Top 10 Most Common iPhone Passcodes

Daniel Amitay has developed an iPhone security App known as Big Brother Camera Security, which relies on the simple concept of capturing a picture of anyone who enters the wrong passcode when unlocking the device. Weirdly enough, the app also tracks passcodes (on an anonymous basis of course) for statistical purposes, which led Amitay to write a rather amusing blog post with the top 10 most used passcodes. And yes, the most used one is 1234, how did you guess?

As you can tell from the graphic above, the two most common passcodes are 1234, followed by 0000, at least out of all Camera Security users. Security Savvy users should definitely know better, since the first codes any thief will likely try will be exactly those two, and therefore defeat the point of the Camera Security app altogether. Another popular pattern seems to be dates, such as 1998 and 1989, which are likely associated with birth and graduation dates, which is another big no-no if the thief happens to know a little about you (or takes the time to take a look at any ID you might have in your wallet). This also points to this app’s young user base, as its author concluded, which should definitely be more security-aware.

15% of Camera Security users are using one of the passcodes shown above, this can appear rather shocking, but in fact it’s just a reflection of how little we really care about security. This applies to website passwords too, where 1234, birth dates and dictionary words are among the most popular. It’s a known fact that we only perceive threats when they’ve hit us in some way, it’s human nature. Until the time when we in fact do get hit and our personal data falls on the wrong hands.

Food for thought.

iPad 2 Jailbreak Coming Soon

It’s been more than three months since Apple started shipping the iPad 2 and the jailbreaking community hasn’t been able to satisfy iPad 2-toting, jailbreaking junkies yet.

The new Apple A5 processor-based architecture in the iPad 2 is proving to be a difficult puzzle to solve. The Limera1n exploit, which worked on A4-based iOS devices like iPod touch 4G and iPhone 4, is hardware-based and, well, since iPad 2 is A5-based, the exploit doesn’t work on it. And so we need to find an all-new exploit…

Well signs are now pointing towards a potential PDF-based exploit. So we may soon have some very good news for all iPad 2 owners waiting for a jailbreak.

We will of course keep you updated and let you know as soon as the iPad 2 jailbreak is available.

DroidKungFu: New Hard-To-Detect Android Malware: Steals User Data

If you’re an Android user, you better stay on the lookout for a new form of Android malware: DroidKungFu. Discovered by Assistant Professor Xuxian Jiang and Ph. D. student Yajin Zhou, both from North Carolina State University, this reflects yet another evidence that hackers are interested in this open but also largely unprotected platform.

As explained on the University’s blog, the malware takes advantage of a vulnerability present in Android 2.2 and under. When installed, it opens a backdoor that grants an attacker full access to the phone, and the data on it, essentially turning it into a "bot":

In Android versions 2.2 (Froyo) and earlier, DroidKungFu takes advantage of two vulnerabilities in the platform software to install a backdoor that gives hackers full control of your phone. Not only do they have access to all of your user data, but they can turn your phone into a bot – and basically make your smartphone do anything they want.

Users of later versions of Android are also affected, although to a lesser degree: albeit no full control is possible, some data is still accessible, such as the phone’s mobile phone device ID number, a unique number used by authorities to identify the handheld and block it, in case it gets stolen.

What sets this threat apart from other recently Android threats, like DroidDream, which we reported on last week, is the fact it can’t be detected or removed by common anti-malware software. According to the University’s blog, two leading malware removers were tested and neither of them was able to detect or remove DroidKungFu effectively. The researches at North Carolina State are currently working with anti-malware makers on a fix:

The researchers are currently discussing this problem with leading anti-virus software companies.

This malware is embedded into Android applications found in "more than eight" different Chinese App Stores. While no infected Apps have been found anywhere else, we can’t stress enough that taking standard security precautions is becoming more important than ever on mobile devices: don’t get Apps from sources you’re not familiar with and check for anything shady. Remember that if something doesn’t look right, it probably isn’t.

Even if this piece of malware isn’t detected, it’s also becoming increasingly advisable to get anti-malware software, such as Lookout or AVG Free. Some protection is always better than none.

Download iOS 5 Beta for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

As was expected, Apple today at Worldwide Developers Conference has announced the next major release of iOS for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This release, which brings tons of new features is available as of today to developers for testing purposes.



Which devices are supported you may ask? Well, this time, iPhone 4, iPad 2, iPad (1st-gen), iPhone 3GS and the 4th & 3rd-gen iPod touches are all going to be supported. This debunks the rumor which we heard earlier about iPhone 3GS not getting iOS 5.



The new iOS 5 includes over 200 new features, not to forget over 1500 new APIs for developers to take advantage of. There are 10 new key features, including new revamped notifications system called ‘Notification Center’, which according to Apple is going to be the industry’s best implementation. Other features include: Newsstand, Twitter integration, Safari Reader, Reading List, tabbed browsing for iPad, Reminders, Camera updates, Mail updates, built-in dictionary, PC-free (no cables required), OTA software updates, updates to Game Center, iMessage, AirPlay mirroring for iPad.



Just like with any other beta release, this version of iOS is only available to developers who are enrolled in the iPhone Developer Standard or Enterprise Program. If you are a registered developer in either of these two programs, then you can access all the beta bits today by signing into Apple Developer Connection (which is also knows as iOS Dev Center) here.

iOS 5 is slated for public release later this fall, probably in line with the next-gen iPhone 5/4S release.

White iPhone Coming This Spring

In a reply to a question posted on Twitter about when a white iPhone would be available for purchase, Apple’s Senior Vice President Phil Schiller used his verified Twitter account to reply, saying "The white iPhone will be available this spring (and it is a beauty!)."

Two things are interesting here. First is the fact an Apple employee has actually given some real information about the availability of the unicorn-like device, and second is the use of Twitter as the medium. With Schiller’s account being verified by Twitter there is little doubt this is indeed the SVP himself. Is Apple starting to converse with its users, even if it is limited to 140 characters?

Perhaps the real question here is whether the Spring white iPhone is an iPhone 4 model or something else.

iPhone iOS 4.3 Software Update Released Today

Apple today has just released the very final version of iOS 4.3 for iPhone 4 (GSM only), iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad, iPod touch 4G/3G.

This version of iOS brings a number of new features for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users including: ability to to cancel the download of an app, multitouch gestures for iPad (for developers only), Personal Hotspot for GSM iPhone 4, AirPlay for third party apps, option of choosing between mute switch and rotation lock for iPad’s “Side Switch” hardware button, subscription-based payments to iTunes App Store, Nitro JavaScript engine from Safari on OS X, new iTunes Home Sharing features, support for FaceTime on iPad 2, Photo Booth for iPad 2 and other system wide changes and improvements.

If your phone is jail broken and unlocked DO NOT UPDATE YOU WILL LOSE YOUR JAILBREAK AND UNLOCK!!

BlackBerry Messenger will launch on Android and iOS

PhoneShop UK has learned from multiple trusted sources that Research In Motion is planning to bring its beloved BlackBerry Messenger app and service to Android, and eventually to iOS as well. According to our sources, RIM has not yet finalized details surrounding timing or pricing, but we have heard that the company might make the software free to all users. We’re also told strategy is still being developed, however, and RIM may end up charging users a one-time fee or even a recurring fee for access to its BBM service on third-party platforms.

It might seem a bit strange for RIM to want to bring the software that is responsible for keeping BlackBerry devices in the hands of countless potential defectors, but in the big picture, we think it could make sense. The company is getting very frustrated with applications like WhatsApp and Kik offering third-party experiences based on a concept RIM invented, and RIM apparently wants to own the space.

As far as what Android and iOS users can look forward to, we’ve been told RIM will offer stripped down versions of the BBM experience BlackBerry owners know and love. That way, Android and iOS users can communicate with practically anyone who has a smartphone using BBM, but they might not be able to share photos, location, or videos (when RIM crosses that bridge). Users who want the full BlackBerry Messenger experience will still need a BlackBerry smartphone to get it. At the same time, RIM could own the entire messaging app category on every major smartphone OS platform and could potentially draw new users in because it has given them a taste of what BlackBerry Messenger is all about.

Right now, we have heard that Android is definitely a go. But again, we’re not sure on timing, though our sources are confident that it will launch some time this year. RIM chose Android first because of the fact that it could develop and integrate something like this much easier with an open platform, but the plan is to build and deploy an iOS version at some point as well.