Jailbreaking

Looking for more ways to improve your jailbroken iPhone? Many applications are available that expand the features and functions of your iPhone beyond what Apple allows. Tethering is one such function that makes it possible to use your 3G data connection to create a Wi-Fi hotspot for other devices. AT&T has finally made an official tethering solution available, but many customers don't want to pay the extra expense.

Enter MyWi 4.0. This jailbreak app creates a Wi-Fi hotspot instantly and allows multiple notebooks or other devices to use the iPhone data connection. USB tethering is also an option, and the Wi-Fi network you create will feature WEP security.

Even though jailbreaking is more accessible to iPhone users than ever before, some may question whether or not apps developed outside the App Store are really necessary. The fact is that Apple limits some functionality for security and other reasons. Here are two great apps that make it possible to do more with your 3G connection if your iPhone is jailbroken.

Auto3G switches your iPhone's 3G cellular data connection to EDGE (2G) automatically every time you lock your device. Why not stay connected to the 3G network when the iPhone is locked? Battery life, that's why. Your battery life can be extended when the 3G network is only used when necessary.

Now those looking for some good apps on jailbroken iPhones can participate in one-stop-shopping. The two jailbreak app stores known as Cydia and Rock Your Phone are merging into one entity. The resulting app store (to be known as Cydia) will be the largest independent iOS app store.

Rock Your Phone has been providing apps to the jailbreak iPhone community for 18 months, with $3.3 million in sales. Saurik over at Cydia explains that the merger is really more of a strategic reorganization of the two companies to foster cooperation.

Apple has released a security fix for iOS 4 and users now have to decide whether or not to install the update. There are pros and cons to installing the update, mostly revolving around whether or not you're interested in jailbreaking your device. The security problem was first discovered and used by the Dev-Team to hack iOS 4 and provide a simple way to jailbreak through the Safari browser.

Now that Apple has released a fix, the developer responsible for the JailbreakMe 2.0 in-browser jailbreak software has made the source code of his exploit public. Let's be clear, the iOS 4.0.2 update will make jailbreaking with JailbreakMe 2.0 impossible, however now that the source code of the jailbreak is public, security threats are bound to multiply.

Comex's release of in-browser jailbreaking software for the iPhone has revealed a major security hole in all iPhones. Turns out the exploit used to download and install the jailbreak in Mobile Safari could also be used by malicious programmers to install spyware or other data-stealing software on iOS.

By creating a jailbreak procedure that can be performed anywhere (pictured above by 0xcharlie in the Apple Store) Comex has also made it clear that Apple has some security patching work ahead. What happens is that anytime a PDF file is accessed from the Safari browser, the PDF is capable of running programs that would normally be prevented from execution.