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Monday, December 26, 2011

How to update your iPhone 4 Jailbreak from iOS 4.2.1 to 4.3.3 Untethered



Well since jailbreaking isn't so simple after iOS 4.2.1, I had to make this guide to show you how to successfully jailbreak your iPhone while keeping your old baseband and using your SHSH blobs for 4.3.3.

This guide should apply to anyone who has 4.3.3 blobs saved through Cydia and can retrieve them or has them saved somewhere. Now you can jailbreak your iPhone 4 from iOS 4.2.1 to 4.3.3 Untethered using redsn0w. This will teach you how to do the update and jailbreak all while keeping your old Cydia tweaks from your previous jailbreak version.

Requirements
TinyUmbrella (Software)
iTunes (Software)
redsn0w 0.9.9b9d (Software)
Java 6 Update 30+ 32-bit (Software)
OpenBackup (App)
Stock Apple iOS 4.3.3 for iPhone 4 GSM 8J2 (Software)

    Instructions
  1. First, make sure you backup your iPhone through iTunes.
  2. Now, backup all your Cydia tweaks with OpenBackup. (You're going to have to SSH into your device to grab the backup it made and save it on the computer, you can find OpenBackup at repo.modyouri.com)
  3. Get your SHSH Blobs using TinyUmbrella make sure the option to get them from Cydia is checked under the "Advanced" tab.
  4. Download the stock firmware from Apple for iPhone 4 GSM iOS 4.3.3 8J2.
  5. Next, run redsn0w 0.9.9b9d, select "Extras", now select "SHSH blobs" and then select "Stitch".
  6. You should now see two buttons, click on "IPSW" and when explorer pops up, find the stock Apple firmware you just downloaded, select it.
  7. Now click "Local" and find your SHSH blobs you downloaded earlier through TinyUmbrella and select them, then click next and allow it to stitch the stock firmware.
  8. Now close redsn0w and open it again, select "Extras" and click on "Custom IPSW", when explorer opens up find the IPSW you just stitched, it should be on your desktop. (Not the stock one)
  9.  After it's done processing the file, you should have a new firmware named something like "NO_BB_4205467635188_iPhone3,1_4.3.3_8J2_Restore.ipsw".
  10. Now in redsn0w place your device in "Pwned DFU" mode.
  11. In iTunes restore your device, hold shift and click on "Restore" so you can select the custom IPSW. (The file you stitched with your blobs and removed the baseband data from, also make sure that in TinyUmbrella you selected Cydia as your host before doing this step)
  12. After that is done, do not restore the iPhone's backed-up data, iTunes will ask you to do so, do not do that yet, close iTunes.
  13. Next, using redsn0w select "Extras", then click "Select IPSW", select the stock Apple firmware here. (Not the modified one, the stock, it will let you know it identified it)
  14. Now click "< Back" and select "Jailbreak", select your options the ones you want installed. (Cydia is important, I wouldn't recommend any of the others)
  15. Now restore your Cydia tweaks with OpenBackup. (This will take a while, make sure to place the backup from completing the second step in the original folder through SSH located at /var/mobile/Library/Preferences/OpenBackupFiles)
  16. The final step is to Restore your backup from iTunes now, sync through iTunes, finally restore the same backup through iTunes again.
  17. Reboot and you have successfully upgraded your jailbreak from iOS 4.2.1 to iOS 4.3.3 on your iPhone 4 GSM, while preserving the baseband and having your SHSH blobs.



Tuesday, December 20, 2011

How to Enable a Bluetooth Headset on your PC

How to get a mobile Bluetooth Headset to work on your computer even if it's not supported.

Enable Bluetooth capability on your computer.

Have you ordered an expensive Bluetooth Headset only to realize it wasn't going to work on your device? Well I did, I purchased a Bluetooth Jabra Sport headset, it was $99. When the headset arrived I used it for a while outdoors and at the gym, it came time where I wanted to use Skype to call a friend in England, but the problem was my Bluetooth headset that I just bought for a pretty penny did not have drivers for Windows. So I decided to find a way to fix this issue so that I can use my headset on my pc without a problem.

The solution I came across was a simple one, all you need to do is download a Bluetooth driver stack by Toshiba, they have discontinued the download for end users for an unknown reason, but you are still able to obtain it elsewhere on the Internet. This one is pretty self explanatory, it will work on 32bit or 64bit systems, the only catch is you need a Bluetooth adapter chip installed on your computer or laptop. Make sure to download the correct version, the last version available is 8.00.12.

Requirements
Toshiba Bluetooth Stack (Software)
Bluetooth Headset (Hardware)
Bluetooth Adapter (Hardware)

Monday, December 12, 2011

Free iPhone WiFi Calls

How to setup free Wifi Calling on your iPhone with Vonage & Google Voice

Free iPhone Calls through Wifi with Vonage® Mobile and Google Voice™ apps.

Ever wondered how to make and receive free calls on your iPhone? I did. I wondered about how I could possibly get away with making free WiFi calls and receiving them. I found a nice solution to my question and my curiosity, the following will explain how this works and what you must do to be able to make free WiFi calls.

There have been many methods brewed up by random people online here and there in the past, such as using a Gizmo5™ account or more advanced SIP numbers. Those methods are now outdated, Google™ bought Gizmo5™, you can no longer register for a Gizmo5™ account. The SIP numbers come with a price tag now and it just doesn't feel right.

This new method uses the Vonage™ and Google Voice™ apps to make and receive free WiFi calls. This only works in the United States, since Google Voice™ is only available to US Residents, Vonage™ only allows free WiFi calls to numbers in the US as well.

Requirements
iPhone (Hardware)
Computer Headset (Hardware)
Vonage Mobile (App)
Google Voice (App)
Google Chrome (Software)
Google Voice & Video Chat plug-in (Software)
Gmail account (Service)
Google Voice account (Service)

    Instructions
  1. Make sure you have the requirements installed, setup and ready to use, also plug your headset into the computer.
  2. From this point on, you should only be using the Chrome browser to do any Google related activities.
  3. Login to your Google Voice account, go to settings and enable "Google Chat" as a forwarding phone for calls. (If you do not see Google Chat followed by your Gmail e-mail, login to Gmail and place a brief call to your number, then refresh the Google Voice page, it should now be listed) 1
  4. Now make sure you have an open Gmail page with your account logged in. Make sure your settings resemble the ones on for this step's image. 2
  5. Open Vonage Mobile on your iPhone and setup an account using your Google Voice number as the phone you will use to verify the account.
  6. Vonage Mobile will place an automated call to your Google Voice number now and will require you to input a few digits to verify the number is yours, make sure your speakers are on and your Gmail account is open and ready for a call.
  7. Now that your Vonage Mobile account is verified and registered, you will be given a pop-up to purchase a Vonage Rate Plan, click Ok and exit the link it opens. (You do not need to purchase anything to make calls within the United States)
  8. Make sure you're on a WiFi network and place a call using Vonage Mobile, the party you are calling should see your Google Voice number as the caller I.D.
  9. You can now use the Google Voice app on your iPhone to send and recieve texts, get voicemails, view your Google contacts and check call logs, all through WiFi. (You must use Vonage Mobile to place calls through WiFi as the Google Voice app is not a VOIP client)
  10. Feel free to setup your Google Voice account to ring your iPhone's actual number in case you want to receive live calls. (Otherwise you'll just have to check your voicemails or missed calls through the Google Voice app)
  11. You have successfully configured your iPhone to place free WiFi calls and somewhat incoming calls, plus completely free texting and free voicemail with additional features all for free.


Friday, December 9, 2011

Convert PAL to NTSC

Patching a PAL DVD to NTSC on Windows 7

Television encoding systems by nation.

Have you ever wondered how you could convert a PAL DVD to an NTSC version? The reason you are most likely interested in accomplishing this is because you either have a DVD or a Disc Image file created for another region other than your own, such as Europe or China if you're from North America. Following these steps will teach you how to patch a PAL DVD (or image file) to NTSC and burn it.

This guide will only work for DVD Movies, you must have either the actual DVD disc or a disc image file (.ISO, .IMG, .UDF, etc). You may also want to note that this process does not mean you will have to re-encode the actual movie, it is just a patch that fools the DVD player into thinking it is NTSC in order to play it, this fix should work with a majority of DVD players in the market today.

Did you know? DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region. DVD video discs may be encoded with a region code restricting the area of the world in which they can be played.

Requirements
Slysoft Virtual CloneDrive (Freeware)
IfoEdit 0.971 (Freeware)
Windows Disc Image Burner (Windows 7 feature)

    Instructions
  1. Mount your PAL disc into your DVD drive, if you do not have a disc, mount the disc image file with Virtual CloneDrive. (If the movie automatically plays, close it)
  2. Open "Computer" from the Start Menu and right click on the device which has the DVD mounted and select "Open". 1
  3. You will now see a "VIDEO_TS" folder, copy this folder onto your desktop. 2, 3
  4. Run IfoEdit, select "Open" on the bottom left side of the window.
  5. Browse to your VIDEO_TS folder and select the "VIDEO_TS.IFO" file. (If you have multiple VIDEO_TS_XX.IFO files, you will have to do this for all of them each, individually) 4
  6. You will now see the file you selected, click the first line in the top area. (The one with your username) 5
  7. Now look towards the bottom area, you will see references to PAL, double click the line with the first reference to PAL.
  8. A "Video attributes" window will appear, switch PAL to NTSC first, then uncheck Automatic Pan&Scan and check Automatic Letterbox, now make sure the resolution is "720 x 480", then click "OK". 6
  9. Continue scrolling the bottom area, doing the above step for every line which references "PAL".
  10. Afterward click "Region Free" and click "OK". 7
  11. Click "Save", you should be prompted to save the BUP file as well, do so. (After this you can either close and re-open IfoEdit and reload the "VIDEO_TS.IFO" file to verify changes or not)
  12. Now click "Disc Image" near the bottom right area of the window, click "Create Image" after choosing a location to save it to. 8
  13. After the image file has been generated, right click the .img file and Open with "Windows Disc Image Burner", then select "Burn", make sure you have a DVD+R Burner and DVD+R disc to burn the image onto. 9
  14. You've completed the patching process and burned an NTSC version of your disc, feel free to watch it on your DVD Player now.







Sunday, November 20, 2011

iAP Cracker: Free In-App Purchases

Free In-App Purchases on jail-broken devices.

In-App Purchases are now free for those with jail-broken devices, ever wondered how you could beat a game that had In-App Purchases? Maybe you didn't want to waste your hard earned money on extras, or you just didn't want to spend an eternity trying to come up with gold coins. Now there's actually an easy solution to fix your problem; it enables you to progress in any game or app that allows you to do In-App Purchases. (Not every app, but a majority of them, here's a list, you can try apps not on the list, many of them may work)

Note: If you're looking to test this on some randoms apps, a simple Google™ search should do the trick, just click here. This simple search uses Google™ search operators, here's what it looks like:
site:"itunes.apple.com" intitle:"App Store" intext:"Top In-App Purchases"

Don't let the name fool you, this is not a crack or anything of the sort, it's a Mobile Substrate Addon (11kb), it was written and developed by urus, it's called iAP Cracker.

The latest version is 0.5-1 (it works on iOS 4 & 5), there's links below where you may be able to find the .deb file and install it through iFile or however you choose to. You can also search for it on Cydia, it should be in the Banned iPhone repository. Now you can buy all the coins in Dark Meadow™ or Unlock the Mighty Eagle in Angry Birds™. This also makes Nadis Lai's Game Mod add-ons useless for a majority of games which implement IAP, iAP Cracker is free, his stuff isn't.

Friday, November 18, 2011

A Better Firefox Add-on Bar

I was sick of seeing the default Firefox add-on bar taking so much of my precious viewing space, so I decided enough was enough. I created this official add-on, you can download it from either of the links below.

 Watch a video of how this add-on works at http://youtu.be/uIlvcaB77dg

Before

After

This add-on tweaks the default add-on bar and makes it look much cleaner and more convenient, simply hover over the add-on bar area at the bottom right side of the browser window and you'll see your icons all neatly organized, it has transitions.


This add-on is a direct port from my user-style. Please feel free to drop a comment or leave me some feedback, thanks!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Free Texting on your iPhone with Google Voice, Tlert & SMS GV Extension

Free texting for the whole family with Google Voice™ on the iPhone!

I wanted to write about this awhile back, it's actually pretty cool, I didn't realize how easy it was to enable native texting (not using any 3rd party apps) with my Google Voice™ account on my iPhone, when I found out, I liked it, although I don't use it anymore, but if I ever had to, I definitely would.

This is a pretty simple procedure to follow and only requires installation of three apps, your iPhone must be jail-broken and you must have a data plan or WiFi connectivity. (You do not need to be jail-broken if you are fine with using the Google Voice™ app every-time you want to text someone, simply ignore all the steps and install Google Voice™ from the App Store)

You will need to have a Google Voice™ account in order to use this functionality. Follow the steps below if you want to be able to SMS without opening an app.

    Instructions
  1. First, you will want to install Google Voice™ from the official App Store.
  2. Now you must install an app called Tlert from Cydia it's in the ModMyi repository. Please keep in mind that Tlert is not free, it comes with a price of $6.99, if for some reason you cannot afford Tlert there is a legal patch you can grab through Banned iPhone repository. (If you use the patch you must make sure that Tlert is installed even as trial and then make sure Tlert is disabled before you install the patch and you have rebooted and re-enabled Tlert)
  3. After you have installed Google Voice™ and Tlert you should now be ready for the final steps, make sure you have the BigBoss repository installed on Cydia.
  4. Alright, open up Cydia and search for SMS GV Extension. It costs $2.99, it also includes a free trial, this adds Google Voice™ messaging capability to the device's SMS module. The website for it can be found here.
  5. Congratulations, you've completed all of the previous steps, you're going to want to optimize your settings now, look below to set everything up perfectly.

    Configuration
  1. Open Tlert, make sure enabled is toggled on.
  2. Now click on "Activate Compose", it'd be best to use the Volume Buttons "Down, Up" to send an SMS through Tlert, so check it and go back, then hit Apply.
  3. Now go to the Settings app, click on "Notifications", click on "Google Voice" and enable "Alerts".
  4. Finally go back to the Settings app and scroll down to "SMS GV Extension", click on it then input the e-mail address you use to login into Google Voice with password.
  5. Toggle "Enable Send" to on. Toggle "Check License" on. Click Receive Settings and Toggle "Official GV app" on, "Local Mail" off, "Refresh Cache" on.
  6. Now go back to Settings and re-spring your device.
  7. Open the "Google Voice" app and make sure the same account you used on "SMS GV Extension" is logged in through the app, you can now exit the app after logging in.
  8. Finally test it out, have someone text your Google Voice number and see for yourself.







If you have any problems figuring this out or installing any of the above, drop a comment and I'll be happy to help you out.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Fix FieldTest, iOS Diagnostics, AdSheet and others from showing up on Springboard, iPhone & iOS

Have you ever installed something through Installous 4 or Cydia, afterward coming back to Springboard to see some blank icons with labels like FieldTest, iOS Diagnostics, AdSheet, Setup, Intellicontainer or others which are never supposed to be showing in the first place?

Screen-shot of the libhide bug.

This issue is known and it's a bug because it happens after installing any app through your iPhone, this might apply to iPod Touch but, I'm only covering the iPhone in detail here.

The cause for this problem comes from a dylib named "libhide", from the author's description it is a library to hide icons. I do not know which version of libhide you have or had in the past so you are going to be doing some manual work here if you are to remove this bug.

    Solution
  1. Close all your current running apps.
  2. Open SBSettings, click "More", scroll down and open "Poof", make sure that all your icons are toggled on. 1, 2, 3.
  3. Now you need to install the latest version of libhide, as of 11/13/2011 the latest libhide version is 2.1.
  4. You can either download it from here and install it through iFile by clicking on the .deb file and selecting install or you can open Cydia and add http://apt.thebigboss.org as a source then install it after searching for it. (If you have any trouble finding it on Cydia make sure you have Developer enabled by going to Manage > Settings > Select Developer and Click Done)
  5. Open SBSettings and click "More", "Mobile Substrate Addons" make sure libhide is toggled on.
  6. Now that you installed the latest version of libhide and did the above, you must hard reboot your idevice.
  7. Upon restarting and unlocking you should now open SBSettings and click "More", "Mobile Substrate Addons" and toggle libhide off. (You can leave it on if you'd like, I had no need for it on) 4.
  8. If you toggled it off, hard reset your device once more.
  9. Upon restarting and unlocking your device, this time you should open Installous or Cydia and install an app, this should have fixed your problem and you'll no longer see those pesky icons on Springboard again.

Note: It's been reported that the icons will still appear on some devices for unknown reasons, if this is the case with yours, toggle libhide off in Mobile Substrate Addons or remove it through Cydia altogether.



iPod App Crashes, iPhone & iPod

iPod
iPod Logo Copyright © 2011 Apple Inc.


The Issue
Some mp3s synced through iTunes that did not originate from the iTunes store causes iPod.app to crash within iOS 4+, usually every time you hit "Shuffle" within the iPod App, it will crash.

I too have been having this issue, I use something called Replay Media Catcher 4 when I listen to premium streaming music or podcasts, it does a great job catching streams. Although, it tags some files, I am assuming that some of the tagging corrupts the database in iTunes so that my iPhone cannot play some of the tagged files (I know it is the tagging or default encoding of the file because I have tested it by converting files from mp3 to m4a and the latter doesn't crash the iPod App).

You could just convert the files to m4a or whichever format you like that your device supports playback of, but that is a lengthy and ridiculous process and will inevitability lead to audio quality loss.

    Solution
  1. Disable spotlight search for audio files, including podcasts, etc.
  2. Browse to /private/var/mobile/Media/
  3. You should see "com.apple.dbaccess.lock", delete that file and if you see anything such as iTunesDB or similar, delete that as well, do not delete anything with "lock" or "sync" in the name as these are important files.
  4. In the same directory there is a directory named "iTunes_Control" go into that directory.
  5. Ignore the "Music", "Ringtones" directories. (Do not modify their contents)
  6. This is where you can figure out the rest, there is an "iTunes" and "Artwork" directory.
  7. Go into "Artwork" and delete all files and folders within it.
  8. Go back and enter "iTunes", you'll see plists, delete whichever one has anything to do with databases.
  9. Enter "iTunes Library.itlp" and delete anything that has to do with iTunes/Music databases here too. (Note "Library.itdb" is ok to have)
  10. There is another directory within this one called "DBTemp", delete whatever is in it.
  11. Hard Reboot.
  12. Profit. (If you re-sync, there's nothing to worry about)

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Porn Folder for Windows 7

Lock your Windows folders natively!

If you like to keep your personal things private, then this is for you.
I've created a batch file (.bat) that will change access permissions of a folder of your choosing.

Simply run an installer, edit 2 lines and execute the script, couldn't be easier than that could it?

The neat thing about this is it doesn't hide your folder and you don't have to rely on some pesky program to load and lock and unlock things because this script takes advantage of Windows 7's built-in security and permission editing on the fly, unless you live in a household full of computer geniuses or something, you won't have to worry about anyone getting access to the folder.





    Instructions
  1. Download the provided archive (.zip file)
  2. Run subinacl.msi and install it.
  3. Update directory path on lines 206 and 215 of runthis.bat.
  4. Execute runthis.bat.


Note: I have included two registry keys which activate or deactivate the security tab on the properties of an object, disabling the security tab adds much more security and will make it nearly impossible to regain rights to that folder without technical know-how, these of course are optional.



FAQ
What is SubInACL?
SubInACL is a Mircosoft utlity to add command line perimeters to modify permissions of directories and what not, more info here http://bit.ly/owji5w.
Can someone delete the folder?
They cannot delete the folder after you have protected it, only when it's accessible.
Can they rename the folder?
They can't do anything to the folder unless it's unlocked.
Does this lock the folder or just hide it?
This does not hide the folder, it locks it completely you can't even open it!
Is this safe?
Yes, this is completely safe, nothing to modify but the folder itself.

Additional Information
It is a good idea to change the folder's icon so that it will not display thumbnails. You can do this by right clicking the folder and clicking the customize tab and then selecting change icon.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Final Fantasy 3 (FFIII) for the iPhone, Gold & Experience Cheats

For those of you with an iPhone, a very notable game has been released on the platform. The title of the game "Final Fantasy III", game play is in a 3D and open world environment, just like on the console versions. If you aren't into much games this one is worth checking out. It was released March 16, 2011 by SQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd.

I've attached a .zip archive below, I've modified a file for easy gil, easy experience or both. Please do not distribute or download these files unless you purchased the game and are using it as a backup.

Enough of the jabber, here's the sauce:




Note: Please read the comments for solutions to any problems you may encounter, this hack should work on all devices. Make sure you backup your original ff3 file located in
/private/var/mobile/Applications/AEFBF631-CBE8-4A05-8ABA-8680D2F58301/ff3.app/

The cheats and instructions can be downloaded at any of these mirrors


After you replace the file, you should reboot your iPhone and then start the game, after that you will want to get into a random battle and win for the cheat(s) to take effect.

If you're having problems with it working, FrederickVntr18 posted a helpful video showing you how to install the hack step-by-step at the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E7JjpBQyhY, enjoy!