The Edge of I-Hacked

from Wikipedia

09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 is an HD-DVD decryption key that was leaked on April 30, 2007. The source of the leak is unclear. It is of interest to cryptographic researchers, as it can be used to play a protected HD-DVD movie in Linux, bypassing the normal DRM. The key will also allow for programs analagous to DeCSS for DVDs.

In a cease and desist order from the Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator addressed to Google Inc, the letter humorously included the code in question. [1]
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/09_F9_11_02_9D_74_E3_5B_D8_41_56_C5_63_56_88_C0″

from Slyck News

Releasing Nine Inch Nail material online is an avenue the industrial rock band has been familiar with some time. Many tracks are readily available one the NIN.com website, downloadable via the traditional client/server method. However in a brief announcement made yesterday, a surprising element appeared. Not that new material was available for download, but that it was available via the BitTorrent protocol. Even more surprisingly, the torrents were uploaded to The Pirate Bay.

The Pirate Bay has been a quandary for the entertainment industry, as it has defiantly remained one of the largest - if not most popular - BitTorrent trackers/indexers. Despite a brief shut down in May of 2006, The Pirate Bay continues to remain a symbol of the P2P and BitTorrent community.

Although it has earned the scorn of the US entertainment industry, it appears that not all entertainers feel hostile towards the Swedish BitTorrent site - particularly Trent Reznor. Three audio tracks are currently being indexed by The Pirate Bay, “Capital G”, “My Violent Heart”, and “Me, I’m Not.” This is an interesting move by NIN, and one that lends a hand of legitimacy to The Pirate Bay - as it shows that entertainers realize the importance of reaching out to their target audience.

from techcrunch.com

Red Swoosh (acquired by Akamai for $15 million earlier this month) released v1.0 of FoxTorrent today. This is a fully functional BitTorrent client for Firefox that works cross platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) and has a very cool additional feature - the ability to stream files as they are downloading.

This is no Azureus (my BitTorrent client of choice), but it does the job and saves time by allowing you to manage torrents directly from the browser. I tested it on a few (non-copyright infringing, of course) files and it worked great on the standard BitTorrent functionality. Streaming just didn’t work, although with the way the BitTorrent protocol breaks files into pieces and reconstructs them in a non linear way means you may have to wait until the file is mostly complete to even begin streaming. I’ll try it again once the files are nearly complete.

from Project Honey Pot

Since its inception, the front page of Project Honey Pot has promised that we will “Help Stop Spammers Before They Even Get Your Email Address.” Today we make good on that promise. Introducing http:BL, a service that allows you to use the data generated by Project Honey Pot in order to keep malicious web robots off your website.

For example, a web administrator could use the http:BL date to establish rules that automatically block known comment spammers, harvesters, and other suspicious visitors from accessing your site and using your bandwidth. The data is provided through the existing DNS system in order to be extremely fast, highly redundant, and very reliable.

The basic http:BL service is free to active members of Project Honey Pot. Users of the Apache 2.0 Web Server can begin taking advantage of the service today using a powerful module that is built directly into the Apache framework. The module is currently in an early beta and Project Honey Pot members can sign up to help with its testing.

In addition, we have published an API outlining the http:BL specifications. We hope and expect more software to be written to take advantage of the http:BL service. If you have an idea, please contact us to talk about how we can make it work.

from Xbox-Scene News:

TheSpecialist sent us the update of HDDHackr(info) many of you were probably waiting for. With the release of an official 120GB drive by Microsoft you can now use this tool to make your own 120GB Xbox360 HDD using a Western Digital Scorpio BEVS-LAT drive (that’s a cheap (~80usd for 120GB) SATA 2.5″ PC/laptop drive):
[QUOTE]
Attached is the latest version of the hddhackr. It works with the new 120 gb signature. However, this current version can not dump the hddss.bin file automatically from that drive, you’ll have to manually dump sectors 16-22 with a tool like winhex and save them as ‘hddss.bin’. After that, continue as normal with the hddhackr and everything will be fine.

Also, I’d like to stress that there are 2 versions of the WD BEVS drive out there: the ‘RST’ and the ‘LAT’ version. This tool currently ONLY supports the ‘LAT’ version ! You can find on the sticker of the HDD which version it is. I’ll hope to be able to support the RST version of the drive in a future version of this tool.
[/QUOTE]

From the official readme:
[QUOTE]
Hddhacker v0.90 by the Specialist.

* DISCLAIMER:
This tool has only been tested by me. It worked for me. While great care has been taken, this tool may contain bugs and therefore may seriously harm your HDD. Use at own risk !!!

* What: This tool will allow you to use HDD’s that are not ‘certified’ by Microsoft. This specific tool is written for use with the Western Digital BEVS series only !

* How to use: Get yourself a Western Digital SATA BEVS HDD. To use this tool, you need a HDD security sector file (’hddss.bin’). If you don’t have one, here’s how to create one from a valid xbox 360 HDD:
- Dumping the hddss.bin file
Boot to dos from a writeable medium (like a floppy). Connect an *original* xbox 360 HDD to your SATA controller. Make sure it is the only SATA device that is connected. Now run ‘hddhackr -d’. This will create a file ‘hddss.bin’ and it will save it to the path you’ve started the hddhackr from.
- Modding your Western Digital
Now turn off your PC and connect the Western Digital and boot to dos again.
Type ‘hddhackr -f’ from the same path you have saved the hddss.bin file to.
This will flash your FW. It will ask if you want to create an undo file. It is advised to do so. This will create an ‘undo.bin’ file that you need if you want to undo the hack.
- Check if it worked
Shut down your pc, reboot again to dos and again type ‘hddhackr -f’. It should now tell you that the drive should work in your x360. If so, connect it to your x360 and go to your dashboard/system/memory where you should be able to format the drive.
- Restoring your WD to original state
If you don’t want to use your modded WD in your x360 anymore and you want to flash it back to its original size, then you can now do so. Boot to dos again and run ‘hddhackr -u’. This will use the undo.bin file you created before to restore the drive to its original state.

FAQ:
Q. I get an error when I try to dump hddss.bin from a 120 gb HDD.
A. This version can’t dump from an elite drive yet. You’ll have to dump sectors 16-22 manually with a tool like winhex, save them as ‘hddss.bin’ and then continue like normal, with the hddhackr.

Q. Will this tool allow me to connect a 500 gb drive to my x360 ?
A. No. The information on sector 16 is signed and can’t be changed. You can only use size where you have a valid signature for. In otherwords, if a bigger HDD comes out, you can use that signature.

Q. With which HDD’s does this work ?
A. It currently only works with the ‘LAT’ version of the Western Digital Scorpio BEVS series. The ‘RST’ version of that drive is currently NOT supported

Q. Do I need the same size WD HDD as the size on sector 16 states ?
A. No. You can use bigger HDD’s, but you can’t use more than the size stated in sector 16. You can NOT use smaller HDD’s than the size on sector 16 states. For example, you can use a 40 GB HDD with a sector 16 from a 20 GB HDD, but not the other way around of course.

Q. Can I use the HDD in my PC again ?
A. Of course. The tool comes with an ‘undo’ option, that will restore the original size. For example, you use a 40 gb WD HDD, you used hddss.bin from a valid xbox 20 gb HDD, so the tool will transform your 40 GB HDD into a 20 gb HDD. However, you can restore it to 40 gb anytime you want with the undo option.

Q. I have a x360 core version and want to use this hack to buy a cheap HDD. But how do i connect it ?
A. If you don’t have a premium, you can make the HDD internal. One great tutorial that will show you how to do this here.

Q. The tool doesn’t detect my HDD !
A. First, make sure you are running it from dos, not from a dos box under windows. If the hddhackr does not autodetect your SATA controller (if you have an nForce chipset for example), then you can manually edit the hddhackr to support it. To do this:

1. Find the two ports that your SATA chipset uses for data communication (see the MTKediting thread for more detailed info on how to do this), basically, you need to run ‘msinfo32′, then go to storage/scsi or storage/ide, depending on your SATA chipset and then look for the two ports that have a difference of 7 between them. For example:
I/O-port 0×0000EFE0-0×0000EFE7
I/O-port 0×0000EFAC-0×0000EFAF
I/O-port 0×0000EFA0-0×0000EFA7
I/O-port 0×0000EFA8-0×0000EFAB
I/O-port 0×0000EF90-0×0000EF9F
I/O-port 0×0000E800-0×0000E8FF

In this example the two ports you are looking for (with difference of 7) are 0xEFE0 and 0xEFA0
2. Open the hddhackr.com in a hexeditor and search for the string ‘port=MPRT’ (it is at the end of the file). Now, that ‘MPRT’ string is 4 bytes long: 0×4D 0×50 0×52 0×54. You have to replace these four bytes with the 2 port numbers (which are each 2 bytes long, so you replace the 4 bytes in total), so in the example above you replace these four bytes with: ‘0xEF 0xE0 0xEF 0xA0′.
3. If you then start the hddhackr, it will automatically detect that you have edited that string, so it will skip the SATA autodetector and instead use the port numbers you’ve supplied.

Q. Could you do this for my Seagate, Maxtor, Samsung or whatever drive too?
A. Yes, but I don’t have plans to do so. The cheapest WD drive (40 gb) ships for about $50 and thus is one of the cheapest. It is a lot of work to
convert this tool for usage with other brands and I don’t think it is worth the trouble.

Q. How do I find out if my BEVS drive is a ‘LAT’ drive ?
A. It’s printed on the sticker of the drive, in the model name. For example: WD1200BEVS-60LAT0

Q. Will there be support for the RST drive in the future ?
A. I’ll hope to receive an RST drive soon and then hopefully can find out what’s going wrong and be able to support it in a future version of this tool.

Q. Where can I donate ?
A. Nowhere. Just enjoy

Thanks to: Team MODFREAKz for his initial logic board experiments, Loser for his findings on the sector 16, Antman1 and Rutger1413 for supplying info about the new 120 gb signature and everybody else at XS/XBH.
TS in april 2007
[/QUOTE]

Official Site: n/a, by TheSpecialist (TS)
Download: here (does NOT include hddss.bin as it’s copywrited)

from CNET News.com

Macaulay, a software engineer, was able to hack into a MacBook through a zero-day security hole in Apple’s Safari browser. The computer was one of two offered as a prize in the “PWN to Own” hack-a-Mac contest at the CanSecWest conference here.

The successful attack on the second and final day of the contest required a conference organizer to surf to a malicious Web site using Safari on the MacBook–a type of attack familiar to Windows users. CanSecWest organizers relaxed the rules Friday after nobody at the event had breached either of the Macs on the previous day.

Macaulay teamed with Dino Dai Zovi, a security researcher until recently with Matasano Security. Dai Zovi, who has previously been credited by Apple for finding flaws in Mac software, found the Safari vulnerability and wrote the exploit overnight in about 9 hours, he said.

from Martin Varsavsky | English

FON will introduce the Fontennas in early May (we still don’t have the exact date). I have personally tested the Fontennas and my estimate is that they increase the effective range of the La Foneras by a factor of 5 to 10 (think that range in the 3D world of our cities is 3 dimensional). I tested the La Foneras in the Place des Vosges in Paris where we have an apartment. With a La Fonera I could cover 1/8 of the park while with the Fontenna I could 7/8 of it (areas with trees interfered with the signal). In this video I show the Fontennas for the first time. Fontennas will probably sell for 9,95 plus shipping, but we will probably give them away for free or for only the shipping to all of those Foneros who have shown that they keep their La Foneras on over time. We will make these decisions shortly.

Last minute update. A Fon team just came back from testing the Fonera that is in my window and they could get signal from 450m and connect from 370m. Clearly the Fontenna ads a whole new dimension to the Fon Movement.

from UbuntuOpenWeek - Ubuntu Wiki (via digg)

Next week (Mon 23rd Apr 2007 - Sat 28th Apr 2007), the Ubuntu Open Week kicks off with over 40 IRC tutorial sessions showing people how to get involved in Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu and more ina range of different areas. This is a great chance to get started in the Ubuntu community.

From Ubuntu Home Page | Ubuntu (via engadget)

Those of you as fond of Ubuntu as we are likely won’t need much convincing, but those that have yet to go ‘bu now have one of the most compelling reasons yet to consider the OS, as version 7.04 (otherwise known as “Feisty Fawn”) has now been officially released into the wild. Among the improvements this time around are improved wireless and multimedia support, and a new Windows migration tool that should make things a bit easier for those going for a dual-boot system. Unsurprisingly, the servers appear to be taking a bit of a beating at the moment, which we suspect could be the case for a little while longer.

From qj.net

It’s out, folks! Dark_AleX has finally released the latest in his series of Open Edition firmware - the much-awaited 3.30 Open Edition Rev A! This is serious cause for celebration especially after days of waiting for DaX to finally give word on what’s up with his work (and what’s up with his PSP).

3.30 OE-A retains all of the original Sony 3.30 FW functions - PSOne game library support, Internet navigator, etc. - but because Dark_AleX is THE man, he’s added a lot of features and changes to his latest custom FW (some taken from PSPGen’s release notes).

* Homebrew support under either 1.50 or 3.30 kernel
* Region spoofing
* Patched a protection that prevents the FW to load higher firmware modules
* Fixed a bug that could have caused instability in 3.10 OE after recovering from sleep mode
* Recovery Mode
* Direct launching of PSOne games (converted with PSP format)
* Direct launching of demos and homebrews
* Possibility of regulating hte speed of the PSP’s processor
* Direct launching of ISOs/CSOs

DAX says this doesn’t support popsloader at the moment due to “Sony rearranging again the module list of pspbtcnf_pops”, but rest assured that the great dev will be making a new version that will support all current pops in 3.10 OE, 3.30 OE and maybe 3.03 OE-C. The dev also tried testing the customization of icons, but that didn’t work out.

For the full installation guide, please go over the Readme. It’s there for a reason. We know you’re all excited about the 3.30 OE-A but be mindful of what you’re doing. Take caution. This can only be installed to PSPs with firmwares 1.50, 2.71 SE, 3.02 OE, 3.03 OE, or 3.10 OE. Downgrade first if your PSP has a different FW. 3.30 OE-A cannot be installed to PSPs with FW 3.10, 3.11, or 3.30.