is it Safe? is it Secure?

[f1zzler]

I hear a lot of talk about Jailbreaking and safety but they are all about the fact that your phone could be bricked. I have jailbroken once and I am convinced that it is safe to do and will not harm the phone, but my concern is security. You are allowing programs to access the file system which means any program can access any file on the phone. What's stopping an app from recording your keystrokes and sending them to the creator? What's stopping an app from stealing your contacts and doing the same? pictures? etc... Are these apps tested for things like this? And even so do you trust that? I mean this was all created by "hackers" in the first place right?

Plus, after you jailbreak, if you leave ssh open I hear someone can get in this way. I have read that you should change the ssh password but no one says how to do this? If I had enough money I would get an iPod touch and jailbreak it just for playing around but for now I'm staying safe with my iPhone un-jailbroken. There is too much personal info on a phone to be doing this to. If anyone has any info on this topic please post. Everytime I search for "iphone jailbreak safety" or security etc.. all I see are posts to the effect of "will it break my phone?" and nothing about the safety of your personal data.
thanks

 

[Jeremy]

You are perfectly safe. Not sure who gave that information, but like I said, you can relax.

 

[f1zzler]

Thanks for the reply! What do you mean? So these things are not possible if you jailbreak? Just telling someone they are safe is nice but that is not going to do it. I'll continue my research on this. I'm not ready yet. Maybe someone out there has done some security testing or something and posted papers.

 

[Jeremy]

Don't you think that if a app actually sent your info anywhere we would have heard about it already? Jailbreaking has been going for almost the whole life of the iPhone. Like I said, relax a little bit. Anyone else will tell you the same.

Also have you heard anything regarding anyone having any issue like this??? Nope, and if you have please provide a link or proof...

 

[ExBBUser]

ash is right, thats not going to happen, doubtful its even possible. you are safe from anything like that happening.

 

[Dieters Watch]

You are worrying for nothing.

 

[tuna]

Regarding OpenSSH, nobody will be able to get into your phone if you turn off OpenSSH when you aren't using it. Also, I don't want to sound harsh, but the probability of someone who may know a way to SSH hack your phone living near your is pretty low. There are computer hackers out there, but as long as you are relatively careful, I don't see a reason not to use OpenSSH.

That was a good "Everything will be ok" post without much backup But, just thought I'd throw two pennies in there.

 

[patrickbballer]

dude i am so worried about jail breaking i can never convince my self to do it lol.

 

[USCGMK]

i would not worry about it patrick. it is the best thing that has happened to my 3G. my carrier logo is now my name (Chris) i can tether my laptop at work, i have a video recorder, i can download free music with dtunes. i can download youtube videos. there are so many cool things you can do.

 

[brikz]

Plus, there is a guide in Cydia main page that explains how to change your password.

 

[sophie1985]

used a couple of sites where they made me pay about $40 for jailbreak..success in one device but 3g, disaster..

 

[tuna]

used a couple of sites where they made me pay about $40 for jailbreak..success in one device but 3g, disaster..

In the future, do not pay for jailbreaking under any circumstances. You get the same product free from the developer. You do not need to pay $.01 for it.

Use the Jailbreaking instructions provided by The iPhone Blog at the link below. Will walk you right through it.

How to: Jailbreak iPhone 2.1 - Windows PC Edition | The iPhone Blog

 

[Dieters Watch]

used a couple of sites where they made me pay about $40 for jailbreak..success in one device but 3g, disaster..

are you saying you paid $40 for directions or for a website to jailbreak your phone?

 

[macdripper]

Hi to everyone I'm new to this site. I was convinced by the step by step tutorial of PATRICK to jailbreak my 3G and I was really amazed on what jailbreaking can do to my iPhone witout paying any dime. So far after jailbreaking my phone I haven't encounter any problem except my battery drains out so fast because I can't stop my self in dowloading apps on it!

 

[Jeremy]

Hi to everyone I'm new to this site. I was convinced by the step by step tutorial of PATRICK to jailbreak my 3G and I was really amazed on what jailbreaking can do to my iPhone witout paying any dime. So far after jailbreaking my phone I haven't encounter any problem except my battery drains out so fast because I can't stop my self in dowloading apps on it!

Step by step guide from PATRICK???

 

[macdripper]

Oh I'm sorry it was JEREMY! My bad.

 

[Jeremy]

Oh I'm sorry it was JEREMY! My bad.

I was going to say who's Patrick?!

 

[shwy]

can you get a virus? my mom wanted to know as I want to keep my lovely jailbreak safe.

 

[spsands]

Regarding OpenSSH, nobody will be able to get into your phone if you turn off OpenSSH when you aren't using it. Also, I don't want to sound harsh, but the probability of someone who may know a way to SSH hack your phone living near your is pretty low. There are computer hackers out there, but as long as you are relatively careful, I don't see a reason not to use OpenSSH.

That was a good "Everything will be ok" post without much backup But, just thought I'd throw two pennies in there.

a few things about this... first, if you are on a secure wireless network, the hacker would have to hack onto your wireless network, then, they would have to know that you even have a phone on the network... they would have to know which IP the phone is using, to do a root@192.168."." then they would have to know the root password to connect to it. If you have changed the password, they wont know that either... Ultimately, if you are that much of a target, they know where you live and would probably have an easier time taking the phone off of you... and like someone already stated, the instructions to change your root password are great. I had never ssh'd anything in my life before jailbreaking my phone...

Good luck and happy Jailbreaking!

 

[f1zzler]

Thanks guys! This has eased my mind somewhat but just to know the possibility is there scares me. The reason Windows has spyware/viruses is because of this fact. Any program you download has full access to all files on the computer. This is what jailbreaking does to the iPhone. On a PC you have to have spyware protection and virus protection not to mention a firewall as well! You say if it has happened we would know about it. How would we know? The iPhone has no spyware protection, firewall, or virus protection. For a spy program to be successful one of its objectives is NOT to be detected so if a spyware app was good enough nobody would know about it! So for me it boils down to trust. Do I trust the program being installed? From the app store you know it has been tested. Any more thoughts on this is appreciated! thanks.