Hasta La Gadget!

When Apple addressed a congressional inquiry on privacy in July, the company claimed that it couldn’t actually track a particular iPhone in real time, as its transactions were anonymous and thoroughly randomized. Bucknell University network admin Eric Smith, however, theorizes that third-party application developers and advertisers may not have the same qualms, and could be linking your device to your name (and even your location) whenever they transmit data. Smith, a two-time DefCon wardriving champ, studied 57 top applications in the iTunes App Store to see what they sent out, and discovered that some fired off the iPhone’s UDID and personal details in plaintext (where they can ostensibly be intercepted), including those for Amazon, Chase Bank, Target and Sam’s Club, though a few were secured with SSL. Though UDIDs are routinely used by apps to store personal data and combat piracy, what Smith fears is that a database could be set up linking these UDIDs to GPS coordinates or GeoIP, giving nefarious individuals or organizations knowledge of where you are.

It’s a scary idea, but before you direct hate Apple’s way, it’s important to note that Cupertino’s not necessarily the one to blame. iOS is arguably the best at requiring users to opt-in to apps that perform GPS tracking; transmitting the UDID and account information together publicly is strictly against the rules; and we’d like to think that if users provide their personal information to an application developer in the first place, they’d understand what they’re doing. Of course, not all users monitor those things closely, and plaintext transmission of personal details is obviously a big no-no.

Smith’s piece opens and closes on the idea that Apple’s UDID is like the unique identifier of Intel’s Pentium III processor, which generated privacy concerns around the turn of the century, and we wonder if ths story might play out the same way — following government inquiries, Intel offered a software utility that let individuals manually disable their chip’s unique ID, and removed it from future CPUs.

Hacker claims third-party iPhone apps can freely transmit UDID, pose serious threat to privacy originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Oct 2010 19:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As with almost any software update, Apple has seemingly introduced a few new issues while ironing out a couple of others. Automotive forums around the web are ablaze with talk that iOS 4.1 has introduced any number of playback problems, with the bulk of complainers citing scratching, crackling or random disconnects when piping audio from their device to their vehicle via the dock connector. We’ve tested two iOS 4.1-equipped iPhone 4 handsets in two separate vehicles here at Engadget HQ, and we saw no quirks whatsoever, but we’ve no doubt that the issue is real to some extent. Prior firmwares have caused permanent incompatibilities between our iPods and vehicles before, and we’re about at our wit’s end. We know it’s impossible for the software engineers at Cupertino to test new builds on every car adapter out there, but we’re starting to wonder if they bother to plug ’em into any vehicles at all. Tell us below if you’ve pulled any hairs out in recent days, won’t you?

[Image courtesy of Murphy5156 / TiPb]

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Did iOS 4.1 introduce in-car USB playback problems for you? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“The iPhone has no secret for you? Well, that’s what you think… join us and develop the most challenging product of your life!” So reads a now-removed job listing on Qualcomm’s website for an “iPhone Developer Guru” (still cached, thanks to Google). Responsibilities will include “iPhone software design and development but not restricted to it” as well as some Android and… oh, you’ve already jumped to conclusions, have you? The forerunners of CDMA technology asking for iPhone software engineering? Teasing with the most challenging product of your life? We wouldn’t fault for Qualcomm for a bit of boasting, and for all we know this could be much ado about nothing. Then again, we really don’t know anything, and this isn’t exactly some super clue in some giant mystery. Sorry, Encyclopedia Brown; don’t get your hopes up.

Qualcomm job listing for iPhone dev guru sets internet absolutely aflutter originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Square payment system hasn’t exactly had a smooth road to availability, with deliveries put on hold back in June due to an ominous “credit processing and risk issue.” If that didn’t scare you away from accepting small payments from the company’s tiny credit card swipers, rejoice, because they appear to be shipping again — at least to some. Sally over at the Square support forums posted that she was sent the following message:

We started rolling out Square card readers and one is now coming your way from our fulfillment center in Saint Louis. It will arrive on your doorstep in the next few days.

A few others it seems have also received the same note. How about you? Is your little, different credit card reader on the way?

[Thanks, Sam]

Square mobile payment readers now shipping again to tiny transaction tycoons originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 10:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Most cell phone manufacturers have charging standards these days, even if they can’t always agree on which version of USB to use, but as the hair-tearing message above shows, third-party renditions of Apple’s proprietary dock connector haven’t always been universal solutions for iPods and iPhones. Now we know another important reason why — secret resistors placed on the data lines in connectors for each iDevice. Minty Boost creator ladyada recently reverse-engineered the chargers for a variety of Apple gadgets, and discovered that iPhones in particular don’t draw electricity until they detect 2.8V and 2V signals when they attempt to charge. At that voltage, the handsets suck down about one amp, leading to a rapid filling of your device’s Li-ion belly, but by adding additional resistance to drop the voltage further, the iPhone can be coerced into accepting 500mA instead — perfect for the set of AAA batteries you stashed away in that Altoids tin. Video after the break, full explanation at our source link.

Continue reading Hacker reveals how Apple artificially restricts iPhone chargers (video)

Hacker reveals how Apple artificially restricts iPhone chargers (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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