G2 Rootkit Stops Owners from Android Hacking

[JMcEntegart]

If you've picked up a T-Mobile G2, the successor to the first Android phone ever sold, you might want to hold off on hacking it. The phone is said to ship with a rootkit that will override any software modifications users make.

G2 Rootkit Stops Owners from Android Hacking : Read more

 

[Guest]

Sounds like what Apple does with OSX. Shame on T-Mobile.

 

[tntom]

So much for being a spiritual successor to the G1!

 

[rbarone69]

Just get a different phone! I mean if you want the ability to root the phone unhindered there are plenty of flavors of Android that are easily hacked...

As the article says, it wont matter much soon anyways.

 

[the_krasno]

Which is why I want a Nexus.

 

[TheRockMonsi]

Can somebody tell me why companies are trying to prevent people from hacking into their phones?

 

[ca87]

I smell a loop hole on T-Mobile. Might that be why they have used this rootkit?

 

[spentshells]

[citation][nom]TheRockMonsi[/nom]Can somebody tell me why companies are trying to prevent people from hacking into their phones?[/citation]

to keep it working properly on said network... the end
all the mods are not supported all the apps are unsupported
the change people make may cause the device issues
such as not being able to call 911 when GPS is on for example
not all networks are the same not all networks are going to allow
the devices to work as advertised also not all networks can support all features of the devices
which are sometimes not supported by the network.
the providers tech support ...supporting the issues people have with the devices after modifyung them can not alway help you fix the issues created with x modification. plus if you screw with the phone it stops working ....you void the warrenty so open source or not.

 

[spentshells]

yeah I repeated repeated myself lol

 

[house70]

Motorola does something similar to their phones, I remember reading about the chip that prevented unlocking the bootloader on their Droid/Milestone and therefore preventing the install of rooted ROMs.
Same shameful tactics that go against all that Android is about.

 

[Khimera2000]

O that blows... Looks like im not going to be getting a HTC phone if this is what there going to do to there costomers.... SAMSUNG HERE I COME ... or some other android maker . on a side note... is HTC going to be doing this to all there phones in the future??

 

[Shadow703793]

WTF?!?!? Isn't the entire point of Android OPENNESS?????

Do note: This is done by Tmobile, NOT by HTC.

Unfortunately, the hardware in this device completely undermines this license by allowing mobile network providers to override end-user changes to the source code. Wireless network operators have deployed a hardware rootkit that restricts modifications to a device owned by the user.

 

[Khimera2000]

shadow hardware is the manufactuars option, thy could of told them no but they did not. i will always expect the T-mobiles and the AT&T of the worlds to do this, but the fact is HTC makes the pnone not T-mobile, it is a rebrand. so I still blame HTC for saying yes to a hardware implimintation.

 

[IzzyCraft]

[citation][nom]house70[/nom]Motorola does something similar to their phones, I remember reading about the chip that prevented unlocking the bootloader on their Droid/Milestone and therefore preventing the install of rooted ROMs.Same shameful tactics that go against all that Android is about.[/citation]
All carriers do it to the android they word it a bit differently and try to make it look like they are helping the users but they all do it or soon plan to do it to some extent.

Personally the one thing i don't like about android is there is no min spec requirements so development on it is hard when it comes to compatibility, esp compared to developing for the iphone or the new windows 7 phones that are coming out. I mean next year there will be what 70+ android phones on the market. It's going to be hard for consumers to understand what they want to buy.

 

[zachary k]

think this is karma for all the iphone bashing droid users did?
i wonder what apple users did to get this much bad karma in the first place?
PS: people interested in tech LOVE SHOPPING!! SPAM MORE!!! you will get TONES of new customers. this is a GOOD USE of bandwidth, CPU cycles, and time that could be spent spamming somewhere else.
PPS: that was sarcasm.

 

[BulkZerker]

[citation][nom]zachary k[/nom]think this is karma for all the iphone bashing droid users did?i wonder what apple users did to get this much bad karma in the first place?PS: people interested in tech LOVE SHOPPING!! SPAM MORE!!! you will get TONES of new customers. this is a GOOD USE of bandwidth, CPU cycles, and time that could be spent spamming somewhere else.PPS: that was sarcasm.[/citation]

Maybe you should phone their store and speak chinese. Then maybe they'd understand you better than posting her to their bots.

 

[xantek24]

Moderator Edit: swearing at the spammers isn't helping anything. [:aford10:1]

 

[TheKurrgan]

While I understand that carriers want to try and "protect" their users, if someone has the know how and willingness to try and put a custom rom / root their phone, so be it. What I dont understand is why they dont REALLY help their customers by ALLOWING people to screw with it and giving them a way to put it back to bone stock easily instead of relying on community support. While I understand the warranty is "void" by doing this, it IS only software, and as such SHOULDNT void any warranties because it can be put back with ease to the same condition as factory..
bottom line, I wish manufacturers would stop fighting power users on this, its silly.

 

[Shadow703793]

[citation][nom]khimera2000[/nom]shadow hardware is the manufactuars option, thy could of told them no but they did not. i will always expect the T-mobiles and the AT&T of the worlds to do this, but the fact is HTC makes the pnone not T-mobile, it is a rebrand. so I still blame HTC for saying yes to a hardware implimintation.[/citation]
Yes, but it is Tmobile ultimately implementing and using it.

 

[jaksun5]

HTC should be sticking up for our right and telling the to get f-d!