Despite app discovery services like Chorus for iPhone, the AppStore is a really tough place to eek out a living. That may have prompted one Dutch teen to find a new way to make money from the iPhone – hold them for ransom! That’s what happened yesterday when some T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) iPhone users in the Netherlands found a hacked message on their jailbroken iPhones. The message asked the user to secure their iPhone by paying $4.95 for instructions to remove the message prompt. The hacker didn’t disable the iPhones in any way, but he essentially wanted a ransom for peace of mind (and not seeing an annoying pop-up message at boot). It was an interesting (not ethical, or commendable, but interesting for sure) money-making scheme for all of a day, before the hacker got shut down.

The jailbroken iPhone community comprises no more than a small minority of all iPhone owners out there, but with many millions of iPhones spread around the world, that’s still a sizable community. Seeing as how most of those jailbroken iPhones are still going about their day with the default SSH password, it was only a matter of time before someone tried to make money from jailbroken iPhones.

This is what the hacker posted to his website:

“Dear iPhone user,

Your iPhone is not secure. That’s the reason your visiting this page, isn’t it? Well you can pay me $4,95 at my paypal account PureInfinity92@mailinator.com,  and I’ll mail you very easy instructions on how to secure your iPhone. You can also contact me at PureInfinity92@gmail.com

If you don’t pay, it’s fine by me. But remember, the way I got access to your iPhone can be used by thousands of others. And they can send text messages from your number (like I did..), use it to call (or record your calls), and actually whatever they want, even use it for their hacking activities! I can assure you, I have no intention of harming you or whatever, but, some hackers do! It’s just my advise to secure your phone (: Have a nice day!”

The good news is that PayPal suspended his account with haste, making sure that the ill-intentioned teen couldn’t make any money from his scam. The hacker then posted a follow-up to his site, apologizing for his scam and offering his instructions to remove the message (and secure jailbroken iPhones) for free.

The lesson here? Change your jailbroken iPhone’s SSH password. Find out how to do that here.

[Via: ZDNet]

T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) Sidekick users are a loyal bunch. Many have likely even taken on a new 2-year contract with Deutsch Telekom-owned T-Mobile USA just so that they could to put a Microsoft/Danger Sidekick in their pockets. Unfortunately for them, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s Sidekick servers have recently taken a nose-dive, taking user data (contacts, photos, calendar, etc.) down with the Sidekick-ship. That could leave Sidekick users singing a different tune.

What’s the big deal? Well, Sidekick handsets need to be linked to the Sidekick servers in order to keep data synchronized. When those servers go down, so does the link. That wouldn’t have been a problem if Microsoft had backed-up the data and restored Sidekick servers back to their pre-crash state. But, it seems Microsoft didn’t get those back-ups in place. It’s puzzling that the company known for its crash-prone Windows operating system wasn’t prepared for a server crash.

T-Mobile USA says that Sidekick users with missing data will have “almost certainly” lost that data forever. Microsoft’s Danger division says that, “Personal information stored on your device such as contacts, calendar entries, to-do lists or photos that is no longer on your Sidekick almost certainly has been lost as a result of a server failure at Microsoft/Danger.” We say its a huge embarrassment for the giant software company.

While this server-outage isn’t the first for cloud-based services, it’s arguably the worst of its kind. We’ve seen outages ranging from Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s Gmail to RIM’s BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) servers to Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s MobileMe service causing headaches users in the past, but this Sidekick crash has actually killed data. With the tech space is increasingly moving towards cloud-storage services that keep all personal data stored on remote servers, the reliability of “the cloud” is all the more important. Especially if it’s for business.

There’s also the possibility that this Sidekick crash could leave Microsoft with enough egg on their face to affect sales of the new Windows Mobile 6.5 mobile operating system. The new mobile OS sports a phone-backup service called “My Phone” that keeps phone data (contacts, calendar, photos, etc.) synced with Microsoft’s servers. If those servers go down and you lose your Windows Phone, things could get ugly. On the upside, Microsoft will probably learn from this whole Sidekick fiasco and make the take the proper precautions with My Phone servers.

We’ve contacted Microsoft for an update on the situation.

[Update]
T-Mobile has gotten service restored, but some data has been forever lost. All customers will get a free month of service, and some will be offered “additional” compensation to “reinforce how valuable [they] are as a T-Mobile customer.”

Here’s T-Mobile’s official statement:

Virtually all data services have been restored. Also, T-Mobile voice and text services were not impacted.

A subset of Sidekick customers appear to have lost data. We do not have an exact number, but we believe it is a minority of customers. We recognize the magnitude of this inconvenience. Our primary efforts have been focused on restoring our customers’ personal content.

Sidekick sales are temporarily on hold as Microsoft/Danger continues to work on maintaining platform stability. At this point, virtually all data services are operational.

All impacted Sidekick users will receive credit for one month of Sidekick data service. We recognize the magnitude of this inconvenience. Our primary efforts have been focused on restoring our customers’ personal content. We also are considering additional measures for those who have lost your content to help reinforce how valuable you are as a T-Mobile customer.

[Via: Reuters]

Ever wanted to use an iPhone for work, but got stuck with the standard issue BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM)? Well, Good Technology has made progress on their iPhone application, the back-end management for which was announced in the spring, and was showing it off at CTIA. The app has all the usual fixings, like e-mail (complete with push notifications and tomato splat on the home screen), contacts, and calendar items, all synced up to your enterprise Exchange or Domino server. The Good app uses enterprise standards for encryption like AES, and through a web-based management console, IT admins can manage employee mobility. I’m still dubious on whether or not Good’s admin side is as robust as RIM’s, but even if it’s not, I’m sure it will offer a reasonable suite of tools to work with. No word on pricing just yet, but it should be available in the App Store in the next couple of weeks. For a closer look, check out their data sheet or sign up for availability notifications.

Ruh-roh. RIM has issued notice of a medium-level threat for the native BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) browser that, if you’re not careful, could make you the victim of a phishing attack. The bug basically makes it so a special null character isn’t recognized by the certificate reader, enabling a clever coder to masquarade their site as a usually dependable one, like blackberry.com. You can check to see if your device is eligible for a bug fix by going to blackberry.com/updates from Internet Explorer, but in the meantime, if you’re nervous about the bug, just hit Close Connection when the above dialog box shows up. Or hey, just use Opera Mini Beta 5 because it’s totally awesome.

[via CIO]

Honeywell recently launched a free application for iPhone that plugs into their Total Connect home security system, allowing you to arm and disable, check security camera stills (video coming soon), receive SMS alerts, and switch lights at a guarded area from your mobile. The app, My Keypad, was originally available on BlackBerry and Java-enabled phones, and was made to extend remote security system access beyond the web browser. This sounds like a great service, especially for small-to-medium business owners who want to keep an eye on their operations while away. For more info on My Keypad for iPhone, hit up Honeywell.

You thought Amazon was bad with the Kindle? Well, it sounds like Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) will be retaining the right to remotely delete Windows Mobile applications that were downloaded through the Marketplace, but were consequently banned. This isn’t just a good recipe for irate customers, but also developers who are spending $99 for five app submissions, plus extra for international submissions. Of course, we don’t know how often that will happen in practice, since we’re waiting on the Windows Marketplace for Mobile, but if a remote kill switch is, in fact, currently set up, it could potentially become a serious PR headache.

[via MS Mobiles]

A recent survey of Ontarians has revealed that a wooping 90% are in favour of upcoming legislation that will ban texting while driving across the province. Over 20% already have necessary hands-free hardware, but that leaves a significant opportunity for accessories (be they Bluetooth or wired headsets and speakerphones) to fill a mandated demand. Sadly, 8% admitted they will be ignoring the ban, but hopefully legal and social pressures will squeeze that minority even lower.  Here are a few other interesting stats on people’s attitudes regarding texting while driving:

• 62 per cent of men strongly agree with the legislation and 25 per cent moderately agree compared to 76 and 16 per cent of women respectively.
• Compliance is lowest amongst those aged 18 to 34 with 14 per cent saying they will likely continue to use their hand-held communication device regardless of the law.
• The highest level of support was among respondents aged 55 plus with 94 per cent indicating that they will comply and only three per cent planning to ignore the ban.
• Regionally, Northern Ontario has the highest level of compliance with 98 per cent planning on complying with the law and no longer using their hand-held device while driving compared to 82 per cent in Eastern Ontario.
• 85 per cent of men are aware of the ban compared to 79 per cent of women.

[via Sony Ericsson]

For awhile after the 8800, it was starting to look like every BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) was going to have a camera included, but the Bold, 8350i Curve and now the Tour have shown that there’s still a market for high-security corporate customers who would rather not worry about sneaky pictures of sensitive information being taken. This always seemed a bit redundant to me since enterprise IT policies can disable BlackBerry camera use, but cutting the hardware from the device itself likely saves on some manufacturing costs, while also completely putting security concerns at ease. Nab your camera-less BlackBerry 9630 from Sprint (NYSE: S) here for $199.99 on contract, but if you’re hesitant, check out our review for a closer look.

If you’re in one of the few companies that allow iPhones for enterprise use and haven’t got around to updating to version 3.1 of the iPhone released earlier this week, you might want to double-check with your IT guy before taking the plunge. Apparently, Exchange policies properly recognize the new OS and enforces e-mail encryption that older devices might not be able to support. The iPhone 3GS handles the new security measures fine, but anyone packing the original iPhone or the 3G may be without work e-mail as a result of updating to 3.1. Sure, it sounds like a bug to be squashed, but this is good news for enterprises who had been previously unimpressed with the iPhone’s security standards. Has anyone experienced a screen like the one above?

[Broadband Reports, Apple via TUAW]

First, it’s important to know that this really only applies to WinMo fans with Windows Mobile Standard smartphones. What is Application Lock? The WM Standard operating system uses Application Lock to keep unqualified Windows Mobile applications from accessing core parts of the Windows Mobile platform. This essentially cripples apps without privileged signatures from running on your Standard smartphone. Windows Mobile Professional simply asks you if you trust a certain app, and gives it full access to the OS with your approval – so WM Professional doesn’t suffer from Application Lock.

Disabling Application Lock on your smartphone can be a lengthy and involved process. But, thanks to MobileJaw’s Mike Temporale, disabling Windows Mobile Standard’s Application Lock is as simple as downloading an app and clicking a button. Here’s what you do:

1. Download MobileJaw-ClearSecurity-MobiControl here.
2. Run the app.
3. Then uninstall the app by navigating to Start menu / Settings / Remove Programs.

Your Windows Mobile Standard handset (WM5, 6, 6.1 and 6.5) is now free to use whatever Windows Mobile app you desire!

[Via: MobileJaw]