The iPhone Kill Switch - Why And Is There a Way...

News of an iPhone "kill switch," which would enable Apple to shut down an iPhone remotely based on reports of theft or other suspicious behavior, has been bubbling up in the tech world for a while now. Late last week, Apple's patent application for the iPhone kill switch became public knowledge.

Digital Trends reports the iPhone kill switch patent lists to a number of behaviors that would lead to invoking the kill switch. They range from removing an iPhone's SIM card to jailbreaking it or even moving a certain distance away from a synced device.

Apple's patent filing on the iPhone kill switch also listed multiple means of determining whether a phone's user was legitimate. These varied from facial recognition software to voice analysis and "heartbeat sensor" technology that doesn't yet exist.

It makes some sense that Apple would want an iPhone kill switch. Being able to assure its customers that their iPhone could be completely disabled in the event of theft would provide peace of mind. But the technology related to the kill switch in the patent refers to so many intrusive means of checking whether a user is legitimate that privacy advocates are concerned the iPhone kill switch could be turned into a surveillance device.

For those who are worried about what the iPhone kill switch may or may not do, there is an option. CNet reports that Jonathan Zdziarski, author of an iPhone forensics manual, discussed how to kill the kill switch on his blog. After jailbreaking an iPhone, opening the file found under /etc/hosts and adding the following entry will block the kill switch:

127.0.0.1 iphone-services.apple.com

Whether this trick is really necessary is up to the individual iPhone user.

Comments: 7

Rory H. Aug 24, 2010, 9:08am UTC

Thanks I don't own a I phone, pda and low tech cell.

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Rory H. Aug 24, 2010, 9:18am UTC

Oh, the reason for that many ways to kill the I Phone in the Patent appli is to corner the market so to limit competition's ability to come up with alternative ways to give Apple a Heads up to that ability. That is called Protective Patenting and 80% of Corporate Patents are just that.
To Protect their competitive advantage.
Quite honestly, I see only 1 or 2 being used and not just for users, but for Provider's Protection.

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Barb Carlson Aug 24, 2010, 11:49am UTC

Jailbreaking? What's that?

Brenda Daverin Aug 24, 2010, 3:17pm UTC

Jailbreaking is slang for making an iPhone usable in ways Apple and AT&T don't want, such as installing applications that Apple doesn't support.

jarrett reed Apr 15, 2011, 4:56pm UTC

jailbreaking is not recommended because there has been alot of reports of the iphone shutting down because of jail breaking

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karly leon Aug 24, 2010, 6:16pm UTC

it could work for some customers but not for the fearless and young.

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sandra marsh Aug 25, 2010, 2:36am UTC

hummmm I have a i phone,I pay the extra thirty dollars a mo,I find my phone boring.for I know a person who also has a I ph with the thity dollar plan they had their phone jailbroken,can,t believe how much I like what they can do now with the phone to custon it to fix the screen the way they want so many nicer features to make it make to their own personality,I want to be able to do that ,even to keep paying they thirty dollars like I have been doing right along.I hope apple lets people do with the phone what they want to.seeing I paid for the ph. two yr contract and pay the thirty dollars a mo.some thing not right,sandi.

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The iPhone Kill Switch - Why And Is There a Way to Kill the Switch?

Comments: 7

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