The Spirit Jailbreak download is really tempting to try, but I don’t want to download it yet because I just got my iPad and I’m not sure if it’s worth it to jailbreak iPad yet. I’ll wait until all the bugs are ironed out. What about you?

1. iPad jailbreak ‘Spirit’ for iPhone 3.2 firmware coming soon
2. Instant Jailbreak for iPhone and iPod touch
3. iOS 4.3.3 Doesn’t Fix Untethered Jailbreak

Yes, there’s now a tool to unlock the latest iPhone version, 3.1.2. It’s called Blackra1n, and it’s been released here: http://blackra1n.com/

With it, Windows now has a tool to jailbreak all current gen iPhones. There is however a warning of sorts now associated with the jailbreak.

“Warning 3g and 3gs unlockers, do not upgrade to 3.1.2 using iTunes if you want to keep your unlock. Baseband cannot be downgraded. Check out the dev team’s offerings. Also blackra1n doesn’t hacktivate.”

It’s amazing how much time and energy is put into unlocking and jailbreaking this device, and all of you can benefit from it (or not, if you choose).

1. InstallerApp for Mac allows jailbroken apps without actually jailbreaking your iPhone
2. First iPhone 3GS do-it-yourself jailbreaking software now available
3. iPhone firmware 3.0 already jailbroken…kind of

The word is out and the prisoners are overjoyed: The iPhone 3GS jailbreak for OS 3.1 announced yesterday and confirmed earlier today is now released for public consuption, compliments of the ever hard-working Dev Team.

There is one caveat: The iPhone 3GS is now supported in PwnageTool 3.1.3, assuming the phone was pwned at 3.0 or 3.0.1 versions – PwnageTool does not support the 3GS out of the box as of now anyway. If your iPhone 3GS has 3.1 preinstalled and is not Pwned then there is no firm jailbreak solution at the moment. They’ve working feverishly on a solution to this as well.

This means that if you updated to version 3.1 or if you acquired your iPhone 3GS with OS 3.1 already installed, you will not be able to jailbreak at the moment.

However, if you are on a pwned version of 3.0 or 3.0.1 (either using PwnageTool, RedSn0w, or PurpleRa1n), then you are fine and you’re all set.

PwnageTool is for Mac OS X only as well. There is no Windows version created yet, and we’re assuming Dev Team is working on this as we speak.

1. iOS 4.3.3 Doesn’t Fix Untethered Jailbreak
2. Official Dev Team 1.1.3 Jailbreak Released!
3. Jailbreak 2.2.1 released for the iPhone

Since the delivery of the new OS 3.1, many people have been wondering if its possible to jailbreak iPhone 3.1, or is a jailbreak available yet.

The disappointing answer is that, no, there is no jailbreak yet for firmware 3.1 but its only a matter of time before the Dev Team delivers us a jailbreak (and maybe an unlock) for iPhone firmware 3.1. At least, that’s their track record.

As mentioned earlier this week, if you are running 3.0.1 or 3.0 and that you want to keep your jailbreak and/or unlock, do not update to 3.1. It will wipe out everything and may make it impossible for you to jailbreak or unlock again in the future. So says the Dev Team, anyway.

So be patient, and we’ll report it here when the new jailbreak is available. And of course, you can follow their exploits here: http://blog.iphone-dev.org/

1. Jailbreak 2.2.1 released for the iPhone
2. Jailbreak 2.2 released for the iPhone
3. Hackers have finally managed to jailbreak 1.1.1.

Sure, Apple’s iPhone OS 3.1 includes a couple of new goodies like iTunes-based App management, but if you like your Jailbroken or Unlocked iPhone, sit tight until Dev-Team gives the all clear. You could otherwise lose your unlock for good.

“If you update to Apple’s new software using the normal iTunes process, you will lose your ultrasn0w unlock. In fact you may lose it permanently, because for most people the baseband firmware cannot be reverted to a previous version (unlike the main application CPU firmware).

But don’t worry…our PwnageTool program lets you update your main firmware without touching your baseband firmware, so you can still have the best of both worlds.”

From all reports, you can still update to (and sync with) iTunes 9, but just be sure to hit “no” when pestered to update your firmware…for now at least.

1. iPhone Firmware 1.1.1 Jailbreak Released (Verdict: Wait!)
2. iPhone Firmware 1.01 shield update (I got an error)
3. iPhone firmware 3.0 already jailbroken…kind of

While a variety of sources have published a story accusing the iPhone 3.0 software of broadcasting instant messages to random iPhones, in reality this exploit affects only users who have hacked their phone and made it vulnerable.

The problem allegedly occurs through AOL Instant Messenger’s push feature in phones that have been jailbroken (allowing the use of unauthorized software) and unlocked (allowing the phone to be used on a non-approved carrier). However, it is not yet clear exactly what causes the issue, though Till Schadde, who discovered the exploit, said AOL officials told him the problem is not on their side.

Till discovered the exploit by sending an AIM message to an iPhone using iChat on his Mac OS X desktop. He said his message appeared not only on the iPhone 3G of the intended recipient, but also on the iPhone 3GS of a complete stranger.

But without user tampering, the iPhone’s security layer actually prevents this sort of incident from happening. With the security layer gone, messaging becomes more dicey, it seems.

Apple’s Push Notification Service (PNS) is based on XMPP Publish-Subscribe, an open specification for delivering updated feeds of information using Jabber-style instant messages.

In order to secure the delivery of these messages, Apple uses SSL certificates to securely authenticate the client with the service, similar to how HTTPS websites authenticate themselves to visitors to enable SSL-secured banking, shopping, or other transactions. The iPhone automatically generates itself a private and public key pair, and uses these to register itself with Apple’s PNS servers and secure all of its subsequent transactions. The private key and public certificate work together to act as identifying credentials, like a user name and password.

Without having such a mechanism for authenticated identity in place, the iPhone would be deluged by marketers sending push message spam to users, just as spammers have long targeted email, SMS, and Microsoft’s Windows Messaging popups, none of which included any inherent security in their designs. Apple’s security system prevents users from receiving push message notifications from anyone apart from the system and applications the user explicitly approves.

1. O2 MMS Photo Messaging app now available
2. iPhone SMS vulnerability patch expected to be released this weekend
3. iPhone And Hacking Concerns

Dubbed “purplera1n,” the software is currently in beta and available for Windows-only, but Hotz said a Mac version is next on his list. Those interested in using the tool should first backup their iPhone 3GS running iPhone Software 3.0 and make sure they have iTunes 8.2 installed.

Hotz boasts that the binary size of purplera1n is smaller than a C++ hello world application — essentially the most basic piece of software that can be written for modern day computer systems, which simply spits out the phrase “hello world” and terminates.

“No 20MB thing that needs to be torrented,” he wrote in a blog post. “And no IPSW to download. This is how jailbreak should be!” We agree.

After downloading purplera1n, jailbreaking takes just a few simple steps. “Connect your iPhone normally. Click ‘make it ra1n’. Wait. On bootup, run Freeze, the purplera1n installer app. Hopefully you’ll figure out what to do from there,” Hotz wrote.

The Glen Rock, New Jersey native said he doesn’t normally make tools for release to the general public, and prefers to wait for the unofficial iPhone dev team to tackle such matters, but has grown annoyed that they’re apparently waiting for version 3.1 before releasing a jailbreak.

The site is here: http://www.purplera1n.com/

1. Jailbreaking tool Blackra1n Jailbreaks iPhone 3.1.2
2. InstallerApp for Mac allows jailbroken apps without actually jailbreaking your iPhone
3. iPhone Jailbreak 1.1.2 Updated

You see, a firmware update, version 3.0.1, is inevitable, and will probably arrive from Apple sooner rather than later because Cupertino probably feels that it needs to plug a few major holes being exploited by ultrasn0w. So, the team has decided it’s best to wait so that the few people who can benefit from the crack now don’t become the only people who benefited from it.

The Dev Team speaks:
“Here’s the critical point, the reason why we’re delaying our version of the jailbreak: Once the jailbreak is out, Apple will fix the iBoot-family bug we use to accomplish it. They will simply stop signing the old iBoots and only sign the fixed ones. If you bought your phone after Apple has done this, there’s nothing you can do…the jailbreak isn’t going to work for you.

It is possible that Apple will find the bug we use without our handing it to them on a silver platter (via a public jailbreak). In that case, we will have delayed our jailbreak for “nothing”. But we’d rather be safe than sorry!

Apple is surely coming out with a 3.0.1 firmware release shortly. They need to fix ultrasn0w. They need to fix some UI issues. 3.0 is buggy and 3.0.1 is coming. We’re going to wait and see what 3.0.1 brings before figuring out the release date for our version of the jailbreak.

In the meantime, we have some remaining 3.0 jailbreak issues to investigate, including push notification. Thanks for being patient with us while we took a 3GS timeout!”

1. No iPhone 3.1 Jailbreak available….yet
2. Jailbreakers prepare for the iPhone 3.0 version
3. AppSnapp (auto-jailbreak) for iPhone gets a lot better: Progress indicator, getting ready for firmware 1.1.2

The Dev Team says that the 3GS is vulnerable to the same “24Kpwn” bootrom exploit that plagues the iPod Touch 2G—an unpatchable, un-updatable route of access for jailbreakers. Additionally, they expect to be able to unlock the phone with the ultrasn0w tool, using familiar techniques.

What seems a little odd about this is that the 3GS would be so susceptible to hacking, and in such way that had been identified months ago. The Touch 2G had additional protections that the iPhone 3G didn’t, and it was released just a few months after. The 3GS, however, was released well over six months after the Touch 2G and quite some time after its predecessors exploits had been publicly identified, but doesn’t appear to have substantially different protections.

There are two possibilities here: either the 3GS development and manufacturing schedule is longer and more rigid than the iPod Touch 2G’s (the Dev Team says its bootrom was “cut” in August of 2008, before the 24kpwn exploit was identified) or, more compellingly, Apple just doesn’t really care that much about jailbreaking anymore. I’ll assume the former, and hope for the latter.

1. Jailbreak/AppSnapp fixes TIFF Exploit gap in iPhone Safari
2. Instant Jailbreak for iPhone and iPod touch
3. You’ve got iPhone or iPod touch jailbreak! What next?

Gizmodo points out a secret method for enabling tethering and another for switching on MMS. Before you follow either of these, remember that these are unsanctioned hacks, so you may or may not be thumbing your nose at AT&T and, more importantly, asking for trouble down the road. Still, if tethering and MMS are monumentally important to you and you can’t wait until this summer, one of these methods could work for you. Just be informed and careful.

The tethering method from Aaron Krill involves spoofing AT&T into thinking you’re using a different phone (any phone other than the iPhone), and in a nutshell looks like this:

• Enable IPCC updates on iTunes 8.2
• Update IPCC files
• Spoof AT&T’s website into thinking you have another phone

To enable MMS using the method provided by Krill requires that you have another GSM or (better yet) AT&T phone on hand.

Read more on his blog here (site referred via Gizmodo): http://www.krillr.com/blog/3DPQHBZ3/i-have-tethering-and-mms-on-my-iphone-and-yes-im-on-att

1. How to get many of the features of the iPhone 3.0 update – right now (with a little work)
2. AT&T comments “tethering to be supported at a later date”
3. iPhone tethering may not be happening this year?