Information Security, Apple, Film, Gaming & All Things Technology.
Apple earlier today released the latest iPhone OS, version 3.0.1. This update fixes the major SMS security issue that they
have finally fixed.
There hasn’t been many changes in the latest firmware release that have been found other than the SMS fix, feel free to email them in if you find any.
If you want to jailbreak your device it has been reported that in most cases it works fine but maybe wait a while until everything gets checked out.
Apple has released iPhone OS 3.1 Beta 3 (build 7C116a) and the iPhone SDK 3.1 Beta 3 (build 9M2808) to developers. So far there are no interesting developments that have been found, though it is suspected that Apple might be implementing tools for use in Augmented Reality applications that require the ability to overlay real-time downloaded data on top of live video.
The new features include:
• Copy and paste videos. There is a 15 MB limit for copying/pasting videos or images.
• Tethering Counter – If you go to Settings -> Genral -> Usage on your iPhone, you’ll notice Tethering data which shows how much tethering you’ve used.
• Springboard Icons – When you hold down the Springboard icons they no longer vibrate.
• Baseband Updated – The baseband has been updated to 05.11.04.
• Camera API Additions.
Jonathan Zdziarski, a member of the iPhone Dev-Team, says that Apple’s encryption on the iPhone 3GS for business users is not as good as it should be and could put company data at risk. He said that the encryption is so weak, that it could be cracked in two minutes using nothing more than some easily available freeware.
He said after making this discovery: “I don’t think any of us developers have ever seen encryption implemented so 
poorly before, which is why it’s hard to describe why it’s such a big threat to security.”
The iPhone 3GS is the first device to officially feature encryption, but Zdziarski says sensitive information like credit card numbers and social security digits on a 3GS are just as easy to access as they were on the 3G and first generation iPhone.
He used Redsn0w and PurpleRa1n to install a custom kernel on the device, then he installed used an SSH client to port the raw disk image onto his computer.
Some iPhone users have been experiencing strange problems with their iPhone receiving AIM messages which were not 
sent to them, but Apple’s push notification system sent it to the wrong people. However it’s not Apple’s fault as some believed it to be.
The iPhone generates unique private/public keys upon activation that identity each handset, so that they correct messages can be sent to the correct device. However using unlocking tools breaks this as they use duplicated keys to facilitate illicit use. Now that single identifiers have been registered to multiple phones instant messages, messages can be sent to any of those devices.
The Dev-Team have released ultrasn0w version 0.9 today. Its features include:
Although I’m probably going to be returning my laptop soon to get it repaired I will soon be starting doing App reviews as a separate section of the blog. I will go over some old apps as well as new apps and will begin posting them when I get my laptop back.
Also just a note that once my laptop is sent back I may not be able to update the blog properly for a week or maybe up to 4 weeks so there might be a gap in posts but I will try my hardest to update the blog.
Register Hardware and guardian.co.uk both suggest that the iPhone 3G, last years model, could be on the British carrier T-Mobile within the next few months. However O2 would still keep the 3GS exclusivity.
“This represents a major shift in how Apple markets the iPhone,” The Register said, “which currently relies on network exclusives to get a decent subsidy; giving that up shows either greater confidence or reflected disappointment in how O2 has priced up the latest offering.”
The report from guardian.co.uk talks about how both Orange & Vodafone are interested in providing the iPhone on their networks as well. If that were to come to pass, all of the U.K.’s major cell phone carriers would provide some version of the iPhone, but would this mean it would need to become unlocked or multiple carrier restrictions made?
Though exclusivity for the iPhone with one carrier is the most common arrangement, non-exclusive deals are not unheard of. Since 2008, Apple has signed a number of non-exclusive carrier contracts in various countries.
The IPCC tethering hack used to allow use of tethering even if your carrier did not support it has now been stopped in 
iPhone OS 3.1 Beta 2. It’s not a surprise that Apple would fix this as not all carries have sorted out price plans for tethering.
If your still on iPhone OS 3.0 and don’t upgrade to 3.1 when it is officially released then the loophole will still be there and you can still use it at your own risk as if your carrier releases your using tethering without paying for it then can charge you at full data rates.
Yesterday Apple provided iPhone developers with Beta 2 of the OS 3.1 firwamre. This release didn’t mention any changes, although the first beta included minor feature adjustments without Apples mentioning. Beta 2 will most likely contain bug fixes which address issues in Beta 1. Along with this a updated version of the iPhone SDK for both Leopard and Snow Leopard have been also released.
If your using Beta 2 and notice any changes feel free to leave a comment.
Update: I’ve just found that beta 2 also introduces a public API for manipulating live video. Developers are still testing the capabilities but it could open the door for many interesting apps in the near future.
Geohot has released his own unlocking software, like ultrasn0w, for the iPhone 3GS. Playing off the Dev-Team’s naming
scheme he called it Purplesn0w. The user is required to have a jailbroken device so that the unlock can be downloaded through Cydia, like the Dev-Teams unlock.
Geohot also claims that his unlock is superior to the Dev-Teams unlock:
Wifi fails? Battery fails? Unlock fails? You need purplesn0w, the geohot 3GS unlock solution. Now I know you here a lot about different colors of sn0w, but I’m here to tell you why purplesn0w is the best. First off, what is purplesn0w? It’s a soft unlock for your 3GS that I’d actually use day to day. It’s not a daemon that takes any resources, and it doesn’t add a task to your baseband. It’s very close to a true unlock. All it does is patch three files, CommCenter, lockdownd, and your wildcard activation plist(which you need, activate w at&t sim first, no hacktivation support yet). That’s it, no other files are installed. Props to Oranav for the at+xlog exploit!
A full explanation is coming soon, but I think you clever reversers out there will see what it does, and see why it’s so pristine 🙂 The payload is radically different from other varieties of sn0w. beta as usual, back up first.Be sure to have legit activated 3GS
Disable 3G if you don’t have it(like T-Mobile).
Add apt.geohot.com to Cydia
Install com.geohot.purplesn0w
Watch for success output in Cydia
Reboot, and enjoy your unlocked iPhone
Sam's Blog 
You must be logged in to post a comment.