Hacking the Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering

By Gilbert Held

This hands-on guide to hacking begins with step-by-step tutorials on hardware modifications that teach basic hacking techniques as well as essential reverse engineering skills. The book progresses into a discussion of the Xbox security mechanisms and other advanced hacking topics, with an emphasis on educating the readers on the important subjects of computer security and reverse engineering. Hacking the Xbox includes numerous practical guides, such as where to get hacking gear, soldering techniques, debugging tips and an Xbox hardware reference guide. Hacking the Xbox also confronts the social and political issues facing today's hacker by looking forward and discussing the impact of today's legal challenges on legitimate reverse engineering activities. The book includes a chapter written by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) about the rights and responsibilities of hackers, and concludes by discussing the latest trends and vulnerabilities in secure PC platforms.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1593270291
• ISBN13: 9781593270292
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: No Starch Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great coverage on taking your Xbox to the next level...

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...

Gentlemen, Start Your Soldering Irons...

I bought this book, probably as most people do, out of an interest in getting into my Xbox from a software viewpoint. I wound up enjoying it from an entirely different viewpoint - the insights into the obscure process of hardware hacking that people like Andrew Huang love to do. In the process I gained considerable respect for Microsoft's ability to protect their investment in what has become the number two console in the...

Soldering techniques, debugging tips, and much, much more

Hacking The Xbox: An Introduction To Reverse Engineering is, quite literally, the book that Microsoft (makers of the popular Xbox video game console) does not want you to read. Individual chapters comprehensively addresses in depth how to modify this gaming console for one's own ends, from physically opening it (and voiding the Microsoft warranty) to installing a blue LED, replacing a broken power supply, reverse engineering...

Also a great diary of reverse engineering!

I got this book mainly out of curiousity. I don't have much background in computers, especially not when it come to how they work, other than a firm belief that it's all done with magic.The great thing about this book is that it reads like a buddy explaining something to you. It's not a sterile textbook about AD-SRAM 511 chips or whatever, it's a book about a guy who tinkered with something he bought, and kept a log about...

Interesting Read

I have an xbox that has been fully modded out to allow me to run some truely intresting applications on it. I can watch region free DVDs, watch divx movies, play mp3s, listen to shoutcast servers and play any game in my library all thanks to the work described in this book.Andrew 'Bunnie' Huang embodies all that is great about the computers and hacking. He lays out not only the technical details of how to overcome the xbox...