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Book ReviewsHacking the Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering |
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Book: Hacking the Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering
Written by: Andrew Huang |
Publisher: No Starch Press
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5
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Great Book
Rating:
5 / 5
this is a great book, i just got it, read the first chapter and couldnt put it down. very informative. i recommend it to anyone who has a "modded" xbox. if you want to step into the curiosity hacking world, read this and see what all of us non-warez, non-piracy hacker like to do for fun!
Put Your XBox To More Productive Use Than Shoot-Em-Ups
Rating:
4 / 5
Hacking The XBox has become somewhat of a "martyr for the cause" of good hacking and reverse engineering in the face of the abuse and mis-application of the United States DMCA law. Companies continue to use fear tactics and threaten legal action against legitimate security researchers. Hacking The XBox is a great book - even without the DMCA hype. It walks you through the tools and techniques needed to hack electronic hardware- specifically the Microsoft XBox video game console. It has a broader appeal than that though with chapters regarding the legal and ethical issues surrounding reverse engineering and security research. I recommend this book even to those who don't want to hack an Xbox. It is an interesting and informative read.
Tony Bradley is a consultant and writer with a focus on network security, antivirus and incident response. He is the About.com Guide for Internet / Network Security (http://netsecurity.about.com), providing a broad range of information security tips, advice, reviews and information. Tony also contributes frequently to other industry publications. For a complete list of his freelance contributions you can visit Essential Computer Security (http://www.tonybradley.com).
Great coverage on taking your Xbox to the next level...
Rating:
5 / 5
Since my son is into hardware hacking and also into his Xbox, I got a review copy of Hacking The Xbox by Andrew Huang. While not my particular area of interest, he really thought the book was great!
Chapter List: Voiding The Warranty; Thinking Inside The Box; Installing A Blue LED; Building A USB Adapter; Replacing A Broken Power Supply; The Best Xbox Game: Security Hacking; A Brief Primer On Security; Reverse Engineering Xbox Security; Sneaking In The Back Door; More Hardware Projects; Developing Software For The Xbox; Caveat Hacker; Onward!; Where To Get Your Hacking Gear; Soldering Techniques; Getting Into PCB Layout; Getting Started With FPGAs; Debugging: Hints and Tips; Xbox Hardware Reference; Index
Within 10 minutes of getting this book, Cam was hunting for my toolkit and shortly thereafter had his Xbox opened up all over my office floor. I knew basically that the Xbox was a PC disguised as a gaming system, but I didn't realize how true that was until Cam opened it up and showed me the internals. It was like opening up my desktop system! Huang does a great job in showing what tools are necessary as well as illustrating via pictures what needs to be done to "lift the lid" of your system. Once there, he shows you some of the basic modifications you can make like adding custom lighting or replacing power supplies. Beyond the basics of hardware, Huang takes the reader into very in-depth examinations of the system structure of the Xbox and what needs to be known in order to understand how to modify software and hardware. For me, the most interesting chapter covered how you can modify an Xbox to turn it into a low-cost Linux machine. Although it's not what Microsoft envisioned, there really is a lot you can do to and with this machine.
If you're ready to dig into your Xbox and go beyond just playing games, this is the first book you should get your hands on.
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