Apple, afp, appletalk filing protocol, iphone, ipod touch, touch, tuaw

AFP Hack Gives Read/Write Access to iPhone, iPod Touch

An iPhone hacker, known as Core, has managed to finalize an AppleTalk Filing Protocol hack that enables full read/write access to either an iPhone, or iPod touch, via Finder. Unfortunately, the work has just been completed, and as yet, it is not available via Installer.app. If you fancy trying it manually, you can find the complete instructions after the jump, courtesy of the great guys at TUAW.

To install by hand, use sftp to copy the tar file into /opt/iphone. Extract the archive on your iPhone or touch—the tar archive program is part of the BSD program; use tar xvf name-of-archive.tar—and run /opt/iphone/afp/startserver.sh &. The ampersand lets the program run in the background. (You will need to restart it after reboots.)
Once installed and running, go to Finder. Choose Go > Connect To Server, and enter the afp address for your iPhone, in my case afp://192.168.0.111. Just use the afp:// prefix with the local IP address of your iPhone. Enter your user id (root) and password (alpine) and your iPhone or iPod appears in the sources list for your Finder windows... To add new applications, just drop them into the Applications folder. To back-up your personal data, just copy /var/root/Library

To get cracking, hit the link to download the necessary file. Be sure to opt for the newer package, named afpd.with.registered.users.tgz. If you are not willing to get messing all up inside your iPhone or touch, wait a little while longer, as this awesomeness is bound to appear in Installer.app in the not too distant future. If you do give it a try, be sure to let us know how you get on. [Wickedpsyched via TUAW]

10:50 PM on Sun Nov 11 2007
By Haroon Malik
10,236 views
10 comments

Comments

MadColombian at 11:07 PM on 11/11/07
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Would this work with explorer on windows?

If so... it would be sooo worth it.
blazedshaggy at 11:21 PM on 11/11/07
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Is this hack for the 1.1.1 firmware?
MMFY at 11:29 PM on 11/11/07
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Can't wait for the GUI! Great hacking once again by the community out there!
nojo at 11:58 PM on 11/11/07
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Connectedness Index: 62
Brought to you by Acura TSX

This one strikes me as interesting, because I can't tell at first glance whether it even uses an exploit -- the previous hacks take advantage of security holes, which Apple is wise to plug.

Still, it does of necessity run as root, and it grants root access to all who log in using Apple's factory-direct root passwords -- which makes your iPhone susceptible to drive-by hacks. (Which don't yet exist in the wild, but still...)

Personally I'm patient for Apple to catch up with its own rushed development and come out with properly sandboxed apps next spring, but I applaud the ingenuity here. It appears to be an excellent solution under the circumstances.
oo0cyst0oo at 12:25 AM on 11/12/07
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how long will it be until there will be wifi skype or some sort of SIP? WHHHHHHYYYYYY???????
Mixiboi at 01:22 AM on 11/12/07
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@oo0cyst0oo:

I find it strange that people want VOIP on the iPhone when they are paying for phone service...

Oh wait, they aren't paying for phone service, just the phone and hacking it to work so then they can use VOIP for free on the hack phone...I got it...

Hell of a way to go...But if you gotta screw the man , you gotta screw man.
chiablo at 02:21 AM on 11/12/07
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@Mixiboi: You know, some people don't like AT&T's service... namely everybody who's name isn't Steve Jobs. And since the only way AT&T can get people to succumb to their service is to offer ultra exclusive cell phones, people are forced to such extremes.
storm at 02:40 AM on 11/12/07
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@chiablo:
I personally dislike all of the major American carriers just about equally. And AT&T doesn't offer ultra exclusive cell phones. They use GSM, so that the phone makers don't have to make a whole separate implementation of the phone hardware for it to be used on AT&T, even if they do make some marketing graphics or what have you.

I have a 4g iPhone. I haven't done anything to "hack"it, but the amount of ingenuity that these people have is very impressive. Thumbs up!
iSmoteThee at 03:39 AM on 11/12/07
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This looks fantastic. Yet another feature/function that Apple should have included with the launch of this great product.

I've been using my completely unlocked and jailbroken 4GB phone for two weeks now, and am absolutely loving the added functionality of the various applications, thanks to the brilliant, creative, and ambitious minds of the programming community (I'm not one them).

I'm also looking forward to the "official" apps early next year. With a 3G phone and the release of an SDK coming after the new year, 2008 should be just as exciting for the iPhone as 2007 was. I know the naysayers hate to hear that, but unfortunately for them, I think it's true.
notfred at 09:52 AM on 11/12/07
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@Mixiboi: Well, I was just in japan with my iPhone, and Skype or standard VOIP would've been really useful, as GSM doesn't work over there.