Print

[Pir8]

X-ecuter:
Do you really think Ms will relase another Xbox with the same bios? or with the same Bug as you call it? They will find out how you cracked their v1.1 bios before releasing another one.

So there's no problem at all releasing evox D6. Also, Linux Team found the Bug, you did, Evox did. Do you really think MS wont?

We'll wait. hehe Im sure bout your skills. I know you'll find another way to crack the new one. I just think it wont be the same way you did this one.

PS. This is just a simple comment. Im not bashing you or anything. In fact im using yer Bios (i know thats what you like to hear).

[iam]

They hate you already  

[Pir8]

I know, I know hehehe!  
But its not my fault. The True Hurts.
its as simple as that.

[BenJeremy]

People who do not understand the situation, shouldn't be criticizing what X2 is saying about it.

There were TWO methods for cracking the 1.1 BIOS.

Evo-X 3.6 and the X2 1.1 BIOSes used an ALTERNATE method, one that was 'public'

What Evo-X did was exploit a backdoor method known for a LONG TIME, which worked on all the Xbox versions, and likely work well into the future... except when it became known.

I'm not going to say it was entirely wrong, but I know where the X2 team is coming from. The Linux team is likely not very happy, either.

Sadly, I think this will really start devolving, since the Evo-X team seems to have joined forces with the Matrix/Exodus team. The scene should not be about cutting others down to sell product. If you want to sell more product, just make a great product!!  Oneupmanship should not rely on revealing 'secrets' that, for the interest of the community, are best left secrets.

Is it worth having a unified 1.0/1.1 BIOS, if it causes the 1.2 Xbox to be uncrackable? What was wrong with having a different BIOS for each version??

[crazymike]

Well I just still fail to see how hackers think they know more about the Xbox architecture then the guys who built the Xbox themselves. Publishing information about a backdoor way to crack the Xbox isn't going to make a lightbulb appear over the Xbox teams heads, they will see that their Xbox v1.1 was cracked, so obviously they will try something new in Xbox v1.2 since their previous protection scheme failed. Granted I don't know a whole lot about the situation as I'm hacking illiterate and am nothing more then a graphics guy, but people underestimate MS thinking they will be too stupid to realize what is happening.

[BenJeremy]

QUOTE (crazymike @ Dec 11 2002, 02:31 PM)

Well I just still fail to see how hackers think they know more about the Xbox architecture then the guys who built the Xbox themselves. Publishing information about a backdoor way to crack the Xbox isn't going to make a lightbulb appear over the Xbox teams heads, they will see that their Xbox v1.1 was cracked, so obviously they will try something new in Xbox v1.2 since their previous protection scheme failed. Granted I don't know a whole lot about the situation as I'm hacking illiterate and am nothing more then a graphics guy, but people underestimate MS thinking they will be too stupid to realize what is happening.

                                    That's the way exploits work. Software engineers have a difficult enough time creating software that performs as required without any bugs at all. Adding security and balancing cost and manufacturability make that task even more difficult. My background? I'm an embedded system software engineer with 12 years in that specialized field... and 20 years earning money as a programmer. I've helped design security systems to protect code in embedded systems. I've been involved with hardware designs and understand the tradeoffs often taken to make a BOM target.

I've written code that's gone into  a WIDE variety of targets, many of which either you have used, or has been used to MAKE the things you use, everyday.

Anyway, the point is, the Xbox is a very complex system. M$ doesn't write BIOSes, they don't exactly have the best security track record, and this, frankly, is the first pass at a secure console system for them - using relatively 'off-the-shelf' componets, no less. Even if they hired people to find any 'backdoors' - there's no telling how good those people were, compared to the teams of sharp people on the Linux and X2 teams that cracked the 1.1 systems. They didn't hire Bunnie!! They didn't hire Numbnut!! So unless it's laid bare, they have to find someone or some team that's sharp enough (and motivated enough) to REPLICATE the work done in cracking the system.

Everytime a hack into the security of the Xbox is publicized, it HELPS M$ make it's system more resistant to attacks in the future. They don't need to hire experts, if the experts give the information up freely.