Jimiz.net – Jim Becher on the web

I love it when I come across a new thing on the iPad that I did not know.  I was reading a tip’s and tricks blog post on the ipad and I learned about how to pause an app from being installed.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/14529/the-complete-list-of-ipad-tips-tricks-and-tutorials/

You basically hit the icon of the app that is in the (waiting or loading) state and it will turn to paused.  What a great feature when you start to update all apps and then want to surf the web or get a large attachment

If you use google apps and an iPhone or iPad you have probably tried to add other calendars to your in app calendar application.  A very simple way to do this is to use iphoneselect.   Iphone select allows you to select the calendars from a webpage and then configure your iPad or iPhone app to sync with them

Google APPS: https://www.google.com/calendar/hosted/YOURDOMAINNAME/iphoneselect

Change YOURDOMAINName to the appropriate url mine is “jimiz.net”.

Gmail: https://www.google.com/calendar/iphoneselect

You will then see your available calendars to sync with, the same selection you have in the gmail web application.  This great little url can quickly configure your calendar.

I recently configured my cousins google apps account and allowed him to sync the other team members.

I am not one to have a belt clip for my phone.  One of the main elements of having a phone for me is to be able to fit without being seen in a pocket.   I currently have an iPhone 4 and like the size and function it has (don’t like the weight – remember I keep it in my pocket).

Since my first smart phone I have never kept a case for any of them.  I have tried many cases and covers for both my iPhone 3 and my iPhone4 but they all caused more hassle than it was worth.  Some were too bulky, others would catch on my pocket, and some would just gather pocket lint.

So for the past few years I have used a naked phone (phone with out a case).  That is until recently when I was in a meeting and scratched the crap out of the back of my iphone.  I thought it would be nice to have a simple just back to the phone to stop that from happening and cushion it.

I happened to see a google add and also a quick mention of  Gelaskins on some site.  It may have been hak5.   Gelaskins make iphone, iPad, and laptop covers or skins.  The iPhone skin was just what I was looking for.   A very thin back overlay.  It also comes with sides and front, but I don’t intent on using those.    You can also choose from many styles or create your own.  I decided to make my own.

If you are looking for a iPad or iPhone case, give these a quick try.  the iPod case is really cool, you could get custom ones made for your business.

GelaSkins are removable covers for protecting and customizing your portable devices. They feature stunning, photo-quality graphics ranging from fine art prints to contemporary urban images designed by our growing family of artists from around the globe. Stand out in the crowd with personalized protection from GelaSkins.

Give them a try, so far I am happy with the design process.  I uploaded the image and customized the rest.  I made the purchase on Sunday Night and it was shipped Monday.

The site was easy to use and the communication was great.  They use 3m adhesive and help stop scratches.  They make covers for most portable devices.

I am always interested in how secure my devices are? Is my data safe, can people get to my info, am I at risk of giving out any private information. The iPhone /iPad has proven to be pretty secure if you take precautions. Lock your screen and keep sensitive data out of the clear. The one interesting item you can hack is the backup. There is a lot of information to be gathered and searched in your simple backup.  Many people don’t think twice about the sync that happens with your computer and iTunes. I’ll go into a little discussion on what can be seen.

Before I go too far into this  information, it should be noted that this can be corrected by encrypting your backups.   The process to encrypt your backup is a simple check box in iTunes.  You can do this by connecting your iphone / ipad and selecting summary -> options -> encrypt iPhone backup.

Now that you have secured any future information let’s look at the wealth of informaiton that is now residing on your computer from your previous backups.  To find your backups on a windows machine navigate to :

(Windows 7 or vista) - C:\Users\{your username}\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

(Windows XP) - C:\Documents and Settings\{your username}\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

Once in the directory you will see your backup sets.  Select one to look at.    First we will start with the info.plist file.  You can open this file with any text editor (xml formated file).  This file contains the overall information regarding the ios device:

• Device Phone number
• Device name
• Device GUID
• ICC-ID: Integrated Circuit Card ID serial number of the SIM card
• Serial number of the device
• and Much more

You can see in the screen capture above that this device name is “jimizphone”.

I know at this point you are thinking why is this stuff important.  Well after some research and some reading I was able to find out what some of those files contained.  Thanks to team over at hrgeeks in their great post here is some definitions of the files.  These files are all .mddata files that can be viewed using a SQLite browser.:

• Call Log: ff1324e6b949111b2fb449ecddb50c89c3699a78
• SMS (TEXT) Log: 3d0d7e5fb2ce288813306e4d4636395e047a3d28
• Notes Application : 740b7eaf93d6ea5d305e88bb349c8e9643f48c3b
• Contact List: 31bb7ba8914766d4ba40d6dfb6113c8b614be442
• Voice Mail List: 992df473bbb9e132f4b3b6e4d33f72171e97bc7a
• Calendar: 2041457d5fe04d39d0ab481178355df6781e6858

Let’s review one of the files.  I choose to look at the SMS log.  This would be the most damaging file if someone could review what I have said.   It could also be the target file for people looking for information (ex-wife, girlfriend, or business competitor).  Using SQLite browser I did a select statement on the file “select * from messages”  it returns records of text messages from the phone.

You can see from the image, that a record of all text messages was saved.  I have not verified if the deleted items are saved but the information is clear enough.  Your iPhone  backup file contains in clear text your SMS text messages.  It has the date, phone, message, and time stamp that can be searched.

Opening the contact list quickly allowed me to look at names and numbers that were stored on the phone.  This could be dangerous for people who don’t want that information shared.   A person would not need physical access to their phone, only access to their computer.

Armed with file name information you can also get other non-phone related information that may be stored by applications.

Facebook friend list – 6639cb6a02f32e0203851f25465ffb89ca8ae3fa

I did a quick check, and I was able to see all my facebook friends information (cell phone, email are hashed) but names and contact are available.  This is interesting in that you can gather information outside of the phone that could be used against you.

So with a little information and a simple tool you can get a lot of information from an iPhone / iPad backup.

To view the email accounts accessed or setup on the phone you can view this file in a text view application:

• Email Account: 5fd03a33c2a31106503589573045150c740721dd
• Safari History: 1d6740792a2b845f4c1e6220c43906d7f0afe8ab
• Safari Searches: bd38afa30b5a43c146db02a46ee11d82cdc817fe

I went to a coffee shop today to do some work. Update a few documents and get some random things I have been putting off.    As always I log onto the coffee shop wireless and connect to my VPN.  (read other articles here and here).

After completing the items I had set out to do.  I took some time to do some poking around on the wifi.  Since wireless is basically you sharing a network with others, it is easy to see what people are doing.  I used a simple nmap query to see who my neighbors are.

That scan showed me 5 active people and their IP.   It also let me know that the router had HTTP running.   Since I already knew the PC names and what ports they had open. (some one had a web server running).  I decided to look at the wireless router.  To my surprise it was running DD-WRT, my favorite router firmware.    DDwrt is a very powerful router firmware that can turn a basic wireless router into a great device.

However there are a few settings you need to understand when using DDWRT.  One in particular is to disable the default status page for unauthenticated users.  This page shows a lot of information that you don’t want snooping people like me to see.   Things like:

• Public IP
• Firmware version
• Device Type and name
• Connected users (IP address, mac address, dhcp lease)

Not only was this on but I was able to also see the other computers on the network (with out doing a nmap scan).   So everyone who had connected in the last 2 hours pc was listed on this page.  I decided to push up a pic.  My pc is called TP2.

This is scary to me because someone took the time to use a great opensource Firmware but not the time to properly secure it.    It is also interesting to see the number of android devices that were using the wifi.  I guess the same is true for iPhone devices.

I can’t stress this enough, when on public wifi use a VPN.  If you don’t have one.  Head on over to wifi-vpn.com and subscribe or purchase.

The other item on the list is BT, that is the backtrack vm that I started to do some network sniffing.

I’m a network abuser. I use my internet connection for everything. VPN access when at any public wifi location (VPN ddwrt). I also use it for Streaming movies on netflix, backup for my data (mozy, dropbox, rsync for business data) and just general browsing. So overall I am using a lot of data. When comcast put their 250GB limit in place I was worried (I’ll post on this later).

What the cap did was make me think about my network usage. I realized that I have created more of my own cloud service locally (internal home backup and syncing) vs using online services. Just doing this has cut down on some of my internet usage. The main thing I can’t see changing is our TV / Movie streaming. From netflix, youtube, and hulu we are always watching something.

Netflix just made news as Netflix’s share of digital movie units, either downloaded or streamed, was put at 61 percent between January and February.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20043475-93.html#ixzz1INT6Z4Jm

That is a huge market share, as well as a lot of bandwidth.  When you watch an HD move it uses more bandwidth than a standard Definition movie.   That said, how much bandwidth are you using.  Are you consuming all your allocated bandwidth on Netflix?   Here is a pretty good breakdown of what that usage looks like:

Netflix Movies (HD): These guys are around 3.8Mbit, which means it’s about 3600MB for a 2 hour HD movie.
Netflix Movies (SD): Each of these movies are around 500-700MB each, depending on the length of the movie.
Netflix TV Shows (HD): A 30-minute TV show will be about 1500MB.
Netflix TV Shows (SD): A 30-minute TV show will be about 400MB.

Even though that is a lot of bandwidth you would need to watch a lot of HD movies to hit the cap.  Around 70 HD movies in a month depending on the quality.   That is a lot of movie watching.  However, if you have a large family (as I do) and some are using their computer, others on the TV, and ipad; you would build up some usage (I’m not sure that the netflix account would even allow this).

That is a lot of bandwidth.  Netflix is using our internet bandwidth (that I purchase from comcast) to deliver their service.   Until recently this did not matter, because comcast did not have a cap.  Now that the average consumer is using more, the providers have to find a way to either cap (conserve) their bandwidth or charge more.   I’m not against this model at all, I just want to have bandwidth available.   A few years ago, a person would purchase high speed internet and only use a fraction of it.   Now, with out knowing they are using more and more bandwidth.  Their media devices; wii, ps2, and xbox are online.   The new TV and DVD players are hooked to pandora and netflix.   They are getting more content from youtube and netflix on their Computer.    I’m ok with paying, what I don’t want is my neighbor’s youtube addition to cause my backups to go slow (I don’t want others to hinder my internet usage).

It was recently posted that netflix has 20% of peak US bandwidth usage. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/10/netflix-instant-accounts-for-20-percent-of-peak-u-s-bandwith-use/ That is amazing.

There is a lot more going on behind the scenes on who controls the bandwidth and who pays for the internet bandwidth.  For now, just realize that if you are streaming movies you are using your bandwidth that you pay for.   It is amazing how quickly the internet has changed our TV / Media viewing.   People now at least understand what streaming video is.

I love the press and the new release that Apple is getting with the iPad2. I recently read an article regarding the Xoom vs the iPad http://blogs.computerworld.com/17907/motorola_xoom_versus_the_ipad_2_the_xoom_is_a_clear_winner

The base argument is around the horsepower and processor in the device, the multi tasking features, flash support (soon), gyroscope, and tabs on the browser. As I look at how the iPad is used at our house and how I use it. I don’t think I need any of those things. They are nice, don’t get me wrong, but that’s not what I use.

An interesting counter argument is brought up by Robert Scoble (http://scobleizer.com/2011/03/02/no-apps-no-sale-ipad-2-vs-motorola-xoom-vs-rim-playbook-vs-hp-touchpad/) I agree with his view.

1. Apple iPad 2. Has apps. 65,000 of them.
2. Motorola Xoom. Has no apps. Oh, sorry. 16. At least no apps designed for the large format. Designing an app that works on a smart phone isn’t the same as designing one that works on a large screen. Most of the apps I’ve “stretched” really suck compared to their iPad equivalents.
3. HP TouchPad. Has no apps. Heck, it isn’t even shipping yet.
4. RIM PlayBook. Has no apps. Heck, it isn’t even shipping yet.

Overall the new tablets that are coming out may have better hardware than the Original iPad but are very close with the iPad. If you are a hardware junkie then you may care. If you surf the web, remote into computers, use an ssh terminal, play games, watch movies, or check email. You probably don’t care. You just want an easy to use robust device, like the iPad. The item I am amazed that people forget it the battery life… I think Apple wins on that item.

You also want apps. What a simple word “app”. Apple has them, the others don’t. Yes, the apple store may be the only place, and it’s not open to everything, but it is solid. I’m a linux user at home and a passionate opensource advocate, but the iPad is such a solid device.

What are your thoughts?

If you are like I am and continue to use your iPhone / iPad for more then they are used for. Jailbreaking or just tinkering, you will love this great little app called iphone explorer

It is installed on either a PC or Mac and allows you to browse files on the ios device.
http://www.macroplant.com/iphoneexplorer/ I recently used it to update my customized iphone lock screen.

It allows you to both see files in the root directory and also the applications you have installed.

What a great simple tool to copy files to and from your iPhone and iPad.

I have a lot of apps loaded on the iPad. Many of these apps are games, productivity, social media, and just entertainment. However, there are a few that are really tech and work related. Since I am in the IT field I found a few apps that I would recommend.

Remote Desktop
1. winadmin – $8.99 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/winadmin-ipad-edition/id364898965?mt=8
This is the most simple tool to use for remote desktop, it is easy to use and just works. It is a great tool for the price
2. desktop connect – $14.99 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/desktop-connect/id364907570?mt=8
This app does both VNC and RDP. It has a lot of potential.
3. iTeleport – $24.99 install soft on the PC – http://www.iteleportmobile.com/
4. iTap – $11.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/itap-rdp-remote-desktop-for/id317062064?mt=8
LogMeIn #29.99 – https://secure.logmein.com/products/ignition/iphone/
Well done app. This app allows you to remotely use LogMeIn and access to PC. This cost is worth it if you use LogMeIn.
jump – $19.99 – www.jumpdesktop.com
This app does both VNC and RDP.

Remote control – VNC
VNC is a great remote control software. It is free and open source, supports windows, linux and Mac.

screens – $19.99 http://edovia.com/screens
Screens is probably the best VNC iPad app. The cost is not cheap but it always works. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/screens/id400012962?mt=8

realvnc – $9.99 – ok http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vnc-viewer/id352019548?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D6
Is the 2nd best I can recommend. The cost is attractive.
Mocha VNC Lite – free – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mocha-vnc-lite/id284984448?mt=8 just that unattractive / good for ocasional users. I used this prior to getting screen.

Here is another link discussing VNC

http://lifehacker.com/5713455/the-best-vnc-apps-for-your-ipad

SSH
iSSH – $9.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/issh-ssh-vnc-console/id287765826?mt=8
I love iSSH. It is simple and always seems to amaze me. From the quick control key send to the Xviewer that has a keyboard overlay.
SSH Terminal – $.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ssh-terminal/id369875227?mt=8
A basic SSH client. Not many features, but it works.

Network tools
IT Tools – $4.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/it-tools/id324054954?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
What a great tool. This allows you to ping, traceroute, DNS and arp tables.

iNetwork-utility -$2.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inetwork-utility/id378676317?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
The price of this app is fantastic. Ping, portscan, dns, whois, and Alexia info

zScan – $2.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zscan/id381019397?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
A great network scanner. It will scan ports, udp, tcp, look for sql, banners. Overall a great tool to have.

Prior to having an iPhone I had a windows mobile device. That was a long time ago, and I don’t miss it at all. There is one aspect that I do miss. That is the ability to customize the home page / lock page.

Over the weekend I set out to customize my iPhone / iPad lock screen. If you have a jailbroke device you have the ability to do this. Here is my first run at customization.

Customized iPhone Lock Screen

There are many options if your device is jailbroken.

APPS:
Multibarlockscreen: http://www.hackthatphone.com/2x/themes_with_winterboard_section26.html
Homescreen 2.0: http://www.jailbreakitouch.com/index.php/articles/23-articles/144-homescreen-20-weather-widget-for-iphoneipod-touch.html
Intelliscreen: ($9.99)http://intelliborn.com/intelliscreen.html
LockInfo: http://lockinfo.ashman.com/

Each item has it’s advantage. Intelliscreen is the leader of the pack. I ended up going with Winterboard and a customized theme. I followed this tutorial.
http://lifehacker.com/#!5763876/how-to-customize-your-jailbroken-ios-lockscreen

I use DDWRT as my home router / firewall. It has some of the best features that can be found on a router. Visit DDWRT for more information.

I use the VPN when I am not in a trusted location. I have setup my iPhone, iPad, and computers to use this as my connection to the internet any time I am not at home. By having a secure connection I am comfortable using the web where ever I am. Connections from a non trusted connection, say a coffee shop wireless. Traffic from your computer is sent encrypted from the PC over the VPN to your home router, then out to the internet.

To setup the VPN on DDWRT you need to log into the admin section. Select SERVICES | VPN. You need to enable PPTP, Broadcast support, and Force MPPE Encryption.

The Server IP is the internal IP of your router (192.168.2.1 is what I use)
The Client IP(s) are the dynamic IP’s you want the connecting devices to use. I have set 192.168.2.200-220, this allows for 20 devices to connect and get IP’s.
CHAP-Secrets: the username / passwords for each user. Note the “*” after both the username and password.
Unless you have a Radius server keep that set to Disabled.

With DDWRT you can have a simple and easy VPN server setup at your home that allows you to connect securely back to your home or office. I often use my vpn to also remote take over machines at my house. I have my iPad configured to use this setting when ever I am on a non trusted connection.

Here is a great application to help quickly convert any video to another format ipad / iphone.

http://videoconverter.hamstersoft.com/

This simple application makes converting video easy enough my mother could do it. You drag a video into the main window and then start the video transformation process.

I love that you visually select the type of destination for you video.

So head on over and start the download.

The team over at Universal Mind has created a great brainstorming capture and sharing application called ibrainstorm. You can download this app over at itunes. This app works for both the iPhone and the iPad. What a great working app to create and share ideas.

iPad
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibrainstorm/id382252825?mt=8

iPhone
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibrainstorm/id382252825?mt=8

The Universal mind team had a great celebration party out at the HopCat in Grand Rapids. Congrats to the team for a well done application.

I have read a lot of great posts on tips and tricks on the iPad. Here are a few that I use the most.

1. I love the feature of a soft reset (I use this on my iPhone a lot) You hold down Top button and the Home button (the only two real physical buttons) for a few seconds and it will cause a reset.

2. Screen Shots – I got a lot of emails from people asking how I was able to get screen grabs from the iPad for the VPN post (iPad VPN setup). I used the screen capture trick on the iPad (this also works on the iPhone) : You hold down the power button (top) and the home button (bottom) for about a half-second and it will do a screen capture that is saved into your pictures area.

3. Web page scrolling. How many times have you been on a page that scrolls down forever on the iPad. Then you realize that you want to get back to the top to get to the navigation. Well all you need to do is hit the title bar and it will take you back to the top. I wish I would have known this one earlier.

4. Quick Mute : just hold down the down volume button. I use this one when the Strawberry shortcake video is too loud…. (kids)

5. Remove “Sent from my iPad” in your email: This is a not really a tip but a suggestion. I don’t like to promote the fact that I’m using an iPad or iPhone. : go to Settings | Mail, Contact, Calendar | Signature. You can remove it completely or replace it.

6. Add Web link to Home Screen: I often visit some sites more than others. You can save that link directly to your iPad home screen. I have lifehacker there. When in Safari on the ipad select the favorites button (the Plus “+”) sign, then select “Add to Home Screen”

7. Try to stay out of direct sunlight : Just like MACbooks the screen does not do well in areas with lots of sunlight. You can push the brightness as high as it can go, but it is still hard to read.

The folks over at fastmac.com are working to create the u-socket. It is a power outlet with two USB jacks in the plate. This is a great little product. So far it has had some delays. Head on over and check out the specs – http://fastmac.com/usocket.

This little gem is available for order for $20.00. Sounds like it is not available yet. I plan on ordering this today. From other forums it sounds like it will power an iPad 10W power. We will have to see. Not only does this allow for a central charging station, it will make for a clean layout.