Apple does major bug-fix for iPhone
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(InfoWorld) - Apple has released itsÂ biggest iPhone security update yet, fixing bugs in the mobile phone's browser, mail client, and Bluetooth networking server. The majority of the flaws do not appear to be critical, but the update fixes a larger number of bugs than theÂ first iPhone update, released July 31. Hackers have said that the iPhone's browser and mail clients are the most likely sources of software flaws, and this release bears that out. Apple fixed seven flaws in the Safari browser, two in the iPhone's mail client, and one Bluetooth bug with the release. The Bluetooth flaw could be the most serious -- Apple said that it could allow an attacker to run unauthorized code on the iPhone -- but because Bluetooth works over a range of just a few feet, the attacker would have to be standing near the victim for any exploit to work, said Andrew Storms, director of security operations with nCircle Network Security. Noted hacker HD Moore agreed that the Bluetooth flaw was serious. "The only bad issue here is the Bluetooth [flaw]," he said via e-mail. "I will start working on this tonight." Though there may be some technical limitations to what an attacker could do by exploiting this bug, it "could be a nasty remote exploit," he added. Earlier this week,Â Moore added iPhone hacking capabilities to the Metasploit hacking toolÂ that he develops. The patch also fixes some cross-site scripting and JavaScript flaws in the browser that could also be serious, Storms said via instant message. These flaws could be exploited to make the browser run unauthorized JavaScript code, he said. Mobile phone users typically cannot update their own software, but Apple introduced this capability in the iPhone, which uses the update mechanism in the phone's iTunes music player. iTunes checks for these updates once per week, so it may take up to seven days for all iPhone users to see these updates. Apple advises users to install the update immediately.
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(InfoWorld) - Less than a week after CEO Steve Jobs said that Apple wouldÂ fight hacksÂ that unlocked the iPhone, the company said any modification, unlocks included, voids the phone's warranty. Saying it had found that many of the unlocking programs "cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software," Apple spelled out the policy. "Users who make unauthorized modifications to the software on their iPhone violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty," the company said in a statement. "The permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing software is not covered under the iPhone's warranty." Several unlock hacks are circulating, including the free open-source anySIM unlock created byÂ iPhone Dev Team,Â andÂ iPhoneSIMFree,Â a commercial unlocking program that sells between $45 and $90 online. The unlocks let users insert a SIM card programmed with account data from another mobile provider so the phone can make calls on that carrier's network, rather than solely over AT&T's. Other mods, or modifications, let iPhone owners install their own ring tones -- Apple charges $0.99 on top of the usual $0.99 tune fee for a ring tone -- and add new software to the Apple-approved applications on the device. Apple also said it would issue an iPhone update this week, and hinted -- as expected -- that it will use firmware updates toÂ cripple unauthorized modifications.Â "Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs ... will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed," the statement said. The coming update has been no secret. Shortly after Jobs unveiled the new iPod line and announced the $200Â iPhone price dropÂ that angered many early buyers, Apple confirmed that it would update the device to add new features, including the ability to buy tracks from the iTunes music store over Wi-Fi. Not surprisingly, Apple's policy didn't scare off those who have modified their iPhones. On the company's iPhone support forum, a user identified as ansuz07 said, "The percentage of iPhones that have become bricked from hacks is very low. Even those that experienced problems could be fixed by a simple restore. Apple is going to make it sound a lot worse than it actually is since they are the ones who don't want you to do it in the first place." ComputerworldÂ is an InfoWorld affiliate. Â
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Apple released an update to its iPhone today that applies some critical bug fixes and adds some new features, such as the ability to buy iTunes songs over a Wi-Fi connection. It also delivered a message to users of unlocked devices.
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Apple has released an update for iTunes to let iPhone users activate and sync their phones.
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Blog: Apple details rules for iPhone purchasers.
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InfoWorld - Three days after releasing Safari 3.0, Apple has issued its first patch of the beta software.
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The Apple iPhone can reduce the total number of devices used by employees and thus increase productivity.
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Handsets pulled to apply audio glitch fix, reports suggest
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An iPod software update released by Apple over the weekend tackles many of the performance issues noted in initial reviews of the new iPod nano and iPod classic.
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Four issues identified by the Month of Apple Bugs project receive fixes from the company's developer.
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AT&T Inc  said on Monday delays  in activating service for customers of Apple Inc.&#39;s   iPhone had been mostly resolved after the wireless company  worked out the problems on a case-by-case basis.
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An update to Exchange 2007 released by Microsoft should solve problems that may have prevented e-mail from Exchange Server 2007 from being received by Apple&#39;s iPhone.
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(InfoWorld) - Apple Computer Inc. has fixed a number of flaws in the software that ships with its personal computers, including a bug in its AirPort wireless drivers that was disclosed earlier this month. The AirPort flaw was disclosed on Nov. 1 by security researcher HD Moore. It affects Proxim Wireless Corp. Orinoco wireless cards used by PowerBook and iMac computers built between 1999 and 2003, he said. These cards, which were branded AirPort by Apple, shipped with eMac, iBook, iMac, PowerBook G3, PowerBook G4 and Power Mac G4 systems, Apple said in a note on the updates , posted Tuesday. The issue does not affect systems that use the AirPort Extreme cards, Apple said. Apple warned that this flaw could be used by an attacker to run unauthorized software on a victim's computer, but Moore's exploit code could only be used to cause a computer to crash, the security researcher said. Security researchers have been paying a lot of attention to wireless device drivers since August, when researchers David Maynor and Jon Ellch reported that they'd discovered a number of significant flaws in wireless drivers, including one that affected Apple's computers. Maynor and Ellch were later criticized because they demonstrated these flaws using a third-party wireless card rather than the one that ships with Apple's MacBook, and because the two hackers have not published the code used in their attack. Nevertheless, Apple patched a number of vulnerabilities in its wireless drivers last September, saying that these were discovered in an internal audit of the company's software. Apple's Tuesday update also fixes several issues in products that ship with OS X, including flaws in the ClamAV antivirus software, Perl, PHP (PHP Hypertext Preprocessor) and Samba. In total, 22 patches were released in this update, named 2007-007 by Apple. Â
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There is no need for serious alarm, but the exploit does appear to have been crafted before Apple Computer patched the flaw last week.
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Bundle of fixes includes patch for zero-day Wi-Fi hijack flaw and other bugs, some that could let an attacker commandeer Macs.
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10.3.7 fixes bugs, fills security holes
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Blog: With patience wearing thin because of iPhone's bugs, I consider restoring the iPhone's settings.