Apple

(Credit: Matt Hickey)

So Apple on Friday released an update to the iPhone OS (3.0.1) that takes care of an SMS vulnerability. It's a fairly important patch, and usually when Apple updates the iPhone OS, jailbreakers have to wait until the Dev Team comes out with a new version of jailbreaking software before they can update.

But according to the iPhone Dev Team's Twitter, this is not the case with the 3.0.1 firmware. In fact, the current versions of redsn0w and ultrasn0w work the same with the 3.0.1 firmware as they do with the 3.0 firmware that came out a few weeks ago. In short, the jailbreaking software already works. I checked with the Dev Team community and had this confirmed. "Restore to 3.0.1, run redsn0w, select the 3.0 file... Bang zoom."

So go ahead, iPhone hackers, and secure your devices soon. You don't have to worry about losing Cydia and other rogue apps.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

Apple published Thursday a support article cautioning users about jailbreaking the iPhone (as well as other Apple handheld audio devices).

Unlike the company's recent filing to U.S. Copyright Office that suggested that jailbreaking the iPhone might pose a national threat and be the cause of AT&T's unreliable service, the article states that "customers who have installed software that makes these modifications have encountered numerous problems in the operation of their hacked iPhone."

This means that if you get your iPhone jailbroken, for example, you will cause yourself, not others, problems. This is such a relief for me.

The problems that Apple mentioned include:

• Device and application instability: Frequent and unexpected crashes of the device, crashes and freezes of built-in apps and third-party apps, and loss of data
• Unreliable voice and data: Dropped calls, slow or unreliable data connections, and delayed or inaccurate location data
• Disruption of services: Services such as Visual Voice mail, YouTube, Weather, Stocks as well as push-based third party applications have been disrupted or no longer work on the device
• Compromised security: Security compromises have been introduced by the modifications that could allow hackers to steal personal information, damage the device, attack the wireless network, or introduce malicious software or viruses
• Shortened battery life: The hacked software has caused an accelerated battery drain that shortens the operation of an iPhone or iPod Touch on a single battery charge
• Inability to apply future software updates: Some unauthorized modifications have caused damage to the iPhone OS that is not repairable
... Read more

I just got my new iPhone 3GS the other day and the first thing I did with it was get it jailbroken, just how I handled my iPhone 3G.

This time around, it was not really because I was in dire need of any extra functionality (the 3GS now can do video recording out of the box, which my 3G could only do when jailbroken). Most importantly, I wanted to feel like I could do anything with a device I paid almost $600 for (I couldn't wait until December to be qualified for the discount upgrade).

Cydia store for jailbroken iPhones, where developers can summit their applications without having to deal with Apple App Store's policies.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

Little did I know what would constitute "anything" in this case.

Apparently, as Apple claimed via comments filed last week (PDF) I, and my newly freed phone, could be the culprit for AT&T network unreliability and even more seriously, when disgruntled, I could use it as a weapon of mass wireless disruption by taking down AT&T wireless towers. (OK, honestly this revelation makes me feel kind of powerful.)

First reported by Wired.com, Apple's comments explained that jailbreaking allows hackers to alter the phone's baseband processor (officially called the BBP chip), which is the chip that enables the phone to connect to cell towers.

(A personal note: The only purpose of altering of the chip, via software or the hard way, I've known of so far is to unlock the phone, which allows it to work with other carriers other than AT&T. Jailbreaking doesn't necessarily mean unlocking and therefore is very much risk-free.)

Apple stated in its filing that by changing the BBP's code, "More pernicious forms of activity may also be enabled. For example, a local or international hacker could potentially initiate commands (such as a denial-of-service attack) that could crash the tower software, rendering the tower entirely inoperable to process calls or transmit data. In short, taking control of the BBP software would be much the equivalent of getting inside the firewall of a corporate computer--to potentially catastrophic result."

Now this is scary because I've never thought the iPhone--being the "Jesus" phone as it is--would have that capability. I always thought that Apple has been trying to keep it locked simply so AT&T could offer it exclusively in the States, which has been possibly the most successful exclusive offer a wireless carrier has ever had; and so Apple could keep tight control over its App Store, which is also a huge success. How naive and non-vigilant of me!

Another somewhat less serious manifestation of jailbreaking the iPhone that Apple mentioned is the fact that when changing the BBP code, a hacker can also change the iPhone's unique Exclusive Chip Identification (ECID) and therefore enable phone calls to be made anonymously, which "would be desirable to drug dealers".

As for AT&T's service, Apple claims that jailbroken phone owners could be the cause of its reportedly problematic network. This is because these unsuspecting users "encounter functional problems with the phone that result from jailbreaking. Such users often call AT&T to report such problems, believing that they may be the result of problems on AT&T's network. AT&T is then forced to spend significant resources investigating and diagnosing the problems to determine whether, in fact, there is a problem with AT&T's network or service."

This seems to explain why my co-worker Eric Franklin always has a high drop-call rate and bad 3G performance on his never-been-unlocked iPhone 3G. And why my friend in New York who uses a locked AT&T's Samsung BlackJack also has problems with dropped calls. (None of us, by the way, has ever called in to report problems. We just suck it up and have faith that AT&T would someday improve its service.) Now it turns out to be all my fault. (I am sorry, guys.)

What makes me feel a little better for my wrongdoing with my iPhones, however, is the fact that the Electronic Frontier Foundation has asked regulators for the DMCA exemption (PDF) that would allow consumers to run any app on the phone, including those not authorized by Apple. This would basically legalize the jailbreaking practice of the iPhones.

And Apple's claims are its response to questions submitted by the U.S. Copyright Office, which is considering EFF's request.

Editor's note: due to some technical issue, comments left prior to 9 a.m. PDT Jul 30 were accidentally removed. We're sorry for the inconvenience.

Just as America gears up to celebrate Independence Day comes news that iPhone 3GS owners are getting some freedom of their own.

This is the site for purplera1n, which enables the installation of third-party software not approved for Apple's App Store.

George Hotz, who you may recall as the teenage hacker who originally unlocked the iPhone, has let loose a jailbreaking app for the iPhone 3GS code-named purplera1n. It enables the installation of third-party software not approved for Apple's App Store.

For now, purplera1n is Windows-only (but not Windows 7) and requires the latest iTunes installed, as well as an iPhone 3GS with the 3.0 firmware. In a Friday blog post titled "I make it ra1n," Hotz says a Mac version is "coming shortly."

Hotz notes that he normally doesn't make tools for the general public and would rather wait for the iPhone dev team to do that.

"But guys, what's up with waiting until 3.1? That isn't how the game is played," he chides on his blog. "We release, Apple fixes, we find new holes. It isn't worth waiting because you might have the 'last' hole in the iPhone. What last hole...this isn't golf. I'll find a new one next week.

John Biggs over at CrunchGear is among those who have already given purplera1n a go and declares the jailbreaking process "amazingly simple."

Why do we get the sense jailbreaking is going to be part of a whole lot of Fourth of July agendas? But take note: Hotz does caution that purplera1n is in beta and suggests backing up your data before running the app.

Mozilla, Skype, and Cydia have joined the EFF in trying to legitimize iPhone jailbreaking.

(Credit: Apple)

Mozilla has thrown its support behind the Electronic Frontier Foundation's push to have the U.S. Copyright Office allow iPhone jailbreaking.

CEO John Lilly told Computerworld that "choice is good for users, and choice shouldn't be criminalized," in light of the dispute between the EFF and Apple over whether or not iPhone jailbreaking--the practice of modifying an iPhone to accept software from sources other than Apple--is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Last week Apple declared that jailbreaking an iPhone violates Apple's copyright and can cause all sorts of technical problems for the user in response to a petition from the EFF that iPhone jailbreaking be given a DMCA exemption.

Lilly's motivation would seem pretty clear: a version of the Firefox mobile browser, Fennec, for the iPhone. However, Lilly told Computerworld that he wasn't sure Mozilla would ever want to develop an iPhone version of Fennec even if Apple was forced to open up the iPhone. Apple offers Web browser alternatives to the default Safari browser in the App Store, but they aren't true alternatives since they are all required to use the Webkit rendering engine used in Safari.

"Given the choice, would we work on a platform where the sole company controlling it makes us unwelcome, or would we work on a platform, like Linux, where we are welcome? The answer is going to be easy for us," Lilly told Computerworld.

Two other software developers joined Mozilla in supporting the EFF's petition: Skype and Cydia. Cydia is exactly the piece of software that Apple railed against in its response to the EFF's petition, as it lets iPhone owners install applications from any source, rather than just the App Store. In his remarks submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office, Jay Freeman of Saurik, Cydia's developer, said "Cydia is now installed on 1.6 million devices worldwide, at least a quarter of which are within the United States."

Apple recently told the U.S. Copyright Office that it believes iPhone jailbreaking is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and infringes on its copyright, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Jailbreaking an iPhone with software like Installer.app or Cydia constitutes copyright infringement, according to Apple.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The EFF is trying to get the Copyright Office to grant a DMCA exemption on behalf of iPhone owners who have chosen to jailbreak their iPhones, or bypass the restriction Apple places on standard iPhones that only allows the installation of applications from approved sources: the App Store. In its response to the Copyright Office (click here for PDF), Apple disagreed that such an exemption was proper because the very act of jailbreaking the iPhone results in copyright infringement.

Current jailbreak techniques now in widespread use utilize unauthorized modifications to the copyrighted bootloader and OS, resulting in the infringement of the copyrights in those programs. For example, the current most popular jailbreaking software for the iPhone, PwnageTool (cited by the EFF in its submission) causes a modified bootloader and OS to be installed in the iPhone, resulting in the infringement of Apple's reproduction and derivative works rights.

The EFF's argument is that jailbreaking your iPhone is protected under fair-use doctrines, and that the Copyright Office should grant an exemption because "the culture of tinkering (or hacking, if you prefer) is an important part of our innovation economy." But Apple's response is that few users of jailbroken iPhones actually jailbroke it themselves; instead, they downloaded software created by other parties to make that happen.

Don't expect Apple to come knocking on your door if you're using a jailbroken iPhone; they used a similar argument in the Psystar case and no one has confiscated my Open Computer yet. But Apple could be trying to build momentum behind the recognition of jailbreaking that does more harm than good; already this week, iPhone developers have been discussing writing software that only works on jailed iPhones as a way of preventing application bootlegging.

Gadget blogs on New Year's Day were aflutter with word that an application called Yellowsn0w was available for those who want to unlock the iPhone 3G.

The iPhone - who wants in?

(Credit: James Martin/CNET Networks)

CrunchGear, for one, posted a graphically enhanced, QuickPwn-focused spin on jailbreaking the iPhone and making use of the Yellowsn0w instructions from the Dev-Team Blog. Way at the bottom, though, it points out that "this is all in beta and there is no guarantee of success." It follows with this note:

UPDATE - I haven't been able to get it to work on two iPhone 3Gs, both with fresh 2.2 firmware and baseband. I've heard plenty of people HAVE had luck, however, so it seems to be an either/or thing. I suspect some cells aren't accepting the iPhones as valid equipment.

Gizmodo, meanwhile, reports that while Yellowsn0w is "very easy to install," alas "it doesn't work right," and takes the Dev-Team folks to task:

Even while this is labeled as a beta, it saddens me that the iPhone Dev Team has embraced the damn beta culture just to make the release on a cute date. It looks like the old days of solid versions are long gone by.

The Gizmodo account also cites a poll of 67 people who'd tried out Yellowsn0w, with "it doesn't work" outdoing "it worked" by a ratio of about 2 to 1.

Over at The Boy Genius Report, things seem to have worked out more favorably. Says Boy Genius, "It's not without a few hiccups but it definitely works and it works well."

An unlocked iPhone 3G appears to be closer to reality.

Just two days after Apple released its iPhone 2.2 update, the iPhone Dev Team has released a so-called jailbreak of the firmware.

An easy way of unlocking your iPhone 3G could hit the Internet relatively soon.

(Credit: CNET)

The team of hackers on Saturday posted to its blog QuickPwn for 2.2 and PwnageTool for 2.2 for Windows and Macintosh machines, along with instructions on how enable iPhone 3Gs with the 2.2 firmware to accept third-party applications.

The blog also includes a word of caution about baseband, the chip that controls the connection between the phone and the mobile-phone network:

Think of it like a cable modem or other peripheral that is attached to your home PC that needs occasional updates. When a software update is released and presented to you within iTunes, the baseband is sometimes updated (to fix bugs or add new features). The 2.2 update for the iPhone 3G contains such an update, so running the vanilla updater straight away with iTunes will reprogram and update the baseband. This could be bad for certain people, depending on your ultimate aim.

The iPhone Dev Team is still working to unlock the iPhone 3G, but it has proven a tough nut to crack, mostly because of the baseband technology. You can unlock your iPhone 3G to use it on another carrier by modifying the SIM card, but what the iPhone Dev Team is trying to accomplish is a software-based unlock that you would just download and install.

Updated 4:20pm to include stats from German launch.

As expected, Apple released the OS X 1.1.2 update for the iPhone overnight to coincide with its debut in the U.K. and Germany. As not expected, it's been sprung from jail already.

Erica Sadun at The Unofficial Apple Weblog obtained jailbreaking code for the 1.1.2 update almost simultaneous with its release last night, and tests this morning confirm that it works for both the iPhone and the iPod Touch. The 1.1.2 update patched a flaw in the way OS X handles TIFF image processing, which was the way hackers gained access to the iPhone after the 1.1.1 update, and it also wiped out third-party applications just like before.

The latest iPhone update from Apple won't keep third-party applications of the home page.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

But new code for the 1.1.2 update was released last night by the same people responsible for the JailBreakMe program. It's still pretty raw, which means it's not really meant for those of us who aren't familiar with the command line. The latest hack works by applying the code to an iPhone that's still running the 1.1.1 firmware, then installing the 1.1.2 update.

If you're unfamiliar with the iPhone jailbreaking saga, check out some of our past coverage. In short, "jailbreaking" your iPhone means that you're opening it up to third-party applications without Apple's authorization. Apple plans to release a software developer's kit in February that will let developers and users put authorized applications on their iPhones and iPod Touches.

It's not clear whether the 1.1.2 update disabled phones that had been unlocked to run on other mobile networks, as was the case the last time Apple released an iPhone update. The update has only been live for about 12 hours, and reports are still trickling in.

It's pretty clear the jailbreaking dance is going to go on right up until the day that third-party applications are officially released for the iPhone. And perhaps even past that point, since it's unlikely Apple's going to sanction unlocked iPhones until it decides it's ready or it's forced to by popular demand or changes in the law.

As for the European launches themselves, they appeared to go pretty smoothly despite pouring rain in the U.K. and freezing cold in Germany. Lines were definitely shorter in London and Berlin, however, than they were in San Francisco and New York, although braving the elements in November requires a bit more fortitude than doing so in June. As of this writing, the iPhone's only been on sale for an hour and a half in Germany, and 30 minutes in the U.K.

UPDATE: Reuters reported that a T-Mobile official in Germany said the company sold 10,000 iPhones during the first day.