“Thr0wawayicus” openly admitted of using Infomir’s toolset, so whether the company will now decide to retract these tools from their website or not, is a valid question.

Interestingly, Infomir’s boxes are allowed to run custom firmware spins, and the company is even providing the tools for creating these tailored firmware versions. To do this for models MAG 250, 254, 256, 322, and 324, “Thr0wawayicus” had to do a lot of testing and back and forth comparisons with the official firmware, but the whole process took him two days in total. The other measure that should be taken was to patch the browser to prevent the communication that generates the URL blacklisting file. The hacker figured that simply deleting 'dls.backup' would resolve the issue as it shouldn’t affect the functionality of Infomir’s MAG boxes otherwise. As he discovered, this file contains a URL blacklisting content, playing the dual role of prevention and activity storage for future updates blocking. This particular file was not to be found in earlier firmware versions, so he decided to investigate it further.

What “Thr0wawayicus” discovered when he used the Wireshark tool to monitor the packet traffic of the box, was an encrypted access over an HTTPS connection that created a file called 'dls.backup'. Tech-savvy users, however, focused on the content of the latest firmware updates and what differentiated them from the previous, 'unlocked' versions. Infomir had made no revelations on how they would impose URL blocks on their TV boxes, fearing that any disclosures on the technical side would undermine their actions. Apps: Update via your smartphone/tablet in the Google Play Store or iTunes Telephones: Update via the Philips Phone Manager. As is always the case with such lockdowns, people find a way to get around them sooner or later, and it seems that a Reddit user named “ Thr0wawayicus” already did, as he shared the news of his own custom firmware for all Infomir models. Connected devices (TV, Home Cinema, Blu-ray player etc): Update can be performed via USB, as well as carried out using an active network connection on the device (check your product’s user manual for more details). Infomir stated that they only wanted to comply with the current EU and US legislation on copyright protection, and that the pressure from copyright holders left them no other option. Two weeks back, Infomir, a popular set-top-box manufacturer announced their intention to place blocks to pirate IPTV domains.

Custom philips tv firmware