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Xbox 360 Backup Discs Bootable
An anonymous reader writes "The firmware of the Xbox 360 DVD drive has been hacked, allowing users to boot backups of games on the new Microsoft console. A group of hackers on the xboxhacker.net forum managed to trick the DVD firmware into reporting a recordable disc as an original Xbox 360 disc. This means that it will not allow booting of unsigned homebrew code (like Linux), as the signature check is not bypassed. This hack will just trick the Xbox 360 into thinking you inserted an original Xbox 360 disc, so it'll only boot unedited executables. A video has been released, the hack has not been released to the public (because it will be mainly used for piracy), but all the research of the last few months is publicly viewable."
yeah, and I read playboy for the articles.
how long until a game is released that checksums the DVD firmware and "updates it" to soemthing more secure?
( + reporting to MS Live if you have a hacked verison and cancelling your account? ala Blizzard?)
If you don't want to wait 30 seconds to download the video, stream it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyZQ4k7Bi-8
This is the "piracy" hack. A way to cleanly boot non-Microsoft content would be more useful. Microsoft probably couldn't do much about that legally; if you own the unit, you have no obligation to play only approved content.
DRM is a stupid idea. It never stops hackers but it stops the average consumer from having the full use of the device they've legally bought. Making backups should be a fully protected right. Not a limited number of backup copies - as many as I happen to want to make. If I make a backup and then run it over with my car it shouldn't matter because my original is in a safe location and I can just make a new backup.
Of course 'backup' for the copy you're using isn't a very good term.
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
the hack has not been released to the public (because it will be mainly used for piracy) :-)
It is sad to see so much cynicism in the world
${YEAR+1} is going to be the year of Linux on the desktop!
I always thought that was a pretty good area of attack right there.
Ryan T. Sammartino
"Ancora imparo"
it's not so much "scratching" as it is "burning a series of tiny little rings in these DVDs as if they were vinyls exactly how fast is this thing spinning jesus christ the disc is actually hot"
The nature of the hack is that it masks a DVD-R as a factory pressed DVD. So all it lets you do, is boot 100% copies of existing titles. To boot homebrew, or imports, you'd need to crack the digital signature, or hack the main firmware, which hasn't happened. So there'll probably be pretty good piracy / 'backup' mod-chips available soon, but no homebrew yet.
From the post:
the hack has not been released to the public
From Jane Austen's "Emma":
'It's to be a secret, I conclude,' said he. These matters are always a secret, till it is found out that everybody knows them. Only let me be told when I may speak out.'"
Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
It's clear that the submitter of the article doesn't think the moral case for this type of thing is strong enough to stand on its own. He has to help it along, and slightly mislead his audience despite the fact that the vast majority of the copies this is used for will be pirated copies rather than backup copies.
;)
Huh? The submitter wrote, right there in the summary, "it will be mainly used for piracy". I really don't see how he could have been any blunter about it. It does not look to me like there is any attempt being made to mislead readers in any way whatsoever.
But I'm not surprised to see a response like yours. However someone phrases it, there's always someone who thinks they should have phrased it more strongly. I expect that even if the submitter had opened the article with "Filthy bloodsucking terrorist pedophile pirates have raped America's freedom once again in a savage assault on the copyright protections that keep our children safe", then someone would still have complained that he was being too sympathetic to them...
I remember hackers speaking of how easy hacking the Xbox 360 will be, that it will only take hours once it is released.
Now, 4 months after the release, they manage to hack a disc. Microsoft sure has given them a challenge this time.
I'm guessing the good researchers figured if they publicly took the credit AND released the code, they'll be in the crosshairs of (MS||HomelandSec:-s||Feds||++) in a minute. If its not already illegal (isnt it?) , it'll probably soon be.
e nt..
So they figure they wont release the code.
They say, hey its possible.
They say, hey this is the exact result.
They say, hey this is how we've been going abt it these past few months.
They say, sorry folks, y'know we'd love to spread the good hack around, but y'know
piracy's piracy, and we dont want to get in range of the long arm of the law.
24 hrs later.
Ult.XBoxHack.360.FirmwareUpdate.CRaCkED.l33T.torr
They say, huh what??
Well, Good Luck...
"the hack has not been released to the public (because it will be mainly used for piracy)"
Then why did they bother? Testing XP or linux to see if its security is working is one thing. That has real world consequences. Testing it is a noble cause IMHO. Hacking the firmware of a gaming system make get done to "boot linux" but we all know the real world implication here. I don't frown on this morally one bit but let's not kid ourselves here. Information may want to be free, but people want free games even more.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
I suppose microsoft could detect this on live by scanning the dvd drives firmware, but the data contained on the firmware itself could easily be spoofed. The other software on the xbox has to relie on whatever the firmware itself says it has. Somebody could just add code to the firmware that sends false data to external reads. All it has to do is report whatever data the console would expect it to have and then detection would become impossible.
People who would want to cheat on xbox live would be out of luck, since afterall, the signature checks are still in place.
Careful with names containing L slashdot.org/~AiphaWolf_HK slashdot.org/~AlphaWoif_HK slashdot.org/~AiphaWoif_HK
Neither is creating a backup copy of software you have purchased, nor is utilising that backup copy. As for the DMCA, there is an explicit exception for reverse engineering for interoperability that does not limit it to interoperability of software with other systems. It could just as easily be read to allow modification for interoperability with other software.
There was Cowboy Neal at the wheel of a bus to never-ever land.
Phfft. What garbage. If you arent going to release, it why even bother telling anyone? Its not like your work can be replicated ( proved ) and it makes you look like you are just making it up.
" i found out the secret of area 51, but since it might be used improperly , ill just not tell you the details ".. its about as valid as he story subject.
And as a disclaimer, im not a gamer.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
You don't need this hack to run arbitrary code, only the signature hack. In fact, if there were a signature hack, you wouldn't need this, as you could change the flag telling the XBox what media the executable should be run off, and then recompute the signature, or perhaps find a collision.
For arbitrary code, you compute the signature for whatever you want - media flag and all.
im in ur
Uh.... Huh. You're a man, are you, Mr Anonymous Coward?
If you want to stop scratches on your original games, use d_skin protectors... Every game should have one... http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product_id=801 784
Amen, brother.
I found the d_skin protectors on sale for a pack of 30, and they have been nothing but a blessing. Anyone who is paranoid (like me) about scratching up their disks even slightly should definitely look into buying a pack.
It's a HELL of a lot cheaper to replace a scratched up d_skin protector than it is a $50 game.
slashdot!=valid HTML
If you look at the design of the 360's security system, you will see that they have taken *extreme* measures to protect against running unauthorized software, but very little protection against piracy. The anti-piracy system is more or less the same as it was on Xbox 1.
It's very obvious that Microsoft cares much more about blocking Linux and Xbox Media Player than it does about piracy. They have their priorities way out of whack.
Melissa
"Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
This isn't just a "Oh, I'll put this firmware on a disk and load it up and Bam!, insta-pirate!". This is a firmware for the DVD-ROM, which you first have to A) physically open up the XBox360 B) Then remove the DVD-ROM C) then desolder the firmware chip D) then read the firmware and figure out where to edit, because each DVD-ROM has a unique ID tag E) then you have to reprogram the chip using specialized equipment F) reinstall the chip and hope you didn't ruin a $400+ machine G) get a good copy of a game and hopefully it'll work.
Currently, this is *far* harder than the average modchip. Since each chip has to be custom-programmed, this isn't an easy hack, even if you did have the hacked firmware available.
Still, hopefully this is a taste of things to come. The 360 has been only out for 4 months, and this is much better progress than with the original XBox.