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My whole life is a hack: how Geohot owned the iPhone, PS3 and inadvertently rallied hacktivists

Zachary Lutz — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:40:00 EST

George Hotz is no stranger 'round these parts. Better known as Geohot, he first achieved internet fame at the age of 17 with his announcement of a hardware unlock method for the original iPhone. From there, he moved on to even greater notoriety with a PlayStation 3 exploit that quickly attracted the ire -- and legal wrath -- of Sony. Now profiled in The New Yorker, we're given a candid and unique insight into the world of George Hotz, whereby his own admission, he wasn't motivated by an ideology so much as boredom and the desire to control a system. The freedom issues, it seems, were merely an afterthought.

George Hotz is unique. We're talking about someone who was programming by age five, building video game consoles by the 5th grade and making appearances on NBC's Today at age fourteen. Like many brilliant adolescents, he experimented with drugs and rebelled against authority. Eventually, the powers that be caught up with him, and George Hotz was sued by Sony on January 11th, 2011. The lawsuit drew the attention of malicious hacker groups such as Anonymous and LulzSec, which retaliated against the company in very public ways. However unintentional, Geohot became the poster child for hacktivists and inspired a movement that quickly grew out of control -- if only more of us could be so productive with our boredom. For an insightful read into one of the most influential hackers of our time, be sure to hit the source link below.

My whole life is a hack: how Geohot owned the iPhone, PS3 and inadvertently rallied hacktivists originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 04:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook Likes, hires iPhone jailbreaker 'Geohot'

Brian Heater — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:49:00 EST

He's jailbroken the iPhone and been sued by Sony over alleged hacks, and now George "Geohot" Hotz is grappling with the biggest challenge of his young career: social networking. After about a week's worth of rumors surrounding his new employment arrangements, Facebook confirmed that it has indeed added the infamous young hacker to its payroll. No word on what Hotz will be doing at the site, but we expect big things, just so long as he doesn't come within 100 feet of a PS3.

Facebook Likes, hires iPhone jailbreaker 'Geohot' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SCEA vs. Geohot: Sony wins a not-quite flawless victory

Michael Gorman — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:18:00 EST

Well, after all the talk of TROs, tweets, and YouTube user info, it seems that the SCEA vs. Geohot litigation has come to a rather uneventful conclusion. According to Sony's Playstation Blog, the case has been settled, and Hotz has agreed to a permanent injunction preventing him from distributing his PS3 jailbreak hack ever again. Of course, while this settlement has cowed the man who did the initial distribution deed, the jailbreak genie's out of the bottle, and no court order can ever put it back.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

SCEA vs. Geohot: Sony wins a not-quite flawless victory originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Judge in Sony vs. Geohot orders YouTube and others to give up users' personal info

Michael Gorman — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:11:00 EST

Remember when Sony sued Geohot and demanded that YouTube hand over the user info of all the folks who posted comments to Geohot's PS3 jailbreak video? Well, score a victory for SCEA, as the judge overseeing the case's jurisdictional discovery process has ruled that Sony can get what it wanted -- information from: Bluehost (who hosts Geohot's website) regarding who downloaded the jailbreak, Twitter regarding any tweets made by Hotz, Google Blogspot regarding comments made on his blog, and the aforementioned YouTube user data. Keep in mind that Sony's getting this information to show that many of the downloaders and commenters are from Northern California and that Hotz's hacking efforts were aimed at Californians -- meaning the case should remain in the Bay Area instead of moving to New Jersey where Geohot hacked his PS3. With this new information at its disposal, Sony's better equipped to oppose Hotz's motion to dismiss in a hearing early next month, but this doesn't mean the company will succeed in its bid to keep the litigation a West Coast affair. We'll have to wait and see if this latest victory helps Sony win the war. Stay tuned.

Judge in Sony vs. Geohot orders YouTube and others to give up users' personal info originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony releases statement on PS3 hacking, surprisingly comes out against it

Joseph L. Flatley — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:11:00 EST

In the wake of recent developments in Sony's war on Geohot, the company has released an "Official Statement Regarding PS3 Circumvention Devices and Pirated Software," which reads, in part:

Consumers using circumvention devices or running unauthorized or pirated software will have access to the PlayStation Network and access to Qriocity services through PlayStation 3 system terminated permanently.

To avoid this, consumers must immediately cease use and remove all circumvention devices and delete all unauthorized or pirated software from their PlayStation 3 systems.

In other words: get caught with custom firmware, find yourself banished from the PlayStation Network forever. Seems rather reasonable. More reasonable than, say, filing a motion in court for the usernames and IP addresses of everyone who posted comments on Geohot's YouTube video. Read the entire statement at the source link.

Sony releases statement on PS3 hacking, surprisingly comes out against it originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony vs. Geohot litigation heats up, SCEA demands YouTube give up Hotz and Fail0verflow's personal info

Michael Gorman — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:56:00 EST

Now that Sony has started gathering the evidence it needs via discovery in the lawsuit over Hotz and friends' PS3 jailbreak, the company has dropped a hammer by moving to reduce the amount of time the hackers have to get Sony the information it wants. Sony filed the motion -- which will be heard by the court tomorrow -- to better arm itself with information to oppose Geohot's motion to dismiss, scheduled to be heard in early March. Casting its evidence-gathering net far and wide, SCEA has demanded that YouTube surrender not only information for Hotz's account where his jailbreak video was posted, but also how many users accessed the video, the usernames of those with access to the video, and all usernames and IP addresses of everyone who posted or published comments to the vid. In addition to hitting up YouTube for dirt, Wired reports that Sony has demanded Twitter hand over the personal info of fail0verflow's members -- we're waiting for Sony's lawyers to don TSA gear as the next step in their search. Geohot's attorney thinks the requests seem a bit much, but we think they make sense given Sony's strategy of going after the entire fail0verflow team. While these goings-on make for fairly standard legal tactics, they won't do much for Sony's public image.

Sony vs. Geohot litigation heats up, SCEA demands YouTube give up Hotz and Fail0verflow's personal info originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Court grants Sony's temporary restraining order against Geohot, PS3 jailbreak still available everywhere

Nilay Patel — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:11:00 EST

It looked for a moment like Geohot and fail0verflow might beat Sony's DMCA lawsuit over the PS3 jailbreak on a jurisdictional technicality, but things didn't go their way: the US District Court for the Northern District of California granted Sony's request for a temporary restraining order forbidding Mr. Hotz and his merry men from distributing or linking to the jailbreak, helping or encouraging others to jailbreak, hacking into the PS3 or PSN, or distributing any information they've found while hacking. What's more, they've been ordered to turn over any computers or storage media used to create the jailbreak to Sony's lawyers -- although we've got a feeling Geohot's attorneys will raise a bit of a fuss about that.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Sony's won anything substantive -- it's just proven to the court that the jailbreak will cause it ongoing harm while the case continues, and it still has to actually win its formal lawsuit to collect any damages or a permanent injunction. And let's not forget that forcing Geohot to stop distributing it won't stop anyone else -- in almost an exact mirror of the deCSS case, we're already seeing the jailbreak mirrored all over the internet. Way to learn from history, Sony.

[Thanks, Henry]

Court grants Sony's temporary restraining order against Geohot, PS3 jailbreak still available everywhere originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Visualized: the glamorous lifestyles of WP7 jailbreakers (update: Geohot crashes the party)

Vlad Savov — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:29:00 EST

To be a jailbreaker means different things depending on the device that you're busy hacking preinstalled walls from. If you're fiddling with consoles, a legal team would come highly recommended, but if you're tweaking mobile code, at least Windows Phone mobile code, you're in for a much sweeter ride. The ChevronWP7 guys that brought us the first jailbreak of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 are currently in Redmond having a sitdown and a frank exchange of views with WP7 dev experience director Brandon Watson, and the amicable nature of their discourse has been evidenced by the image above. Microsoft is clearly taking a light-hearted and community-friendly approach to handling the (now inevitable) efforts at disabling limitations to its software and we can only congratulate its mobile team for doing so.

[Thanks, Tasos]

Update: Looks like Microsoft's softie approach really is working. Shortly after the jolly news, notorious hacker Geohot announced on his website that he's going to treat himself to a WP7 device; but before long, Redmond's already reached out to offer him a free handset. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Visualized: the glamorous lifestyles of WP7 jailbreakers (update: Geohot crashes the party) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geohot wins round one against Sony (kinda) -- judge declines to rule on SCEA restraining order (updated)

Michael Gorman — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:49:00 EST

By now we all know that Sony filed a lawsuit against Geohot and fail0verflow for their distribution of PS3 jailbreak firmware and asked the court for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop said distribution of the offending code. Well, according to Geohot, the court ~~denied~~ declined to rule on Sony's motion earlier today. Geohot has reposted the code online, so it seems safe to say that the TRO is back for now, and the jailbreak can once again roam the internet unencumbered by any legal decrees. The decision, while favorable to the defendants, has little effect on the outcome of the litigation itself, so Hotz and company aren't out of the woods just yet. We'll keep you posted on the status of the order, and will also watch as the case progresses for the real fireworks to start.

Update: Looks like we jumped the gun and got the story a little wrong, but thanks to our readers we've discovered that the judge declined to rule on the TRO. Instead she tabled the TRO issue because she was not satisfied that the Northern District of California has jurisdiction to rule on the matter because Geohot hacked the PS3 in New Jersey.

Geohot wins round one against Sony (kinda) -- judge declines to rule on SCEA restraining order (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony follows up, officially sues Geohot and fail0verflow over PS3 jailbreak

Nilay Patel — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:59:00 EST

We figured Sony would follow up last night's temporary restraining order against Geohot and fail0verflow for distribution of the PS3 jailbreak with a copyright infringement lawsuit, and well, here it is. It's actually pretty straightforward, as far as these things go -- Sony alleges that George Hotz, Hector Martin Cantero, Sven Peter, and the rest of fail0verflow are:

Violating §1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which forbids bypassing access control measures;
Violating the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which forbids accessing computers without authorization;
Guilty of contributory copyright infringement for encouraging and helping others to crack PS3s as well;
Violating the California Computer Crime Law, which is the state computer fraud act (think of this as a backup fraud claim);
Violating the PlayStation Network's Terms of Service (which feels meaningless, really);
Interfering with Sony's relationships with other PSN customers (also meaningless);
Trespassing on Sony's ownership right to the PS3 (this one feels weak) and;
Misappropriating Sony's intellectual property (another weak argument, but there in case the copyright argument fails).

Sony's asking the court to forbid Geohot and fail0verflow from distributing the jailbreak and turn over all computer hardware and software that contain the jailbreak code, as well as unspecified damages and attorneys' fees. Yep, these boys done got sued -- and we're sure there'll be some serious fireworks once they lawyer up and fight right back.

Update: And here we go -- Carnegie Mellon professor David Touretzky has posted up the first mirror of Geohot's code as a First Amendment protest, openly challenging Sony to take action. That's moxie -- we love it. [Thanks, Pedro G]

Sony follows up, officially sues Geohot and fail0verflow over PS3 jailbreak originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony asks for restraining order against Geohot, fail0verflow over PS3 exploits

Ross Miller — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:35:00 EST

We knew Sony would be non-plussed about the PlayStation 3 jailbreak, and now we have a better idea as to the full extent of its anger. The company has ~~filed suit~~ (not yet, see below) asked for a restraining order against George "Geohot" Hotz, the "hacking group" fail0verflow (Hector Cantero, Sven Peter, "Bushing," and "Segher"), and numerous John / Jane Does over the exploit and its release. To be more specific, the company cites violations of Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, various copyright infringements, and other acts of binary malfeasance. A temporary restraining order has also been sought, asking that all "circumvention tools" be taken offline and his computers and related media (i.e. anything storing said tools) be impounded. It looks like Geohot's servers are being slammed at the moment, so we've gone ahead and hosted the relevant PDFs ourselves below. We're still sifting through ourselves and will let you know what we unearth.

Update: Nilay here -- let's take a look at what's going on. This isn't a "lawsuit" in the traditional sense, since Sony hasn't filed a complaint for copyright infringement or whatever against Geohot and friends. Instead, the company appears to be trying to shove the genie back in the bottle and have the jailbreak and any information about the jailbreak removed from the web by filing a temporary restraining order. That might work in the short term -- Geohot's already pulled his pages down -- but history suggests that the forces of paperwork rarely triumph over the righteous anger of nerds, and that this code is out there for good. That said, we'll see what the court says tomorrow; although we very much doubt Sony's melodramatic proposed motion and order will be granted as written, we wouldn't be surprised if some sort of order is eventually granted -- and then from there a formal lawsuit is likely just a few days away.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sony asks for restraining order against Geohot, fail0verflow over PS3 exploits originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geohot releases PS3 jailbreak for firmware 3.55, world ceases to have any meaning

Sean Hollister — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 21:59:00 EST

Remember when George "Geohot" Hotz demoed homebrew on the PlayStation 3? Yeah, we know, it was a whole day of CES ago. Well, it looks like that video wasn't a random crack, but full custom firmware, and not just for show -- he just released it to the world. Believe it or not, we didn't bring our PS3s with us to CES 2011, so we can't actually test it for ourselves, but if you have faith or enjoy living on the edge, you're two clicks, one USB stick and a manual System Update away from potential freedom. Now, let's see him keep his original promise.

[Thanks, Omar]

Geohot releases PS3 jailbreak for firmware 3.55, world ceases to have any meaning originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 21:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geohot demos homebrew on 'jailbroken' PS3, Sony vows to 'fix' via software update (video)

Ross Miller — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 10:14:00 EST

We just saw how you can now add an Install Package Files option to the PS3 using some custom firmware, but that darn hacker George "Geohot" Hotz has taken it a step further by demonstrating homebrew in a quick, Mr. Blurrycam-approved video. It's a barebones app that only says "sup dawg, it's geohot," but in reality it's a pretty huge step. Geohot's provided the file on his website along with a copy of the METLDR root key that enables the homebrew. Sony, meanwhile, has issued a statement saying it'll "fix the issues through network updates, but because this is a security issue, we are not able to provide you with any more details." This runs counter to what pytey from fail0verflow (the famed group that kickstarted this new round of hacking) just told the BBC, "the only way to fix this is to issue new hardware... Sony will have to accept this." Hey, at least you'll be in good company, eh Sony? Check out geohot's proof of concept video after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Geohot demos homebrew on 'jailbroken' PS3, Sony vows to 'fix' via software update (video)

Geohot demos homebrew on 'jailbroken' PS3, Sony vows to 'fix' via software update (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 10:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS 4.2.1 Jailbreak hits with updated redsn0w

Thomas Ricker — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 05:55:00 EST

The Dev-Team Blog was just updated with a new redsn0w version 0.9.6b4 jailbreak (based on Geohot's Limera1n bootrom exploit) for iOS 4.2.1. Unfortunately, iOS device owners won't find jailbreaking as easy as navigating to a website. And the 4.2.1 jailbreak is currently "tethered" so owners of the iPhone 4, iPad, and newer iPhone 3GS and iPod touch models will have to reattach to a PC or Mac to boot into a jailbroken state each time your device loses power or needs a reboot. Those of you who rely on the ultrasn0w unlock should hold off for now -- good advice for anyone not comfortable with terms like "SHSH blobs" or "Cydia." Everyone else can hit up the link below with a detailed how-to provided by Redmond Pie.

iOS 4.2.1 Jailbreak hits with updated redsn0w originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 05:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Sean Hollister — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 17:05:00 EST

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 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Sean Hollister — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 18:36:00 EST

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 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geohot teases iPhone 4 jailbreak, no plans for release

Sean Hollister — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:29:00 EST

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 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad jailbreak: thanks Geohot, Comex (update: video!)

Thomas Ricker — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:04:00 EST

See that iPad above, notice anything peculiar? Yeah, blackra1n jailbreak as predicted with the Cydia app installed. No details or downloadables yet but it won't be long. All courtesy of Geohot, natch.

Update: Though geohot broke the news, looks like @comex was a major contributor. Video of iPad as N64 console and more pics after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading iPad jailbreak: thanks Geohot, Comex (update: video!)

iPad jailbreak: thanks Geohot, Comex (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geohot brings back other OS support with PS3 3.21OO custom firmware

Donald Melanson — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:06:00 EST

Well, Geohot promised a workaround for Sony's removal of the "install other OS" feature in PS3 firmware 3.21 and now Geohot has delivered. While it's not available to the public just yet, Geohot's 3.21OO custom firmware will apparently be simple to install and, as you can see in the video after the break, it works just as you'd expect and simply restores the "other OS" option to its previous place. Geohot even says that the custom firmware might actually enable the other OS feature on the PS3 Slim, but he hasn't yet had a chance to try it out.

[Thanks, Milo]

Continue reading Geohot brings back other OS support with PS3 3.21OO custom firmware

Geohot brings back other OS support with PS3 3.21OO custom firmware originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geohot advises against updating PS3, will find 'safe way' around losing OS support

Ross Miller — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:04:00 EST

In case you hadn't heard, there's a PlayStation 3 firmware update coming this Thursday that'd knock out the "install other OS" option and remove any currently-installed non-PS3 platform. Our guess is it's not going to affect the majority of owners, but the diehard users are certainly up in arms, and no one really likes losing a feature, even if it's rarely used. Leave it to Geohot, then, to right the wrong. Arguably the reason for Sony's reversal (see: PS3 exploit), the famed hacker has published not only a letter of sorrow at the company (unsurprising), but also a call for users not to update. Instead, he claims he will "look into a safe way of updating to retain OtherOS support" and issued a tech-savvy threat about "touching the CFW," much to the company's chagrin (trust us, you don't even want to know what he's talking about here -- far too scary). We wouldn't normally say a war's brewing, but ol' George Hotz has proven himself more than capable at starting something fierce.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Geohot advises against updating PS3, will find 'safe way' around losing OS support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geohot teases untethered jailbreak that 'will probably work on iPad' (video)

Thomas Ricker — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 02:13:00 EST

Is it April 1st already or does Geohot actually have something real to show? There's no way to be certain that what the self-promoting master of iPhone (and PS3) hacking is demoing is what he says:

"The jailbreak is all software based, and is as simple to use as blackra1n. It is completely untethered, works on all current tethered models(ipt2, 3gs, ipt3), and will probably work on iPad too."

Given his track record, we'll play along for now. The only thing we can say for sure is that the chosen music accompanying his iPod touch theatrics makes us want to break something, jailtime or not. See it go down after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Geohot teases untethered jailbreak that 'will probably work on iPad' (video)

Geohot teases untethered jailbreak that 'will probably work on iPad' (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 02:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation 3 exploit released, hackers rejoice

Ross Miller — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:54:00 EST

In case you ever doubted his feat, or you simply wanted to recreate for sport, iPhone hacker extraordinaire George "Geohot" Hotz has released the exploit code he devised for properly hacking the PS3. This should give any aspiring minglers full memory access, and while he's only tested it with firmware version 2.4.2, he "imagine[s] it works on all current versions." A guide might follow sometime in the future, he says, but if you're really antsy to get your coding kicks, we wouldn't wait up.

Update: EuroGamer's got a pretty thorough piece on what Geohot is claiming to have accomplished and what it means to the community -- and as Joystiq points out, until we see some "Hello World" proof of concept program, we don't quite know the extent of his claims. The guy's got a helluva track record, at least with iPhone, so we presume that's next on his and the community's list of to-do's.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

PlayStation 3 exploit released, hackers rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blackra1n jailbreak now available for iPhone OS 3.1.2, iPod touch 3G

Nilay Patel — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:01:00 EST

Wow, judging by our tips jar we'd say you're all pretty darn excited about Geohot's Blackra1n jailbreak, which lets you open up iPhone OS 3.1.2 devices including the iPod touch 3G and new iPhone 3GSs -- but you can't unlock yet, so don't get any big ideas about switching carriers. Windows-only at the moment, but with this level of enthusiasm out there we can't imagine a Mac version is far behind.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Handsets, Apple, iPhone OS

Blackra1n jailbreak now available for iPhone OS 3.1.2, iPod touch 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blackra1n jailbreak now available for iPhone OS 3.1.2, iPod touch 3G

Nilay Patel — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:01:00 EST

Filed under: Cellphones

Blackra1n jailbreak now available for iPhone OS 3.1.2, iPod touch 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 3GS jailbreak released by GeoHot ahead of Dev Team

Thomas Ricker — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:33:00 EST

Be warned, this is beta stuff and we haven't been able to test it ourselves. However, a number of breathless tipsters and commenters are reporting a successful jailbreak and unlock of their iPhone 3GS. The magic begins with a 3GS jailbreak released by GeoHot. See, George is fed up with the Dev-Team's insistence on waiting until Apple releases iPhone OS version 3.1. As he puts it:

Normally I don't make tools for the general public, and rather wait for the dev team to do it. But guys, whats up with waiting until 3.1? That isn't how the game is played. We release, Apple fixes, we find new holes. It isn't worth waiting because you might have the "last" hole in the iPhone. What last hole...this isn't golf. I'll find a new one next week.

Meeeeow. After performing the jailbreak, ultrasn0w should then take care of the unlock although we haven't seen official comment on this by GeoHot or the Dev-Team yet. Good luck, backup, and kiss the children goodbye -- it could be a long weekend if you brick your new iPhone. Now hit the read link if you must.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iPhone 3GS jailbreak released by GeoHot ahead of Dev Team originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 3GS exploit confirmed, jailbreak and unlock coming 'soon'

Thomas Ricker — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:47:00 EST

And so it continues. Geohot has returned with some help from hacking buddies chronic, posixninja, and pod2g with news that the same "24kpwn" exploit used to cracked open the iPod touch 2G will work on the iPhone 3GS. That means a jailbreak and unlock can be launched just as soon as the existing tools are updated for the iPhone 3GS (which won't be long). As George Hotz laments,

On a personal note, I'm sad. Apple, it took me a week to break through your new defenses. And to let us reuse an exploit like that; 24kpwn was so 5 months ago. Although I imagine it must have been painful watching the devices roll by on the assembly line, knowing they all had a hole in them and you couldn't fix it.

Oh George.

[Via Dev-Team Blog]

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone 3GS exploit confirmed, jailbreak and unlock coming 'soon' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Out of the box 1.1.3 iPhones now software unlockable

Thomas Ricker — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:01:00 EST

Mr. GEOrge HOTz did it again. He just loosed a world of hurt on AT&T with a software unlock for 1.1.3 iPhones. That's right, the software is said to work on any fresh from the Apple store, shrink-wrapped iPhone sporting the latest 1.1.3 firmware and 4.6 bootloader, something the AnySIM unlock can't do. GeoHot's instructions (and dev / elite team smack talk) posted after the break. We haven't tested yet so, as always, take care.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Out of the box 1.1.3 iPhones now software unlockable

Filed under: Handsets, Software, Apple

Out of the box 1.1.3 iPhones now software unlockable originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Out of the box 1.1.3 iPhones now software unlockable

Thomas Ricker — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:01:00 EST

Continue reading Out of the box 1.1.3 iPhones now software unlockable

Out of the box 1.1.3 iPhones now software unlockable originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1.1.2 iPhones now unlocked... 3 days too late

Thomas Ricker — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:12:00 EST

Teenager George Hotz, aka GeoHot, the original iPhone unlocker is back. In a post to his personal blog he states that he has successfully unlocked a 1.1.2 firmware and bootloader 4.6 iPhone. Better yet, he posts the not-for-dummies version of the instructions to downgrade the bootloader to version 3.9 in preparation for running AnySim. We haven't tried this ourselves so remember, as GeoHot himself states, this hardware method "could brick your iPhone." You haven't upgraded to 1.1.3 already have you? If so, you're stuck with AT&T.

Update: We're now hearing that a software unlock for 1.1.2 / 4.6 iPhones is right around the corner. So don't crack that case just yet kids.

[Thanks, fantastico]

Filed under: Handsets, Apple

1.1.2 iPhones now unlocked... 3 days too late originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1.1.2 iPhones now unlocked... 3 days too late

Thomas Ricker — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:12:00 EST

Teenager George Hotz, aka GeoHot, the original iPhone unlocker is back. In a post to his personal blog he states that he has successfully unlocked a 1.1.2 firmware and bootloader 4.6 iPhone. Better yet, he posts the not-for-dummies version of the instructions to downgrade the bootloader to version 3.9 in preparation for running AnySim. We haven't tried this ourselves so remember, as GeoHot himself states, this hardware method "could brick your iPhone." You haven't upgraded to 1.1.3 already have you? If so, you're stuck with AT&T.

Update: We're now hearing that a software unlock for 1.1.2 / 4.6 iPhones is right around the corner. So don't crack that case just yet kids.

[Thanks, fantastico]

Filed under: Cellphones

1.1.2 iPhones now unlocked... 3 days too late originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NJ teen trades his unlocked iPhone for three more and a sports car

Nilay Patel — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 19:49:00 EST

While the rest of us patiently wait for either UniquePhones or iPhoneSIMfree to call high noon on AT&T's legal team and release their software unlocks, 17-year-old George Hotz is cashing in on all those hours of work it took him to work his hardware magic: Terry Daidone, the founder of phone reseller CertiCell, traded three locked 8GB iPhones and one Nissan 350Z to get his hot little hands on Geohot's unlocked unit. Geohot says he'll give the three phones to his first PayPal contributor and two of his hacking accomplices, and we're betting that car will come in handy when he heads off to college this week. Hey, we've got an unlocked iPhone sitting around here somewhere -- but we're not settling for anything less than an actual sentient KITT.

Filed under: Cellphones

NJ teen trades his unlocked iPhone for three more and a sports car originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2007 19:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NJ teen trades his unlocked iPhone for three more and a sports car

Nilay Patel — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 19:49:00 EST

Filed under: Handsets, Apple

NJ teen trades his unlocked iPhone for three more and a sports car originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2007 19:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone hardware unlock tutorial goes live

Sean Cooper — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:26:00 EST

Well, looky what the internet has for us this morning friends, Geohot and crew have gone ahead and spilled the beans several days early. Apparently today is unlock tutorial day chez iphonejtag.blogspot.com, and not next week as he originally promised. Geohot is liveposting the unlock tutorial step by step with pause for Q&A sessions in between the steps. Hurry over, he just hit step three, so most of the mystery is still intact and the fun is just beginning. Be warned though, you'll need to bring some steady hands and your best eyewear as this is pretty detailed business. Hit the link to "free" your iPhone.

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone hardware unlock tutorial goes live originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone hardware unlock tutorial goes live

Sean Cooper — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:26:00 EST

Filed under: Handsets, Apple

iPhone hardware unlock tutorial goes live originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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