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‘The World’s First iPhone Virus’ on the Loose

iphonevirusYahoo News have announced that the world’s first iPhone virus is on the loose targeting iPhone users with cracked or jailbroken handsets and who have retained the default passwords (alpine). The virus, currently gone wild in Australia,  changes wallpapers to an image of 1980s pop star Rick Astley, and displays the message ‘Ikee is never gonna give you up’. According to Sophos security firm, the virus searches for other vulnerable iPhones on the mobile phone network and installs itself on them.

“Sophos researchers have traced the virus back to Ashley Towns, 21-year-old student from New South Wales. Towns admitted to releasing the worm on his Twitter page, saying that he did so because he found that 26 out of 27 accessible iPhones he had tested were vulnerable because they had not changed their passwords.”

iPhone users should there take greater care in ensuring that their smart-phones are secured as there may be an increase in similar attacks. Users of jailbroken iPhones should change their root password from “alpine” to something more secured. If you must connect to a Wi-Fi network, only do on a secured network. Finally, enable pass-code lock in order to prevent unauthorised access to your device.

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7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Arsento

    November 29, 2009 at 12:04 am

    I really like your blog and i respect your work. I’ll be a frequent visitor.

  2. web design glasgow

    January 18, 2010 at 1:34 pm

    cool , you just know the googlee phone will be next

  3. how to become a police officer

    January 19, 2010 at 1:21 am

    wow interesting information thank you for your great post good work keep it up

  4. CouponWebz

    February 20, 2010 at 9:19 am

    I don’t think the passcode will help prevent the virus from entering the phone, but better safe than sorry, right? It’s a good thing the virus doesn’t destroy files or automatically send SMS, MMS or call someone.

  5. Free*

    August 16, 2010 at 6:57 pm

    This wasn’t the first. There is evidence showing that the dutch had the source code first, and that “Ikee” merely stole it, and changed one line. The truth is out there, don’t give in to the first thing you hear.

  6. Karen

    April 29, 2011 at 5:38 pm

    Not an Iphone user but every tech gadget is vulnerable to virus… we just need to be extra cautious, i think

  7. Jack Wilson

    May 9, 2011 at 10:26 am

    Apple can’t legitimately be hacked it seems

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