On Sunday 15 January 2006 13:34, Frank Edwards wrote: > On Sunday 15 January 2006 1:00 pm, Jim Powers wrote: > > Unfortunately this is true. I am game for cracking this thing, but time > > (I'd have to learn a TON about decryption) and priorities (I've got my > > own projects to work on) will prohibit this. I hate the idea of letting > > these bastards get away with stomping all over my rights, especially via > > wrong-headed legislation. > > Well, I was thinking about this the other day (after reading some of the > links that the wiki pointed me to). > > What if the portion of the Windows code that loads the firmware (ie. does > the decryption and such) could be loaded and executed? Then there's no > DMCA problem in the U.S. Once the firmware is loaded, that portion of code > is kicked out of the kernel.
The loader code linked to from the Wiki can/will load an unencrypted firmware image, but you need to get your hands on such an image. The image file that comes with Windows is encrypted. Another possibility might be to write some sort of clever driver under Windows to look at the data being sent to the device and record the unencrypted stream. I also think that you could still get your ass sued DMCA-wise, but then again perhaps not. One could argue that such a tool was a general purpose tool (which it certainly is) used for debugging hardware that requires firmware. Another possibility might be cleverly using WINE or BOCHS to provide an environment where the TI drivers would try to upload the decrypted firmware into a virtual device that you create from within these "emulated" environments. I'm not an expert in either one of these systems but I'm guessing something could be hacked together. > Of course, using an open wireless link (even in the U.S.) it's feasible > that one could upload the decrypted firmware to a site outside the U.S. A > particular location in Sweden comes to mind. :-) > > Using an unauthenticated wireless connection would be the way to go. If you're thinking DVD Jon, isn't he in the states now? I remember reading a while back about some "super-duper" encryption-related project he was working on. > Of course, I agree that TI should just release the stupid firmware. I > browsed around their pages to see if I could download it from them. I got > to the point of ordering a sample of the chipset (which would have to > include the firmware) and the driver development kit, but then the TI.com > web site wanted a (free?) login. > > It seems to me that the correct way to go about this might be to pressure > Compaq/HP into getting the unencrypted firmware from TI and releasing it. > After all, HP has a customer base that they (should) want to keep happy, > while TI is just a backend supplier (with emphasis on "backend"!). That plan might be crazy enough to actually work. I'm working with a former HP Exec, I'll check into see if he has any relevant connections regarding this matter. Jim Powers _______________________________________________ LinuxR3000 mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pcxperience.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linuxr3000 Wiki at http://prinsig.se/weekee/
