[TriLUG] OT: WAAAAAY OT:Microsoft is hacking into "their" boxes again

Greg Brown gregbrown at mindspring.com
Thu Oct 3 15:44:18 EDT 2002


Only this time it's the X-Box when used in conjunction with "X-Box Live".
Microsoft originally said they would not hack into X-Boxes using the X-Box
Live network but now they say they will.  Nice reversal, M$.  I'm only
pointing this out due to the changes in Microturd's latest EULA for it's
service packs.

The more I read about M$ the more I know the Chinese, of all people, are
taking the right direction by having the government support Linux for the
masses.

Here's the text of the article where I read about M$ hacking their own
X-Boxes:

Microsoft may backtrack on an earlier pledge not to use its Xbox Live online
gaming service to crack down on "mod chips"--chips that modify the Xbox
console so it can run copied game discs and unlicensed software.

The 14-page user agreement and privacy notice included with the first Xbox
Live kits sent to beta testers specifies that Microsoft reserves the right
to revoke Xbox Live privileges for anyone with a hacked Xbox and to scan
consoles on the network to enforce its rights.

A handful of gray-market Xbox mod chips have gone on sale in the past few
months. Once soldered onto the Xbox's main circuit board, the chips disable
various copy protection measures, allowing the machines to run legally or
illegally copied discs, imported games and unlicensed software. Numerous
hacking projects have emerged to use the chips to adapt Xbox units for use
as media players and Linux boxes.

Although Microsoft has said it will take legal action against any
modifications that infringe on its intellectual property, a representative
for the software giant said last month that Xbox Live, the upcoming online
service for the console, would not be used to detect modified consoles.

Yet language in the initial Xbox Live user agreement appears to allow
Microsoft to do exactly that. It states: "Xbox Live may only be accessed
with an unmodified, except for Microsoft authorized repairs and upgrades,
Xbox video game console. Any attempt to disassemble, decompile, create
derivative works of, reverse engineer, modify, further sublicense,
distribute or use for other purposes either the hardware or software of this
system is strictly prohibited."

The agreement further states: "Microsoft may...retrieve information from the
Xbox used to log on to Xbox Live as necessary to operate and protect the
security of Xbox Live, and to enforce this Agreement."

The privacy statement accompanying the agreement says information collected
about specific consoles connected to Xbox Live will be used to update the
console's software, protect the network's security and "protect and defend
the rights or property of Microsoft."

A Microsoft representative did not provide details on how the license
provisions might be applied. "The language in the Xbox Live user agreement
leaves the door open in order for us to protect the security of our
platform," the representative said in a statement. "Our goal is to provide
our users with secure, consistent and fair online game play...Microsoft
reserves the right to take legal action against anyone who tries to modify
the Xbox for the purpose violating the intellectual property of our partners
or of Microsoft."

Xbox hackers seemed unconcerned with the potential for online snooping,
saying current and upcoming mod chips offer a number of safeguards,
including on/off switches and built-in software (firmware) that can be
easily modified to bypass any new security measures.

"The newer mod chips...can already defeat any attempts by Microsoft to
detect them, as they are firmware upgradeable via a PC parallel port," wrote
British mod chip enthusiast Tony Dalton-Richards.

"I don't think this will affect modding very much," added Dan "SiliconIce"
Johnson, founder of the XboxHacker Web site. "Mod chips can simply be
switched off when the user wants to play on Xbox Live. That's if Microsoft
even checks, which we are still not certain of."

Mod chips have turned into a sticky area of copyright law. Sony, whose
PlayStation 2 console is the target of close to a dozen mod chip makers,
claims the devices infringe on its rights to enforce copyrights. Yet recent
legal decisions have cast doubt on such arguments.

Issues surrounding the Xbox have centered on the machine's BIOS, the basic
software instructions that govern the operation of the console. Some mod
chips appear to use a modified version of Microsoft's BIOS, while more
recent attempts have been based on original BIOS constructions.




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