New Worm Steals Data From Jailbroken iPhones

Just two weeks after Apple iPhone users in Australia reported jailbroken iPhones came under siege by attackers, a new version of the iPhone worm is posing a threat. Symantec reports the new worm targets jailbroken iPhones running SSH that are still using the default password. The worm can reportedly steal data stored on the iPhone as well as connect back to the attacker, giving them control of the phone.

“Unlike the first iPhone worm, this one appears to cover a much broader range of IP addresses, including UPC in the Netherlands, Optus in Australia, possibly a Hungarian and a Portuguese provider, T-Mobile and potentially many others,” said Symantec’s John McDonald. “And although this particular incarnation seems to be very similar in functionality to the hack tool we blogged about, this one supposedly runs and spreads directly from an infected iPhone, not from a computer.”

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Add comment November 24th, 2009

Google Acquires Technology To Customize Display Ads

On Monday, Google announced it plans to acquire yet another advertising company. The search giant has targeted Teracent, a San Mateo, Calif., startup that customizes display ads for different situations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Teracent’s trademarked Intelligent Display Advertising makes ads fully customizable to specific consumers and sites. The technology relies on machine-learning algorithms to decipher and select the optimal creative elements for each ad impression.

“As you know, we’ve been busy releasing new features and products to help improve display advertising on the web for everyone. We believe that Teracent’s technology fits neatly into these efforts,” Neal Mohan, Google’s vice president of product management, and Joerg Heilig, Google’s engineering director, wrote on the company blog.

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Add comment November 24th, 2009