14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is prepping a security update for iPhone owners, as expected, to fix a flaw in iPhone Software 2.0.2 which allows a person to get unauthorized access to the owner’s personal information by working around the screen-lock passcode. For now, users still have to improvise their fix.
According to a detnews piece, Apple is cited as advising users to correct the problem by setting their phones "so that double-clicking the Home button sends them to the home page or the iPod area". Sure enough, forum posters and readers of Mac-based sites had long disclosed the settings tweak that does this. But hey, Apple has to say something about it, too; otherwise, people will think it is sitting with its arms crossed doing nothing. Plus, you get that secure feeling once you hear it from Apple's mouth.
Jokes aside, the user who discovered the flaw said that "2.0.2 gives almost full access to the iPhone even while under password protection". He noted that the steps required to take advantage of this flaw and view an iPhone user's personal data, are:
1- set the iPhone to use passcode lock
2- have contacts marked as Favorites with links, phone numbers, addresses, etc. in address book entry
3- tap "Emergency Call" keypad from passcode entry screen
4- double-tap "Home Button"
5- tap the blue arrow next to contact's name (to gain full access to applications such as Safari, the iPhone user's complete Contacts list, text messages and e-mails)
6- access various entries on the Favorite's page to ultimately bring up a full, unrestricted Safari.
Then came the solutions, one of which (courtesy of MacRumors) says you simply need to switch double-clicking to "Home Page". This tells the iPhone to return to the passcode entry screen.
"We are aware of this bug," Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock said in an e-mailed statement. According to Bloomberg, the spokeswoman declined to say when the update would be available, but did point out that, in the meanwhile, customers can avoid the problem by changing their settings.
Renowned analyst Gene Munster, of Piper Jaffray, also claims "Apple needs to fix the software ASAP," adding that "so far demand seems strong,'" in spite of the security flaw. The researcher recommends buying the shares, admits that "the iPhone software has been rocky," but upholds that "it does not seem to be impacting demand".
We'll keep an eye out for that fix to offer it as a download the moment it's made available.