Greenpois0n Absinthe A5 Untethered Jailbreak for Linux Users Released; Windows and Mac Version Updated to v0.3

However, hacking the A5 is not eactly a walk in the park, GreenPois0n said on its site. The ridiculously complex combination of exploits-within-exploits that make this iOS jailbreak possible have consumed thousands of hours of brain-power & effort from a legion of world-renowned hackers, several of whom have been working diligently on this project since the dual-core A5 processor was unveiled by Apple last March, the hacker said.

With the release of each new device and each new update of iOS 5, the hackers' work became more difficult. However, the launch of CDevReporter by Chronic Dev team to gather information of devices' crash reports proved to bee an invaluable source of information for iOS hacking and research.

Meanwhile, acknowledging that the obstacle presented by Apple's new A5 processor would not be overcome by one person or one team, the hackers put aside their ego and iPhone Dev team and Chronic Dev team joined hands to form an iOS super-hacking Dream Team.

The dream team comprised of saurik and MuscleNerd (both core members of iPhone Dev team), posixninja, pod2g and nikias (all members of Chronic Dev team). And, of course, there was planetbeing, the legendary iOS hacker/developer, who is responsible for initially porting both Linux & Android to the iPhone (among his many other contributions).

The Absinthe v0.3 update includes some minor changes for Win32 system. Like the earlier version, Absinthe v0.3 will work with iPad 2 and iPhone 4S, provided the devices are running iOS 5.0.1.

Absinthe v0.3 is being lapped up by the jailbreak community as it's an untethered jailbreak, which mean that there's no need to re-jailbreak after a reboot. In other words, there's no need to connect the device to a PC, each time it is booted.

However, Absinthe v0.3 is only for those who have not yet jailbroken their devices. For those who have, there's no need to use v0.3.

Standard disclaimers considered, Linux users can download GreenPois0n Absinthe v0.3 here, Mac OS X users can download here, and Windows users can download here.

As for those who are wondering whether jailbreaking a device is illegal - the answer is no. Jailbreaking iPhone 4S or iPad 2 will let you run third party software from developers not approved/endorsed by Apple. It means you are not agreeing to iTunes end-user agreement.

However, according to online security company Sophos, there are also risks involved. For instance, it invaildates Apple's warranty. It means, if you've installed a software not tested/approved by Apple and it renders you device useless, Apple will not repair it for you. A jailbroken device is also under bigger risk of getting infected by a malicious software due to lack of quality control.

Nonetheless, to many people, the benefits outweigh the risks because they can access the Cydia app store, which boasts of cooler and more useful applications than the Apple App Store.

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