GeoHot

Sony and GeoHot settle PS3 jailbreaking case

Sony Computer Entertainment America today announced that it has settled its contentious suit against infamous hacktivist George Hotz, aka GeoHot.

"Sony is glad to put this litigation behind us," said Riley Russell, general counsel for SCEA, in a statement. "Our motivation for bringing this litigation was to protect our intellectual property and our consumers. We believe this settlement and the permanent injunction achieve this goal."

For those who haven't been keeping up, Hotz hacked Sony's PlayStation 3, jailbreaking it to run non-Sony-approved software and, potentially, pirated games.

The settlement itself was apparently reached on the March 31, but Sony only just made it public. Details of the settlement, however, weren't made available.… Read more

The 404 791: Where we're rolling with the homies (podcast)

Happy 404 Day! To celebrate the second most popular day in April, we've kicked Wilson off the show and replaced him with Mark Licea. Happy Monday! Today we're chatting about an immersive new take on Shakespeare's "Macbeth" story, nude therapists working in New York, an Android bootleg that publicly embarrasses pirates, and Web vigilantes Anonymous joining hackers GeoHot and Graf_Chokolo in their fight against Sony.

The 404 Digest for Episode 791

"Sleep No More" offers a modern take on classic theater. Pirates beware: a bootleg Android app punishes with public shaming. A therapist in NYC meets with clients with clothes on, then slowly takes them off. Speaking of nudes, a Web developer site is looking to recruit nude female Web coders. .01% of Wikipedia is equivalent to 952 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica...and it's for sale.

Episode 791 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

PS3 hacker's lawyers fire back at Sony

Things are getting even more interesting in one of the biggest jailbreaking cases currently in the courts. Stewart Kellar and his team of attorneys for George Hotz (aka GeoHot), on Friday filed a motion (PDF from Grocklaw) to dismiss Sony Computer Entertainment of America's suit against their client--for a few reasons:

First up, they object to SCEA's attempts to establish jurisdiction of the case in Northern California. Hotz lives and works in New Jersey, and, as an individual and not a corporation, really doesn't have the cash on hand to traverse the country defending himself in … Read more

Sony: PS3 hacker GeoHot fled to South America

Update, 7:01 p.m. PT: with Hotz saying he is on a long-planned vacation.

If you've been following the drama between Sony and hacker GeoHot (aka George Hotz) then you're in for a fun twist today: Sony is accusing Hotz of fleeing the country, but Hotz says he's just enjoying spring break.

Sony makes the allegation in a court filing (PDF, see page 2, line 24) dated Friday.

After news stories began appearing today, Hotz wrote a blog post to set the record straight.

"Actually, it's true I'm in South America, on a vacation I've had planned and paid for since November. I mean, it is spring break; hacking isn't my life," he writes. "Rest assured that not a dime of legal defense money would ever go toward something like this. And of course [Sony-employed law firm Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton] loves the idea of painting me as an international fugitive. I have been in contact with my lawyers almost every day; I would not let the case suffer."

Hotz is well known for reverse-engineering the multi-digit code that allows the installation and execution of non-Sony-recognized code on PlayStation 3s, essentially allowing anyone with a PS3 to run homebrew software, or even pirated games.

A federal magistrate a couple weeks ago OK'd Sony's request for Hotz to hand over his hacking gear--his PS3 consoles, computers, and other equipment--untouched. It seems that before turning the stuff in, he allegedly made edits, deleting key evidence that Sony likely planned to use against him.

What's more, Hotz was allegedly caught lying about having a PlayStation Network (PSN) account. But Sony says it was able to prove that in February of last year, Hotz allegedly purchased a new PS3 and, tracing the serial number, Sony says it concluded that he had set up a PSN account under the screen name "blickmanic," which is also a name Hotz used on previous Web forums on iPhone jailbreaking. … Read more

Blackra1n update adds unlock, Mac support

iPhone OS hacker, GeoHot, released an updated version of Blackra1n earlier this week, a jailbreak utility for iPhone OS 3.1.2 and iPhone baseband 05.11.07 that now includes a carrier unlock that lets you use the iPhone on any GSM carrier.

We covered the initial release of Blackra1n that was Windows only, but now a Mac version of Blackra1n is available. Mac users can use Blackra1n to jailbreak or unlock all iPhone and iPod Touch models regardless of its hardware generation.

Using the application is simple. You just connect the iPhone or iPod Touch using the standard … Read more

Blackra1n RC3 unlocks iPhone 3GS

iPhone OS hacker GeoHot released Blackra1n RC3 Tuesday, an updated jailbreak and unlock utility for the Apple iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch.

This version provides true carrier unlocking for iPhone OS 3.1.2 and baseband 05.11.07 by taking advantage of at+xemm crash exploit discovered by ih8sn0w.

The Blackra1n jailbreak process installs a new app--called Sn0w--onto an iPhone. It unlocks your iPhone, making it usable on any GSM carrier network. More information about the jailbreak can be found on GeoHot's blog.

Please note that by jailbreaking an iPhone, you may be violating your terms of service … Read more

iPhone OS 3.1.2 unlock arrives this week

iPhone OS hacker GeoHot has announced the successful creation of an iPhone unlock for the iPhone OS 3.1.2 baseband. The new app called, Blacksn0w, will allow iPhone users to use their phone on non-Apple sanctioned carriers.

You'll have to wait a bit though, since the application will not be released by GeoHot until November 4th, 2009.

GeoHot also posted this YouTube video demonstrating the exploit:

Blackra1n RC2 supports tethered 3GS jailbreak

iPhone OS hacker GeoHot released Blackra1n RC2 today, an updated jailbreak utility for the Apple iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch.

This version provides a tethering jailbreak for the new iPhone 3GS with the updated bootrom from Apple. According to GeoHot's blog, these new features are included:

Fixed 3G issues Tethered jailbreak for 3.1 OOTB ipt 8GB and new 3GS units Fixed Icy issues Both Windows and Mac

He also points out that "if you used RC1 with success," then there is no need to rerun Blackra1n RC2 on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Updated October 26, … Read more

Blackra1n jailbreaks iPhone OS 3.1.2

iPhone OS hacker, GeoHot, released Blackra1n this weekend, a new jailbreak utility for iPhone OS 3.1.2.

The new Windows-only utility follows on the heels of Purplera1n and you can download it now. Windows users can use it to jailbreak iPhone OS 3.1.2 on all iPhone and iPod Touch models regardless of their hardware generation. Using the application is simple. You just plug in your iPhone or iPod Touch using the standard USB sync cable and follow the instructions below.

Difficulty level: Easy

What you need: >PC running Windows XP or Vista >Download Blackra1n using … Read more