Hasta La Gadget!

Need a little extra unlocked WP7 incentive to keep you from buying those oh-so-distracting iOS and Android devices? Well, that official homebrew love is going to cost you — $9 to be exact. We already knew the Microsoft-sanctioned ChevronWP7 Labs would be open for business soon, but recent tweets from the jailbreaking outfit’s Chris Walsh have shed a little more light on the process. In addition to the nominal fee users will have to fork over for the official unlock, Walsh also points out that software updates to Mango and Nodo will close any security holes in the platform. So, if you were planning on getting your pirate-y hands dirty hacking away at WP7, think again — Microsoft’s still got the keys to its mobile OS’ house.

ChevronWP7 Labs to unlock your Windows Phone 7 handset for $9, hackers not welcome originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 22:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re less than 12 hours clear of iOS 4.3.4 hitting the streets, and already posters at Redmond Pie claim to have a PwnageTool 4.3.3 bundle that unlocks it. Ready to roll on every device except for the iPad 2, this tethered jailbreak brings back Cydia and anything else you might have missed after foolishly updating this afternoon. Any brave souls ready to jump in (at their own risk of course) immediately can find directions at the source link below, let us know how it’s worked for you in the comments.

Update: The iPhone Dev-Team has updated its redsn0w tool, also based on existing exploits, for all your tethered jailbreaking needs. Of course, they still recommend you stick with iOS 4.3.3 for untethered convenience, so stay far away from the update button or modify your version number if nefarious PDFs are a friend and not an enemy to you. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[Thanks, Jeff]

iOS 4.3.4 jailbroken with PwnageTool on iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad 1 (redsn0w update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who needs sleep, right? Rather than putting in the tried-and-true “eight hours” that your mum still insists that you get, you’re going to be doing something a bit more adventurous this evening. Something involving a “jailbreak” of your recently updated iPod touch, iPhone or iPad. Just hours after Apple pushed out iOS 5 beta 3 to its developers, a Sn0wbreeze update has been confirmed to support jailbreaking on that very build. Sadly, it’s still tethered for the time being, and the iPad 2 remains unsupported, but those with nerves of steel (and gobs of vacation days) can hit the source links to get started. Furthermore, we’re just starting to see what kind of wacky tricks beta 3 has up its sleeve — things like custom alerts for text messages and what appears to be a shattering of the app grid on the iPad. For more on that, hop on past the break; for more on the jailbreak, we’d encourage you to talk amongst yourselves in comments below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading iOS 5 beta 3 already jailbroken, new features come to light

iOS 5 beta 3 already jailbroken, new features come to light originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember that PDF exploit from last year that JailbreakMe 2.0 was using to unlock your iPhone with just a few taps? Well, Apple patched it. And now it’s apparently back. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple acknowledged the exploit, and is working on an update at this very moment. In addition to the JailbreakMe 3.0 hack that came to light last week, the hole can also be used for some not-so-noble efforts, like grabbing your contacts database, accessing saved passwords, or activating your iPad or iPhone’s built-in camera. And nobody wants that. For one reason or another, German authorities have taken the lead on encouraging Apple to investigate, and have also warned all users to avoid opening PDF docs from untrusted sources. And we’re happy to echo that rather solid advice, given the implications. Ironically, JailbreakMe includes a patch for the very hole that allows it to function in the first place, so if you’re terrified that rogue PDFs will take over your devices, that’s an option to consider in the meantime.

Apple iOS 4.3.4 software update may fix iPhone hole, block PDF jailbreak originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jailbreak you iPad 2 right there in Mobile Safari. If you dare…

If you trust a website that uses an unpatched security exploit to enable root access on your iOS device, then you might want to go ahead and visit Jailbreakme.com (v3.0), a site that offers a fast jailbreak which doesn’t require a computer to do the work. The hack will work with the iPhone 3GS and better, the iPod Touch 3G and up, and both iPads. Yes, you can finally jailbreak your iPad 2.

The jailbreak works via a vulnerability in the iOS PDF display code. You visit the site in Mobile Safari, tap a link and the exploit goes to work, gaining root access to the file system and installing the Cydia app store.

The Cydia developers, somewhat ironically, have a patch ready that will fix the PDF vulnerability, although it can’t be long until Apple releases its own fix in the form of an OS update. I tried an earlier version in August 2010 and it worked great — easily the simplest jailbreak I have ever done. But I quickly restored my iPod Touch to a normal, un-jailbroken state for reasons of paranoia.

We certainly have no reason to think that there is any malicious payload inside the jailbreakme.com exploit, but on the other hand we have no evidence that there isn’t. Caveat emptor, and all that.

Jailbreakme 3.0 [Jailbreakme.com]

See Also:

• JailbreakMe Unlocks iPhone 4, iPad With Your Browser
• Apple Blocks Jailbreakme.com From Stores, Pranksters Undeterred …
• Apple Closes JailbreakMe Security Hole