Software

Spotlightizer lets you personalize iOS’ Spotlight interface

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 3, 2020

I very seldom use my iPhone’s Spotlight interface for anything now that I can just use Siri to command almost anything I need. Nevertheless, the former still comes in handy when you want to find an app or perform basic math without using your voice.

Niche uses aside, Apple doesn’t provide any way of customizing the Spotlight user interface on a stock device, but jailbreakers can now take advantage of a newly released jailbreak tweak dubbed Spotlightizer by iOS developer 1di4r to bypass this seemingly unnecessary restriction.

Zebra package manager updated to v1.0.1 with bug fixes and improvements

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 2, 2020

The jailbreak community kicked off the new year yesterday with the first official public release of the Zebra package manager, an alternative to defaults like Cydia and Sileo that are traditionally pre-installed by jailbreak tools in order for users to install and manage jailbreak tweaks and extensions.

Today, however, Zebra received its first formal update to version 1.0.1 with a generous handful of bug fixes and improvements.

How to install Zebra on your jailbroken device

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated November 11, 2021

The Zebra package manager for jailbroken handsets is officially out of beta as of today, and if you have any intention of installing it on your device(s), then you might be pleased to learn that it’s a fairly straightforward process with no strings attached.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you the steps necessary to install the all-new Zebra package manager on any jailbroken device running iOS 9 through 13.

Zebra package manager officially debuts for jailbroken iOS 9-13 devices

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 1, 2020

Cydia has enjoyed its throne as the king of package managers on jailbroken handsets for more than a decade, but are we quickly entering a day and age where the tried and true Cydia will pass on the torch to something new?

One might be inclined to think so; especially now that Zebra, a popular third-party alternative to Cydia, is kicking off the new year in 2020 with an official public release. Zebra has been in beta testing for quite some time, but as of Wednesday afternoon, the package manager is no longer in beta, and it should be safe enough for the general public to go ahead and try on their own.

Sileo is coming to the checkra1n jailbreak, one way or another

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 23, 2019

Much of the jailbreak community’s attention has shifted toward the new checkra1n jailbreak in recent months given just how powerful of an exploit it takes advantage of. The jailbreak is still in its public beta stages today, and its software loader only installs the Cydia package manager out of the box. But could that soon change?

An announcement shared by the official GetSileo Twitter page Monday afternoon reveals that Sileo for iOS 13 will officially ship two more days from now. What’s more is the release will commemorate the one-year anniversary of the day the first beta of the Sileo package manager project became available for testing:

Hacker iBSparkes achieves tfp0 on A13 with iOS 13.3

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 22, 2019

The jailbreak community has been on fire these past few months, with checkra1n delivering an un-patchable jailbreak experience for handsets ranging from the iPhone 5s to the iPhone X, and with unc0ver picking up support for iOS 12.4.1. But hey, why let the pwnage stop there?

Renowned hacker and iOS security researcher iBSparkes broke the silence this weekend after sharing a teaser of what appears to be successful tfp0 on a brand-new A13 device running iOS 13.3. Yes indeed folks, that’s both Apple’s latest hardware and software – pwned in one fell swoop. Not too shabby!

Newly teased tfp0 bug supports iOS 13.3 and A12/A13 devices

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 20, 2019

It’s always exciting for the jailbreak community when someone comes forward with a brand-new bug that could potentially enable exploitation for jailbreaking newer devices and versions of iOS. After all, Apple tries very hard to keep iOS bug-free and quickly patches anything that even smells jailbreakable.

With that in mind, a newly-teased ‘tfp0’ bug shared first by @08Tc3wBB and later validated by security researcher @RazMashat would appear to be compatible with Apple’s latest and greatest iOS 13.3 firmware on handsets up to and including the A13 variety. Indeed; even the iPhone 11 Pro platform seems to be vulnerable:

Downgrades from iOS 13.3 no longer possible as Apple unsigns iOS 13.2.3

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 19, 2019

Apple stopped signing iOS 13.2.3 Thursday evening, barely over a week after releasing iOS 13.3 to the general public. It’s an expectable move on the company’s behalf that prevents iPhone and iPad users from restoring to that particular firmware version, or from downgrading from the newer iOS 13.3 release.

Apple’s official reasoning for doing this is to facilitate software upgrades to ensure that users take advantage of the latest features, bug fixes, and security patches. Behind that marketing façade, it’s also evident that Apple prevents software downgrades in an effort to keep the jailbreak community at bay, as most jailbreak tools only operate on older versions of iOS, and Apple quickly patches these jailbreaks in its software updates.

Checkra1n v0.9.7 adds support for iOS 13.3 and integrates bug fixes

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 27, 2020

The checkra1n team is out with a brand-new update for the macOS-centric checkra1n jailbreak tool Saturday morning with official support for Apple’s newly-released iOS 13.3 and several bug fixes and improvements.

The checkra1n team shared news of the latest public beta, dubbed v0.9.7 via Twitter just this morning:

Unc0ver jailbreak picks up support for iOS 12.4.1 in latest public beta

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 27, 2020

Pwn20wnd updated the unc0ver jailbreak tool at the start of last week with seemingly negligible bug fixes and improvements, but as it would seem, the hacker didn’t stop there.

We learned from an announcement via Twitter late Sunday morning that Pwn20wnd had been working on iOS 12.4.1 support on devices as new as A12, but a shortage of beta testers due to the Cydia Impactor problem inevitably delayed a public beta launch in the past week. Fortunately, that update finally appears to be ready to public testing:

Supercharge aims to redefine tweaking on jailbroken & non-jailbroken devices

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 8, 2019

Tweaking your iOS device may soon become significantly easier with the introduction of an exceptionally captivating project dubbed Supercharge led by iOS developer Kabir Oberai and designer Alessandro Chiarlitti, and contributed to by others.

Supercharge aims to become a platform that will make the process of tweaking your iPhone or iPad easier, whether you’re jailbroken or not. The work is being advertised as an innovative new tweak editor that will empower users with the ability to create and modify tweaks without writing a single line of code. Moreover, users will be able to share their works with other Supercharge users.

Unc0ver jailbreak updated to v3.7.0 beta 4 with minor changes

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated May 27, 2020

Despite all the hype surrounding the checkra1n jailbreak in recent memory, hacker and unc0ver lead developer Pwn20wnd is reminding everyone that he’s still around with a new public beta release of his renowned iOS 11 and 12-centric jailbreak tool Monday evening.

Pwn20wnd didn’t share any status updates on Twitter about the new unc0ver public beta v3.7.0 beta 4, and perhaps unsurprisingly, that’s because this appears to be a relatively minor update dealing with Cydia and tweak injection methods.