Jailbreaking

Only days after the ikee worm was unleashed on Australian iPhone users a tool has been discovered that steals private data from jailbroken iPhones. iPhone/Privacy.A is a malware tool that runs on computers (or on an iPhone) and scans the Wi-Fi network for vulnerable iPhones.

After discovering and accessing the devices in range it copies all private data including SMS messages, videos, email, calendars, music, photos and all other app data to the computer. The program does all this without ever making the iPhone user aware of its intrusion.

Rickrolling has finally made it to the iPhone. The first known iPhone worm has been released in Australia, spreading from phone to phone over the network. Only jailbroken iPhones running SSH with the default root password are affected.

The ikee worm exploits this security weakness to infiltrate the iPhone file system and search for other jailbroken iPhones in the vicinity. The malware also changes the lockscreen wallpaper to a photo of 80s pop icon Rick Astley with the message "ikee is never going to give you up."

Updating to iTunes 9.0.2 will not affect your current iPhone jailbreak or unlock. No news or advice has been posted by the official iPhone DevTeam on this subject. Jailbreak after installing iTunes 9.0.2 at your own risk.

Several new features for iPhone users have come to iTunes 9.0.2, now available from Apple as a free download. iPhone specific-improvements relate to app sorting and media syncing. Users can add or delete home screens and arrange apps directly in iTunes.

The latest version of the blackra1n jailbreak has hit the streets. RC2 will even jailbreak brand new iPhone 3GS models running 3.1.2 from the factory with a "tethered jailbreak."

This means when restarting your jailbroken iPhone the device must remain connected to your computer to properly boot. Apple thwarted the “24kpwn” exploit used by Geohot and iPhone Dev-Team in the latest firmware release on new iPhone 3GS models, making the tethered jailbreak method necessary.

The latest and greatest jailbreak tool has been released and it supports iPhone OS 3.1 on the 3GS hardware. Before you get too excited, keep in mind it will only work if you've already jailbroken your iPhone 3GS when it was running 3.0 or 3.0.1 firmware.

Turns out if you've installed an update directly from Apple using iTunes on your iPhone 3GS or the device came pre-installed with firmware 3.1 then you're out of luck. PwnageTool 3.1.3 is only available on the Mac platform. Dev-Team has stated it has no intention of developing a windows version of this particular tool.

Here we go again. With Apple's release of iPhone OS 3.1 the iPhone Dev-Team has been busy getting jailbreak and unlock solutions ready. The first of these software packages is Pwnage Tool 3.1 for Mac OS X.

The current version is available directly from the iPhone Dev-Team and supports the first generation iPhone and the iPhone 3G. The Dev-Team is still working on software for Windows and the iPhone 3GS.

Apple released the iPhone OS 3.0.1 firmware update the other day to fix an SMS security flaw. This has rendered purplera1n useless, and creator Geohot has abandoned the project for now. That being said, redsn0w from the iPhone Dev-Team still works.

There's one thing to look out for when using redsn0w to jailbreak 3.0.1. After updating to the official 3.0.1 through iTunes, running redsn0w will ask for the IPSW file to use for jailbreaking. Select the 3.0 IPSW, not the 3.0.1 version you just installed. For owners of the iPhone 3GS or a newer 3G, you may not already have this file.

Reports have surfaced that unlocking your iPhone for use with another carrier will disable application push notifications. There is some debate over whether or not Apple is simply ignoring the problem, or if it's something they intend to fix in the near future.

The problem was discovered by PoweryBase, the developer of a push-enabled "to do" list application called NotifyMe. According to the developer, five percent of users (those with unlocked iPhones) generate 80 percent of their customer service requests, claiming the app doesn't work as advertised. These dissatisfied users are also driving NotifyMe App Store ratings down.

Now iPhone 3GS users have two jailbreaking solutions at their fingertips. Shortly after geohot (George Hotz) released his own jailbreak in the form of purplera1n, the Dev-Team released a new version of redsn0w for the iPhone 3GS.

As we previously reported here, geohot recommended that everyone with a 3GS follow specific steps to preserve their future ability to jailbreak. Turns out he wasn't content to wait for Dev-Team to release redsn0w for the 3GS.

iPhone blogger George Hotz has discovered a new layer of security in the recently released iPhone 3GS. If you're waiting on iPhone Dev-Team to release a jailbreaking and/or unlocking solution for your iPhone 3GS, generating a unique certificate for your device could keep your options open.

Apple will likely release iPhone OS 3.0.1 soon, possibly postponing a jailbreak even longer. George Hotz explains the process of generating a certificate below.