Filed under: iPhone
iPhone 2.0 to include secure erase
A while back we noted that refurbished iPhones still contained previous users' data and that there was no built-in way to securely erase it (though there were some rough suggested work-arounds). With the new 3G iPhone, and lots of upgrading, around the corner the problem seemed more worrisome than ever. However, AppleInsider is reporting that the iPhone 2.0 software will have a solution.Unlike the present "Erase All Content and Settings" feature in the iPhone Settings, the new version "will wipe data in similar fashion to the 'Secure Empty Trash' function of Mac OS X, by which all data is deleted, unlinked, and then overwritten several times to make it irretrievable by even the savviest of recovery tools." This is obviously good news for everyone looking to upgrade and it should roll out when iPhone 2.0 lands on July 11.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
YodaMac said 1:29PM on 6-27-2008
I was hoping this would include "remote wiping" for regular consumers as well, but I guess that's just a Business Plan option. Too bad, as that would come in handy for ANYONE who has their iPhone stolen.
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behill said 2:38PM on 6-27-2008
Remote wipe would be nice for all users, even at least mobileme customers, but I'll take this. I've been needing to take my iPhone to an apple store to get a new one (dead pixels) but the security had me worried. Good to know I'll be able to take it back with no worries after 2.0 is released.
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mark said 2:37PM on 6-27-2008
Wish this would have come out in 1.1.4. I could have save a lot of time writing a lengthy tutorial on this.
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mrsteveman1 said 4:25PM on 6-27-2008
You don't need to wipe more than once with flash devices, one pass of zeros completely erases data.
That doesn't of course account for relocated blocks but overwriting 100 times wont get those anyway.
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Sam Weiss said 5:58PM on 6-27-2008
Agreed... to bad we don't have one now with current firmware.
One option is to put my old phone on ebay. Surely it will be more valueable with 1.1.4 on it, so it can be unlocked. No evidence (yet) as to how hard it will be to hack 2.0, or downgrade once 2.0 is on the phone.
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Sean M said 6:03PM on 6-27-2008
Hope this is at least somewhat protected. Nasty joke to play on someone if you get their iPhone for a minute.
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JeffDM said 5:26PM on 7-26-2008
Sean M, this is protected by pass code. If you've enabled the pass code, you can't do a wipe of the iPhone. My 16GB unit reported a two hour time to wipe. Really, you have to know the pass code, if it's not pass code protected, then you have to have the device long enough to find the erase pane before the owner notices, which could be a long or short time, depending on the circumstances. Its location didn't seem that obvious, it took me a few minutes to find it.
Camperton said 6:13AM on 6-28-2008
They should at least make remote wipe available to me.com customers.
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grey said 12:56PM on 9-11-2008
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