Skip to main content

iPod/iPhone > News

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 iPhone virus confirmed

iPhone users with unlocked devices hear first warning

Jim Dalrymple, Macworld.com

  • Email to a friend
  • Print this article
  • Bookmark this page
  • RSS feed

The first Trojan for the iPhone has been discovered. The first reports came from iPhone enthusiast site Modmyifone.com and were later confirmed by security research company F-Secure.


The virus does not currently pose a huge risk, the Trojan specifically targets users that have modified their iPhone so they can install third-party applications. The application masks itself as an update to Erica's Utilities and is labeled as "113 prep."



According to Modmyifone.com all the app does is say "shoes." However, when uninstalled, the application removes files from the /bin directory on the iPhone, breaking valid apps like Sendfile and Erica's Utilities.



The site hosting the application was taken offline soon after it was discovered, reports F-Secure.

"Hopefully this serves as a warning for those who have opened their iPhones using a security hole in the system and then installing unverified software without a second thought to what they are doing," said F-Secure on its site.



F-Secure reported that it was an 11-year-old kid playing with XML files who created the Trojan. "Next time it might be someone else with more skills and with specific target," they said.

Email A Friend

Email this article to a friend or colleague:



PLEASE NOTE: Your name is used only to let the recipient know who sent the story, and in case of transmission error. Both your name and the recipient's name and address will not be used for any other purpose.

<<prev article | back to news index | next article>>

Question of the day!

Mark Hattersley
Editor in Chief

Do you share your creations online?

Question of the day!

Do you share your creations online?

% of Macworld readers agree with you

Yes
TBC
No
TBC

What do you create and how do you share it?

124 characters remaining

Follow the conversation at @TabletChat

paintings & illustrations, mostly, which i upload to flickr.RT @fragmentedm

I draw manga/anime characters. I also do graphic design and photography.RT @spialelo

Yes. I usually put them up on my #deviantart account for feedback on how to improve.RT @spialelo

Latest News


More news...