About Iphone

So how will he do it? The crafty hacker will use a custom firmware bundle to bypass the iPhone’s passcode lock and gain access to all the phone’s secrets. But the hackerific presentation isn’t meant for thieves and vagabonds. Rather, it’s intended for “law enforcement and anyone else who has a need to access the not-so-readily available data on an iPhone.”

This all shouldn’t come as a big surprise, considering this is the same guy that programmed the NES.app and was one of the many responsible for cracking the iPhone for the first time. And though news of the recent iPhone security flaw where you could bypass the passcode lock just by double-clicking the home button makes it all seem rather simple, we’re assuming this hack is a bit more sophisticated. It probably assumes that simple flaw doesn’t exist.

via http://www.iphonebuzz.com/hacker-to-break-iphones-security-via-live-webcast-094667.php

We previously covered an issue apparently caused by iPhone OS 2.0.2 in which some third-party applications crash or do not launch, for many users. We’ve now received reports indicating that the problem is almost universally eliminated by reducing the number of applications installed on the iPhone.

Reader David Sternlight writes:

“After reviewing this further and discussing it with Apple support, it appears the quit on launch after splash screen problem with iPhone 3rd party apps is caused by a bug triggered by having ‘too many’ such apps on the iPhone. Reducing the number from 6 pages worth to a bit under 3 pages worth seems to provide a temporary fix. Apple is aware of the problem; it is high on their priority list.”

A less-than-desirable fix to be sure.

Meanwhile, the following laborious process may also provide relief:

• On the iPhone go to Settings, General, Reset, and Erase All Content and Settings.
• On the host computer, in iTunes, navigate to Applications on left-hand bar.
• Click on any application, select all (command-A),and delete them (command-click on any one). When the options window comes up, select move to trash. Empty the trash.
• In iTunes, Sync the iPhone without any music or video selected.
• In iTunes, reinstall all desired apps.
• In iTunes, sync again.
• Add back desired music, video, etc via another sync

via http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/08/21/iphone-os-202-crashes-too-many-applications/

Mr. Zdziarski’s discovery of a remote blacklist that gives Apple the ability to zap apps from your phone remotely was pretty concerning for us jailbreakers and NetShare owners, and even though Steve said it’s only for zapping the malicious/dangerous ones to keep us secure, it’s still a little frightening (though understandable I suppose) that it was kept a secret. For those who don’t like the idea of Apple periodically checking out their iPhone, Mr. Zdziarski has posted a way to disable the feature.

Just so we’re clear right off the bat, we have no reason as of yet to think that there is any real need for disabling the blacklist checker at this time, as we (currently) trust Steve’s statement that it will only be used on security risks, but if you still want it gone then continue. Just remember that we haven’t tried it and we don’t take responsibility for any problems that this could cause down the road.

To disable the “kill switch”, jailbreak your device if it hasn’t been jailbroken already, and add the following into the location /etc/hosts:
127.0.0.1 iphone-services.apple.com

Supposedly that will work. If you try it and you can tell if it worked one way or another, let us know in the comments.

via http://www.iphonealley.com/tips-and-tricks/killing-apple039s-app-blacklist-checker-0

n.

“This is a known iPhone bug that is being fixed in the next software update in September,” reads the one-line message from the Apple co-founder.

The email provides an end date to problems that have become increasingly apparent in Apple’s support forums and elsewhere. Many report the iPhone 2.0 firmware suddenly failing to load non-default apps regardless of their nature, briefly loading them before abruptly jumping back to the home screen.

The bug occurs both with freshly downloaded software and with updates, but is reported as never having a definite fix; although some report successfully deleting and re-downloading apps to regain access, others find the solution either having no effect or gradually decaying over time to where the apps again fail to run. Restoring the iPhone also seldom works.

Apple’s recently released 2.0.1 and 2.0.2 updates are similarly incapable of resolving the problem. In some circumstances, iPhone owners have found the patches breaking what ran properly before.

And while Apple until Jobs’ message has never publicly said when a solution would arrive, an increasing amount of speculation and clues suggests that the problem may stem from improperly set permissions to run the apps. One member of Apple’s forums has been told by a support agent that his iTunes account was apparently “split into two separate accounts,” confusing the iPhone when it attempts to load an app. Some users note experiencing the problem chiefly with on-iPhone downloads rather than through iTunes.

Even if the root cause has been identified, however, the weeks-long wait has been cold comfort for those affected by the crashes, many of whom had updated their original iPhones just to add support for third-party programs. The same reader who prompted Jobs’ response told the executive that the crashing bug had at least temporarily soured an otherwise positive experience.

“[The flaw] has been so completely out of line with what I have experienced and expect from Apple that I am compelled to share this information with you,” the reader says.

via http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/19/steve_jobs_vows_iphone_app_crash_fix_for_september.html

Simplify Media is another jailbreak fan favorite that has hit the big top (iTunes Appstore) and is ready for consumption by the general masses who haven’t or won’t jailbreak the new 2.0 software. What is it you ask? Well the folks over at Lifehacker put it better than I think I could …

Freeware application SimplyMedia shares iTunes libraries over the internet, giving you access to shared libraries no matter where you are. That means you can install Simplify Media at home and work to get access to your entire home music library from work (assuming both ends have a fast enough connection to stream your MP3s). If you’ve got a few friends with libraries you want to access, you can add up to 30 shared libraries.

And now (thanks Lifehacker) you can download the iPhone app for free (for the first 100,000) people! After that the price goes up to a (still reasonable) $3.99. Anyway, hurry on over and grab this great freebie while you still can. The desktop version by the way is also free.

iTunes link

Simplify Media Website

via http://justanotheriphoneblog.com/wordpress/2008/08/14/quick-hit-simplify-media-for-iphone-free-limited-time/

Get at App Store

Unlike other similar applications, this one has realistic simulation of the dice movement and not just numbers showing up at the end…

Unfortunately the movement of dices is not proportional to how strong you shake the iPhone. One would expect the more you shake the faster dices are moving. However the movement is realistic and one can even select various dice types:

Google has just updated their mobile iPhone-formatted web interface to include Google Translate. The new interface was created by Google employees David Singleton and Allen Hutchison during their 20% work time that the company requires them to spend on personal projects. Just like the normal web version, Google Translate for iPhone allows translation both two and from any available language, right from the iPhone.

Allen Hutchison explains how it came about:

A few months ago I was planning a vacation to Austria and Italy. I knew a few words and phrases in German and Italian, but that was about it. So I looked around for some portable language dictionaries. I thought Google Translate was great, but the web page didn’t work that well on the iPhone. So I teamed up with David Singleton, a fellow engineer in our London office, to build an iPhone interface for Google Translate.
The new web app supports all of the same languages as the full-scale version because it uses the same AJAX Language API. It also holds on to your previous translations in a list stored locally so you can access them even when you’re without a data connection. He adds that he tried out an early version, and it worked well, but of course keeping an eye on your data charges is a good idea:

If you’re wondering about data costs, I found that I could get between 200 and 400 translations in 1MB of data download. Although we don’t charge for this service, your carrier may charge for the data usage so be sure to know what your roaming rates are. For my plan, I found that I could translate 400 phrases for less than $10 when roaming internationally.
You can access Google Translator for iPhone by visiting Google.com in your iPhone’s web browser and selecting the “more” tab, or by going directly to translate.google.com.

With the removal of several apps from the App Store in the past few days, many are wondering if Apple is truly checking out these apps before authorizing them. But even more importantly, do they have a system in place to protect iPhone users from malicious apps? It looks like the answer is yes.

It seems there is a URL the iPhone refers to every once in awhile to check and see if any apps have been “blacklisted”:

https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps

This will not just remove malicious apps from the App Store. It will also disable apps you’ve bought and downloaded already. This seems to be a last resort sort of function that will be reserved for only the most dire cases.