In case you haven’t already heard, there’s a nice sized security hole in the iPhone and it doesn’t take a genius to pull it off. The security hole was the subject of a post over on the MacRumors Forums entitled “Major Security Flaw in 2.0.2.”
By following a simple sequence of clicks with the phone a user can gain access to various features of the phone that the Passcode Lock should be protecting including:
Safari
Contacts
SMS,
Maps
Phone Access
Here’s how to reproduce the security breach on your own:
Enable the Passcode Lock if you aren’t currently using it (Settings > General > Passcode Lock)
To see the extent of the data and functionality that can be exposed, ensure you have an Address Book contact marked as a favorite which has links, phone numbers, addresses (etc.)
Lock the phone (or allow it to lock) so you need to enter the Passcode to use it. Wake the phone and slide the onscreen prompt to unlock the phone.
When the phone displays the “Enter Passcode” prompt, tap “Emergency Call” (the lower left-hand keypad option)
From the “Emergency Call” screen, double-tap the Home button.
The iPhone should now be displaying the Favorites screen.
Beside a Favorite Contact’s name, click the blue arrow button.
From here you can engage your Favorite Contacts until you find one with a URL… and you’ve got Safari. Find one with a phone number and you can get into the SMS section. And so on, and so on.
This isn’t going to score points for Apple’s recent embrace by the enterprise community. Especially when you consider that they’ve plugged this hole once before. The security issue was brought to Apple’s attention back when the iPhone was running v1.1.3. Apple had not responded to the security bug being discovered in 2.0.2 at the time of this post, but it’s safe to say we should all expect an upgrade to 2.0.3 firmware in the next few days.
In the mean time, you can protect your phone by changing the default action associated with double-tapping the Home button. Here’s how:
Settings > General > Home Button
Change the Home Button’s default action to “Home”
Verify that you cannot circumvent the phone’s security
August 25, 2008 at 12:49 am · Filed under Rumors, Hardware
MacRumors.com posted some fuel for the fire started by Kevin Rose late last week. Friday Rose posted a video that provided several rumors, including a new form factor for the iPod Nano. The video was originally posted on Kevin’s web site where it was accompanied by a picture claimed to be of the latest version of the iPod (shown below).
The iPod Nano photograph drew plenty of criticism over the weekened, but now there appears to be additional supporting evidence. According to a MacRumors.com post Sunday night, Rose may very well be correct. Their post includes another iPod shell photograph courtesy of Alibaba as well as renderings from iDealsChina (who have previously provided reliable intel).
In a side note, iDealsChina is also claiming that the next version of the iPod Touch will come with GPS.
If you’ve used the iPhone for Facebook App, you’re likely anticipating its successor as the current application provides fairly basic access to your Facebook world. Well, you’ll only need to wait until September to enjoy a major upgrade to the application.
It’s been a few weeks since we released Facebook for iPhone 1.1, and many of you are wondering what’s next. Let’s take a look at some of the upcoming features in version 2.0, which will arrive in the App Store in September. You’ll be happy to know that this release brings the app a lot closer to matching all of the functionality of the Facebook website.
News Feed In version 1.1, the News Feed contained only status updates and mobile photo uploads. In version 2.0 you will have the exact same News Feed experience as on the Facebook website. You will be able to see your friends’ Posted Items, new interests and relationships, photos, and all other stories that pass through News Feed. You’ll be able to comment on every story, and filter the feed by certain categories, applications, and friend lists, just like on the new Facebook.
Notifications You’ll be able to see all of your Notifications on the Home tab, and new Notifications will arrive in real-time while the app is running. We’re preparing for the release of Apple’s new push service, which will allow us to deliver Notifications to your iPhone even when you’re not running Facebook for iPhone. I expect that to be one of the features in the next version after 2.0.
Profile Redesign
Profiles now have a tabbed design, like the new Facebook website, and a combined Wall and Mini-Feed.
Search for and Approve New Friends This has been a popular request. You will now be able to search for people beyond your own Friends, request their friendship, and approve your own friend requests.
Inbox In version 1.1, you can only see the first 30 messages in your Inbox. In version 2.0, you will be able to see older messages, all the way back to the beginning. You’ll also be able to search your Inbox and see your Sent folder.
August 22, 2008 at 9:44 pm · Filed under Rumors, Hardware
Kevin Rose posted a video on his blog today with iPod, iTunes and OS X rumors. Watch the video for the full scoop, there’s a quick overview of the rumors below.
iPod/iTunes rumors:
iPod refresh for the line
New iPod Nano with larger screen and curved shell
Minor iPod Touch update
iPod prices to drop, distancing it from lowered iPhone prices
iTunes Version 8: a true upgrade with new functionality
If you’ve had any problems with your MagSafe power adapter, Apple has good news for you: They’ll replace it for free. You just need to bring it in to an Apple-Authorized Service Provider or an Apple store for evaluation. If you’re out of warranty, you’re still in luck-they’ll take it back if it’s defective.
Symptoms
You may notice a separation of the white insulation on the magnetic end of the MagSafe adapter. Under continued use, the cable may discolor and the rubber molding may become deformed.
Products Affected
MacBook (13-inch Late 2006), MacBook (13-inch), MacBook Pro (15-inch Glossy), MacBook Pro (17-inch)
Resolution
Whether your product is in or out-of-warranty, you can take your adapter (you don’t need to take the computer) to an Apple-Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store for evaluation, and replacement if necessary. You may be eligible for a replacement adapter free of charge provided there are no signs of abuse. Make a reservation at the Genius Bar before visiting your local Apple Retail Store. To make a reservation, go to http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/.
Possibly the most innovative iPhone App in my opinion, Dynolicous is an application for the iPhone which uses the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer to provide several statistics regarding vehicle performance. The $12.99 app measures many of the same performance statistics that high-cost competing solutions measure.
Currently, the G-Tech Pro is considered to be a cutting edge solution in the industry. You can pick up a G-Tech Pro for around $199 (I’m sure you can do better than that if you poke around). If you’ve got an iPhone and track your car, is investing $12.99 in Dynolicous money better spent than getting a dedicated performance meter.
What can Dynolicous measure on your iPhone? Here’s a few features:
0-60 Acceleration
1/4 Mile Time
Lateral G’s
Braking G’s
Horsepower
Quarter Mile Trap Speed
According to Garage 419, depending on why you want to do in-car performance measurement, the iPhone app might have merit. It does lack in accuracy, but not much. Check out Garage 419’s comparison of the iPhone Dynolicous App vs. a G-Tech Pro below.
Problems with MobileMe lead Apple to extend all MobileMe subscriptions by a month in July. Today, in response to continued hiccups with MobileMe, Apple ponied up an additional two months of membership. Here’s the details from the email sent to MobileMe members:
MobileMe Update
We have already made many improvements to MobileMe, but we still have many more to make. To recognize our users’ patience, we are giving every MobileMe subscriber as of today a free 60 day extension. This is in addition to the one month extension most subscribers have already received. We are working very hard to make MobileMe a great service we can all be proud of. We know that MobileMe’s launch has not been our finest hour, and we truly appreciate your patience as we turn this around. Read this article for more details.
The MobileMe Team
I’m not using MobileMe in any type of regularity that I’ve been exposed to anything beyond the launch day disaster. Any MobileMe horror stories out there?Tags:.Mac, Free, MobileMe, Software
August 15, 2008 at 8:53 am · Filed under Miscellaneous
You like blogs? Guy Kawasaki (this is an Apple crowd, right? I’m assuming there’s no need to say more) let the world know about Alltop this past March. On Guy Kawasaki’s blog Chris Shipley, the chairman of Guidewire Group describes Alltop:
Alltop is deceptively simple. The site gathers up the best suggestions from the most active social web users and compiles links into a simple, clean discovery space. For many, Alltop will replace their RSS readers.
Whether it replaces your RSS reader or not, you should make yourself aware of the site. It’s a see-it-to-get-it concept, so head on over and check it out.
Have an extra iPod or iPhone laying around gathering dust? If you want to sell it without too much of a hassle there’s a site called flipswap that will take it off your hands. You don’t get cash, you get the online version of the next-best-thing: an Amazon.com Gift Card.
A friend of mine just retired an old iPod and feels like he got a pretty good shake. In his case, it was $40. It’s not just for Apple products either. They accept all cell phones, regardless of their condition. Time to empty out that technology junk drawer…Tags:Hardware, Sell iPhone, Sell iPod
There’s a lot of free OS X applications out there if you know where to look. I found out about many of these free programs on other blogs who had written on the topic.
Here’s 3 favorite free OS X applications:
Adium - Adium is an excellent instant messaging client that supports multiple IM platforms including MSN/Live IM, Yahoo Messenger, Jabber and several more. It just works.
Evernote - Evernote acts like a digital notebook to help collect, categorize and later find information. The best feature-text recognition: Take a photo with your iPhone or iSight camera and the Evernote server will perform text/handwriting recognition allowing you to search on the text it finds. A see-it-to-believe it feature. Did I mention it’s free?
If you’re looking for more, consider this site that is dedicated to free Mac applications:
Free the Mac - Free the Mac’s tagline says it all: “250 free programs and counting.” This isn’t a post with a few applications, this whole blog is dedicated to finding and reviewing the best of what’s free for your Mac.
Problems with MobileMe lead Apple to 
