Pierow’s Prattle

Uneasy silence published a great write-up on how to put a stronger unlock passcode on your iPhone than the standard four-digit code that is used by default:

First Download the iPhone Configuration Utility from Apple (for Mac or PC, and connect your phone.

Then launch the utility, go to “Configuration Profiles”, “New”. Give it a name and identifier, then go down to Passcode, enable it and set your own options.

Once you’re done, go to your phone in the left pane, “Configuration Profiles” tab, and click install next your profile. It’ll pop up on your phone and you can install it!

Simple and secure way to lock down your iPhone a little more.

Update: iClarified has a more detailed write-up on the procedure.

[Uneasy Silence] [iClarified]

Nate Silver uses statistics to breakdown the threat of an airborne terrorist attack.  For example:

“There were a total of 674 passengers, not counting crew or the terrorists themselves, on the flights on which these incidents occurred. By contrast, there have been 7,015,630,000 passenger enplanements over the past decade. Therefore, the odds of being on given departure which is the subject of a terrorist incident have been 1 in 10,408,947 over the past decade. By contrast, the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are about 1 in 500,000. This means that you could board 20 flights per year and still be less likely to be the subject of an attempted terrorist attack than to be struck by lightning.”

[Read the full text at FiveThirtyEight]

Gizmodo has posted a leaked copy of the TSA’s new rules for airplane travel dated December 25, 2009.  It reads, in part:

During flight, the aircraft operator must ensure that the following procedures are followed:

1. Passengers must remain in seats beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.
2. Passenger access to carry-on baggage is prohibited beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.
3. Disable aircraft-integrated passenger communications systems and services (phone, internet access services, live television programming, global positioning systems) prior to boarding and during all phases of flight.
4. While over U.S. airspace, flight crew may not make any announcement to passengers concerning flight path or position over cities or landmarks.
5. Passengers may not have any blankets, pillows, or personal belongings on the lap beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.

[Read the full text at Gizmodo]

Want to know how much phone companies and internet service providers charge to funnel your private communications or records to U.S. law enforcement and spy agencies?

That’s the question muckraker and Indiana University graduate student Christopher Soghoian asked all agencies within the Department of Justice, under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed a few months ago. But before the agencies could provide the data, Verizon and Yahoo intervened and filed an objection on grounds that, among other things, they would be ridiculed and publicly shamed were their surveillance price sheets made public.

[Full Story]

Sprint Nextel provided law enforcement agencies with customer location data more than 8 million times between September 2008 and October 2009, according to a company manager who disclosed the statistic at a non-public interception and wiretapping conference in October.

The manager also revealed the existence of a previously undisclosed web portal that Sprint provides law enforcement to conduct automated “pings” to track users. Through the website, authorized agents can type in a mobile phone number and obtain global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the phone.

[Full Story]

Wikihow has an article describing a method for reducing the total number of combinations for a Master Lock® combination lock from 64,000 to 80.

“…there are 64,000 possible combinations on a standard 40 digit Master Lock. With this method, however, you can quickly narrow that down to 80 combinations, a workable number to try if you’ve got the time and the inclination to give it a shot…”

Designer Mark Campos has turned the instructions into an easier-to-follow visual guide.

Philosecurity.org has posted a real copy of an American citizen’s DHS Travel Record retrieved from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s Automated Targeting System (ATS). This was obtained through a FOIA/Privacy Act request and sent in by an anonymous reader.  The document reveals that the DHS is storing the reader’s:

• Full credit card number and expiration

• IP address used to make web travel reservations

• Hotel information and itinerary

• Full Name, birth date and passport number

• Full airline itinerary, including flight numbers and seat numbers

• Cruise ship itinerary

• Phone numbers, including business, home & cell

• Every frequent flyer and hotel number associated with the subject, even ones not used for the specific reservation

[Article on Philosecurity.org]     [PDF of the original document]

Missed a presentation from Defcon or just want to see some exploits in action?  SecurityTube may be just what you’re looking for.  It’s a collection of computer security videos ranging from presentations and theory to how-to.

[Link]

Jaroslaw Lupinski has built a device that will generate magnetic signals to spoof a magnetic stripe reader – you know, the things that open doors and allow you to pay for your groceries.  Instructables has a write-up on a similar device using an iPod but Jaroslaw’s device will allow you to change the data on the fly.  Combine this with Stripe Snoop and you’ve got quite a powerful combination…

[Link]

Okay, so it’s only got a 2.8″ screen and that hardly compares to the 10″ screens that most modern netbooks are sporting these days.

Hunter Davis has a video along with step-by-step directions for using OpenZipIt to turn the Zipit Z2A Wireless Messenger into a a netbook with Audio, Mouse, etc.

The Zipit Z2A is available from Amazon for $49.99.

[Link]