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Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/12/27/spire_siri_iphone_apple/

Spire crack brings Siri to jailbroken iPhones

Chpwn workaround needs Apple’s OK

By Iain Thomson in San Francisco

Posted in Software, 27th December 2011 20:08 GMT

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Siri, Apple’s much loved [1] or otherwise [2] personal assistant, can be accessed by jailbroken iPhones using an application dubbed Spire, says noted cracker [3] Chpwn.

The Spire crack [4], posted on Cyndia [5], enables the download of Siri code from Apple’s servers - which takes around 100MB so Chpwn recommends Wi-Fi use. Once installed, the code requires activation via a proxy server using the credentials of an iPhone 4S – a problem encountered by other Siri cracks [6] that want to stay on the right side of Apple’s legal team.

“Spire is far from perfect, but at least at this point in time, it’s the best that I can do,” Chpwn wrote in a blog post [7]. “Maybe in the future someone will find a way to evade the authorization requirement, but from my position here that’s unlikely. Hopefully, however, you’ll be able to figure something out.”

Chpwn offers a number of suggestions as to how authorization might be achieved. One could buy an iPhone 4S, and use the authentication via a proxy, or convince a (pretty understanding) friend to let you use theirs. The software may also work if Apple offers a pay-as-you-go service.

Intriguingly Chpwn suggests this may allow iPhone users to access to the Android rival Cluzee [8] or Google's Majel [9], or let Siri simply recite Google’s own search results. Given the litigious nature of the IT world at the moment this could mean a whole host of problems for the search giant in the future. ®