Almost everything has a processor and/or memory chips these days, including keyboards. Apple's keyboards are no exception; they have 8Kb of flash memory, and 256 bytes of RAM. K. Chen has found a way to very easily install keyloggers and other possibly malicious code right inside these Apple keyboards (more here). Proof of concept code is here as well.

As we reported earlier today, security experts Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner have exposed an iPhone virus that could allow criminals to control your phone just by sending a single text message (SMS). Their presentation, at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, is making a lot of waves, but the details are scattered or overly technical for most iPhone owners.

That’s why we’ve done some research on the information that has come out on this security vulnerability. The technical detail involved in the hack can be overwhelming, so we’re synthesizing it down to the key points – as well what you can expect. Don’t be alarmed, but be vigilant. Here’s the security breakdown:

1. The major issue is a security flaw involving SMS. Specifically, the hack can control an iPhone remotely, including your iPhone’s camera, Safari, and more. It can even send messages to friends in your address book, which is where this hack becomes scariest.

2. The hack works by sending you code in an SMS message (or a series of messages) that crashes your iPhone. After that, your iPhone is theirs to use.

3. The offending text would come in the form of a single square character. If you get the square character, turn off your phone IMMEDIATELY.

4. You only have to receive the message to get hacked; you don’t even have to do anything with the text message.

5. The flaw was discovered by noted security expert Charlie Miller, who has hacked everything from MacBook Airs to Second Life, and partner Collin Mullinger.

6. The attack was presented publicly at the Black Hat conference. The duo decided to do this after Apple gave them no response back in July, when they provided Apple with information on the security flaw. The goal is to bring attention to the flaw (which they are clearly getting).

7. According to Reuters, now that the vulnerability is exposed, hackers could build software that mounts this SMS attack within the next two weeks.

8. Apparently Google Android, Windows Mobile phones, and Palm Pres are vulnerable to similar hacks. The team demonstrated the attack on an Android phone and a Windows Mobile phone.

While we’re still sifting through very technical information on this attack, it’s a clear reminder that no software, no computer, and no phone is safe from thieves, hackers, and harm. We’ll provide additional updates as they come from either Black Hat or Apple.

Update: For now, your phone isn’t in immediate danger, as it will take time before malicious individuals can build the necessary code to mount this type of SMS attack. We’ll update you if that changes. Here’s Miller and Mullinger’s paper on the subject if you’d like to check it out:

Tags: apple, hack, hacker, iphone, security, SMS

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking

– Steve Jobs

Non sono poche le funzioni che mancano all’iPhone, almeno secono me, e credo che più o meno ogni utente del dispositivo abbia una propria wishlist contenente quelle cose che vorrebbe che alla prossima versione del Firmware venissero sistemate o aggiunte.

Con lo scopo di raccogliere tutti questi desideri e scoprire quali sono quelli più diffusi fra gli utenti è nato il sito Please Fix The iPhone, tramite il quale è possibile venire a conoscenza di quale sia la funzione più richiesta, ovvero il copia e incolla, o della seconda più agognata, ovvero la visione dei contenuti flash da Safari.

Fossi in Apple visiterei il sito, una volta ogni tanto, e lo terrei sotto controllo per scoprire quello che i consumatori veramente vorrebbero poter fare con il loro cellulare della mela. Anche se, comunque, credo che gran parte delle richieste elencate siano già risapute, visto che se ne è discusso più e più volte a proposito della loro mancanza.

Forse i vostri occhi avranno visto, loro malgrado, la pubblicità I Am a PC che Microsoft ha presentato non molti giorni addietro. Forse avrete anche dato uno sguardo al relativo sito lanciato da Microsoft, lifewithoutwalls.com, in cui l’azienda ha deciso di raccogliere centinaia di video di tutte le persone che, una volta accesa la telecamera, hanno deciso (viene da chiedersi perchè) di dichiarare davanti all’obbiettivo di essere un PC, oltre a cosa fanno nella vita. Se non l’avete già visto allora sarebbe bene rimediare, perchè molto probabilmente vi divertirete un mondo a navigare nel sito e trovarvi davanti a centinaia di video di poveri pazzi che orgogliosi si definiscono dei lenti e stupidi computer.

Naturalmente si dice tutto questo scherzando perchè, come si può facilmente constatare, molto spesso i protagonisti dei video sono persone normali, senza evidenti problemi, persone come noi, persone nè esaurite per la lentezza di Windows nè annientate dai continui errori di Vista: persone, al contrario, felici di utilizzare un sistema operativo scadente, persone orgogliose di aver fatto la scelta sbagliata.

Detto questo, merita davvero uno sguardo anche un altro sito, ovvero la risposta di un utente Mac a tutta questa campagna ideata da Microsoft, ovvero http://andimapc.com che offre una raccolta di frasi ironiche che mostrano veramente cosa significhi essere un PC, dando al visitatore anche la possibilità di aggiungerne di nuove.

Ecco di seguito alcune di queste perle che spiegano chi siano veramente i PC Users e quale sia il loro comportamento e modo di pensare:

I make everything take five million years longer than it should take, AND I’M A PC

I hate my life, AND I’M A PC

Internet Explorer is my default browser, AND I’M A PC

I’m a bloated, DRM-filled, non-intuitive, overpriced OS, AND I’M A PC

Things that are new or different scare me, AND I’M A PC

I use my computer because I have to, not because I want to, AND I’M A PC

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

So we heard some really over-eager folks have decided to get a jump on the iPhone 3G line -- a really, really big jump. Obviously, we had to head down and see if it was true... and it is. Right now, about ten people have started a line outside of Apple's flagship store on 5th Avenue in New York. Word is that the family at the head of the queue are attempting to break some kind of record which involves their baby -- which kind of sounds a little intense if you ask us. On the other hand, you didn't hear Greg Packer complaining, right? We're going to wrangle some of these cats for an interview and video, so stay tuned! For right now, check some more pics after the break.

Update: So it appears that this group is all together, and we're about to talk to their "spokesman." We're not ruling out the possibility of this being some kind of stunt, but we should know more very soon.

[Via GearDiary]

Continue reading iPhone 3G lines start at the Apple Cube... one week early

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Penso di essermi già lamentato abbastanza, in passato, di quanto il servizio .Mac sia arretrato rispetto alla concorrenza, o se non altro di come gli aggiornamenti ad esso siano scarsi e veramente rari. Una cosa che non ci si aspetterebbe, soprattutto visto il costo del pacchetto, di 99 euro l anno, che se non altro dovrebbe garantire una qualità pari a quella di simili servizi gratuiti di altre aziende. Nonostante questo io ne sono abbonato. Forse e soprattutto perchè oramai è da alcuni anni che lo utilizzo come email principale e, non avendo la minima voglia di cambiare l’indirizzo che oramai tutti conoscono come tale, continuo a rinnovare l’abbonamento.

Sembra tuttavia che vi siano novità in vista per il sito o che, meglio, vi saranno novità non appena uscirà l’iPhone 2.0, ovvero durante il WWDC. Questo poichè come si è visto da alcuni screenshot e rumors di giorni fa l’applicazione Mail dell’iPhone 2.0 dovrebbe consentire la ricezione Push delle mail, con gli account .Mac. Ma questa, a quanto sembra, non sarà l’unica novità introdotta: vi sarà infatti aggiunta la sincronizzazione On the Go, direttamente dal device al sito, della posta, dei contatti e dei calendari, e in più un software che la permetterà anche su Windows (dunque una specie di iSync per l’OS di Redmond).

Non male. Anche se si poteva sperare in qualche novità in più.

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Filed under: Cellphones

We've been avoiding the 3G iPhone rumor mongering as much as possible recently. After all, we know it's coming as both AT&T and Apple have confirmed. Now this: one of Italy's most respected newspapers, La Repubblica (like the WSJ with red sauce), is claiming in no uncertain terms that the 3G UMTS iPhone is coming shortly to Telecom Italia without a revenue sharing deal and without long-term exclusivity. If true, this change in strategy opens the doors for a true, global, 3G iPhone launch on GSM networks around the world come summer time.

We contacted Telecom Italia who refuse to comment on the matter.

[Thanks, jimbojambo and Claudio]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Features

We know there have been a couple of crappy videos here and there on the web, but we finally got our own grubby paws on the yet-to-be released iPhone 2.0 beta, which isn't officially due until this June. It isn't exactly awash with changes, but here's what you need to know:

• Exchange is so on! Changes are pushed over the network, but over WiFi it does check-ins, so it's not as instantaneous.
  
• There's no contact search that we can see, so far. Maybe that only gets turned on if you have thousands of contacts (which we definitely do not).
• There's a new button in the calendar, but we don't know what it is and can't make it do anything.
• The App Store is there, of course, but doesn't do anything yet (except error out that it can't connect).
• Wondering when Apple will make good on its agreement to license Cisco technology? Well, the branded Cisco VPN screen has definitely been added to the VPN settings. We couldn't really test this one, but assume it works as advertised. We don't yet know if it supports SecurID or other hardware token authenticators.
• Parental controls most certainly work. Marvel as we turn off YouTube!
  
• You can now order your preferred WiFi networks.
• In addition to having a new sideways scientific mode(!), the basic calculator now does commas and has new, useful functions for the math nerds; both the calc and the iTunes icons have changed.
• By far our favorite new feature is multi-select in mail, though. Now when you hit edit you can select as many messages as you want and delete or move them as a group. Friggin' finally. Now where's that two-pane client?

Definitely encouraging stuff in here. We'll have some video up of this thing a little later; in the mean time, there anything you want to know? Big ups to our source(s) for hooking us up with this!

 

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