Jailbreaking

Apple is trying to get smart, however the iPhone DevTeam seems to have them beat. iTunes 8.0 has new features that prevent the Pwnage exploit on iPhones and iPod Touch models that have not already been jailbroken. iTunes 8.0 will not allow restores to a hacked IPSW archive on a factory firmware device. Syncing is possible, however, if the device has already been Pwned.

The problem for Apple is that PwnageTool works by exploiting a hardware bug. According to the iPhone DevTeam, this means that Apple can use software to prevent jailbreaking, but only until the DevTeam comes up with new countermeasures in the form of patches. DevTeam has already released a software patch to circumvent iTunes 8.0 when jailbreaking a clean iPod Touch.

PwnageTool 2.0.3 for Mac OS X is now available from the iPhone DevTeam. According to their blog, this new version supports iPhone and iPod firmware 2.0.2 5C1. The latest version updates Installer.app to beta 6 and also contains a localization for Germany.

Along with the latest Pwnage tool for Mac, the iPhone DevTeam has also released the ‘150’ beta update to the Windows QuickPwn application. This update improves the user interface, provides bug fixes for YouTube, and the adds BootNeuter support for unlocking 2G iPhones.

According to a post on the "unofficial, official" blog of the iPhone DevTeam, the latest version of their jailbreaking and unlock tool Pwnage is due to be released sometime today. Though the post did not specify when the release would occur, it did state that the new version of Pwnage is "undergoing final checks and will be packaged, signed and should be uploaded within the next few hours." The post also indicated that individuals could "count on it being released sometime on Thursday" (8/7).

The new version of the Pwnage tool will provide iPhone owners with the ability to jailbreak the latest release of iPhone firmware, a bug fix release made available earlier this week. Though the official stated reason for the iPhone OS 2.0.1 update was "bug fixes", it also rendered ineffective previously released tools that were able to effectively jailbreak phones running iPhone OS 2.0.

Unfortunately, the new version of Pwnage still does not offer

Though the Windows version of Pwnage, WinPwn, was originally slated for release shortly after the Mac OS X version became available on April 3rd, WinPwn has nevertheless been released and is now available. The currently available version, 0.99.1.8, is however a beta release and is cautioned by its author to be unstable and for beta testers only.

Despite their oh-so-clever April Fools' joke which suggested the DevTeam had been bought out and that Pwnage would not be released, nary a few days later, the iPhone DevTeam has released the OS X version of the highly anticipated one-time jailbreaking, unlocking, and more tool for the Apple iPhone.