Alert Ringtones

And so it seems in Colombia, the kidnapping capital of the world, the mobile is being used for bogus kidnappings.

The game plan is simple.
Bogus kidnappers pose as phone operators instructing mobile phone users to turn off their handsets for 2 hours whilst they test the network connections. During this time, the criminals contact family members of the victim, claiming they have been held hostage and will be handed back in return for a ransom. Families have no way of contacting the users whilst their mobiles are turned off, and so are directed where to leave the money before the 2 hours is up.

Scams Galore
A lot of scam artists work by claiming they are an authority from somewhere. So unless you are shown an ID card or can verify who it is you are talking to, BEWARE!

And with this, time to sign off for the week. Enjoy the weekend!

It seems Alert Ringtones is increasingly talking about the iPhone. Whilst we are not an iPhones blog, it’s just that it’s been a huge shift in the mobile phone industry, hence we find ourselves commenting a lot on the iPhone. Hope no-one minds.

Anyway, the good news is out for iPhone users. The blog I made at “how to hack an iPhone has been patched by Apple. Updates are now available on the iTunes website. Users no longer have to be worried about others hacking into their phone at doctored websites or insecure Wi-Fi hotspot areas.

Apple made this quite a priority hack just two days before the full details were going to be released at the Black Hat USA hacker conference on August 2nd.

The iPhone hack was only theoretical, and there had been no reports of anyone using it.

There seems no letting up on the hacking attempts of the iPhone. Next on the casualty list was Australia. Steve Jobs, c’mon… it’s time to release patches if you don’t wanna lose too many millions.

The iPhone, not yet released in Australia, can now be used to make phone calls on the national telephone network Telstra. However the hack hasn’t yet allowed Australian users to receive calls, use the iPod features or internet access. All they can do is make calls on it. It’s the furthest anyone has come to hacking the iPhone outside of the US. The user, who goes by the name “ozbimmer”, uploaded a “how-to” on YouTube, but has since removed it. We don’t know if it was removed due to threats by Apple or AT&T. He first posted his announcement on a hack forum.

The hack is not simple. It involves modifying the SIM card that comes with the phone to also hold data from a Telstra SIM card. You will need a SIM card reader and writer and some software applications.

Also see a recent blog post at How to Hack an iPhone.

Technology - fast paced and especially so in the mobile phone industry. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with it all…

Mobile Phone Trend
Recently the iPhone started a new drive in smart phones. Now we see another causality of technology - SMS, or text messaging on mobile phones. Sending SMS messages to friends was a big thing, and all you needed was their phone number in order to send. However, the SMS days are now numbered according to research group Gartner. Within 3 years, 1 in 5 users will be accessing their email via mobile phone rather than PC.

Mobile phones, once designed for telephone conversation, are increasingly being designed now for wireless internet connection and as application friendly gadgets.

Powerful Gadgets
Today there are just under 20 million wireless email users, but this will grow to 350 million, or 20 per cent of all email accounts within 3 years. Traditionally, email enabled mobile phones lacked other features such as camera, mp3 player, GPS systems and video players. Noticed how I mentioned the word “traditionally”? This is no longer the case, and our mobile phones have become one mean and powerful device that we can’t leave home without.

The BlackBerry, once chunky and bland, now offers all these features in the BlackBerry 8800. Motorola MOTO Q 9h, the Palm Treo 750 and the Samsung BlackJack have also been designed to offer email functionality along with fun features and good looking aesthetics.

It’s interesting to note that the price of SMS per the amount of data sent is rather expensive. Where we’re heading now is free email accounts when signing up on a plan.

Charlie Miller and a group of security experts have given the nod, that it’s now possible to hack an iPhone. The post I wrote earlier on the iPhone Activation Hack, shows just how a Norwegian hacker did it. I would have thought with all the resources and experts Apple has working for them, they would have designed a more hack-proof phone.

It’s theoretically possible for hackers to overtake a user’s iPhone when they are using it in a hotspot or visiting a doctored site. We’re still in the early days, so obviously there have been no reports of criminals making use of this vulnerability. But if hackers were to exploit this hack, then it’s possible that we can see the same gangs overtaking a user’s iPhone to disseminate spam, as they do when taking over a user’s PC.

How the iPhone Hack Works

How to Prevent Hacker’s Taking Over Your iPhone

• Only visit sites you trust
• Don’t open websites from emails
• Don’t visit unfamiliar Wi-Fi hotspots

Unfortunately the iPhone doesn’t offer the same high security as the Mac desktop, but hopefully things will change considering it’s only Apple’s first ever mobile phone venture.

Miller will be presenting full details of the hack at the Black Hat USA hacker conference on August 2nd. Whilst it’s an opportunity for hackers to learn the ways, it will also be an opportunity for Apple to release a patch to its users.

On June 18th, Apple was quick to publish competitive data with other smart phones. It was timed well to build on the hype of the iPhone release. However, in an effort to get this data out asap, Apple made a convenient? blunder with the talk time of the Nokia N95. It does in fact have WiFi whereas Apple reported it doesn’t.

How do you use your mobile?

Whilst the mobile phone was initially developed for business users, it’s now obvious that it’s predominantly being used for contacting friends and family. These are the findings from a survey of 1300 users by Australian National University. The survey found some other interesting facts too:

• 90% said they could not live without a mobile phone.
• 10% do not switch off their mobile phone in cinemas. Shame on you!
• Worldwide, there are more than 1.7 BILLION mobile phones. That’s more than fixed line phones.

It seems the mobile phone industry is strong and shows no sign of slowing down either. In the past decade, mobile phones and the internet have changed our lives dramatically. Society shows no hesitation in embracing new technologies.

There are two trains of thought on the effects of mobile phone radiation on us. One group of people think mobiles are dangerous, and the other group think we have nothing to worry about. Which group do you fall into?

View 1

Yes, there is some danger in using a mobile phone. This is because mobile phones use electromagnetic waves in the microwave range. These radio waves are then absorbed by your head.

However, you are more likely to become sick from smoking, crossing the road and even from TVs and TV transmitters. Statistics have shown that you are more likely to win the lottery than to become sick from using a mobile phone. You are very likely to injure yourself from tripping over the cord of your fixed landline phone!

View 2

Just how much radiation do you get from a mobile phone?

A GSM handset can emit a peak of 2 watts, whilst an analog phone a peak of 3.6 watts. CDMA and TDMA have a lower output power, hence they typically emit less than 1 watt.

Calculations

It may seem that mobile phones cause negligible radiation in comparison to microwave ovens but a simple calculation will show you the opposite. If you talk on the mobile just one hour a day, you can expect the following radiation levels:

1 hour a day x 365 days a year = 365 hours
365 hours x 2 watts = 730 watts
730 watts x 10 years = 7300 watts!

7300 watts of radiation from a mobile is ten times more powerful than if you were to put your head in a microwaves oven. My microwave oven emits 550 watts. Now you can imagine what would happen to you… you would fry like bacon.

Mobile phones can cause the following sicknesses:

- Headaches
- Earaches
- Blurring of vision
- Short-term memory loss
- Numbing, tingling, and burning sensations
- Bad sleep

Which view do believe?

There have been a small number of lawsuits in the USA taken against companies as Motorola, Nokia, NEC and Siemens. However, as there is no scientific evidence showing the linkage of brain cancer / sickness with the use of mobile phones, these lawsuits have quickly become squashed.

It didn’t take long for expert hackers to bypass iPhone’s activation requirement with AT&T.

A Norwegian hacker Jon Lech Johansen, has found a way to use the iPhone’s wireless web surfing application and iPod features without the need to first activate the phone. What this means is that in essence, you have free internet access after purchasing your iPhone. The iPhone is sold as a non-activated device, with all features disabled. Unless users activate their phone, it doesn’t hold much value.

Many want an iPhone to use the iPod and WiFi features without the need of entering a 2-year contract with AT&T. Jon’s iPhone hack shows on his blog the exact steps required and what programs are needed to complete the hack. I wont list them here for the sake of upsetting Steve Jobs.

Jon is only 23 years old and has a full write up in Wikipedia. He has already been taken to court twice for his involvement with DeCSS, a computer program capable of decrypting content. Both times his innocence was proven.

Mobile Phone Blows Up

Oh my, I hope this doesn’t happen again. A factory worker was reported to have had his mobile phone blow up this week killing him on the spot. The explosion was so fierce that it broke his ribs with rib fragments piercing his heart. The Motorola phone was in his shirt pocket and apparently blew up due to high temperatures. Don’t be too concerned though if you’re using a Motorola phone. The guy that died was actually using a fake Motorola battery. If you’re using the real McCoy, then keep fingers crossed that this wont happen.

This is not the first time a mobile phone has blown up due to using fake batteries. In 2004, a Kyocera mobile blew up burning the users hand when the battery acid spewed out. In China, over 10 million fake batteries are made each year, with many of them finding their way to the western world.

Since 2004 Nokia has been applying hologram labels to its batteries to help users distinguish from a fake battery. Don’t risk your life by using a fake battery! Unfortunately many will still buy a fake battery over an authentic one due to the costs. Authentic batteries sell typically 7 times the price of a fake one.