George Hotz makes it rain - jailbreaks iPhone 3GS

by Steve Ragan - Jul 6 2009, 16:30

George Hotz, who earned fame by cracking the iPhone’s security so he could use it on non-AT&T networks, has released an application that jailbreaks the iPhone 3GS. The application, called purplera1n, allows the smartphone to run third-party applications, circumventing the measures put in place by Apple to prevent non-approved software on the device.

Jailbreaking iPhones, something of a cat-and-mouse game between coders and Apple’s development team, is important for thousands of hardcore iPhone users as it allows them complete freedom to use the devices they slapped hard-earned money down for.

However, Apple takes a hard stance against this practice, regularly releasing platform updates that, once applied to a jailbroken handset, brick it instantly. That is, until the game starts over, and coders like Hotz release unlock updates of their own.

Hotz (19) explained some of his reasoning for releasing the new purplera1n code:

"Normally I don't make tools for the general public, and rather wait for the dev team to do it. But guys, what’s up with waiting until [iPhone software version] 3.1?" he wrote on his blog.

"That isn't how the game is played. We release, Apple fixes, we find new holes. It isn't worth waiting because you might have the "last" hole in the iPhone. What last hole... this isn't golf. I'll find a new one next week," he added. 

"Also your purplera1nyday files ensure that you can always get back to a jailbroken state, so if you have it it's just a matter of tools."

Purplera1n, is available for Windows and OS X. Over the weekend, Hotz released an update for the Windows version that allows for international support and 64-bit system support, as well as support for Windows 7.

You can download the code directly from http://purplera1n.com/

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