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Seas0nPass jailbreak and aTV Flash (black) version arrive for Apple TV 5.2, bring Bluetooth keyboard compatibility
Cupertino finally saw fit to give users access to Bluetooth keyboards when it rolled out version 5.2 for Apple TV. It took a bit of time, but the folks at Firecore have finished up the Seas0nPass jailbreak for the new OS iteration. Along with the jailbreak, a revised version of its aTV Flash (black) software is also now available to give the new Bluetooth functionality to folks who prefer it to a stock Apple TV experience. Excited? Head on down to the source for the full how-to, and you'll have a wireless keyboard hooked up to your hacked Jobsian hockey puck in no time.
Evasi0n used to jailbreak 7 million devices in less than a week
Forbes talked to Jay Freeman, aka Saurik, who confirmed that the recent Evasi0n jailbreak is the most popular jailbreak in iOS history. According to Saurik, the utility was used to jailbreak more than 7 million devices in the four days since it was released earlier this week. Freeman claims his Cydia jailbreak marketplace has been visited by an insane amount of traffic that includes 5.15 million iPhones, 1.35 million iPads and 400,000 iPod touches. iOS owners who used the Evasi0n tool can attest to this incredible amount of traffic as many could not connect to Cydia in the hours following the release of the jailbreak. You can read more about the iOS 6 jailbreak and its rapid adoption rate in the original article on Forbes.
First iOS 6.1.1 beta doesn't interfere with evasi0n jailbreak
If you've jailbroken your iOS device running version 6.1 of Apple's mobile software, it doesn't appear that your heart will be broken by the upcoming 6.1.1 release -- at least not yet. Ars Technica reports that folks with access to the iOS 6.1.1 beta have been able to successfully install it on jailbroken devices without the jailbreak being, er, broken. Now, it's worth noting that Apple has just released the first of what could be several betas of 6.1.1 and did so very close to Monday's launch of the evasi0n jailbreak. It could simply be a case of the company not having a "fix" for the jailbreak in place in this beta, and that it intends to patch it into oblivion in a subsequent 6.1.1 beta. Still, at least for now jailbreakers can breathe a sigh of relief. We'll let you know when it's time to change it to one of disappointment.
Daily Update for February 4, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Untethered iOS 6.x jailbreak evasi0n now available
The Evad3rs Jailbreak Team has made the evasi0n jailbreak available, and it is capable of jailbreaking the iPhone 5, 4, 4S, 3GS, iPad mini, all full size iPads, and 3rd, 4th and 5th-generation iPod touches running iOS 6.0 and 6.1. The jailbreak is untethered, meaning you won't have to connect to a computer to activate it. It's also available for Windows, Mac and Linux from the evasi0n site. You can also contribute via PayPal to the project on the site. [via The Next Web]
Evasi0n untethered jailbreak for iOS 6 arrives to free your iPhone 5 and iPad mini
It was only a matter of time before the iPhone 5 was freed from its rigid, stock iOS constraints, and months after first seeing the handset be liberated, any and all users can now do the same. That's right, folks, the evasi0n untethered jailbreak for iOS 6.0 and 6.1 is now just a download away at the source link below. To accomplish the task, you need only have a computer running Windows XP and up, Mac OS X 10.5 and up, or your favorite flavor of Linux x86 / x86_64. Of course, before you go hacking your hardware, it's advisable to back up your data -- and to check out evasi0n's FAQ first, so you know what you're getting into. After that, you're mere clicks away from total iPhone freedom. Enjoy.
iPhone 5 jailbreak release expected very soon (Updated: Jailbreak now available)
Last night while the US was watching football, the evad3rs jailbreak team was putting the final touches on its untethered iOS 6.1 jailbreak. Early speculation suggested the tool would be released during Sunday's Super Bowl, but the evad3rs dispelled that myth with a tweet that officially announced the jailbreak would be made available on February 4th. The evasi0n website has a status bar that is counting down the time to the jailbreak launch. According to Redmond Pie, the timer is decreasing in 0.0045 percent increments every 30 seconds. Some not-so-fancy math hints at a noon ET release (9 AM PT) for the evasi0n jailbreak tool. [Via Redmond Pie] Updated: The jailbreak is now live on evasi0n's website!
iOS 6.1 jailbreak almost ready for prime time
The newly formed evad3rs are close to completing their work on the latest iOS 6.1 jailbreak. The team, made up of @MuscleNerd, @pod2g, @Planetbeing and @pimskeks, have created a website for their jailbreak and are updating it with progress reports. According to the evasi0n site, the jailbreak is 68 percent done, with both the jailbreak apps for Mac and Windows completed. The Linux app and some testing are on their plate right now. The next step is private beta testing, which will likely be followed by another round of tweaking before the final release. The latest rumor suggests the team will be ready to roll out the jailbreak on Super Bowl Sunday.
Untethered iOS 6.1 jailbreak to land on most Apple mobile devices (Updated)
MuscleNerd is the bearer of potentially good news for iOS device owners. According to a report in iDownloadBlog, MuscleNerd has said that the upcoming untethered jailbreak for iOS 6.1 will support most iOS devices. This would include the following: iPhone 3GS iPhone 4 iPad 2 iPod touch fourth generation iPhone 4S iPad 3 iPod touch fifth generation iPhone 5 iPad mini iPad 4 MuscleNerd is now working on this jailbreak as part of the evad3rs, along with @pod2g, @Planetbeing and @pimskeks. Hopefully, this jailbreak pans out as expected and will be ready soon since iOS 6.1 finally landed in the hands of the public. Update: As reported by Redmond Pie, a tethered jailbreak for all non-A5 iOS devices running 6.1 is available using redsn0w. Also, the iPhone 5 jailbreak noted in the article above could be released as early as Superbowl Sunday.
Why you can't have an iPhone 5 jailbreak yet
TechCrunch has put together a really great post covering the current iOS jailbreak scene, along with a bit of history behind the quest to find exploits in Apple's devices. For iPhone 5 owners, the piece contains some news that should be very welcome indeed: a working untethered jailbreak for the device exists, even if its creators aren't quite ready to release it to the public. The jailbreak team has evidently uncovered a significant bug that can be used to enable the jailbreak, but is holding off on showing its hand until it can find another to take its place after Apple squashes it. Apparently, the team is willing to "burn" the current bug and release the jailbreak if a replacement isn't found, but not quite yet. As for a timeframe, the group hopes to have something ready before this year's hardware revision hits. Beyond the upcoming exploit, TechCrunch's piece looks at the current state of the iOS jailbreak scene, even asking if there's really as much demand for jailbreaks on Apple's devices anymore. According to the article, the number of people running Cydia remains pretty massive, so we doubt the demand for jailbreaking new devices is ever going to subside entirely -- plus, hackers are always going to be looking for a new challenge.
Windows RT Jailbreak tool is out, makes running unsigned code a pushbutton affair
As is the way of such things, just days after one coder figured out a way around Microsoft's Windows RT controls another individual has created an easy-to-use tool based on the example. Posted by netham45 on XDA-Developers, the RT Jailbreak tool needs only to be loaded and run on the tablet (wait a minute or two after booting up), without any need for the user to poke around in the Windows kernel themselves. Also of note is that this is a tethered solution, since it will need to be reapplied each time the machine is rebooted. Now that the barrier to entry has been significantly lowered, the particularly brave and/or foolhardy Windows RT user can give it a shot by clicking the source link and following the directions there -- that should include reading the associated FAQ to understand some of the risks involved.
Daily Update for December 31, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Hackulous iOS app community closes
Jailbreakers and users of cracked iOS apps have one less thing to be happy about this New Year's Eve. Hackulous, the cracked app community for iOS, shut down as of yesterday. Along with Hackulous, Apptrackr -- which was a web-based index of cracked apps -- and Installous -- an app that was used to transfer cracked apps to iOS devices -- also shut down. The Hackulous team announced the shutdown in a statement: "After many years, our community has become stagnant and our forums are a bit of a ghost town. It has become difficult to keep them online and well-moderated, despite the devotion of our staff." Many in the jailbreak and cracked app community are not buying the story, noting that Hackulous still had many users. The Installous app was allegedly generating a lot of revenue for the team, as ads were served to users every time they performed an app-related action in the software. TorrentFreak attempted to contact Dissident, the admin of the Hackulous projects, for a statement, but he appears to be lying low. In the past, Dissident often preached about the need for users to be able to try out apps before buying them. Since trial apps are now more available, TorrentFreak speculates that Dissident may have felt the Hackulous "mission was over". Another possible reason for the closure could just be that there's no iOS 6 jailbreak coming soon. No jailbreak means that Installous and even the legal Cydia "alternative app store" will not function on new iOS devices. Whatever the reason behind the closing of Hackulous, it's certainly a blow for the jailbreak community. [via The Verge]
Want to replace Siri with Google Search? You can via jailbreak
Google's latest version of its voice-enabled Search app may not have the personality of Siri, but it is as good, if not better, than Siri at pulling up relevant search information. If you want to replace Apple's personal assistant with Google's version, you can do so thanks to a jailbreak tweak called NowNow. As spotted by AppAdvice, NowNow is available in Cydia and allows you to launch Google Voice Search anywhere in iOS. It requires you to install Activator and Google Voice Search, but once you set it up, it's as easy to use as Siri. If you drop Siri for Google, remember that you will lose the "assistant" features of Siri, like adding reminders and setting alarms. Your device has to be jailbroken to use this tweak, which means it is not available to iPhone 5 users or anyone with an iOS device with an A5/6 processor on iOS 6.
iOS 6.0.1 jailbroken
iOS 6.0.1 has only been out for about 24 hours, but now jailbreakers can rejoice -- the newest iteration of the iPhone Dev Team's Redsn0w can be used to jailbreak certain iOS 6.0.1 devices. The news comes from Redmond Pie, which tested the jailbreak and found that since it takes advantage of the Limera1n exploit, it only works on devices that use an A4 chip or lower. That means that if you want to jailbreak your iPhone 5, any of the new iPads or the fifth-generation iPod touch, you'll have to wait. The iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and fourth-generation iPod touch should be able to operate with the jailbreak. This is a tethered-boot jailbreak, meaning that any time you reboot or shut down your device, it will need to be connected to your computer in order to bring it back to a jailbroken state. Full instructions on how to install the jailbreak are available on Redmond Pie. [via CNET]
iPhone jailbreaking legal, iPad not
The latest round of exemptions added to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) may be problematic for iOS owners who unlock or jailbreak their device, according to a report in Ars Technica. Signed into law in 1998, the DMCA bans the production and dissemination of technology designed to circumvent digital rights management systems. This broad-based law gives the Librarian of Congress the power to add exemptions to the law every three years. The latest exemptions were announced on Thursday and will go into effect on October 28. Among them is an exemption that will let users jailbreak their smartphones, but not their tablets. This Librarian decided not to include tablets because the "tablet" category of devices was not well-defined and could include devices like an e-reader, an iPad and even a tablet PC. It's likely that this decision will have a negative effect on the jailbreak community which releases tools that work with both the iPhone and iPad. The Librarian also decided to revoke the exemption allowing customers to unlock their device and use them on a new carrier. The new provision lets you unlock any smartphone purchased before January 2013. Phones purchased after that date can only be unlocked with the permission of the carrier. The librarian noted that carriers have policies that allow for unlocking and felt there was no compelling reason why customers should be allowed to unlock their phones themselves.
DMCA update shuts down new phone unlocking next year, allows rooting (but not for tablets)
And so it passed that Congress didst layeth its blessing on the jailbreaking and rooting of all manner of devices; the hacking community saw the miracle and rejoiced. But that amendment to the DMCA two years ago was just a temporary exemption and the Electronic Frontier Foundation has been vigorously lobbying to get it reinstated. The Library of Congress has now done just that through a new three year extension, but with some serious caveats: After 90 days, unlocking of new phones will be verboten and all tablet mods will still be illegal. This differs from the 2010 decision which did allow unlocking, because the Librarian decided that a recent copyright ruling means fair use rules no longer apply to a handset's OS. It also said the exception isn't needed anymore because carrier rules regarding unlocking are now more liberal -- although the lawmaker may be confounding chicken with egg by that reasoning.
iOS hacker Comex no longer working for Apple
Nicholas Allegra, known by his online handle "Comex," will no longer be lending his talents to Apple. The noted hacker posted the news on Twitter, stating that after a year as an intern he is now no longer associated with the company, though not because he was outright terminated. In a second tweet, Allegra claimed that the reason for his departure was an overlooked email. Forbes reports that an offer letter to keep the hacker on board at Apple as a remote intern was overlooked by the 20-year-old. Allegra went on to say that the situation was slightly more complex than a simple inbox snafu, and that there is no bad blood between him and the company. Allegra first gained notoriety for his work in the jailbreaking scene, including releasing updated versions of the JailbreakMe tool.
JailbreakMe hacker Comex let go by Apple after failing to respond to offer letter
After developing JailBreakMe, cracking such devices as the iPad 2 or iPhone 4 and finally scoring a paying intern gig with his nemesis, hacker Comex tweeted that he's no longer working at Apple. Also known as Nicholas Allegra, the talented coder's Cupertino situation apparently came asunder when he failed to respond to an email offer to re-up with the company, though he also told Forbes that the situation was more complicated than that. He added that "it wasn't a bad ending," and that he has fond memories of his Apple experience, but if you're hoping the Brown University student will have an iOS 6 jailbreak soon, don't hold your breath -- he's concentrating strictly on his studies, for now.
The challenges of jailbreaking iOS 6
Since iOS 6 arrived on September 19, the jailbreak community has been hard at work trying to achieve the ultimate goal -- an automated, untethered jailbreak that works on all devices that can run the newest version of iOS. Yet according to a new article by Mathew Schwartz of InformationWeek, a full iOS 6 jailbreak may be an elusive goal. Schwartz talked to a number of security experts, coming up with a list of six reasons why the untethered iOS 6 jailbreak may be difficult. First, security researcher Charlie Miller of Twitter noted earlier in the year that "finding sufficient vulnerabilities takes smarts." That's not to call the jailbreak community dumb, but that it's incredibly hard to find "known, exploitable vulnerabilities" in an advanced operating system. The next challenge for would-be iOS 6 jailbreakers is time -- it takes a lot of time to find those vulnerabilities, with the first untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 taking a full 10 months to accomplish thanks to the A5 chip that was new to those platforms. Third, Schwartz notes that "website-based untethered jailbreaking is insanely difficult." He describes jailbreaker Comex's JailbreakMe.com website, and notes that Comex has interned at Apple. Perhaps Comex has divulged some of his legendary tricks to Apple, which would make it even more difficult for a lesser hacker to accomplish a jailbreak. Fourth, any jailbreak has a very limited shelf life. As soon as a jailbreak is announced, Apple goes to work to patch the vulnerabilities that were exploited. After version 2.0 of JailbreakMe.com appeared, it took Apple only two weeks to release patches to negate the exploits. In his fifth point, Schwartz notes that an early iOS 6 kernel exploit described earlier this month -- it allowed Cydia to be installed on an iPhone 5 -- couldn't be used alone to jailbreak iOS 6 devices. Finally, Apple has done a much better job of locking down iOS 6. Azimuth Security researchers Mark Dowd and Tarjei Mandt, who described the iOS 6 kernel exploit, noted in a presentation in Kuala Lumpur this month that Apple has hardened the iOS kernel, provided better protection against memory or heap corruption errors, and improved stack overflow prevention. In addition, some APIs that had been used to execute exploits have been zeroed out, and Apple has further randomized address space layout randomization (ASLR) to make it more difficult to circumvent. Still, the jailbreak community is persistent, and it may be just a matter of time before a full untethered iOS 6 jailbreak is announced. Whether that happens before iOS 7 is widely adopted remains to be known.
