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Linux on Xbox 360: it won't be easy

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Xbox360-Hacks.com is reporting on a list of features that may be part of the Xbox 360's anti-hacking technology. The list comes from the Free60 Project: which has the aim of porting GNU/Linux and Darwin to the Xbox 360.

Apparently the following techie information will be useful to any budding 360 hackers:

  • The flash is encrypted with a per-box key

  • The key is stored inside the CPU

  • The boot ROM is stored inside the CPU

  • Also inside the CPU is a hypervisor that verifies the running state of the kernel, making sure there is no modification (RAM checksums), else the Xbox 360 panics and blows up!

  • The CPU contains RAM inside of it to store the checksums

  • All interrupt/exception handling is done by the hypervisor

  • All code runs in kernel mode

  • The emulator for first generation games can be updated via an official Microsoft download burned to CD by the user, though the CDs' content will be encrypted and signed with public key cryptography. The boot ROM is stored inside the CPU.


The list certainly sounds daunting!

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

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