Unofficial iPhone Blog

If you’re an Apple iPhone user and security’s not on your mind, you’re at risk; at risk of having a Web mail account hacked; at risk of having your online identity stolen; and at risk of losing valuable personal information, such as wireless service account data, that could result in financial losses, among other disasters.

When it comes to mobile devices, security tops the list of IT security managers’ concerns. And rightly so: According to a Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) survey of 2,024 information security professionals earlier this year, more than half of respondents say risks related to mobile devices and remote workers are up significantly compared to 2007.

Even if you use your Apple iPhone strictly for play, it pays to ensure that you’re checking your e-mail, surfing the Web via Wi-Fi and accessing various content and services in the safest possible ways. You can follow these six tips in a matter of minutes, and potentially save yourself weeks of damage control.

iPhone Security Tip 1: Enable Auto-Lock

One of the most basic iPhone security functions is the Auto-Lock feature, which locks the device’s touch screen after not being used for a preset time period. Users can choose to set their iPhones to lock after not being used for one, two, three, four or five minutes. Auto-Lock can also be disabled altogether.

Auto-Lock is turned on by default, but you can change the settings by first clicking the main iPhone Settings icon, tapping the General tab and then hitting Auto-Lock. Then select the desired time period by tapping the on-screen value. Finally, exit the Auto-Lock and Settings screens by tapping the box in the display’s top left corner.

Though Auto-Lock is not exactly a security function on its own, when combined with the Passcode safeguard described below, it’s an essential iPhone security feature.

iPhone Security Tip 2: Enable Passcode Lock

The iPhone Auto-Lock disables the device’s screen after a preset time period of non-use, but the Passcode Lock feature takes that a step further. Whenever the device’s display locks, whether due to Auto-Lock or because you’ve hit the iPhone Sleep button–found on the top right of the device–Passcode Lock requires a four-digit code to be entered before the device can be employed again.

To turn on Passcode Lock, simply click the main iPhone Settings icon again, hit General and then tap Passcode Lock. On the Passcode Lock menu screen, enable the function by tapping Turn Passcode On. You’ll then be prompted to enter in a new passcode. Good passwords are completely random and should not be chosen based on birthdays or other dates or numbers that could be uncovered by would-be hackers.

You can also specify when a passcode is required. To do so, tap Require Passcode and then choose whether or not you want to be prompted for a code immediately upon using the device, after one minute, five minutes, 15 minutes, one hour or four hours. Setting the passcode prompt to Immediately is the most secure, as users won’t be able to access the iPhone at all without entering the appropriate passcode.

The Passcode Lock screen also has options to Show SMS Preview and Erase Data. When enabled, the SMS preview function allows the first sentence of new text messages to appear on-screen even when a passcode has not been entered. If you’d like the highest level of iPhone security–or just some more privacy–you probably want to disable Show SMS Preview.

The Erase Data function lets you completely wipe your iPhone after 10 failed passcode attempts. After six failed attempts, the iPhone locks out users for a minute before another passcode can be entered. And the device increases the lock-out time following each additional failed attempt–one minute, five minutes, 15 minutes, etc.–so an attempted passcode bypass could take miscreants hours.

iPhone Security Tip 3: Use Wi-Fi Safely on the iPhone

One of the iPhone’s most valuable features is its Wi-Fi support, which lets you connect to high-speed wireless networks for faster Web browsing and better data coverage in spots where cellular coverage is less than stellar. However, employing Wi-Fi networks without taking the proper security precautions can leave your device–and everything on it–open to crafty hackers.

First things first, you want to make sure your own personal Wi-Fi networks is secured using Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) or another wireless security protocol. (Refer to the product literature that accompanied your wireless router for more on how to enable Wi-Fi security.) When you connect your iPhone to that network for the first time, you’ll be prompted for the network’s password–assuming you’re using some sort of Wi-Fi security. You should also modify the name of your personal Wi-Fi network to something custom, to help reduce the chance of coming across another network with the same name.

To ensure that you don’t unknowingly connect to Wi-Fi networks while on the go, you should enable the iPhone’s Ask to Join Networks function. You can turn this feature on by once again tapping the main iPhone Settings tab and then choosing Wi-Fi. On the main Wi-Fi settings screen, turn the Ask to Join Networks function on by simply tapping the on/off button next to the option. After the feature is enabled, you’ll never connect to an open Wi-Fi network without first being asked to confirm the connection. (The device will still automatically connect to recognized networks, or networks to which you’ve connected in the past.)

It’s also a good idea to disable Wi-Fi whenever it’s not in use. This reduces the chance of accidentally connecting to an unsecured or suspect network and saves iPhone battery life. To turn Wi-Fi off, just hit the iPhone Settings icon, tap Wi-Fi and then click the on/off button on the Wi-Fi screen.

iPhone Security Tip 4: Securely Access Corporate, Web Mail

If you’re a corporate iPhone user, the most secure way for you to access your e-mail, at least your business mail, is most likely through a Microsoft Exchange Server–assuming your organization uses Exchange. Lotus Notes users can also securely receive their corporate mail via iPhone thanks to the recent introduction of Lotus iNotes ultralite. (For more on how to receive Outlook and Notes mail on the iPhone, consult your IT administrator.)

For non-business iPhone users, receiving Web mail, like Gmail, AOL and Yahoo Mail, is a breeze; however, the process is not always secure–especially if you’re not aware of how to ensure that secure sockets layer (SSL) protection is enabled, where available. SSL encrypts mail that’s sent and received via iPhone. If you’re unable to connect to your Web mail using the iPhone and SSL, consider using another mail account that does support the safeguard–I’ve setup a number of Gmail accounts using SSL on the iPhone. Or, if you choose to access mail without SSL, be aware that your messages are not secured–think post card vs. sealed letter.

To ensure that you’re using SSL when retrieving Web mail, click the main iPhone Settings tab, choose Mail, Contacts and Calendar and then select one of your active mail accounts. While on the mail account screen, click Advanced, scroll down to the Use SSL option and ensure that it’s set to On.

iPhone users can also access Web mail via their mail provider’s portals, but it pays to be security smart when using this process as well. For instance, iPhone users should ensure that the URL for the mail provider’s site begins with HTTPS://WWW instead of just HTTP://WWW, which signifies that the connection is secured using SSL. A tiny lock also appears just to the right of URLs when iPhone users navigate to pages that use SSL for secure connections. In other words, be wary of logging into any Web site to check mail via iPhone that doesn’t have HTTPS in its URL and a lock to the right of the Web address in your Safari browser.

iPhone Security Tip 5: Browse the Web via Safari

Just like surfing the Web via laptop or desktop computers, navigating the Internet via iPhone is rife with security risks. Proactively optimizing your iPhone browser security settings could potentially mean the difference between a fully-functioning device and an infected gadget rendered useless by malware.

The iPhone Safari browser security settings are basic–and most are turned on by default–but it doesn’t hurt to ensure that your iPhone Safari security settings are in order.

First off, you’ll want to ensure that pop-ups are blocked. Clicking on a malicious pop-up could expose your device to malware and lead to an infection. As mentioned above, pop-ups are blocked by default, but you can check and modify your settings by first clicking the main iPhone Settings icon and then scrolling down and tapping Safari. On the Safari settings screen, ensure that the Block Pop-ups button is switched to On.

You’ll also want to check on your Safari cookies settings. Cookies are pieces of text that are distributed back and forth between Web servers and Internet clients, typically browsers, and they’re used mainly for authenticating users. However, cookies can be a security/privacy risk, as information about users’ devices, operating systems, browsers and, in some cases, browsing habits can be stored within cookies and could, therefore, be accessed by third-parties.

The iPhone Safari Accept Cookies function is set to From Visited by default–meaning the browser will accept cookies from sites that you navigate to–but the most security conscious iPhone owners may want to disable cookies completely. Cookies can be disabled by in the Safari settings menu by tapping the Accept Cookies tab and then selecting Never.

iPhone users can also clear their current crop of cookies by clicking the Clear Cookies button at the bottom of the Safari settings menu and then selecting Clear Cookies again on the following screen.

iPhone Security Tip 6: Set Device Usage Restrictions

Though the iPhone has made some significant gains in recent days toward become a suitable business smartphone, its target user is still the consumer. And consumers come in all shapes, sizes…and ages.

IT administrators and parents with little iPhone users have the ability to set iPhone restrictions to, say, block explicit content from being shown on the iPhone’s music or video player. And they can block access to YouTube and stop third-party applications from being installed.

Restrictions options can be located via the main iPhone Settings menu, within the General tab. Once you’ve clicked on Restrictions on that tab, you’ll see a set of potential options beneath the words Enable Restrictions . Tap Enable Restrictions , enter in a four-digit code and then select the specific constraints you wish to impose by hitting the On/Off button next to each option.

Selecting the iPod Explicit option, blocks the user’s ability to sync any iTunes content that’s branded “explicit” by Apple. If you disable Safari, block YouTube and iTunes, or say no to installing apps or using the gadget’s camera, the phone user will not be able to access any of these functions until a passcode is reentered and the restrictions lifted.

For all of the great features found on Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch, one of the big annoyances is that when you are writing an e-mail you can’t turn the phone horizontally to make the keyboard bigger (landscape mode). Although Apple may fix this problem in a future software update, if you can’t wait, you can download TouchType, a 99-cent program that lets you write e-mails in landscape mode.

1. Access the App Store on your iPhone or iPod touch or through iTunes when your device is connected to your computer.

2. Search for “TouchType,” select it and purchase and install the app.

3. When you want to compose a new e-mail message in landscape mode, tap to launch the app and turn your phone sideways. Type your message in the blank space and when you are finished, tap the send button in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

4. A new e-mail message opens up in your default e-mail account (you can change which account is the default one in the Settings menu) with the text you just entered pasted in the body of the e-mail. Address the message, fill out the subject line and send it as you normally would.

5. To reply to a message using TouchType’s landscape keyboard, open the message in the Mail program, tap to reply to the message and then press the home button. Launch TouchType, type your reply in the blank message that appears and click to send it. The text you just typed is then pasted into your reply message and you can just tap “Send” to dispatch your response. If you have multiple e-mail accounts and you are not replying to a message sent to your default account, you’ll have to tap the “From” line and select the correct e-mail address to send the reply from.

In an interesting BusinessWeek story, Arik Hesseldahl asks: “Where does Apple go from here?”

For a company who has made a reputation of surprising consumers and (re)setting the bar, it’s a good question.

Of course, this question is asked on the heels of a mention of a “new product transition” made by Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer during a July conference call with analysts. What barnstorming surprise could Apple possibly have left under its sleeve to reveal in the next 6 to 24 months? “There are only so many world-changing moments that even Apple can create,” Hesseldahl writes.

So he takes a stab at guessing:

1. An Apple Netbook or tablet
   “The Web is rife with rumors that Apple will next introduce a device that bridges the gap between the iPod touch and the Mac—a machine that’s one part mini-mobile PC and one part media and entertainment device. The idea seems obvious to anyone who’s used the iPod touch for e-mail and Web-browsing but wants a larger screen. While other PC companies like Dell and Asustek build mini-notebooks, Apple could best them all, or so the argument goes.”
2. Apple iPhone family.
   “Much like the iPod now comes in four flavors—touch, nano, classic, and shuffle—it’s fair to expect that the iPhone will come in more than one model. The iPhone nano, for example, might appeal to those who think the current model is too big or too expensive.”
3. Nothing.
   “I have trouble imagining the next obvious path that Apple might follow in 2009 and 2010. In fact, the company may very well be nearing a product plateau. And here’s the real kicker: That may not be a bad thing.”

Hesseldahl’s reasoning is this: He sees potential for hardware and software enhancements on AppleTV, “including TiVo-like DVR features” and “a DVD player slot,” but on the whole he sees Apple relying on its “three-legged stool”: the Mac, the iPod (and iTunes) and the iPhone.

“I think Apple can and will do very well to enhance and grow these three legs without the need for building a fourth,” he writes.

I, for one, am not so sure. In the short-term, I can see Apple’s reliance on these product lines. But not over the long-term. iTunes and iPods are almost to the point of saturation in the U.S., in my opinion, so I can only see growth overseas. I like the idea of a diverse family of iPhones — I’m sure Nokia, Samsung, HTC and the rest sure don’t — so I buy that prospect. And, of course, there’s still a lot to be done on the computing front. A lot more market share to be had (sorry, Microsoft).

But, in terms of hardware, I don’t see much more than that. I suspect that Apple may get more into the software/licensing/services game, a la Google. A way to link its devices and create an interlinked, interdependent network of monetization.Yet I ask myself: On the other hand, can Apple fight a two front war?

Fact: The launch of the first iPod occurred seven years ago this month.
Another fact: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says Microsoft is “David” to Google’s “Goliath.”

All the hype came to its crescendo this week as T-Mobile, Google and HTC jointly released the T-Mobile G1, the first commercially available mobile device based on the open source Linux Google Android operating system.

The touch screen G1, known to some as the HTC Dream, bears some similarity to the Apple iPhone, which saw amazing uptake with the release of its 3G model. Even the original iPhone, released 15 months ago, still garners a great deal of hype.

And while it’s uncertain whether the T-Mobile G1 and Google Android will unseat the iPhone for smart phone supremacy, the G1 is better than the iPhone, though it might not be as pretty Read more… »

Have you heard this story?

One day, Bill Gates was standing on a street corner, watching the clouds roll by. Absentmindedly, he dropped a US$1,000 bill out of his pocket. A bystander noticed and said, “Are you going to pick that up?”

“No, why would I do that?” Gates responded gruffly, and walked away.

OK, fact or fiction?

While my version adds a little color, it’s still just a fable.

You can mix and match the details, but the essence of the myth — which I’ll define as anything grossly inaccurate yet widely regarded as true — is still there.

It’s part fantasy, part fabrication, but wholly inaccurate.

Tech myths come in all shapes and sizes: Some contain a morsel of truth, but many of them are so wildly preposterous that it’s hard to imagine anyone taking them seriously.

“A myth generally exists to explain the worldview of a group of people,” says Rob Enderle, a consumer analyst. “This means its intent is to convey an idea but not necessarily the whole truth, and given it’s conveyed largely from person to person, the initial story can change a great deal.”

At the risk of perpetuating Internet-sized myths even more, here are some of the most famous examples of myths, along with some debunking and comments from those in the know.

Bill Gates dropped a $1,000 bill and didn’t bother to pick it up

There’s really no factual evidence for this one. If it happened, there’s no way to prove it. Given the fact that the U.S. Treasury stopped producing $1,000 bills during World War II and stopped distributing them in 1969, it seems very unlikely Gates would carry one around. Yet, this and many other myths about Bill Gates — many of them related to e-mail scams — seem to become memes faster than other mean-spirited tech gossip.

Apparently, Gates is just an easy target who represents how an average guy (albeit one who is obviously very intelligent) can attain fame and fortune in the tech industry. Those who perpetuate the rumors are probably a little jealous. For its part, Microsoft told me that, officially, it doesn’t comment on Bill Gates’ personal life.

Another Gates myth is that he said “640k ought to be enough for anybody” when talking about an IBM PC’s memory in 1981.

The iPhone 3G has a kill switch that Apple can use to disable the device……….read more

If you’ve read about the recent instances of iPhone touch screens becoming unresponsive, or worse yet, have had your iPhone touch screen exhibit such issues, fear not. Apple has indicated it is aware of the “dead spot” issue that some iPhones are suffering from, and are actively resolving the problem.

For those unfamiliar with the issue, numerous reports have arisen over the last week or so in which the capacitive touch screen on the Apple iPhone begins to exhibit a dead or unresponsive area of approximately one half inch in height across the width of the phone (when held vertically).

Unlike previous iPhone issues which, at first, Apple seemed confused on exactly how to handle, Apple is jumping right on the screen issue and encouraging customers experiencing the issue to contact AppleCare or take their iPhone into their closest Apple corporate store for repair.

Though many users have shared information regarding their instances of the “dead spot” issue, there’s been no conclusive pattern to tie the units together. Though Apple has indicated they are aware of the problem, they have not yet released information regarding the cause.

What’s more, Apple is waiving the standard $29 iPhone rental fee for owners whose phones have signs of the problem. During the estimated 3-day repair period, Apple is providing loaner iPhones free of charge.

One of the best features of the iPhone is the absolutely beautiful screen Apple adorned it with. The LCD on the iPhone features rich colors, sharp contrast, and excellent resolution that makes reading even tiny text a breeze. Unfortunately, the beauty of the iPhone screen makes it that much more painful when dead or pixels show up. Luckily, there may been a quick and easy fix.

Though reports of dead pixels on the iPhone haven’t been rampant by any means, they haven’t exactly been rare either. Thankfully, most reports indicate that Apple has been very willing to replace models with truly dead pixels. However, often what appear to be “dead” pixels are in fact what are known as “hot” (permanently white) or “stuck” (permanently red, green, or blue) pixels.

A new application by an individual known only as Knox is offering a potential fix for malfunctioning pixels in your iPhone LCD. The application is an AJAX/HTML based webapp and does not require any type of hacking to be performing on the iPhone.

The stuck pixel fix works by rotating hex values to change the colors of pixels on your screen at a high frequency. The goal is to excite a potentially stuck pixel and release it. There’s obviously no guarantee that the fix will indeed fix your stuck pixels, but there are many reports of success and for many it’s certainly worth a shot before heading into the store.

Oh, and the best part about the fix? It’s free. Head to the Knox iPhone Stuck Pixel Fix from your iPhone to give it a try.

According to the author, the fix can generate some heat while exciting the pixels of the iPhone’s LCD, but won’t cause any harm. As with any unauthorized iPhone product or service, use at your own risk.

Surprisingly, there is no native “find” function in the version of Safari that comes with the iPhone.

If you are browsing a large piece of content, and need to find a particular word or section of the page quickly, this can present a serious problem.

Thankfully, you can add a search or text finding function to Safari on your iPhone with relative ease through the use of bookmarklets.

A bookmarklet is a Javascript program stored within a URL (or sometimes within a web page as a hyperlink). These program add functionality to the browser. The term itself is a combination of the terms bookmark and applet (a small program or application).

Bookmarklets can provide useful functionalities such as finding text within a page, quick searching Wikipedia, excerpting all the links from a page, finding similar websites to the one you are browsing, looking up movie times, and more. There is practically and endless list of bookmarklets available for your utility.

As far as whether the iPhone supports them - yes, it does. Thanks to the full-fledged version of Safari on the iPhone, the iPhone has complete Javascript support, and thus has support for bookmarklets.

To take advantage of bookmarklets on your iPhone, add them to your bookmarks on your PC that you sync with the iPhone. Then, sync your bookmarks to your iPhone, and you can access and utilize your bookmarklets from your iPhone’s Safari bookmarks.

For some reason, the iPod feature which allows you to drag and drop files to and from your iPod is not available on the iPhone. We’re not sure why Apple chose to disable this or if they plan to keep it permanently unavailable.

In the meantime, there are a variety of ways to accomplish similar results. The more complicated way is to learn some basic iPhone hacking. Doing a simple search on Google for tips on how to access the iPhone filesystem will yield a bevy of results you’ll likely not know what to do with.

The alternative method is using a software package called iPhoneDrive from Ecamm Networks. This is the only program we’ve found so far that allows easy drag and drop functionality moving files to and from the iPhone. Handy for those who need to move files back and forth between different machines via their iPhone (i.e. home and work), etc. We haven’t tested iPhoneDrive, but third party reviews seem to indicate easy and effective use.

“High Technology” sensors and accelerometer are few of the exciting features in iPhone. The sensors are  sense the environmental changes and make iPhone respond automatically for improving iPhone experience and the battery life of the device. There are two built in sensors to make this happen :

The Proximity Sensor

This sensor detects how close the screen of the phone is to your body. This allows the iPhone to sense when you have brought the phone up to your ear. At that point, the iPhone turns off the display in order to save battery. It also stops detecting touches, as to avoid unwanted input, until you take the phone away from your ear.

Ambient Light Sensor

This sensor detects the brightness of your surroundings and adjusts the iPhone’s display to bright or dim to maximize visibility.

Accelerometer

Built-in accelerometer make iPhone respond to change the display from portrait to landscape(or vice versa) when the user rotates the device from vertical to horizontal(or vice versa). As you change the way you are holding the phone, the iPhone switches the display. How smart can it get?

Basically the iPhone is not doing anything other phones aren’t capable of, but it will let the iPhone do it without instruction from the user.