Apple has finally fixed up that funny little bug in iOS 4 that allowed web-based jailbreaking of the iPhone via Safari – the JailbreakMe.com jailbreak website that allowed iPhone 4 users to get in on the jailbreak and unlock action. The flaw that allowed this to happen was apparently caused by a PDF rendering bug which allowed websites to trick the iPhone Safari browser into giving access to the depths of iOS 4, and some ne’er-do-wells even popped into Apple stores just to drive home the point. With iOS 4.0.2, the problem has been solved by Cupertino’s geekiest so that our iPhones and other iOS devices are safe.
It turns out it wasn’t just a flaw that provided a jailbreaking trick, but it also posed more serious security problems. There is a good side and bad side to all this, according to MobileCrunch:
“No crazy hackers stealin your databytes after you accidentally click on a seemingly harmless PDF. The bad news? One-click, browser-based jailbreaking (the only kind that has been made public so far for the iPhone 4 and any device running iOS 4) is a done deal for now.”
For those of you still thinking about jailbreaking your iPhone 4, we suggest you check out our JailbreakMe.com story and do what you need to do to your handset before updating to this latest iOS 4.0.2 update.
Life is full of trade-offs, but this is one I’d happily take so that communist spies can’t hack my phone, steal my data and use it against me as part of a plot for global domination. Until a safer, better jailbreak comes along, I’ll take smartphone security for now, thank you very much.
[Via: MobileCrunch]