How To: Enable Root Telnet on Boxee Box!

[minel]

- Add repository "dir.fuzzthed.com"
- Start "Launcher" app
- Create application; link should be "/usr/sbin/telnetd -l /bin/sh" -- including all quotes
- Click on newly created application; nothing happens on the Boxee.
- Telnet to the box; you should be logged in as root with no password prompt.

http://boxeeboxwiki.org/wiki/TelnetD

[Silverlock]

Between this and the updater details (http://boxeeboxwiki.org/wiki/Update), I think things are about to get very interesting!

[geekmeister]

This is great. Perhaps we can organize a fork of Boxee (we can call it Haxee) that would revert back to version 0.9 and expound on it by plugging all the holes (Haxee v.1 anyone?), create and allow for apps that would circumvent blocks by various content providers including Hulu. The only issue is the fork will most likely never have Netflix or other paid content providers, but then again if you have a newer TV or BR player, Neflix is already there.

[redsmoke]

Is the boxee box just running linux with linux flash on X? if so I wonder if there might be a way to pull in the linux hulu desktop version and get hulu back.

[micr0be]

I love how fast this information got out. Someone smarter than me will have an awesome firmware solution ready for us in no time :)

[timbudtwo]

I love how fast this information got out. Someone smarter than me will have an awesome firmware solution ready for us in no time :)

No they wont.
The only thing this gives you the ability to do is install software that isn't approved and meddle with the files (you could reskin boxee if you wanted.) Seeing as this is a brand new box most software/hardware interaction will be undocumented and most "hacks" will just be modifications to xml files.

[minel]

No they wont.
The only thing this gives you the ability to do is install software that isn't approved and meddle with the files (you could reskin boxee if you wanted.) Seeing as this is a brand new box most software/hardware interaction will be undocumented and most "hacks" will just be modifications to xml files.

or a way to get XBMC on it :P

[aiiee]

No they wont.
The only thing this gives you the ability to do is install software that isn't approved and meddle with the files (you could reskin boxee if you wanted.) Seeing as this is a brand new box most software/hardware interaction will be undocumented and most "hacks" will just be modifications to xml files.

Just kind of blue-skying here but it might be possible to rename the flash player, create a new program with the old name of the flash player and have it sit in it's stead so that when Hulu queries it for its flash id, the fake flash can return a string acceptable to Hulu. All other calls to Flash are passed thru the fake Flash and on to the real, re-named one. Like I said, just blue-sky :)

[xmcnuggetx]

id be curious if someone could just package an app that delivers the linux huludesktop client and runs it...

[s.macneill]

excellent, i think i was able to resolve two things i wanted.

*edited to add full path*
/data/.boxee/UserData/guisettings.xml

modified the buffer for local lan to 4MB instead of 2MB (streaming wifi... not reliable)

<cachevideo>
<dvdrom>2048</dvdrom>
<internet>4096</internet>
<lan>4096</lan> <--- was 2048

and i didnt like that subtitles were automatically on all the time. i was able to turn them off... by default.

<showsubtitles>false</showsubtitles> <--- was true

[s.macneill]

It's in the same file, it's under the defaultvideo subsection:

<defaultvideosettings>
<interlacemethod>0</interlacemethod>
<scalingmethod>1</scalingmethod>
<noisereduction>0.000000</noisereduction>
<sharpness>0.000000</sharpness>
<viewmode>0</viewmode>
<zoomamount>1.000000</zoomamount>
<pixelratio>1.000000</pixelratio>
<volumeamplification>0.000000</volumeamplification>
<outputtoallspeakers>false</outputtoallspeakers>
<showsubtitles>false</showsubtitles> <-- there she be
<brightness>50.000000</brightness>
<contrast>50.000000</contrast>
<gamma>20.000000</gamma>
<audiodelay>0.000000</audiodelay>
<subtitledelay>0.000000</subtitledelay>
</defaultvideosettings>

[TreeBeard]

excellent, i think i was able to resolve two things i wanted.

*edited to add full path*
/data/.boxee/UserData/guisettings.xml

modified the buffer for local lan to 4MB instead of 2MB (streaming wifi... not reliable)

<cachevideo>
<dvdrom>2048</dvdrom>
<internet>4096</internet>
<lan>4096</lan> <--- was 2048

and i didnt like that subtitles were automatically on all the time. i was able to turn them off... by default.

<showsubtitles>false</showsubtitles> <--- was true

Thanks!
The keymap xmls are interesting too, as is the root-boxee.log - now I know why a vid fails! ;)

[KennethC]

excellent, i think i was able to resolve two things i wanted.

*edited to add full path*
/data/.boxee/UserData/guisettings.xml

modified the buffer for local lan to 4MB instead of 2MB (streaming wifi... not reliable)

<cachevideo>
<dvdrom>2048</dvdrom>
<internet>4096</internet>
<lan>4096</lan> <--- was 2048

and i didnt like that subtitles were automatically on all the time. i was able to turn them off... by default.

<showsubtitles>false</showsubtitles> <--- was true

Awesome. Thanks for sharing. These two things alone have greatly increased my viewing happiness with Boxee.

[Govnah]

Made the changes but when I rebooted they changed back....Any ideas?




excellent, i think i was able to resolve two things i wanted.

*edited to add full path*
/data/.boxee/UserData/guisettings.xml

modified the buffer for local lan to 4MB instead of 2MB (streaming wifi... not reliable)

<cachevideo>
<dvdrom>2048</dvdrom>
<internet>4096</internet>
<lan>4096</lan> <--- was 2048

and i didnt like that subtitles were automatically on all the time. i was able to turn them off... by default.

<showsubtitles>false</showsubtitles> <--- was true

[s.macneill]

i rebooted mine and checked, i'm in the same boat. premature celebration i guess hah

[aiiee]

Usually , in linux, that's because you are editing the wrong file. Perhaps with a .cfg extension or similar. The correct file is around somewhere, and in an editable form, you just have to find it. If grep works, you can search the files for likely suspects.

[KennethC]

Usually , in linux, that's because you are editing the wrong file. Perhaps with a .cfg extension or similar. The correct file is around somewhere, and in an editable form, you just have to find it. If grep works, you can search the files for likely suspects.

The only other reference I could find to "showsubtitles" is in the Boxee application itself, which is compiled. Hmm.

[TreeBeard]

You are editing in the right place, it's just that the system defaults are written back upon boot. We just got to keep poking around for a bit.

[aiiee]

You are editing in the right place, it's just that the system defaults are written back upon boot. We just got to keep poking around for a bit.

If they are being rewritten on boot, that's the wrong file. There is a config file that sets that xml on boot. *That's* the file to be editing. Since that xml most likely only gets read on boot, editing that file may well accomplish nothing.

[KennethC]

If they are being rewritten on boot, that's the wrong file. There is a config file that sets that xml on boot. *That's* the file to be editing. Since that xml most likely only gets read on boot, editing that file may well accomplish nothing.

It actually gets read on login, not boot.

I am guessing that since the Boxee application "/opt/boxee/Boxee" has an instance of "showsubtitle" and it isn't a user configurable field, it gets written to the guisettings.xml with a hardcoded value. I'm also guessing that the values that ARE considered user-configurable are read from either another file or a database field and placed into the XML file on boot.

I did the following:

"grep -r subtitle /*"
"grep -r showsubtitles /"'
"grep -r Subtitle /*"

And nothing's obvious.

[CrashX]

More stuff to play with if it is rw:

.boxee/UserData/advancedsettings.xml
/opt/boxee/system/keymaps/remote.xml
/opt/boxee/skin/boxee/

[aiiee]

It actually gets read on login, not boot.

I am guessing that since the Boxee application "/opt/boxee/Boxee" has an instance of "showsubtitle" and it isn't a user configurable field, it gets written to the guisettings.xml with a hardcoded value. I'm also guessing that the values that ARE considered user-configurable are read from either another file or a database field and placed into the XML file on boot.

I did the following:

"grep -r subtitle /*"
"grep -r showsubtitles /"'
"grep -r Subtitle /*"

And nothing's obvious.

login makes more sense, since we are talking about the GUI. I suppose if they wanted to be dicks it could be a compiled binary that writes to the .xml, but that's unusual

[CrashX]

Made the changes but when I rebooted they changed back....Any ideas?

Instead of reboot, try killing the boxee app and launch it again ...

[TreeBeard]

Instead of reboot, try killing the boxee app and launch it again ...

That can be done easy enough:

/opt/local/bin/restart_boxee

Although, I noticed my cache settings persisted after a power down and power up.
I noticed log messages regarding a sqlite instance, I'd imagine that's were these are persisted or perhaps tdb files or the like. Should be easy enough to get a binary to read/edit these once they're located.

EDIT: D'oh, spoke too soon, restart_boxee works, but the remote is not functional following. :p

[CrashX]

For those interested in hacking, their is now IRC Channel run by the guy who did boxee wiki:

http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23%23boxee-hacking#

[pcm2a]

If you are using the .9 version on your Boxee Box the Launcher app does not launch. Is there any other way to enable telnet on .9?

[TreeBeard]

If you are using the .9 version on your Boxee Box the Launcher app does not launch. Is there any other way to enable telnet on .9?

Doesn't launch anymore on 1.x anymore either.. :p

[TreeBeard]

FYI:
http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=16015&page=8

[gohnjanotis]

Hey guys,

I'm working on starting a site called DeviceKnit that's like a cookbook for gadgets where people can post "implementations" (which are like hardware/software recipes) and then discover other users' submitted implementations based on the devices they own.

I'd really like to get some cool recipes around different things people are doing with the Boxee Box, whether intended features or more hack-like, but I don't own one myself so I'm trying to reach out to people who own it to share some of the cool things they are doing with it.

The site is in it's early stages at http://deviceknit.com but we'd really like to hear what you think of the concept.

[jaycollett]

anyone gotten any further with this?

[Alcaron]

Check the wiki.

[timbudtwo]

Wiki is already gone? Did boxee dev talk them into taking it down?

[PogMoThoin]

Wiki is already gone? Did boxee dev talk them into taking it down?

No its not, I still see it
http://boxeeboxwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

[ekristen]

There is a much easier way to enable to telnet.

Add http://erikkristensen.com/boxee/ as a repo, launch UnBoxed.

-Erik

[StevenR]

Here is a neat command you can try after enabling Telnet:

ln -s /data/.boxee/UserData/Database/boxee_catalog.db /tmp/media/boxee_catalog.db

That adds a symbolic link to the Boxee Box's media database to the folder that is shared via SMB, so you can open smb://boxeebox/Media/boxee_catalog.db in a SQLite client and see what's in the database.

Edit: Unfortunately it would seem that viewing the data is all that you can do, since it seems to be read-only.

[KennethC]

There is a much easier way to enable to telnet.

Add http://erikkristensen.com/boxee/ as a repo, launch UnBoxed.

-Erik

I just have to say, this is AWESOME. Thanks Erik!

[travmanx]

Edit: Unfortunately it would seem that viewing the data is all that you can do, since it seems to be read-only.

That seems to be all you can do with 90% of the boxeebox :(

[Andaas]

I modified my cachevideo buffer for the lan via telnet, and was surprised to see that the setting would revert back to default just by playing any video. I'm not sure that this setting can be made even semi-permanently.

[travmanx]

I modified my cachevideo buffer for the lan via telnet, and was surprised to see that the setting would revert back to default just by playing any video. I'm not sure that this setting can be made even semi-permanently.

Yeah they pretty much got us on lock down at the moment for settings we can and cannot change.
Probably so we don't break it so early and they will have to deal with more of our problems!

[StevenR]

It looks like after today's update it it is no longer possible to enable the Telnet server on the Boxee Box.

[aiiee]

It looks like after today's update it it is no longer possible to enable the Telnet server on the Boxee Box.

See, the thing about Fight Club is what again?

[hohokus]

they deleted telnetd in 1.0.1.16319.

of course, you can still factory restore back to 0.9, or use usb to revert to 1.0.1.16126. (you DID keep a copy of the iso, right?)

[FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU]

Crap. So much for their statement claiming the BB is "hacker friendly".

Definitely going to make it harder for the average joe to install XBMC once it's available.

[samukas]

It can't be hacker friendly. They need to keep it closed, I think, for the content partners to allow their services on the box.

[madusmacus]

Now we have to revert to 0.9 and then get a way to custom install new firmware and replace telnetd after :¬(

I had enough of this annoyance on my NAS boxes, not letting me have access.
Dont buy edge10 NAS gear even the developers don't have root - so they told me

[jaycollett]

I must say this is definitely NOT cool with me. The whole idea that this thing was hacker friendly was what initally drew me to the device. I think it's ridiculous that they would have SPENT even one minute removeing this and not using that time to FIX the plethora of critical bugs this thing has.

Those of us that enjoying modifying things WE PAY FOR don't ask for customer support when we break them.

GET YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT BOXEE or lose yet another customer.

[PogMoThoin]

I must say this is definitely NOT cool with me. The whole idea that this thing was hacker friendly was what initally drew me to the device. I think it's ridiculous that they would have SPENT even one minute removeing this and not using that time to FIX the plethora of critical bugs this thing has.

Those of us that enjoying modifying things WE PAY FOR don't ask for customer support when we break them.

GET YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT BOXEE or lose yet another customer.

+1
I bought this device for its hackability. I'm losing faith very quickly

[Bixiee]

It can't be hacker friendly. They need to keep it closed, I think, for the content partners to allow their services on the box.

Yeah crap services for the US. Not that I would want them anyway. I want a physical object one some remote streaming.

Then they should make two boxes, a Freedom Box without those 'services' and a dictator box with them.

[schmedigans]

Yeah crap services for the US. Not that I would want them anyway. I want a physical object one some remote streaming.

Then they should make two boxes, a Freedom Box without those 'services' and a dictator box with them.

They already do. The 'Freedom Box' is the one you build yourself. :)

[deceiver]

Don't worry nothing stays "secure" forever. Look at the battle of apple with the jailbreak community. It's been going for years...

[FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU]

But it's a real shame if we're being forced down that road into a cat and mouse game to jailbreak our BB. That policy certainly has not made Apple very popular. Why on earth would Avner want to be compared to the biggest a-hole in tech, Steve Jobs?

[darcilicious]

That policy certainly has not made Apple very popular. I should think it's more accurate to say it hasn't detracted from the iPhone's popularity. I just came home with my third iPhone today and will be jailbreaking shortly (I've had them all except the 3GS).

[frenchy128]

There is a much easier way to enable to telnet.

Add http://erikkristensen.com/boxee/ as a repo, launch UnBoxed.

-Erik

Will you be updating the app to support the newest software release? Not enjoying the netcat work around.. Thank you for all your hard work!
Frenchy

[darcilicious]

Per the wiki page http://boxeeboxwiki.org/wiki/Obtaining_Root it's not possible to perform all the steps from a Boxee app any more: http://boxeeboxwiki.org/wiki/Obtaining_Root_on_1.0.1.16319