Two iOS security breaches and how the hackers got those pictures of you

    Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security discovered a serious security vulnerability in Apple's iOS platform. The security hole allows a malicious user access to the root files of the phone, where they could see personal user information like passwords, call logs, messages, and and your location date if he hasn't done so already. Apple has acknowledged the problem and promises to issue a fix.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Apple spokesperson Bethan Lloyd said Apple is "aware of this reported issue and developing a fix that will be available to customers in an upcoming software update." She did not provide a date as to when the fix would be available.

     In other news, multiple frustrated iPhone 4 owners have complained this week that their device's front-side camera is taking pictures of them when it is supposed to be inactive.

Those photos then show up on the iPhone screen when the user tries to start a FaceTime video call. One angry owner said her FaceTime picture showed her in her office, despite never using the app while at work.

[iPhone jokes] Exclusive Steve Ballmer iPad Review

iPhone 5 and 4S spot defective displays, Apple regrets giving up on Samsung

    The iPhone 4 launch fiasco is about to repeat itself. A defect has presented in some iPhone 5 touch panels produced by Wintek which may affect the ability to meet initial shipment targets for the launch which is expected in October, according to iPhone supply chain makers.

In response, Wintek simply indicated that all of its products are being delivered on schedule.

   Wintek, is the company where n-hexane poisoning took place this time last year. N-hexane, a poisonous chemical was used to quicker manufacture iPhone4 screens. Wintek still accounts for 20-25% (while Taiwan TPK Holding accounts for the rest) as Apple has no problem in putting their worker's health behind profits.

   "The defect, "delayed bubble", is difficult to avoid during panel production, particularly when the defect is not detected during the process of laminating touch panels, and only later found during assembly, the sources said."

    More advanced smartphones use AMOLED or SuperAMOLED screens that are thinner, use less power and to not require the old "lamination" procedure as the display and the touch screen are one and the same panel.

New link for iPhone Fever feeds!

     Hello and welcome! You might have noticed the recent changes around TheiPhoneFever. We have tried to make the blog a lot lighter and more user friendly, be that user an Android, Symbian, Windows or even an iPhone user. And with all the new stuff around, the Feeds link is also changing:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/TheiPhoneFever

Make sure to visit it soon for the latest news Apple doesn't want you to hear!

iOS vulnerability leaves Skype users open to address book theft

    If you are using Skype for iPhone or iPod Touch, the Address Book on your device can easily be stolen via a simple chat message.

    How does it work?: Javascript commands are entered into the user names Skype account, a chat message is sent to the user who is using the newest version of Skype for iPhone, and a program is loaded onto a web server to receive the Address Book content.

    The report claims there is two oversights that are allowing this to happen so easily:

• iOS allows address book contents accessible to every app installed
• Failure by Skype to sanitize potentially dangerous JavaScript commands from the text that gets sent in chat messages

Of course it will be Skype's responsibility to patch the hole as iOS security is currently a complete mess as apple still tries to figure out the hole that made them lose the US Army defense contract.
    Meanwhile any skilled hacker/developer can collect your and your friend's addresses with the simplest app or game imaginable.
Detailed instructions of the hack after the break.

Apple's iPad, iPhone design, "borrowed" from Samsung, LG

    Today we're starting a new trend, the one of pamphlets. It's unjust that Apple steals the credit of so many brilliant people - because it's people, not companies who made them - and claims it "invented" the modern smarphone or the tablet, be it Newton or iPad.

There's solid proof for those willing to hear it on how Apple infringed other's designs; others like Samsung and LG that didn't think for a second that a touch screen phone with one button, a thin white bezel or simply put, the wheel, are things that someone would actually patent.

So head over to the new design section of our blog, "Other designs", and check it out for yourself!

 Don't forget to Share 'em and spread 'em!

OS X Lion disappoints again - it's just like having no password at all

    OS X from apple has not seen a great deal of interest during development (if any) and one million downloads on launch day, reported by Apple, so you can expect that number was rounded. For an $30 OS this is certainly a disappointment.

Not only has one of the sites endorsed by Apple, Gizmodo, called it a failure but the cuts in manufacturing quality at Foxconn and security holes haven't certainly brought more popularity:

     Security blog Defense in Depth has found a glaring security flaw in OS X Lion that enables hackers to change the password of any user on a machine running Lion. “[While] non-root users are unable to access the shadow files directly, Lion actually provides non-root users the ability to still view password hash data,” Patrick Dunstan from Defense in Depth explained in a recent blog post. The result is that anyone could use a simple Python script, created by Dunstan himself, to discover a user’s password. It gets worse. Reportedly, OS X Lion does not require its users to enter a password to change the login credentials of the current user. That means typing the command: “dscl localhost -passwd /Search/Users/Roger” will actually prompt you to set a new password for Roger. Hackers could easily take advantage of the known bug if they have local access to the computer and Directory Service access. Disabling automatic log-in, enabling sleep and screensaver passwords and disabling guest accounts are as efficient to keeping your Mac secure as duck-taping the lid. We recommend upgrading to a Linux based OS or Windows.

Apple's iPhone before the leaked Samsung F700

    Many smartphone blogs and websites have taken the Apple version of the F700, that one that the F700 was showcased one month after the first iPhone. Even if that was true, Samsung engineers must have been freaking geniuses or robots (androids if you will) to build a working phone within less than 30 days.

[iPhone jokes] Think outside the bumper

‘Other designs are possible’

    Apple and Samsung are at odds over patents. In numerous courts, in numerous states, in numerous countries on numerous continents, the pair continue to file complaint after complaint. Apple says Samsung builds copycat devices that steal design elements from its iPad tablet and iPhone smartphone. Samsung says Apple’s mobile devices violate multiple Samsung patents covering communications standards. And round and round we go.

    In the most recent development of note, a German judge on Friday upheld a ruling that will block Samsung’s local unit from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Germany. In her decision, Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hoffman stated, “The court is of the opinion that Apple’s minimalistic design isn’t the only technical solution to make a tablet computer, other designs are possible.” Other designs are possible. The judge continued, “For the informed customer there remains the predominant overall impression that the device looks [like the iPad].”

Well that’s just a tough break for Samsung.