to connect to the tower with the strongest signal regardless of origin — in this case, Paget’s phony tower.

The hacker did caveat that his system could only intercept outbound calls, and that caller ID could tip off the owner of a handset to what’s what, but he says professional IMSI catchers used by law enforcement don’t suffer from such flaws and amateur parity would only be a matter of time. “GSM is broken,” Paget said, “The primary solution is to turn it off altogether.” That’s a tall order for a world still very dependent on the technology for mobile connectivity, but we suppose AT&T and T-Mobile could show the way. Then again, we imagine much of that same world is still using WEP and WPA1 to “secure” their WiFi.

Hacker intercepts phone calls with homebuilt $1,500 IMSI catcher, claims GSM is beyond repair originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceWired, AP, MobileBeat, Forbes, IDG  | Email this | Comments

Researcher will enable hackers to take over millions of home routers

WRT54G

Cisco and company, you’ve got approximately seven days before a security researcher rains down exploits on your web-based home router parade. Seismic’s Craig Heffner claims he’s got a tool that can hack “millions” of gateways using a new spin on the age-old DNS rebinding vulnerability, and plans to release it into the wild at the Black Hat 2010 conference next week. He’s already tested his hack on thirty different models, of which more than half were vulnerable, including two versions of the ubiquitous Linksys WRT54G (pictured above) and devices running certain DD-WRT and OpenWRT Linux-based firmware. To combat the hack, the usual precautions apply — for the love of Mitnick, change your default password! — but Heffner believes the only real fix will come by prodding manufacturers into action. See a list of easily compromised routers at the more coverage link.

Researcher will enable hackers to take over millions of home routers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 06:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Forbes, Ars Technica  |  sourceBlack Hat 2010  | Email this | Comments

Cyanogen squeezes Android 2.2 Froyo into G1, MyTouch 3G

Earlier this evening, we took the plunge — now, we’re rocking Froyo on our formerly old-and-busted T-Mobile G1. That’s because Cyanogen’s team of ROM hackers has come through once again for the little handset that could, serving early adopters with HTC Dream and Magic phones (as well as the Nexus One) with the first fully-functioning, stable build of CyanogenMod 6. Based on Google’s famous frozen yogurt, the release candidate’s got more fabulous tweaks than you can shake a stick at, but sadly doesn’t seem to include Flash 10.1, and though WiFi and the camera are working great (as well as SurfaceFlinger and Chrome to Phone) many would-be shoppers in the Android Market are finding themselves faced with the dreaded force close. As usual, you’ll find instructions at the source link if you understand the risks — if you’re not careful, you can easily brick your phone.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Cyanogen squeezes Android 2.2 Froyo into G1, MyTouch 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Jul 2010 05:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCyanogenMod, xda-developers  | Email this | Comments

Geohot teases iPhone 4 jailbreak, no plans for release

Is this the honest-to-goodness iPhone 4 jailbreak we’ve been waiting for, or just another userland JB? It’s hard to say from here… but either way, don’t expect Geohot to release it into the wild. In a mildly jaded blog post, the original iPhone hacker makes it clear that whatever he did here was for his own amusement, and judging by the title of that entry (“Meh”) the whole breaking-and-entering bit isn’t giving him quite the same chuckles it used to. That’s a shame, but we hear the iPhone Dev Team is making progress apace, so let’s leave Geohot to tackle one of his other promised hacks, mmmkay?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Geohot teases iPhone 4 jailbreak, no plans for release originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceOn The iPhone  | Email this | Comments