Modding my 360

[Gryzor]

Hello guys!
So, you know the drill, you buy the latest game for €60 and then your 5 yo son goes and scratches the original disks.
Well, sure, I don't have any kids, but I like to be prepared
I had modded my XBox years ago, and somehow it survived without being banned or overflashed through all the dashboard updates. But I've read enough to scare me off this last one, so I'd like to ask you if you know of any decent noob modding guide? Is there a way to do it without taking the drive out and connecting it to a PC?
Cheers
T