06-05-2002, 09:44 PM
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Ideas for your XBox
Quote:
Xbox Hacked by MIT Student
contributed by Edgar (Jun 4, 2002 5:40 pm EST)
It seems Microsoft Xbox is more or less a normal PC running a modified version of WindowsXP. The main reason why one can't use a Xbox like a PC is because of an authentication mechanism implemented in the software of the Xbox. Software that should run on a Xbox is authenticated against a 128-bit RC-4 security key.
After three weeks of work, Andrew Huang, a student at MIT, has succeeded in extracting the security key. With this so called security key it is possible to run many types of software on an Xbox. Right now, there is no way to execute your own code on an Xbox without violating Microsoft copyrights. If a method for this is found, the Xbox could easily become one of the cheapest multimedia PCs on the market. Due to the fact that a Xbox is more or less a normal PC, it would need only minor changes to run PC software on the Xbox platform.
To crack the key, Huang listened to the Hypertransport protocol between North- and Southbridge. With a USD $50 Xilinx Virtex-E FPGA, he was able to listen to the 200 Mhz fast Double Data Rate (DDR) signals.
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Direct linkage
Enjoy !
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