27
May
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So You Want To Know About Bootloaders, Encryption, Signing, And Locking? Let Me Explain

Posted by in Android OS, Development, Devices By Manufacturer, Tips & Tutorials

If you were ever wondering what bootloader encryption, signing, and locking actually meant, this post is for you.

My name is Ivo, and recently I posted this write-up on Reddit (check out the Android subreddit while you’re there!). The post gained quite a bit of traction, and to spread the word further, I'm now posting it here at Android Police. I hope it helps out those of you who are confused.

It’s necessary, if you want to talk about these issues, to get some cryptic terms out of the way, so we actually know what we’re talking about! If you want to find out more about these topics, just click on through to their respective Wikipedia articles.

20
Mar
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[Update: It Was A Hoax] Motorola Encryption Keys Used In Droid/Milestone, Possibly Droid X, 2, Charm, And Other Sholes Devices Are Cracked

Posted by in CHARM, Development, Droid (Sholes), Droid 2, Droid 2 Global, Droid X (Shadow), Milestone, Motorola, News
Last Updated: March 22nd, 2011

What an absolutely insane week it has been for unlocking encrypted and signed hardware!

Update: How disappointing - nenolod turned out to be a fraud, and the whole thing was a hoax. It seemed too good to be true, and it was.

First, the Thunderbolt, which turned out to be HTC's most closed off device ever, was cracked wide open by team AndIRC within days after release, including our own Justin Case (jcase), Jamezelle, scotty2, and others.

This morning, however, we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel for devices that have been uncracked for many months - namely, Motorola Milestone and possibly Droid X, Droid 2, Charm, and other devices from the Sholes family (this, apparently, does not include the Atrix 4G).