The new ParentDish: helping raise kids of all ages
Posts with tag Encryption

Rumors: iPhone Application Key reportedly leaked

Last night, an anonymous tipster pointed us to this Austin Heap webpage that purportedly reveals the iPhone's secret Application SDK key. Another tipster, also anonymous, then tipped me to iPhone "Elite" developer Zibri's blog, that shows the same key. So what does this mean? Since all iPhone applications must be properly signed for iTunes to process them and for the iPhone to load them, this key suggests that hackers are closer to creating compliant IPA application bundles for home-brew iTunes distribution. With the proper key, developers can create and distribute applications that load through iTunes without Apple's blessing.

photo by 2create via flickr

KisMAC dev calls it quits

Reader Andrew dropped a note that Michael Rossberg, developer of KisMAC, the wireless network sniffer based on Kismet, has declared the project discontinued. I can't get the project's website to load (most likely because it's been Slashdotted), but apparently the reason Rossberg gave was that a change in Germany's laws would make it dangerous for him to continue working on it. The law apparently makes it illegal for anyone to sniff out a password that "allows access to data", and since that's a big part of KisMAC's function, Rossberg is calling it quits.

But he is asking for interested parties to continue his work, in the EU or the US, so if the site ever returns, feel free to grab the source and check it out yourself.

Of course, from what Slashdot commenters are saying, this isn't much of a loss anyway-- the program hasn't seen any real updates in a long time, and apparently it didn't even work with the new MacBooks. In terms of network finders, there's lots more to choose from (including iStumbler, which I didn't mention in the other article), but in terms of cracking WEP and WPA keys (legally, of course), are there any other OS X specific options out there?

Update:
Clarification: the program will run on MacBooks, but it doesn't do anything but find networks, which is just a fraction of the intended functionality.

Terminal Tip: Interactive Command-line File Encryption

In OS X, you can always toss a file onto the command line instead of laboriously typing out a complete path name because Terminal supports drag and drop. Over at Murphymac, Murphy has posted a video showing you how to create a shell script using DES3 encryption to protect your files. It takes advantage of this drag and drop support so you can basically run the script and drop the file you want to encrypt. Even if you're not all that interested in encrypting your files, this videocast shows how to think about creating shell scripts with a particularly interactive OS X flare flair.

1Passwd - password/form manager lets Firefox use the Keychain

*Oh snap!* Agile Web Solutions has created a password and form manager extension for both Safari and Firefox that fixes one of my biggest gripes about Mozilla's flagship browser: it can store website passwords in Mac OS X's Keychain Access application. For those who haven't stumbled upon the wonders of the Keychain: it's a system-wide secure password manager that most other Mac OS X apps can use to store logins for things like websites and FTP access. 1Passwd is an extension that, amongst other features, lets Firefox join the Keychain party party so you can have one secure, centralized area for managing (and backing up) your logins. This also means that if you have a .Mac account, any passwords you enter into Firefox will sync between your Macs. But 1Passwd doesn't stop at handle just your login information. Check out the full feature list to see everything else it can do for both Safari and Firefox.

If beer could be sent virtually through PayPal, I'd send Agile Web Solutions a twelve pack; this brings Firefox one step closer to being a true Mac OS X browser. 1Passwd is currently in a third beta release, and those who opt to test the beta and offer their email addresses will receive a discount off its (somewhat steep) $29.95 price.

Knox version 1.0.7 is available

I'll admit it, I don't want people poking around my Mac. While I may want certain files encrypted, Apple's File Vault would be overkill for my needs. That's why I use Knox. With Knox, you can quickly create password-protected, encrypted volumes that you alone can gain access to. You can even schedule backups to occur whenever your iPod is docked. If that's not your cup of tea, you can use a remote server or even your .Mac storage space as a backup destination for Knox. Moving from volume to volume is easily accomplished via a menu bar item.

How secure is secure? From the website: "Knox’s encryption—based on Apple’s FileVault technology—protects files with the U.S. Government’s new Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)." So there you go. Changes to version 1.0.7 include:
  • Fixed a problem with opening the Preferences window after upgrading to 1.0.6.
  • Fixed a crashing bug in Knox task handling.
There is a free trial available, and a single license will cost you $29.95US (€29.95 w/ VAT). Knox requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or later.

TUAW Features


Mac 101 ask-tuaw
Mac News
WWDC (250)
.Mac (57)
Accessories (635)
Airport (74)
Analysis / Opinion (1329)
Apple (1638)
Apple Corporate (556)
Apple Financial (187)
Apple History (45)
Apple Professional (54)
Apple TV (160)
Audio (446)
Bad Apple (118)
Beta Beat (150)
Blogging (84)
Bluetooth (16)
Bugs/Recalls (56)
Cult of Mac (870)
Deals (214)
Desktops (115)
Developer (252)
Education (98)
eMac (10)
Enterprise (138)
Features (399)
Freeware (382)
Gaming (361)
Graphic Design (31)
Hardware (1281)
Holidays (37)
Humor (576)
iBook (65)
iLife (234)
iMac (184)
Internet (325)
Internet Tools (1309)
iTS (967)
iTunes (796)
iWork (21)
Leopard (367)
Mac mini (112)
Mac Pro (53)
MacBook (202)
MacBook Air (79)
Macbook Pro (220)
MobileMe (16)
Multimedia (439)
Odds and ends (1437)
Open Source (278)
OS (912)
Peripherals (208)
Podcasting (182)
Podcasts (90)
Portables (197)
PowerBook (135)
PowerMac G5 (50)
Retail (579)
Retro Mac (48)
Rig of the Week (42)
Rumors (629)
Software (4305)
Software Update (406)
Steve Jobs (252)
Stocking Stuffers (50)
Surveys and Polls (97)
Switchers (112)
The Woz (34)
TUAW Business (237)
Universal Binary (281)
UNIX / BSD (61)
Video (902)
Weekend Review (82)
WIN Business (47)
Wireless (83)
Xserve (39)
iPhone/iPod News
iPhone (1490)
iPod Family (2024)
App Store (17)
SDK (14)
Mac Events
One More Thing (27)
Liveblog (1)
Other Events (226)
Macworld (489)
Mac Learning
AppleScript (3)
Ask TUAW (102)
Blogs (85)
Books (26)
Books and Blogs (62)
Cool tools (443)
Hacks (460)
How-tos (484)
Interviews (43)
Mods (186)
Productivity (586)
Reviews (107)
Security (154)
Terminal Tips (58)
Tips and tricks (564)
Troubleshooting (167)
TUAW Features
iPhone 101 (26)
TUAW Labs (3)
Blast From the Past (17)
TUAW Tips (141)
Flickr Find (35)
Found Footage (81)
Mac 101 (89)
TUAW Interview (31)
Widget Watch (198)
The Daily Best (1)
TUAW Faceoff (4)

RESOURCES

RSS NEWSFEEDS

Powered by Blogsmith

Sponsored Links

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) bloggers (30 days)

#BloggerPostsCmts
1Cory Bohon871
2Robert Palmer5943
3Steven Sande5623
4Mat Lu3610
5Scott McNulty360
6Dave Caolo340
7Erica Sadun282
8Brett Terpstra210
9Mike Schramm182
10Michael Rose1334
11Christina Warren938
12Joshua Ellis44
13Lisa Hoover26
14Chris Ullrich12
15Jason Clarke11

Featured Galleries

Macworld 2008 Keynote
Macworld 2008 Build-up
Apple Vanity Plates
DiscPainter
Macworld Expo 2007 show floor
The Macworld Faithful in Line
iPhone First Look
AT&T 3G Coverage Map
MobileMe Guided Tour UI Changes

 

    Most Commented On (7 days)

    Recent Comments

    More Apple Analysis

    More from AOL Money and Finance

    Weblogs, Inc. Network

    Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in: