Gigabyte Fixes iPhone Sync Issue With BIOS Update

The Intel P55 Express chipset had an issue that caused iPhones unable to sync. Gigabyte has issued a BIOS update fixing the problem. The Intel P55 is Intel’s latest midrange chipset and is for Core i5 and Core i7 machines. The other two P55 motherboards, ASUS and MSI were also affected by the bug and there is an update for ASUS BIOS but it’s not the official fix. Hopefully both ASUS and MSI quickly update the BIOS to fix the issue.

iDashboard 1.0 for iPhone Released

iDashboard v1.0 has been released by WyndWarrior, it’s an iPhone utility which mimics the widget functionality of Mac OS X.

A multi page dashboard for your iPhone! Features a world clock, a calendar, a weather widget, a working calculator, lockscreen dashboard, and double-tap Dashboard. Also will have available widget packs for download in Cydia. Customization features include: wall-papers with auto-dim and the ability to change wallpapers through the photo app.

Steven Troughton-Smith is developing a similar application, which is not yet released.

iPhone Worm Rickrolls Jailbroken Devices

Over the past week there has been a lot of news over unsecured SSH on iPhone. First about the Dutch hacker who wasscanning the network for jailbroken users who had not changed their default SSH password. Now a hacker who goes by the name of “ikee” from Australia, created a worm that changes the home screen background to Rick Astley.

As I’m sure your aware by now this only affects users who have jailbroken their phone and installed OpenSSH, not just general users or who have jailbroken their device. If you have jailbroken your device and have got OpenSSH installed please read this guide on how to change your default password to ensure none of these worms or hacks will affect you.

ikee says this is how the worm spread: “The code itself is set to firstly scan the 3G IP range the phone is on, then Optus/Vodafone/Telstra’s IP Ranges (I think the reason Optus got hit so hard is because the other 2 are NAT’d) then a random 20 IP ranges. I’m guessing a few phones hit a range that another vulnerable phone was on.”

Once one phone is infected it searches for phones with the default password and then begins the process again.

Dutch Hacker Hack’s Into Jailbroken iPhone’s

How To: Change Your iPhone’s SSH Password

The End Of Unlocking Coming Soon?

After today’s announcement from Telefonica Europe that O2 will unlock their iPhones to every network once the iPhone is released on other networks means that perhaps other countries will have to follow suit and therefore perhaps the end of hacking to unlock the iPhone. Blacksn0w is the latest unlocking tool from GeoHot which unlocks the latest baseband, however I’m wondering as if to how they will roll out the unlock, either by a carrier update or software update I assume. But if so it won’t take a hacker too long to work out how it’s being unlocked and simply apply it to other phones making it harder for Apple to play the cat and mouse game.

The CEO stated that iPhones will be unlocked once the contract is up, but on Pay As You Go there is no contract so surly they should be sold unlocked, however the way it was started it seems that you have to go to get it unlocked and it won’t just be rolled out. And although I’m going to keep using O2 if they roll this out I’m going to unlock my 8GB iPhone 3G before I sell it to upgrade to a 3GS. Hopefully the rest of the world follows suit and the iPhone becomes a network free device.

O2 Will Allow Unlock For UK iPhone’s

O2 the current exclusive retailer of the iPhone and iPhone 3GS, although not for long; will be allowed to unlock their iPhones to other carriers as long as it’s the end of their contract period according to the CEO of O2’s parent company, Telefonica Europe. “Once the iPhone becomes available on other UK networks,” says Matthew Key, “we will allow O2 customers to unlock their iPhones, although of course they will still need to honour any outstanding contract period they have. At the end of their contract period, they are entirely free to move to another operator — though naturally we hope they won’t want to!”

Orange is starting to sell the iPhone from November 10th and Vodafone will be joining in on the iPhone in early 2010. O2 have had exclusivity on the iPhone since 2007 but once released on Orange and Vodafone an unlock will be allowed.

Mac OS X 10.6.2 Developer Build Fixes Atom Support

The latest developer build of Mac OS X 10.6.2 fixes support for the Intel Atom chip which was previously disbaled as an attempt to stop people loading their operating system onto hardware which it wasn’t intended for.

The update reportedly contains fixes for AirPort performance issues on newly released iMacs and “resolves a problem with plugging and unplugging to an Apple TV,” whatever that might mean. There’s fixes for VMWare, USB, Apple Filing Protocol, and tweaks to nearly 150 OS X components, including AppleBacklight, Battery Menu, Dictionary, Expose, FileSync, Family Controls, Fonts, Front Row, HFS, Inkwell, iPhoto, MobileMe, OpenCL, Parental Controls, QuickTime, Screen Sharing, Spell Checker, Spotlight, and Time Machine.

The final release is expected to be rolled out sometime in November.

Hopefully this will mean that Apple have changed their mind and will be allowing Intel Atom support again or that someone will manage to work out how to apply this to the final release if need be, so that the hackintosh community can continue.

Blacksn0w Unlock Avaliable For iPhone OS 3.1.2

GeoHot has released the latest unlock for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. The unlock is for the latest 05.11.07 basband which comes with the new update (3.1.2). The unlock comes with tethering enabled to boot.  To get blacksn0w simply add the blacksn0w repo blackra1n.com.

Apple Killing Off Intel Atom Support

The latest build of Snow Leopard (10.6.2),  no longer supports the Intel Atom chip which is widely used in netbooks.

In the current developer build of 10.6.2, Apple appears to have changed around a lot of CPU related information. One of the effects of this is Apple killing off Intel’s Atom chip. Among other things, Sleepenabler.KEXT is now ineffective and will need a new version. It is now suggested to run CPUPM with a proper DSDT.

Although Apple has long engadged in a hack-and-mouse game with with users who use Mac OS X onto third-party hardware, some people see it as a shot against low-cost netbooks, maybe meaning a low-cost MacBook soon? Others believes its another sign of the Apple Tablet as it’s rumoured to have a price point a lot higher than netbooks and so Apple is trying to get rid of the competition.

Stellarola also notes that similar restrictions in Leopard 10.5.9 may disable the Atom, and so advises any pre-Snow Leopard hackintoshed Atom netbooks to stick with 10.5.8.

Who know’s how this will be implemented or how long it will take them to figure away round it. But hopefully this won’t end the use of Mac OS X on third-party hardware.

 

How To: Change Your iPhone’s SSH Password

As many have been prompted by the recent icident, including Dutch iPhones on T-Mobile, the SSH on the iPhone has a default password which most people do not change, leaving themselfs unprotected. Here’s the quick guide to change your root password on your iPhone.

Please note that some guides will change the mobile password, however this will still leave you unprotected so ensure you follow these instructions carefully.

• Download ‘MobileTerminal’ from Cydia.
• Run MobileTerminal
• Type ’su root’
• Then Type: ‘alpine’ (iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS) ‘dottie’ (iPhone 2G)
• Press Return
• Type ‘passwd’
• Enter your new password
• Enter it again
• Now your iPhone is secure from SSH hacking

Dutch Hacker Hack’s Into Jailbroken iPhone’s

A Dutch hacker used a port scanning to identify jailbroken iPhones on T-Mobile Netherlands with SSH running.Jailbroken user’s commonly use SSH to run standard UNIX commands on their iPhone. However, due to the way it’s set up all iPhones have the same default root password that most people don’t change. This means if a user knows a iPhone is close running SSH they can access all of the files on the device.

The Dutch hacker used the unchanged root passwords to hack into the phones, he then sent a SMS alert to the phones that read, “ You iPhone’s been hacked because it’s really insecure! Please visit doiop.com/iHacked and secure your iPhone right now! Right now, I can access all your files.” Once going to the website it directs the user to send €5 to a PayPal account, after which the hacker will e-mail instructions to remove the hack—which most likely involve restoring the iPhone to factory settings.

The hacker doesn’t appear to have malicious intent, other than to glean some extra cash. “If you don’t pay, it’s fine by me,” reads the page mentioned in the message to the hacked iPhone owners. “But remember, the way I got access to your iPhone can be used by thousands of others—they can send text messages from your number (like I did), use it to call or record your calls, and actually whatever they want, even use it for their hacking activities! I can assure you, I have no intention of harming you or whatever, but, some hackers do! It’s just my advice to secure your phone.”

To stop this from happening to you read the article on How To: Change Your iPhone’s SSH Password.