Jailbreak iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

A second iPhone worm virus has been found by security company F-Secure. It is specifically targeting people in the Netherlands who are using their iPhones for internet banking with Dutch online bank ING.

It redirects the bank’s customers to a site with a log-in screen (phishing). The worm attacks “jailbroken” phones – a modification which enables the user to run non-Apple approved software on their handset. Only handsets with installed SSH (secure shell) are at risk. SSH is a file-transfer program that enables users to remotely connect to their phones. It comes with a default password, ‘alpine’ which should be changed.

Here is a tutorial how to change the default SSH password and minimize the risk.

This is quite simple. If you did a jailbreak on your iPhone you need to change the default password. Why? Because hackers can access your phone, read your mail, sms, download other data. The second reason is because there are already several viruses (worms) that use these default passwords.

Here’s a quick step-by-step tutorial.

1. If you don’t have MobileTerminal application installed: run Cydia, search for MobileTerminal and install.
2. Run MobileTerminal.
3. Type passwd and press return.
4. Enter the default user password alpine and press return.
5. Enter a new password and press return.
6. Enter a new password again and press return.
7. Congratulations, you changed it for default mobile user. Let’s do the same for root user.
8. Login as root user: type su root and press return.
9. Type passwd and press return.
10. Enter the default root user password alpine and press return.
11. Enter a new password and press return.
12. Enter a new password again and press return.
13. That’s it!

The passwords are now changed, and your jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch is now a bit more secure than it was before and less vulnerable to the worm detected recently.