Tong Family

Ok, now that the government has said jailbreaking isn’t a violation of the DMCA, here is a current (it changes every 15 seconds!) guide to jailbreaking and unlocking as needed. Here are the key steps:

1. First you want to save your SHSH blobs and a jailbreakable firmware version. Right now everything up to 4.0.1 can be jailbroken, so for good hygiene save all the IPSWs you can find for your device by googleing IPSW
2. Now download Firmware Umbrella and plug your devices in, this saves a .shsh file and also sticks it up in the Cydia cloud for you to use later in case you need to download a down revision of the iPhone/iPad operating systems
3. If you have an iPad with 3.2 or 3.2.1, then you just type jailbreakme.com into your browser and it uses a PDF crash exploit to jailbreak. The iPad is already unlocked, so you can already insert any SIM. The only trick is that you have to saw a standard SIM basically in half because it uses the microSIM. Then go to Cydia and make sure to change the default password. Right now mobile terminal doesn’t work, so you have to go to the install OpenSSH instructions and then change the password with passwd after you login. This is super important as the default password is well known and hackers are always looking across public networks like the 3G one to hack your iPad.
4. If you have an iPhone 4.0 or 4.01, don’t download 4.1 as this closes the exploit, go to jailbreakme.com and you do the same thing with Cydia to change your password.
5. If you have an iPhone 3GS with 3.1.3 and old bootrom are running its associated 05.12.01 baseband you used to be stuck, but now you should be happy. First see if you have the old bootrom 359.3 by putting your phone into DFU mode  the trick is that you usually want the oldest baseband you can stand as they will typically have the most exploits, so you have to use pawnage tool to build your own customer IPSW and then load it. Then restore it to your phone. Now you should have Cydia again, so you run ultrasn0w and change the root password and you are set.
6. If you have an iPhone 3GS with 3.1.2 i are running the older 04.26.08 baseband, then you preserve the old basebad (rather than the new 05.13.04 that comes with iOS 4 for 3GS) by using the Pwnage Tool. 4.01 to build your own custom IPSW. To do this, you need that tool and the original IPSW that comes from Apple for 4.01 (not 4.1!!) If you don’t want to create your own custom firmware, then you can use stuff cooked by others