Taking iPhone for Ransom, Then Asking for $7 for the Fix?

If there's an interesting method of making some cash, someone is bound to figure out how to execute it to the best of their ability. Over the years, we've heard of stories where someone would code up a robust virus/trojan, release it, and then do horrible things to people's computers. The catch is that the data seemingly ruined by this malware isn't actually ruined, but can be recovered if the user wants to pay a ransom fee.

As horrible as that practice is, I can't help but laugh at it's ingenuity. Ten years ago, I would have never thought of data being held for ransom, as if it were a person, but it's rather common today. Someone in the Netherlands took a very similar route recently, but there's an interesting twist... he had no intention of damaging or ruining people's data, but rather demands cash for the solution on how they could secure themselves.

The product in question is none other than the iPhone, in a jailbroken status. Apparently, there's a security hole somewhere that can allow a cracker to get in and essentially take over the entire phone, including personal data. As you can see in the screenshot below, the words "hacked" are listed at the top. There's also a message that centers itself on the screen that states that the phone's security has been circumvented, and that this person has full access to all the files.

It's not all bad, because should the user want to regain their security, a URL is given. Although down now, the page requested $7 to be sent to a PayPal account, at which point this person would e-mail the victim to explain how to better secure their iPhone. Since this news broke, though, the person had a change of heart and decided to tell everyone how to fix their jailbroken iPhone with a few simple steps, which you can find here. Hopefully this event is one of the very few we'll see happen. With the insane popularity of mobile phones though, something tells me this is just the beginning.

Apparently, the hacker used port scanning to identify phones on the T-Mobile network in the Netherlands running SSH (Secure Shell network protocol), which is commonly used by jailbroken iPhones and allows a user to "log in via Terminal and run standard UNIX commands," according to Ars Technica. iPhone users who don't change the default root password after jailbreaking the device leave the phones vulnerable to attack, the site said.

AT&T Suing Verizon Over 3G Map Advertising

There are times when advertising can be extremely effective at getting the point across, and one way to accomplish this is to single out a competitor and attempt at proving to the general public that you're company is better than theirs. For the past few years, we've seen this with Apple, which has continually poked fun at Microsoft's Windows from every possible angle. Today, it's not computer companies who are at each other, but rather cell service providers.

Recently, Verizon launched a campaign to show just how incredible its 3G coverage is, and during the commercial, a map of both its own, and also AT&T's coverage is shown on the US map. In it, Verizon has so much coverage area, that it appears that it has about 9x or 10x as much coverage area. In some states, AT&T doesn't seem to offer 3G support at all. This alone isn't so much the problem, though.

According to AT&T and its lawyers, the map is confusing to the regular consumer, who doesn't understand that 3G != general cell service. The company believes that when consumers see this map, that they will be lead to believe that AT&T has absolutely horrid cell phone support, when in truth, the map is singling out 3G and 3G alone. On one hand, I can understand why AT&T would be concerned, but on the other, the commercial is very clear about the fact that it's talking about 3G, and nothing else.

The other question is whether or not the maps are at all accurate even where 3G is concerned. Could AT&T really be offering absolutely no service in most of middle America? I'm not familiar with AT&T or its 3G service, but it would seem a little odd to have no support whatsoever in certain states. Whether AT&T has a hope of winning its case is yet to be seen. Verizon seems very clear in its ad, but a judge might not see it that way.

Consumers are interpreting the white or blank space on the maps to mean that AT&T customers who are not in an AT&T "3G" coverage area have no wireless coverage whatsoever, and therefore have no ability to use their wireless devices for any purposes in vast areas of the country. This interpretation is not surprising as Verizon, in its own coverage maps, uses white space to inform customers that no coverage of any kind exists.

Has the Nintendo Wii "Stalled"?

When the Nintendo Wii came out towards the end of 2006, no one, and I mean no one could have predicted what was to become. I can't think of a single product out there that suffered shortages for more than a year, but the Wii did. People I knew who didn't even like video gaming wanted a Wii, and people who hadn't owned a console since the regular Nintendo wanted one. One person bought one, and word spread. If only it were that easy to sell all products!

Even today, the Wii is beating out every other console in sales, and combined with the Nintendo DS(i), Nintendo is a true juggernaut where gaming is concerned. But, believe it or not, company executive Satoru Iwata revealed that the "Wii has stalled". Although still beating out the competition, the Wii's overall sales have fallen month over month since this past summer. What could be the reason for such quick change?

Iwata goes on to elaborate, and he primarily blames the lack of quality games, and states that the "good mood has chilled" as a result. This could be true, and it's been a problem with every Nintendo console that's ever been sold. First-party games are usually fantastic, but the vast majority of the market is clogged up with third-party games whose developers who don't put near as much time and energy, or passion, into their games.

What the company is likely to do to reinvigorate Wii gamers is a few things. First are plans to release Netflix for the console, to allow people to download movies to their home. Personally, I think it's is a waste of time, as the resolution of the Wii is in some cases worse than standard television. If someone owns an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, it'd make more sense to do the Netflix thing there. Also, Nintendo is likely to either re-release the Wii as a true high-definition console in 2010 or 2011, or release an entirely new console altogether - one that would very likely be a proper follow-up.

Notably, reports have emerged that Nintendo is planning a number of enhancements to its console. Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Nintendo would be introducing Netflix's online video-streaming service to the console, functionality that is already available for the Xbox 360 and will soon be introduced to the PlayStation 3. Analysts and industry insiders also expect the publisher to launch an HD version of the Wii or an all-new system in 2010 or 2011 to better compete with Microsoft and Sony's consoles.

Tech Roundup - November 4, 2009

Motherboards & Processors
• AMD Athlon II X3 425 - techPowerUp
• GIGABYTE P55-UD3P - Madshrimps
• MSI 785GM-E65 - iXBTlabs

Displays & Video Cards
• Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Vapor-X 1GB - Benchmark Reviews
• Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Vapor-X 1GB - Hardware Canucks

Memory & Storage
• Corsair Flash Survivor 32GB USB Drive - Velocity Reviews

Peripherals & Gadgets
• ASUS HDAV 1.3 Slim - PC Perspective
• Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse - Digital Trends
• Zowie Hammer Gaming Headset - TestFreaks

Cooling
• Titan Skalli CPU Cooler - PureOverclock

Chassis & Power Supplies
• Antec Skeleton Open Air Chassis - Tweaknews
• be quiet! TFX-300W Power Supply - Technic3D
• nMediaPC HTPC 8000 Wooden HTPC Chassis - Legit Reviews
• QNAP TS-419P Four-Bay Turbo NAS Server - TweakTown
• Sapphire Pure 1250W Power Supply - Overclockers Club
• Thermaltake EVO 650W Power Supply - BCCHardware

Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
• ASUS G51VX Gaming Notebook - i4u
• HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web - Digital Trends
• Motorola Droid Phone - Digital Trends
• Contest: Thermaltake XT Power Supply - JonnyGURU