iPhone Apple responds to iPhone anti-phishing confusion
By Jim DalrympleSeptember 12, 2009, 9:39 am PT
iPhone OS 3.1 was released earlier this week during Apple’s music event in San Francisco and includes a new feature that seems to have been misunderstood in early tests.
With the new operating system installed, the iPhone has an anti-phishing feature, which protects users from malicious Web sites. However, some users may not have installed the new feature properly, leading to the false assumption that anti-phishing was not working properly.
We talked to Apple to find out what was going on and if the anti-phishing technology was working.
“Safari’s anti-phishing database is downloaded while the user charges their phone in order to protect battery life and ensure there aren’t any additional data fees,” Apple spokesman, Bill Evans, told The Loop. “After updating to iPhone OS 3.1 the user should launch Safari, connect to a Wi-Fi network and charge their iPhone with the screen off. For most users this process should happen automatically when they charge their phone.”
It is necessary for the iPhone to completely download the database before the anti-phishing feature can protect you against phishing Web sites. This will also allow Apple to update the anti-phishing database when needed to keep users protected.
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Discussion 8 comments so far
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Good to see someone has taken the time out to really find out what is happening before running his mouth.
Thanks for the update Jim
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” “After updating to iPhone OS 3.1 the user should launch Safari, connect to a Wi-Fi network and charge their iPhone with the screen off. For most users this process should happen automatically when they charge their phone.” ”
You think this might have been something worth mentioning. Sounds like they are saying Safari needs to be running in the foreground while charging with the screen off in order for this update to happen. Or is this just an alternate procedure in case the normal charging process doesn’t trigger the update?
Also, what’s up with the doing it over wifi so that data plans dont get charged unkowingly? I guess this must be for a few countries where dataplans are not unlimited, or perhaps users traveling abroad are not going to pick up extra roaming data fees. Makes sense that way I guess.
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Yes I happen to be in one of the “…few countries where dataplans are not unlimited…” namely Australia.
Thanks Apple for the consideration.
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the wifi is likely more cause it is less likely to drop the signal. and the ’screen off’ means you won’t be doing stuff on it that might drop the download.
i set mine up at home to do it overnight while I was asleep. not a big deal.
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Any way to check when the anti-phishing database was last updated?
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Not that I’m aware of.
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Is there anyway to even check to see if this has been applied? I did all of the things listed, and would like to check and see if it happened?
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To check if it’s up to date you could take a link from the PhishTank site (http://www.phishtank.com/phish_search.php?valid=y&active=y&Search=Search) and paste it into Safari.
The link is to verified, online phishing sites.
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Apple responds to iPhone anti-phishing confusion
By Jim DalrympleSeptember 12, 2009, 9:39 am PT
iPhone OS 3.1 was released earlier this week during Apple’s music event in San Francisco and includes a new feature that seems to have been misunderstood in early tests.
With the new operating system installed, the iPhone has an anti-phishing feature, which protects users from malicious Web sites. However, some users may not have installed the new feature properly, leading to the false assumption that anti-phishing was not working properly.
We talked to Apple to find out what was going on and if the anti-phishing technology was working.
“Safari’s anti-phishing database is downloaded while the user charges their phone in order to protect battery life and ensure there aren’t any additional data fees,” Apple spokesman, Bill Evans, told The Loop. “After updating to iPhone OS 3.1 the user should launch Safari, connect to a Wi-Fi network and charge their iPhone with the screen off. For most users this process should happen automatically when they charge their phone.”
It is necessary for the iPhone to completely download the database before the anti-phishing feature can protect you against phishing Web sites. This will also allow Apple to update the anti-phishing database when needed to keep users protected.
Email This Post ⋅ Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment
Discussion 8 comments so far
-
Good to see someone has taken the time out to really find out what is happening before running his mouth.
Thanks for the update Jim
-
” “After updating to iPhone OS 3.1 the user should launch Safari, connect to a Wi-Fi network and charge their iPhone with the screen off. For most users this process should happen automatically when they charge their phone.” ”
You think this might have been something worth mentioning. Sounds like they are saying Safari needs to be running in the foreground while charging with the screen off in order for this update to happen. Or is this just an alternate procedure in case the normal charging process doesn’t trigger the update?
Also, what’s up with the doing it over wifi so that data plans dont get charged unkowingly? I guess this must be for a few countries where dataplans are not unlimited, or perhaps users traveling abroad are not going to pick up extra roaming data fees. Makes sense that way I guess.
-
Yes I happen to be in one of the “…few countries where dataplans are not unlimited…” namely Australia.
Thanks Apple for the consideration.
-
the wifi is likely more cause it is less likely to drop the signal. and the ’screen off’ means you won’t be doing stuff on it that might drop the download.
i set mine up at home to do it overnight while I was asleep. not a big deal.
-
-
Any way to check when the anti-phishing database was last updated?
-
Not that I’m aware of.
-
-
Is there anyway to even check to see if this has been applied? I did all of the things listed, and would like to check and see if it happened?
-
To check if it’s up to date you could take a link from the PhishTank site (http://www.phishtank.com/phish_search.php?valid=y&active=y&Search=Search) and paste it into Safari.
The link is to verified, online phishing sites.
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