App Store's Fairplay DRM Hacked On Super Monkey Ball

Edward Kirk · July 24th, 2008, 05:33 PM

A small group of hackers are claiming to have successfully hacked Super Monkey Ball, cracking Apple's Fairplay DRM and allowing anyone to download it for free and install it on their iPhones. Some commenters on the site claim to have been able to download the game and get it running on their jailbroken iPhones, while others claim it didn't work for them, questioning the hack's legitimacy.

We've checked it out ourselves and can confirm that it works when loaded onto the phone through SSH, but this is one hack that could prove to be more of a problem than a solution. The ability to steal apps could potentially undermine the entire concept of the App Store, which was to motivate developers to write software with the hopes of making money from it.

The website, Hacklabs, has posted step-by-step installation instructions for the game and encourages users to follow suit and share other hacked apps. Neither Apple nor SEGA have commented on the situation.

Lastly, we would like to remind our users that we do NOT condone, endorse, or in any way approve of stealing applications available in the App Store.

[via MacNN]

bboyredcel · July 24th, 2008, 05:43 PM

This has been up for a few days now. I was at the site the other day and they had instructions posted then as well.

**Tried it.** - July 24th, 2008, 06:11 PM #3

I have downloaded it (not through iTunes) and installed it via SSH on a jailbroken 3g. After some permission tweaking I can say it certainly did work. It was also nice to know that it's not that great of a game. I deleted it after 20 minutes. The upside is I didn't have to spend $9.99 to find out it's worth $2.99

MICHAELSD · July 24th, 2008, 06:44 PM #4

The cracked release came out a few days after I bought it. The same team has cracked a lot of other popular games and they're planning release 14 of them really soon. Pirates FTW! Did I just say that out loud

? It'll be ownage once someone gets them in an Installer/Cydia repo. I'll still buy some apps to help support new developers with amazing apps, but some of them that look cool to give a try, but not worth the money will be the ones that I download.

imagine engine · July 25th, 2008, 08:48 AM #5

I believe in supporting the developer and so I paid through iTunes to download this to my iPhone. The game is only $9.99 which is cheaper than buying a game for a PSP. I guess some people are still under the impression the world's economy would survive if everything was to be made free.

**lol** - July 25th, 2008, 10:47 AM #6

its not "hacklabs", its "haklabs". Plz fix that.

CreamyPie523 · July 25th, 2008, 08:12 PM #7

"Speaking of games, here's a video of a cool new iPhone game that I just downloaded, called MotionX Poker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZqNi06tdBU. Very fun game!"

**Cheap!** - July 28th, 2008, 10:03 PM #8

You guys are a bunch of cheap bastards if you can't pay $9.99 for a game you're going to play, even if not all that often. It's 10 bucks. The developers spent their time coding the game, you're going to spend your time playing it. Pay the developers for their time. Besides, reading all the comments on the page, many people have spent HOURS trying to get this hack working and it doesn't seem to work at all... my time is worth more than that. Just buy the game

July 29th, 2008, 02:21 AM #9

its only 5 to 10 bucks
pay for it!

July 29th, 2008, 12:42 PM

No one addressed that so was curious. I do think people should just buy apps that they really want though

**List of apps** - July 31st, 2008, 02:24 PM #11

I found a list of cracked apps and games for iPhone with all the download links.

http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/th...es-for-iphone/

**Hey** - August 30th, 2008, 05:22 AM #12

See the detail statistic here people: and there is another kind of hacking going on inside App Store. Good luck people.. http://www.iphonefootprint.com/2008/...-applications/

iphoner223 Guest Posts: n/a	Will it work only on Jailbroken phones? - July 29th, 2008, 12:42 PM #10
iphoner223 Guest Posts: n/a	No one addressed that so was curious. I do think people should just buy apps that they really want though

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Edward Kirk WrAdminterizer Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Illinois, USA Posts: 3,084 Thanks: 19 Thanked 26 Times in 25 Posts	App Store's Fairplay DRM Hacked On Super Monkey Ball - July 24th, 2008, 05:33 PM #1
	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://adserver1.backbeatmedia.com/servlet/ajrotator/13894/222/viewJScript?pool=13886&type=3158&pos=20&zone=5000"></script> A small group of hackers are claiming to have successfully hacked Super Monkey Ball, cracking Apple's Fairplay DRM and allowing anyone to download it for free and install it on their iPhones. Some commenters on the site claim to have been able to download the game and get it running on their jailbroken iPhones, while others claim it didn't work for them, questioning the hack's legitimacy. We've checked it out ourselves and can confirm that it works when loaded onto the phone through SSH, but this is one hack that could prove to be more of a problem than a solution. The ability to steal apps could potentially undermine the entire concept of the App Store, which was to motivate developers to write software with the hopes of making money from it. The website, Hacklabs, has posted step-by-step installation instructions for the game and encourages users to follow suit and share other hacked apps. Neither Apple nor SEGA have commented on the situation. Lastly, we would like to remind our users that we do NOT condone, endorse, or in any way approve of stealing applications available in the App Store. [via MacNN] __________________ About my iPhone: iPhone & Color: iPhone 3G 16GB White iPhone Version: 3.0 Computer & OS: MacBook Pro 15", Mac OS X 10.5.4 Twitter

bboyredcel New Recruit Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Fairfield, CT Posts: 24 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	This has been up for days - July 24th, 2008, 05:43 PM #2
	This has been up for a few days now. I was at the site the other day and they had instructions posted then as well.

Ragnar Daaneskjöld Guest Posts: n/a	Tried it. - July 24th, 2008, 06:11 PM #3
Ragnar Daaneskjöld Guest Posts: n/a	I have downloaded it (not through iTunes) and installed it via SSH on a jailbroken 3g. After some permission tweaking I can say it certainly did work. It was also nice to know that it's not that great of a game. I deleted it after 20 minutes. The upside is I didn't have to spend $9.99 to find out it's worth $2.99

MICHAELSD Rocks the Board Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 253 Thanks: 1 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	July 24th, 2008, 06:44 PM #4
	The cracked release came out a few days after I bought it. The same team has cracked a lot of other popular games and they're planning release 14 of them really soon. Pirates FTW! Did I just say that out loud ? It'll be ownage once someone gets them in an Installer/Cydia repo. I'll still buy some apps to help support new developers with amazing apps, but some of them that look cool to give a try, but not worth the money will be the ones that I download. Last edited by MICHAELSD; July 24th, 2008 at 06:50 PM.

imagine engine Rocks the Board Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 184 Thanks: 3 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	July 25th, 2008, 08:48 AM #5
	I believe in supporting the developer and so I paid through iTunes to download this to my iPhone. The game is only $9.99 which is cheaper than buying a game for a PSP. I guess some people are still under the impression the world's economy would survive if everything was to be made free. __________________ SOHO: Maya, Mudbox, Toxik, FCS 3, iLife 09, iWork 09, Office, TC 1TB, iPhone 3G.

lol Guest Posts: n/a	lol - July 25th, 2008, 10:47 AM #6
lol Guest Posts: n/a	its not "hacklabs", its "haklabs". Plz fix that.

CreamyPie523 Forum Lurker Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	July 25th, 2008, 08:12 PM #7
	"Speaking of games, here's a video of a cool new iPhone game that I just downloaded, called MotionX Poker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZqNi06tdBU. Very fun game!"

Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	Cheap! - July 28th, 2008, 10:03 PM #8
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	You guys are a bunch of cheap bastards if you can't pay $9.99 for a game you're going to play, even if not all that often. It's 10 bucks. The developers spent their time coding the game, you're going to spend your time playing it. Pay the developers for their time. Besides, reading all the comments on the page, many people have spent HOURS trying to get this hack working and it doesn't seem to work at all... my time is worth more than that. Just buy the game

kold ice Guest Posts: n/a	July 29th, 2008, 02:21 AM #9
kold ice Guest Posts: n/a	its only 5 to 10 bucks pay for it!

Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	List of apps - July 31st, 2008, 02:24 PM #11
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	I found a list of cracked apps and games for iPhone with all the download links. http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/th...es-for-iphone/

Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	Hey - August 30th, 2008, 05:22 AM #12
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	See the detail statistic here people: and there is another kind of hacking going on inside App Store. Good luck people.. http://www.iphonefootprint.com/2008/...-applications/