Gismo's World

Switch Background Styles of Launchpad in OS X 10.7.3

2012-02-09T23:12:00.002-05:00

The OS X 10.7.3 update brought with it a variety of subtle changes, including a minor adjustment to how the Launchpad background image style is switched. In previous Mac OS X versions, Command+B would switch between the background effect styles, but this is now achieved withControl+Option+Command+B.
Try it yourself by opening Launchpad and then hitting the Control+Option+Command+B keys to alternate between backgrounds with blur, unblurred, black and white, and blurred black and white. You can see samples of these background style effects below.

Without a blurred background:

Black and white with blur background:

Black and white without blur:

Using the unblurred color background makes Launchpad on the Mac closely resemble Springboard on an iOS device.

Set Gmail as Default Email Client for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari

2012-02-09T23:07:00.002-05:00

Clicking an email link in a web browser defaults to launching Mail.app, which is great if you use Mail but not so great if you use webmail services like Gmail. This is fairly easy to resolve, though you’ll have to configure it separately on a per-browser basis, with different methods for Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Opera.

Set Gmail as Default Email Client in Chrome and Opera

Launch a new browser window and open up Gmail
Open the Javascript console by hitting Command+Option+J and then paste in the following:
navigator.registerProtocolHandler("mailto", "https://mail.google.com/mail/?extsrc=mailto&url=%s", "Gmail");
Accept the confirmation at the top of the browser window and try out a mailto link

This can be undone or changed again by going to chrome://settings/handlers and adjusting the setting as appropriate.

Use Gmail as Default Email in Firefox

Open Firefox Preferences
Click on “Applications” tab
Locate “mailto” under the ‘Content Type’ tab and change the action to “Use Gmail”
Close out of Firefox Preferences

Switching back to the default behavior is just a matter of selecting Mail again as the action.

Using Gmail as Email Default in Safari

Safari users can either use a browser extension called GmailThis available from Apple’s extensions gallery, or can use apps like Gmail Notifier which we have discussed here before for it’s menu bar alerts. After Google Notifier has been installed:

Open Mail Preferences and click on “General”
Pull down the “Default email reader” and locate ‘Google Notifier’
Quit out of Mail.app

Older versions of Mac OS X can use WebMailer as well, but Google Notifier is the most reliable.
Heads up to HTML5Rocks for the Chrome tip.

Greenpois0n Absinthe A5 Jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 Updated to v0.2 [Download Links]

2012-01-23T16:03:00.000-05:00

The Greenpois0n Absinthe A5 jailbreak utility for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 on iOS 5 has been updated to version 0.2, and now includes a Windows release alongside the Mac OS X version.
In addition to bringing the jailbreak to Windows PC’s, the new version aims to resolve some of the earlierdatabase problems, white screen errors, and white icon errors that some users encountered during the process. If you had problems with the first version of Absinthe and gave up on jailbreaking, try again with this version. If you’re already jailbroken, you don’t need to bother and this version doesn’t offer any changes to you.
Instructions on how to use Absinthe A5 for jailbreaking are the same for both Mac and Windows PC’s, and continue to only support A5 hardware, including iPhone 4S with iOS 5.0 or iOS 5.0.1, and iPad 2 with iOS 5.0.1.

Download Greenpois0n Absinthe A5 Jailbreak v0.2

Download now – Mac OS X
Download now – Windows

After the jailbreak has finished on the device, if you hit an error remember to enable VPN from Settings > Network to cause the reboot.

How to Fix “Error Establishing a Database Connection” when Using Absinthe

2012-01-21T13:20:00.000-05:00

The Absinthe jailbreak for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 was released a few minutes ago. Of course, we were right on it and we already posted a tutorial on how to jailbreak the iPhone 4S or iPad 2 using Absinthe.

While I haven’t had any problem running the jailbreak – well, I had it a few minutes before everybody else – it appears that some users are having a problem when launching the Absinthe app installed on their device, which returns an “error establishing a database connection“.

We have a fix for that…

iOS hacker PlanetBeing who helped develop the jailbreak tweeted a simple fix for the “error establishing a database connection”. Apparently, all you need to do is go to Settings > Network > VPN > ON.

The VPN connection will most likely give an error and your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 should reboot shortly after. Once it’s rebooted, try launching the Absinthe webclip again.

Let us know if that works for you.

How to Jailbreak the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 Untethered With Absinthe

2012-01-20T15:58:00.000-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. The moment you’ve all been patiently waiting for. This iPhone 4S untethered jailbreak and iPad 2 untethered jailbreak have been released.

Indeed, as we initially told you just a few minutes ago, you can now download Absinthe and jailbreak your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 untethered.

Check inside as we guide you through the entire jailbreak process step-by-step…

iPhone 4S Untethered Jailbreak Video

iPad 2 Untethered Jailbreak Video

How to Jailbreak the iPhone 4S or iPad 2 with Absinthe

Step 1: Download, extract, and run Absinthe from our downloads page.

Step 2: Connect your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 via USB.

Step 3: Click “Jailbreak” to run the Absinthe jailbreak. It will take a while on the beginning portion, and eventually your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 will look like it’s restoring a backup. It will say “Restoring in Progress”. This can be pretty lengthy. Don’t worry, it’s working. Don’t touch your device until completely finished!

Step 4: Once completed, unlock your iPhone if necessary, and you should see an Absinthe icon on the Home screen. You may have to search for it if you have a lot of app icons. Tap the Absinthe icon, and it should load the GreenPois0n site, and will then reboot your device. Once it loads back up, the Cydia icon will have replaced the Absinthe icon.

Step 5: Your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 is now jailbroken! It took a while, but it was certainly worth the wait. Now all that’s left to do is load Cydia for the first time, and start downloading your favorite jailbreak apps and tweaks.

Are you guys happy to finally have an iPhone 4S or iPad 2 untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1? What’s the first jailbreak app or tweak that you’ll download?

Update: We have a fix for the “Error establishing a database connection“

Install iOS 5 on iPhone 3G & 2G or iPod Touch 1G/2G with Whited00r 5

2012-01-19T21:31:00.002-05:00

Have an older generation iPhone 3G or 2G? If so, you’re stuck on older legacy iOS versions with limited features and sluggish speeds. But not anymore with Whited00r, which installs a custom iOS build on the device to help bring it into the modern age.
Whited00r 5.1 is basically an unofficial custom made iOS build that includes many of the iOS 5 features and has been optimized to run on the older hardware. With Whited00r, you’ll get multitasking, wallpapers, folders, and variations of Reminders and Newsstand, and it’s claimed to be much faster than the default iOS 4 installations that drag the iPhone 3G down. Unfortunately there’s no Notification Center, and you will also lose the native App Store, meaning to install apps you’ll have to use iTunes or Safari. If the trade offs are worth it to you, installing Whited00r is very easy for anyone familiar with using IPSW files.

Installing Whited00r 5.1 on iPhone 3G/2G & iPod touch 1G/2G

This works for iPhone 3G, iPhone 2G, iPod touch 1g and 2g. Backup the iOS device beforehand, and proceed at your own risk:

Download the appropriate version of Whited00r from here
Unzip the custom IPSW package to somewhere easy to find
Launch iTunes and hold down Option (Mac) or Shift (Windows) and click on “Restore”, now select the Whited00r IPSW you just downloaded
Let the process continue and the iPhone will reboot on it’s own

After the iPhone has rebooted, do not restore from a backup, instead select to set up a new device. This is recommended to avoid any conflicts.
This video demonstrates the speed of an iPhone 3G running Whited00r 5.1 compared to an iPhone 3GS running iOS 5:

Popout
The speeds are fairly close, an impressive feat considering the 3GS has significantly faster hardware, a faster CPU, and more RAM.
If you’re having trouble with the installation or just have questions, check out Whited00r’s forums.

Convert Video to an Audio Track Directly in Mac OS X Lion

2012-01-16T21:57:00.003-05:00

Converting a video file to an audio track is made extremely easy with the help of Mac OS X Lion’s new media encoding abilities that are built directly into the Finder. This has been tested to work with .mov, .m4v, .mpg, and mp4, and the resulting audio track is 256kbps m4a file:

Locate the video you want converted to an audio track and right-click on it
From the bottom of the menu, select “Encode Selected Video Files”

At the “Encode Media” window, pull down the contextual menu next to “Setting” and select “Audio Only”
Click “Continue” or set the destination to another location if necessary

The encoder works very fast, and you’ll end up with a .m4a audio file of the same name in the same folder as the source video. Open the file to bring it into the iTunes library for playing and syncing to an iPod or iPhone.
Speaking of iTunes, you can use the same Finder encoders in Lion to convert audio files to m4a format, which can then be added to iTunes as well.
Update: Don’t see the Encode options when you right-click media files? Here is how to enable them

Top 10 Ways to Break Into and Out of Almost Anything

2012-01-12T01:42:00.001-05:00

Whether you're stuck inside and need to break out or you've found locked outside and need to get in, having the key or password is rarely your only option. Here are our top 10 favorite tricks for breaking into and out of nearly any locked down environment.

10. Crack an Electronic Safe

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Breaking into many types of electronic safes (you know, ones with keypads) is surprisingly easy. You just need to bounce them. It's a pretty simple technique, but looks like it takes a bit of practice. Basically, you drop part of the safe against the table (or whatever surface it's resting upon) while turning the locking knob. If your timing is right, you'll have turned the knob when the safe's lock bounces open for a brief moment. This works because many cheaper safes have locks that lift. Better safes don't have this vulnerability and this trick won't work on them, but if you've got a cheap one and lost your passcode you can just do this bouncing trick to open it right up.

9. Break Into Your Garage from the Outside

Can't get into your own house? Got a garage? Just stick a long metal wire with a hook on the end through the door to grab the garage door latch and force it to lift the door open. You can get back into your garage in seconds with this trick. (See the video to the left for a demonstration.) If you'd like to prevent people from doing this to you, all you need to do is bind your opener's quick door release lever with a zip tie. This will make your emergency latch a bit more difficult to open, but you won't have to worry about any troublesome individuals breaking into your garage with this trick.

8. Release a Sliding Chain Lock with a Rubber Band

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If you want to find your way into a door that's bound shut by a sliding chain lock, all you need is a rubber band. Assuming you've bypassed any other locks already, just open the door as much as you can and tie the rubber band to one end of the sliding lock. Next, pull the rubber band down to the door handle. Shut the door and open it again and the door handle will pull the sliding lock out of place. (See a video demonstration here.) Easy!

7. Break Out of a Car Submerged in Water

Perhaps you decided to drive your car into the ocean. It seemed like a fun idea at the time, but now that you're sinking and up against the prospect of death you're feeling a little remorse. Your best bet for breaking free is breaking the window with a device called a center punch. They're cheap and easy to acquire, so you might want to keep one in your vehicle in case of emergency. Failing that, it is possible to kick a window out when you don't have the necessary technology. Just aim for the hinges, rather than the middle, and you should find success with a little luck and sufficient force. Just don't try to open the door. That's just not going to work.

6. Escape from a Car Trunk

For those times when you've been shoved in a car trunk, there is a simple way to break yourself out. Because pretty much every trunk lock has a hook latch, you just have to locate the lock cylinder connected to latch mechanism and use it to release the latch. (More info here.) Many cars have internal releases, however, so you can generally get out by just pushing a button.

5. Unbind Your Bound Wrists

Tied up and bound? No problem. Whether you've been handcuffed or your captor decided to take the cheaper route and go with the more-affordable zip tie, you can still break out pretty easily. To break out of zip ties you just have to slam your bound fists against your butt and pull them apart.Getting out of handcuffs requires a little extra work, in that you need something called a survival strap that has a clasp doubling as a handcuff key. Tricky!

4. Break Into a Windows or Mac Computer

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Perhaps you've forgotten your computer's password and need access or you just want to learn how people can break in so you can prevent it from happening to you. We've got guide for both Windows and Mac OS X to help you learn both sides of computer security. Your files are easily accessible with just a Linux Live CD and there are plenty of other methods, like brute-force attacks, that can provide unwanted access, so learn all about it and keep your data safe.

3. Break Into Your Car

Did you lock your keys in your car again? All it really takes to get back in is a wooden wedge (like a doorstop) and a long metal rod. You just use the wedge to pry open the driver's side door just a bit so you can stick the metal rod in the opening and press the unlock button (or whatever it is). I tried this on my own car and was able to actually do it, although it was a bit complicated because the button is rather round. If you have old school locks that push up and down you can just use a crimped plastic strap to lift the lock instead. Remember to be careful and only break into a vehicle that you own!

2. Crack Wi-Fi Passwords

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Wi-Fi passwords help secure your network, but they're not that hard to crack. A tool called Backtrack can crack WEP passwordsand Reaver can crack WPA. With these tools, the process is fairly easy but a little time consuming. It can take many hours. If you want to learn how it works and how you can protect yourself, check out our Backtrack WEP-cracking guide and our Reaver WPA-cracking guide.

1. Pick and Crack Most Locks

Lock picking and cracking skills are incredibly useful when you lock yourself out of your own home. They're also great for assessing the security of any given lock. We've shown you how to both crack a master padlock and pick pretty much any standard lock. (You can also find video demonstrations in our first and second evil episodes of the Lifehacker Show.) These skills are surprisingly easy to learn. Just use them for good and not evil.

How to Crack a Wi-Fi Network’s WPA Password with Reaver

2012-01-12T01:36:00.001-05:00

Your Wi-Fi network is your conveniently wireless gateway to the internet, and since you're not keen on sharing your connection with any old hooligan who happens to be walking past your home, you secure your network with a password, right? Knowing, as you might, how easy it is to crack a WEP password, you probably secure your network using the more bulletproof WPA security protocol.

Here's the bad news: A new, free, open-source tool called Reaver exploits a security hole in wireless routers and can crack most routers' current passwords with relative ease. Here's how to crack a WPA or WPA2 password, step by step, with Reaver—and how to protect your network against Reaver attacks.

In the first section of this post, I'll walk through the steps required to crack a WPA password using Reaver. You can follow along with either the video or the text below. After that, I'll explain how Reaver works, and what you can do to protect your network against Reaver attacks.

First, a quick note: As we remind often remind readers when we discuss topics that appear potentially malicious: Knowledge is power, but power doesn't mean you should be a jerk, or do anything illegal. Knowing how to pick a lock doesn't make you a thief. Consider this post educational, or a proof-of-concept intellectual exercise. The more you know, the better you can protect yourself.

What You'll Need

You don't have to be a networking wizard to use Reaver, the command-line tool that does the heavy lifting, and if you've got a blank DVD, a computer with compatible Wi-Fi, and a few hours on your hands, you've got basically all you'll need. There are a number of ways you could set up Reaver, but here are the specific requirements for this guide:

The BackTrack 5 Live DVD. BackTrack is a bootable Linux distribution that's filled to the brim with network testing tools, and while it's not strictly required to use Reaver, it's the easiest approach for most users. Download the Live DVD from BackTrack's download page and burn it to a DVD. You can alternately download a virtual machine image if you're using VMware, but if you don't know what VMware is, just stick with the Live DVD. As of this writing, that means you should select BackTrack 5 R1 from the Release drop-down, select Gnome, 32- or 64-bit depending on your CPU (if you don't know which you have, 32 is a safe bet), ISO for image, and then download the ISO.
A computer with Wi-Fi and a DVD drive.BackTrack will work with the wireless card on most laptops, so chances are your laptop will work fine. However, BackTrack doesn't have a full compatibility list, so no guarantees. You'll also need a DVD drive, since that's how you'll boot into BackTrack. I used a six-year-old MacBook Pro.
A nearby WPA-secured Wi-Fi network. Technically, it will need to be a network using WPA security with the WPS feature enabled. I'll explain in more detail in the "How Reaver Works" section how WPS creates the security hole that makes WPA cracking possible.
A little patience. This is a 4-step process, and while it's not terribly difficult to crack a WPA password with Reaver, it's a brute-force attack, which means your computer will be testing a number of different combinations of cracks on your router before it finds the right one. When I tested it, Reaver took roughly 2.5 hours to successfully crack my password. TheReaver home page suggests it can take anywhere from 4-10 hours. Your mileage may vary.

Let's Get Crackin'

At this point you should have BackTrack burned to a DVD, and you should have your laptop handy.

Step 1: Boot into BackTrack

To boot into BackTrack, just put the DVD in your drive and boot your machine from the disc. (Google around if you don't know anything about live CDs/DVDs and need help with this part.) During the boot process, BackTrack will prompt you to to choose the boot mode. Select "BackTrack Text - Default Boot Text Mode" and press Enter.

Eventually BackTrack will boot to a command line prompt. When you've reached the prompt, type startx and press Enter. BackTrack will boot into its graphical interface.

Step 2: Install Reaver

Reaver has been added to the bleeding edge version of BackTrack, but it's not yet incorporated with the live DVD, so as of this writing, you need to install Reaver before proceeding. (Eventually, Reaver will simply be incorporated with BackTrack by default.) To install Reaver, you'll first need to connect to a Wi-Fi network that you have the password to.

Click Applications > Internet > Wicd Network Manager
Select your network and click Connect, enter your password if necessary, click OK, and then click Connect a second time.

Now that you're online, let's install Reaver. Click the Terminal button in the menu bar (or click Applications > Accessories > Terminal). At the prompt, type:

apt-get update

And then, after the update completes:

apt-get install reaver

If all went well, Reaver should now be installed. It may seem a little lame that you need to connect to a network to do this, but it will remain installed until you reboot your computer. At this point, go ahead and disconnect from the network by opening Wicd Network Manager again and clicking Disconnect. (You may not strictly need to do this. I did just because it felt like I was somehow cheating if I were already connected to a network.)

Step 3: Gather Your Device Information, Prep Your Crackin'

In order to use Reaver, you need to get your wireless card's interface name, the BSSID of the router you're attempting to crack (the BSSID is a unique series of letters and numbers that identifies a router), and you need to make sure your wireless card is in monitor mode. So let's do all that.

Find your wireless card: Inside Terminal, type:

iwconfig

Press Enter. You should see a wireless device in the subsequent list. Most likely, it'll be named wlan0, but if you have more than one wireless card, or a more unusual networking setup, it may be named something different.

Put your wireless card into monitor mode: Assuming your wireless card's interface nameis wlan0, execute the following command to put your wireless card into monitor mode:

airmon-ng start wlan0

This command will output the name of monitor mode interface, which you'll also want to make note of. Most likely, it'll be mon0, like in the screenshot below. Make note of that.

Find the BSSID of the router you want to crack: Lastly, you need to get the unique identifier of the router you're attempting to crack so that you can point Reaver in the right direction. To do this, execute the following command:

airodump-ng wlan0

You'll see a list of the wireless networks in range—it'll look something like the screenshot below:

When you see the network you want, press Ctrl+C to stop the list from refreshing, then copy that network's BSSID (it's the series of letters, numbers, and colons on the far left). The network should have WPA or WPA2 listed under the ENC column. (If it's WEP, use our previous guide to cracking WEP passwords.)

Now, with the BSSID and monitor interface name in hand, you've got everything you need to start up Reaver.

Step 4: Crack a Network's WPA Password with Reaver

Now execute the following command in the Terminal, replacing bssid and moninterfacewith the BSSID and monitor interface and you copied down above:

reaver -i moninterface -b bssid -vv

For example, if your monitor interface was mon0 like mine, and your BSSID was8D:AE:9D:65:1F:B2 (a BSSID I just made up), your command would look like:

reaver -i mon0 -b 8D:AE:9D:65:1F:B2 -vv

Press Enter, sit back, and let Reaver work its disturbing magic. Reaver will now try a series of PINs on the router in a brute force attack, one after another. This will take a while. In my successful test, Reaver took 2 hours and 30 minutes to crack the network and deliver me with the correct password. As mentioned above, the Reaver documentation says it can take between 4 and 10 hours, so it could take more or less time than I experienced, depending. When Reaver's cracking has completed, it'll look like this:

A few important factors to consider: Reaver worked exactly as advertised in my test, but it won't necessarily work on all routers (see more below). Also, the router you're cracking needs to have a relatively strong signal, so if you're hardly in range of a router, you'll likely experience problems, and Reaver may not work. Throughout the process, Reaver would sometimes experience a timeout, sometimes get locked in a loop trying the same PIN repeatedly, and so on. I just let it keep on running, and kept it close to the router, and eventually it worked its way through.

Also of note, you can also pause your progress at any time by pressing Ctrl+C while Reaver is running. This will quit the process, but Reaver will save any progress so that next time you run the command, you can pick up where you left off-as long as you don't shut down your computer (which, if you're running off a live DVD, will reset everything).

How Reaver Works

Now that you've seen how to use Reaver, let's take a quick overview of how Reaver works. The tool takes advantage of a vulnerability in something called Wi-Fi Protected Setup, or WPS. It's a feature that exists on many routers, intended to provide an easy setup process, and it's tied to a PIN that's hard-coded into the device. Reaver exploits a flaw in these PINs; the result is that, with enough time, it can reveal your WPA or WPA2 password.

Read more details about the vulnerability at Sean Gallagher's excellent post on Ars Technica.

How to Protect Yourself Against Reaver Attacks

Since the vulnerability lies in the implementation of WPS, your network should be safe if you can simply turn off WPS (or, even better, if your router doesn't support it in the first place). Unfortunately, as Gallagher points out as Ars, even with WPS manually turned off through his router's settings, Reaver was still able to crack his password.

In a phone conversation, Craig Heffner said that the inability to shut this vulnerability down is widespread. He and others have found it to occur with every Linksys and Cisco Valet wireless access point they've tested. "On all of the Linksys routers, you cannot manually disable WPS," he said. While the Web interface has a radio button that allegedly turns off WPS configuration, "it's still on and still vulnerable.

So that's kind of a bummer. You may still want to try disabling WPS on your router if you can, and test it against Reaver to see if it helps.

You could also set up MAC address filtering on your router (which only allows specifically whitelisted devices to connect to your network), but a sufficiently savvy hacker could detect the MAC address of a whitelisted device and use MAC address spoofing to imitate that computer.

Double bummer. So what will work?

I have the open-source router firmware DD-WRT installed on my router and I was unable to use Reaver to crack its password. As it turns out, DD-WRT does not support WPS, so there's yet another reason to love the free router-booster. If that's got you interested in DD-WRT, check their supported devices list to see if your router's supported. It's a good security upgrade, and DD-WRT can also do cool things like monitor your internet usage, set up a network hard drive, act as a whole-house ad blocker, boost the range of your Wi-Fi network, and more. It essentiallyturns your $60 router into a $600 router.

Redsn0w 0.9.10b3 Jailbreak Released with Bug Fixes [Download Links]

2011-12-29T23:51:00.002-05:00

Another day another version of redsn0w is released… Redsn0w 0.9.10b3 includes a bug fix that caused some apps to not be able to run after the jailbreak was completed. I didn’t run into any problems on an iPhone 4, but if you did encounter any issues with apps crashing with the prior redsn0w jailbreak then you can go ahead and use the latest version to resolve them.
To fix an existing jailbroken device, all you need to do is run the newest 0.9.10b3 version over your existing jailbreak, just be sure to uncheck the “Install Cydia” option.
Nothing else is different about this release, it continues to be an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 3rd & 4th gen, and iPad 1. If you’re not sure what to do, read our guide to jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 untethered using Redsn0w.

Download Redsn0w 0.9.10b3

Download now (Mac)
Download now (Windows)

If you are not currently experiencing problems with your jailbreak, this is probably not a necessary download.

HTC offers bootloader unlocking option for all recent Android phones

2011-12-29T23:37:00.002-05:00

Last May, HTC’s chief executive officer Peter Chou responded to customer feedback and announced that the company would no longer be locking the bootloaders on its devices. HTC later introduced the web-based HTCDev unlocking tool, giving users a simple and safe way to unlock their devices. The solution was not perfect though, and phones such as the HTC Vivid and HTC Rezound were released with locked bootloaders and users had no method to unlock them. HTC has made good on its promise once again, however, and the company’s developer site has now been updated with the following message:

All HTC Android devices launched after September 2011 are unlockable. The website will be updated accordingly to reflect this in the coming weeks. We continue to work on models launched prior to September 2011, please check back often for the status of older devices.

Anyone interested in customizing their HTC device should visit the source link after the break.

Verizon to charge $2 single bill payment fee beginning next month

2011-12-29T23:35:00.002-05:00

Verizon Wireless will begin to roll out a new convenience fee on January 15th which will add an additional $2.00 fee to customers who make single bill payments online or by telephone. Verizon claims the fee will allow the company to continue to support these payment options, however the fee is waived for those who pay by electronic check or enroll in Verizon’s AutoPay service. Additionally, customers who pay their bills in the store, online through a bank, or physically mail a check to Verizon will be not be charged the new fee. The telephone and online single payment fee will be disclosed up-front and throughout the transaction, Verizon said.
Read

How to Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 Untethered And Preserve Your Unlockable Baseband

2011-12-29T23:33:00.003-05:00

Today, as we’re sure you’re aware of, the untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 was released. Tools like RedSn0w and packages like Corona were released to take advantage of pod2g’s untethered exploit.

If you’ve had an iPhone 4 since launch, then it’s entirely possible that you’ve preserved your baseband up until now for unlocking and resale value.

If your primary concern is preserving your baseband for an UltraSn0w unlock, then you’ll be happy to hear that PwnageTool is back, and it packs full iOS 5.0.1 compatibility in tow…

How to Untether Jailbreak and Preserve Your Baseband for Unlock

Step 1: Download and run PwnageTool 5.0.1

Step 2: Select your device (e.g. iPhone 4) and select next.

Step 3: PwnageTool will search for your iOS 5.0.1 firmware. If it doesn’t find the iOS 5.0.1 firmware you can use Expert mode to browse for the specific location of your firmware.

Step 4: Place your device into DFU mode, and PwnageTool will put your device into PwnedDFU mode for custom iTunes restore.

Step 5: Close PwnageTool, open iTunes, hold option and click restore and find your CUSTOM firmware that was placed on your desktop by PwnageTool. Be sure to select your custom firmware or else you will upgrade your baseband.

Step 6: Let iTunes restore your device, and it should be jailbroken with preserved baseband on iOS 5.0.1. Again, this is an untethered jailbreak.

Step 7: You can now download UltraSn0w from Cydia, and if your iPhone meets the baseband requirements, you can unlock your iPhone to use with other carriers. This will also work with the Gevey SIM if your baseband meets the requirements.

For more information on how to unlock your iPhone with UltraSn0w, see our most recent UltraSn0w tutorial.

Have you preserved your baseband up until this point? Let us know in the comments below.

How to Fix “Device Not Eligible for Upgrade, Restore, Requested Build” Error

2011-12-29T23:32:00.000-05:00

When trying to update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to a newer firmware to take advantage of an untethered jailbreak, you might have encountered various problems, such as error message 1013, 1600, 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604, etc. These errors might tell you that your device is not eligible for upgrade, or that it’s not eligible for restore, or even that it isn’t eligible for the requested build.

There are fairly common errors, and thankfully there is an easy fix. All it takes in a few seconds of your time.

There are actually two ways to fix these types of error messages. The easy way, and the long way. We’re going to have a quick look at both.

The easy way: TinyUmbrella

Download TinyUmbrella
Launch TinyUmbrella and go to the “Advanced” tab
Uncheck the box that says “Set Hosts to Cydia on Exit (If you need a clean restore from Apple uncheck this box)”
Close TinyUmbrella

The hard way: editing files manually

On Mac:

Make sure you are logged in as administrator
Open Finder
Hold down COMMAND + SHIFT keys and press ‘G’
Enter “/private/etc/” in the field and press “Go”
Find “hosts” file in the directory
Drag the file to your desktop
Open it in text editor
Remove the line that has gs.apple.com entirely or put a # at the beginning of it to comment it out
Save the file
Drag it back to the /private/etc/ folder
Enter your username and password to authenticate

On Windows:

Locate the hosts file in one of the following directories:
Windows 95/98/Me c:\windows\hosts
Windows NT/2000/XP Pro c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Windows XP, Vista, 7 c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Right click on it and choose “Open With…” then click on “Notepad”
Remove the line that has gs.apple.com completely and save the file

Once this is done, proceed to restore or update your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. You shouldn’t have any problems going forward.

You should now be good to go ahead and restore or update your iOS firmware. Let us know if you have any questions in the comments.

How to Get the Untethered Jailbreak Using Corona Untether 5.0.1

2011-12-27T13:19:00.003-05:00

After weeks of anticipation, the iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreak is finally here, compliments of pod2g, the Chronic Dev Team, and the Dev Team. As we explained a little earlier today, you currently have two ways to untether.

Depending on your situation, you can either run the latest version of RedSn0w, or if you’re already jailbroken, you can use the Cydia package called Corona Untether 5.0.1to do the job. The latter is what we’ll focus on in this post…

We realize there isn’t much to Corona Untether 5.0.1. It’s fairly easy and straightforward, but to make things very clear and simple for everyone, we thought we’d have a dedicated post for it.

First and foremost, you should definitely make sure to read our post about the iOS 5.0.1 untether. It has all the details you should know.

Who should use Corona Untether 5.0.1?

Anyone running a tethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 may use this Cydia package to untether. That means that if your device is running iOS 5.0.1, and that you have a tethered jailbreak, then Corona Untether 5.0.1 is for you. Supported devices include the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4 CDMA, iPad 1, iPod touch 3G, and iPod touch 4G.

How to untether?

Because you’re already running a jailbroken version of iOS 5.0.1, the untether process is going to be fairly easy for you.

Step 1: Launch Cydia and search for Corona Untether 5.0.1.

Step 2: Tap “Install” and let Cydia do the rest of the job for you.

That’s all there is to it. You can now safely reboot your iPhone, iPod, or iPad without the need of an external tool, such as RedSn0w, to boot tethered.

If you have a question or comment about Corona, feel free to ask below.

How to Get the iOS 5.0.1 Untethered Jailbreak Using RedSn0w

2011-12-27T13:05:00.001-05:00

By now you’ve probably read our earlier report that there is finally an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1. This is thanks to the amazing work of iOS hacker pod2g, but also thanks to GeoHot, who found some of these exploits a while back.

As we mentioned in our previous post, there are two ways to untether iOS 5.0.1. If you’re already jailbroken, you may want to use Corona Untether 5.0.1. If, however, you’re still running a stock iOS 5.0.1 version, then this RedSn0w tutorial is for you…

Before going forward, I advise you read our post about the specifics of this iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreak.

Note that unlockers who need to preserve their baseband while updating to the latest iOS version will have to first create a custom firmware using RedSn0w > Extras > Custom IPSW.

How to Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 Untether with RedSn0w

Step 1: Download RedSn0w 0.9.10b1 from our downloads section.

Step 2: Plug your iDevice in and put it in DFU mode.

Step 3: Launch RedSn0w and click on “Jailbreak” and select “Install Cydia”.

Let RedSn0w work its magic. In just a few moments, your iOS device should reboot and run an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1.

Feel free to ask any questions about jailbreaking iOS 5.0.1 with RedSn0w below.

Siri Port for iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad, iPod touch, Available for Free

2011-12-26T23:24:00.000-05:00

An unofficial Siri port called Spire is now available as a free download for jailbroken iOS device owners. Spire is compatible with the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad, and iPod touch 3rd and 4th gens, although the sensitivity of microphones on iPad and iPod touch models may impact performance. Weighing in at about 100MB, downloading Spire will also grab the necessary Siri files from Apple via extracting the iOS 5.0.1 IPSW.
If you’re interested in installing and running Spire, you’ll need to jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 on your compatible device, and then setup a Siri proxy to gain access to Apple’s Siri servers. The reason is explained by Spire developer,chpwn:

Apple still requires authorization to use Siri, so information from an iPhone 4S is still required. To insert this information, Spire allows you to enter your own proxy server address. By using this (ancient) SiriProxy fork, you can setup a proxy using your own iPhone 4S to insert the needed information reasonably easily.

Obviously this isn’t the best solution since it continues to require an accessible iPhone 4S, but for those who meet all the requirements it should be a fun mod to their iOS hardware.
Spire can be found as a free download on the Cydia store.

iPhone 4S Unlock (How-To)

2011-12-26T19:11:00.001-05:00

Usually unlocking an iPhone 4 or 4S is tricky. Usually baseband is troubled and users have to jailbreak and make sure they preserve their baseband. As of today November 18th There is method to unlocking an iPhone 4S without a jailbreak or any specific modding! ITs actually quite simple of you follow the tutorial below:

Insert original carrier AT&T SIM card
Dial 611 for AT&T customer service hotline and drop the call
Turn on Airplane Mode
Take out AT&T SIM card
Insert T-Mobile SIM card
Make sure WiFi is off ( also tap on ‘Forget this Network” to make sure it doesn’t connect automatically later)
Switch off Airplane Mode and iPhone will search for network. This is followed by the Apple splash screen appearing.
Activation Required will be displayed on the screen
EDGE network will activate automatically – notice the ‘E’ on the top left corner of the screen
Wait for about 20-30 seconds and turn off the phone
Turn on iPhone and the same Activation Required screen will be displayed
When you see one signal bar, tap on Use Cellular Connection
Eject SIM card
Activation Required screen will be displayed the second time
Insert SIM card
Unlocked!

FAQ

1. ”is this a permanent unlock? if I update my iPhone 4S firmware will the unlock go away? And has this been tested and confirmed”

A: “ It has been confirmed but It is not sure if a software update will patch it. Hope that helps”

Downgrade From iOS 5 to iOS 4.3.3 Using TinyCFW

2011-12-26T17:40:00.004-05:00

Are you growing tired of waiting for an iOS 5 jailbreak? Do you wish you could go back to the good old days of iOS 4.3.3, when jailbreaking was simple? If you answered yes to either one of those questions, you might be interested in TinyCFW.

TinyCFW is a new downgrading tool by TinyUmbrella-creator NotCom. Using your saved SHSH blobs, you can use TinyCFW to downgrade your iPhone 4 or iPad 2 to iOS 4.3.3 so you can go back to having an untethered jailbreak.

NotCom explains:

“TinyCFW is a simple tool I put together for a friend of mine. He has an iPad 2 GSM and has his 4.3.3 SHSH but since Apple is no longer signing 4.3.3, it isn’t possible to downgrade to 4.3.3 without getting stuck in a 1015 recovery loop.

- It will modify an existing IPSW for an iPad 2 GSM/CDMA or iPhone 4 GSM/CDMA

- It WILL modify the IPSW to update your baseband to the latest

- It will create an IPSW that you can use with TinyUmbrella AND iTunes to restore to a version of iOS that you have SHSHs for

- It is primarily for iPad 2 with a baseband OR iPhone 4.

NotCom also warns that he never intended TinyCFW for public release. It was just a tool he made for a friend that he figured he would share with others looking to do the same thing. He says we can expect its functionality in far more robust form in TinyPwn, a future release.

We hope to have a TinyCFW tutorial up soon. But for those who want to give it a shot beforehand, you can grab the utility from our Downloads page. If you get stuck, NotCom has some light instructions for using TinyCFW on his website.

How to Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 With RedSn0w Beta 9

2011-12-26T17:28:00.001-05:00

As promised, a new and improved version of RedSn0w was unleashed just a few moments ago, and one of its primary features is the ability to jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 outright without the assistance of any additional firmware.

This makes for one of the easiest jailbreak methods possible for iOS 5.0.1. Check inside for a video walkthrough of the jailbreak process, along with a brief tutorial…

How to Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 w/ RedSn0w Beta 9

Step 1: Place your device into DFU mode.

Step 2: Download and run RedSn0w 0.9.9b9.

Step 3: Click Jailbreak. Once it finishes the jailbreak, place your device back into DFU mode.

Step 4: In RedSn0w, click to Extras > Boot Tethered. It will boot your device back to your Home screen.

Step 5: Run Cydia to update to the latest files.

For more in-depth details on RedSn0w and its usage, check out our dedicated RedSn0w page.

Aren’t you happy that iOS 5.0.1 is now much easier to jailbreak with RedSn0w? We surely are!

How to Recalibrate Your iPhone’s Home Button to Make it More Responsive

2011-12-25T15:21:00.003-05:00

Sometimes the Home button on the iPhone just starts getting a little funky, a little laggy, a bit unresponsive.

Most of the time, those issues are software based, unless of course you’ve dropped your iPhone in water while feeding your pet fish.

For us non-fish owners, we’ve confirmed that a simple recalibration is usually all that’s needed to fix most issues with the iPhone’s Home button. Take a look at our video tutorial inside…

How to Recalibrate Your iDevice’s Home Button

Step 1: Open a stock app, like Weather or Stocks.

Step 2: Press and hold your power button until “slide to power off” appears and release.

Step 3: Press and hold your Home button until the “slide to power off” goes away, and the app force quits. Your iPhone’s Home button should now be more responsive, because it has been recalibrated.

I realize this is a known trick that’s been floating around for some time, but I just used it myself personally for the first time and I got good results. What about you?

How to Unlock iOS 5.0.1 With UltraSn0w

2011-12-21T22:59:00.003-05:00

UltraSn0w 1.2.5 was just released with iOS 5.0.1 support in tow for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, but the question is, how do you make it work?

Inside, you’ll find a brief tutorial that shows you how to verify if you qualify for an unlock, and how to go about unlocking your iPhone with UltraSn0w 1.2.5…

Step 1: Make sure you have a qualifying baseband.

To check this go to Settings > General > About and check the “Modem Firmware” section at the bottom of the page. If you are on an iPhone 4 and the Modem Firmware says 01.59.00, you can unlock. If you are on an iPhone 3GS and your firmware is any of the following: 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01, 05.13.04, or 06.15.00 you can unlock.

If your baseband doesn’t meet the above requirements, stop here. You are not eligible for unlock. iPhone 4S is currently not unlockable.

Step 2: If you haven’t already, upgrade to iOS 5.0.1 and preserve your baseband when doing so.

Step 3: Jailbreak your iPhone 5.0.1.

Step 4: Go to Cydia and search for “UltraSn0w”. Install UltraSn0w 1.2.5.

Step 5: Remove your old SIM card and replace with new SIM card e.g. a T-Mobile SIM. You may need to cut your SIM to fit the micro-SIM slot. See the video for more details.

Step 6: Give your iPhone a few seconds, and it should now be on the new network, courtesy of the UltraSn0w 1.2.5 iOS 5.0.1 unlock.

Unless you got an iPhone 4 at launch and you were very careful to preserve it all of this time, it’s fairly unlikely that your baseband still qualifies. I know mine doesn’t.

Are you eligible for an unlock? Have you unlocked your iOS 5.0.1 installation as of yet? Let us know.

OpenBackup: One of the Most Promising Jailbreak Backup Solutions on Cydia

2011-12-21T22:58:00.001-05:00

Today I tried out OpenBackup — a new package backup solution for your jailbreak apps and tweaks.

Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical. I’ve had my fair share of experiences with backup tools for jailbreak apps tweaks in the past, and they either a). don’t work, or b). overly complicated.

Outside of PKGBackup, I can’t really recommend any backup solutions, although I have yet to try iBye (I have heard good things about that).

But even an excellent app like PKGBackup can be borderline confusing when it comes to safely backing up and restoring your Cydia tweaks. With the advent of iCloud, I held out hope that a backup tool could harness its power for backups and restores, and that’sjust what happened.

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing OpenBackup, the first tool of its kind that utilizes iCloud for seamless backups and restores…

What makes OpenBackup so promising is how ridiculously easy it is to use. There’s no setup, no configuration; you just backup and restore. It’s as simple as 1-2-3.

What’s great about OpenBackup is that it totally relies on iCloud. It saves a list of all of your free Cydia apps and tweaks on iCloud, along with their preferences. On restore, it downloads every item on the list from Cydia, and replaces the preference files so that all of your settings are restored. It’s remarkable how simple it is.

And while it’s true that other backup solutions do the same, iCloud is the real difference maker here. Since your device is already connected to iCloud, there’s no logging in, no setting up credentials, or anything like that. It automatically knows your device, and can restore to the device with a simple press of the restore button.

Although I really like this app, it does have some room for improvement; improvement in two areas, actually.

Area one: The interface. Simply put, it looks like something I could design in Microsoft Paint. It’s definitely not Apple-esque, and it looks almost questionably rudimentary. It might make you think, “Should I even store my stuff with this thing?”

Area two: Lack of options. It’s okay to be simple, but this is over-the-top simple. In fact, there’s no easy way to display what’s being backed up and restored.

One last gripe is that it can’t backup your paid apps and tweaks. I understand that this is due to the need for credentials, but it’s still a small gripe. As of now, it can only backup and restore free tweaks, but that’s just a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, OpenBackup is an excellent first release, and has plenty of promise for the future. Best of all, you can download it for free.

What do you think about OpenBackup? Don’t you think managing your tweaks with iCloud a major step in the right direction?

UltraSn0w 1.2.5 Unlock Released For iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 Running iOS 5.0.1

2011-12-21T22:45:00.003-05:00

The latest version of UltraSn0w has made its way to Cydia, and it supports the latest publicly available iPhone firmware — iOS 5.0.1.

You will still need an unlockable baseband to utilize ultrasn0w, but if you meet the requirements, it is now possible to unlock your iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS running iOS 5.0.1…

You will need a jailbroken device to utilize UltraSn0w 1.2.5. Your baseband must also meet the following requirements:

iPhone 4: baseband 01.59.00
iPhone 3GS: basebands 04.26.08 05.11.07 05.12.01 05.13.04 and 06.15.00

If you’re interested in preserving your baseband for the latest Apple firmware upgrade, you can follow our baseband preservation tutorial.

This version of UltraSn0w doesn’t bring any new baseband compatibility to the table, and it only works with the iPhone 4 and 3GS. No iPhone 4S support just yet, but there are rumblings that support could be coming for those devices in the future.

Are you running an unlocked iPhone using UltraSn0w?

Store Sheet Sets Inside a Pillowcase

2011-12-15T00:08:00.003-05:00

It can be difficult to keep sheet sets together when you have many of them. Martha Stewart's weblog recommends that you tuck the sheet set (full, fitted, and other pillowcase) inside one of the pillowcases for that set.

You can then stack your pillowcase sheet sets in the closet according to size—this way you won't lose any pillowcases, everything stays together, and it's easy to find the exact sheet set you're looking for.

How to Keep Matching Sheets Together in the Closet | Martha Stewart via The DailyBuzz Australia

Gismo's World

Switch Background Styles of Launchpad in OS X 10.7.3

Set Gmail as Default Email Client for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari

Set Gmail as Default Email Client in Chrome and Opera

Use Gmail as Default Email in Firefox

Using Gmail as Email Default in Safari

Greenpois0n Absinthe A5 Jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 Updated to v0.2 [Download Links]

Download Greenpois0n Absinthe A5 Jailbreak v0.2

How to Fix “Error Establishing a Database Connection” when Using Absinthe

How to Jailbreak the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 Untethered With Absinthe

iPhone 4S Untethered Jailbreak Video

iPad 2 Untethered Jailbreak Video

How to Jailbreak the iPhone 4S or iPad 2 with Absinthe

Install iOS 5 on iPhone 3G & 2G or iPod Touch 1G/2G with Whited00r 5

Installing Whited00r 5.1 on iPhone 3G/2G & iPod touch 1G/2G

Convert Video to an Audio Track Directly in Mac OS X Lion

Top 10 Ways to Break Into and Out of Almost Anything

Whether you're stuck inside and need to break out or you've found locked outside and need to get in, having the key or password is rarely your only option. Here are our top 10 favorite tricks for breaking into and out of nearly any locked down environment.

10. Crack an Electronic Safe

9. Break Into Your Garage from the Outside

8. Release a Sliding Chain Lock with a Rubber Band

7. Break Out of a Car Submerged in Water

6. Escape from a Car Trunk

5. Unbind Your Bound Wrists

4. Break Into a Windows or Mac Computer

3. Break Into Your Car

2. Crack Wi-Fi Passwords

1. Pick and Crack Most Locks

How to Crack a Wi-Fi Network’s WPA Password with Reaver

What You'll Need

Let's Get Crackin'

Step 1: Boot into BackTrack

Step 2: Install Reaver

Step 3: Gather Your Device Information, Prep Your Crackin'

Step 4: Crack a Network's WPA Password with Reaver

How Reaver Works

How to Protect Yourself Against Reaver Attacks

Further Reading

Redsn0w 0.9.10b3 Jailbreak Released with Bug Fixes [Download Links]

Download Redsn0w 0.9.10b3

HTC offers bootloader unlocking option for all recent Android phones

Verizon to charge $2 single bill payment fee beginning next month

How to Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 Untethered And Preserve Your Unlockable Baseband

How to Untether Jailbreak and Preserve Your Baseband for Unlock

How to Fix “Device Not Eligible for Upgrade, Restore, Requested Build” Error

The easy way: TinyUmbrella

The hard way: editing files manually

How to Get the Untethered Jailbreak Using Corona Untether 5.0.1

Who should use Corona Untether 5.0.1?

How to untether?

How to Get the iOS 5.0.1 Untethered Jailbreak Using RedSn0w

How to Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 Untether with RedSn0w

Siri Port for iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad, iPod touch, Available for Free

iPhone 4S Unlock (How-To)

Downgrade From iOS 5 to iOS 4.3.3 Using TinyCFW

How to Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 With RedSn0w Beta 9

How to Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 w/ RedSn0w Beta 9

How to Recalibrate Your iPhone’s Home Button to Make it More Responsive

How to Recalibrate Your iDevice’s Home Button

How to Unlock iOS 5.0.1 With UltraSn0w

OpenBackup: One of the Most Promising Jailbreak Backup Solutions on Cydia

UltraSn0w 1.2.5 Unlock Released For iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 Running iOS 5.0.1

Store Sheet Sets Inside a Pillowcase

It can be difficult to keep sheet sets together when you have many of them. Martha Stewart's weblog recommends that you tuck the sheet set (full, fitted, and other pillowcase) inside one of the pillowcases for that set.