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Wii runs GameCube homebrew
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Wii_runs_GameCube_homebrew'; Using a variety of exploits, the homebrew community has finally struck gold and figured out how to get it all going on the Wii. With a SD card, Action Replay for the GameCube and SD card adapter for the GameCube, one can plug in their card into a computer, use some of that homebrew magic and get GameCube homebrew running on the console. Of course, this could very well be a problem for Nintendo if folks use this exploit to run emulators (they will and, more than likely, are), bypassing the Virtual Console to play any ROM they wish.[Thanks Pieter!]
New Mac OS X Exploit?
The UK's IT Week reports on a possible new Mac OS X exploit. A proof of concept appears on the Info-pull.com website, claiming that corrupted UDTO HFS+ image structures are vulnerable to denial of service attacks. If true, this same issue may affect FreeBSD installations. The article suggests disabling "open 'safe files' after downloading", which realistically speaking you've probably already done a long time ago if you've been worried about possible OS X attacks.
Cosplaying pirate reviews latest exploit in video podcast
Homebrew can be a little confusing and intimidating. So, I guess it's a little understandable when tons of confused people write comments in the blog, having absolutely no idea what the latest libtiff exploit does. Sure, they could've read the article, or even the helpful comments, but remember: I'm at your service. While I could explain again that the Hello World demo is just a demonstration of the potential of homebrew running on 2.0+ PSPs, I'll let this cosplaying pirate from PSP Hacking 101 explain it all. Arg, everybody likes pirates, matey!In other news, according to PSP Fanboy reader craig, a downgrader for 2.71 should be coming some time soon today or tomorrow. Check PSP Fanboy regularly to see the latest news![Via QJ]
MMS spam: a battery-killing attack?
Modern smartphones struggle to eke out a day or two of moderate use as it is without malicious folk tapping into your battery; sadly, researchers at UC Davis have apparently managed to do exactly that, exploiting fundamental flaws in the way most phones handle the MMS protocol to drain juice. It seems the trouble stems from "junk data" sent via MMS, which causes the phone to wake from standby, realize the data doesn't constitute a valid message, and discard it, all without any notification to the user. Rapidly repeat the process, and, well, you can see where this leads. All the attacker needs is the target phone's number, and before you know it, your battery's history (the researchers were able to do the deed at about 20 times the normal drain rate, to be exact). Their work wasn't all gloom and doom, though -- another MMS exploit allowed the wily grad students to fire off messages free of charge. Of course, with a dead battery, you won't be firing off much of anything.[Via textually.org]
PSP firmwares 2.0 - 2.80 hacked for homebrew
PSP fangirls and boys unite! It looks like you can now run homebrew apps on your PSPs that have version 2.00 to 2.80 firmwares installed -- no more downgrading! Apparently it involves a simple viewing of an image file on your mem stick. And for you überfans, you'll probably want to know that according to QJ.net: "This application runs in 'User Mode,' but kernel mode will be achievable on all firmwares except 2.80." We'll give it a spin and report back soon with our findings.[Thanks, Crome T.]Update: Oh yeah, this thing works alright. It works so well ou don't even need to actually load the image on 2.8 -- just scroll down to it, and the thumbnail read takes over the homebrew hack. Nice.
Inside the Caverns of Time (Kind Of)
Just in time for the new Caverns of Time preview from Blizzard, I recently came across a photoset of the Caverns as they exist now, courtesy of this German WoW blog.I had to put lots and lots of text through the Babelfish, but from what I can tell, this guy reached the Caverns by climbing through the mountains (probably an exploit, try it at your own risk) in the pirate area on the east coast of Tanaris. Here's what he actually says, in as good a translation as I could get:"To describe with difficulty. But I am at that time from the rear over the Piratenlager. Then the mountain highly, there in a few certain places down and is one hops sometime in it."Seems like that's the only way in at this point, because there's four gigantic elite dragons currently guarding the entrance (also along the coast of Tanaris). I know this because I went to visit those dragons, and while I was able to sneak past three of them, the big one (Anachronos) finished me off with one hit. Now, you'd think we'd have to defeat those guys, but Nethaera hinted earlier today that maybe defeating them isn't what we're supposed to do...At any rate, It seems like the preview and the information already in the game has done exactly what Blizzard planned: get everybody drooling over the prospect of going back throughout the history of Azeroth in a brand new instance. Burning Crusade is still on tap for a Q4 release-- can't wait!
Sony fights back: their battle against homebrew
The battle between the homebrew community and Sony has been a long, bloody fight. With Sony finally playing the legal card against homebrewers, PSP 3D takes a retrospective look at the history of Sony's struggle. They claim that Sony has been getting more desperate, and a bit angrier, as seen by this quote from a Sony programmer: "Overall it's [homebrew] frowned on. Our tech guys have gotten madder and madder lately, and it does void your warranty."The complete article has tons of interesting tidbits. Of particular interest is the infamous GTA exploit which allowed for homebrew to be run even with the most recent firmware release during that time: "The GTA hack operated in a way which utilized the game's in-game SYSCALLs (system calls) in order to run arbitrary code. This is why kernal (full PSP hardware/software IO access) mode via the hack was impossible; you are only allowed to code as much as the SYSCALLs availability, therefore, advanced SYSCALLs, like those for VSH (update mode) or kernal mode were unavailable for use, simply because GTA: LCS didn't utilize them. This fact brought upon the problem of concern for Sony's engineers. They'd have to release a firmware update which jumbles up the method of loading SYSCALLs in order to prevent homebrew from being loaded. Not easy stuff, really, especially when you need to maintain the working status of all the retail UMD games already released and sold."[Via PlayStation.com boards]
Another Look at Mac OS X Security
I take security exploits seriously. I'm responsible for many hundreds of Macintosh computers that reside in many different environments, not to mention half-a-dozen X-Serves, several of which are production boxes open to the world. When a security exploit is announced, I look to see if it will impact my workstations and servers and whether I need to take immediate action. And with the exception of the recent Safari exploit that was patched last week by Apple's Security 2006-001 Update, there hasn't yet been a single vulnerability that significantly affects my computers' operations. [Note, reader Brent points to a ZDnet article just published a few hours ago that claims Apple hasn't adequately fixed the Safari exploit in question].So when an article claiming "Mac OS X hacked in less than 30 minutes" popped up on my news radar last night, I read through it and quickly dismissed it as a non-story, and a journalistically unsound one at that. Neither this article or any of its copycats (up to more than six now), has bothered to even attempt to actually explain the "hack" or the "exploit." Plain and simple, folks, these articles are full of hype, empty of facts, and are bunk:
