Do You Prefer Using Your iTunes Account to Other In-App Payment Services?

 

Simple iOS hack apparently lets users make in-app purchases without paying

By Adi Robertson on July 13, 2012 10:34 am12COMMENTS

 

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A Russian developer has published what looks like a way to circumvent Apple’s in-app purchase system, allowing users to “buy” items without paying in iOS. The method, which involves installing a pair of security certificates and then changing the DNS record, does not require jailbreaking or specialized knowledge, and it allegedly runs on anything running iOS 3.0 to 6.0. It looks to have been picked up first by Russian site I-ekb. The video below shows it in action, and 9to5 Mac has confirmed that it worked for them, though comments on I-ekb indicate not all apps are susceptible. Users of the trick, meanwhile, are giving up something of their own: 9to5 Mac reports that some device information and the user locale are pulled when using it. That’s not unusual for a developer, but in this case the project’s general unsavoriness makes it unclear what else is being collected and how the information is being used.

For Apple, this could indicate a major problem, even if it’s fixed quickly. In-app purchases are a huge driver of app revenue, and this trick doesn’t rely on heavily modifying the system or doing anything that the average user would find too threatening. We’ve reached out to Apple to see if it’s aware of the issue, but it’s unclear how well the tool is working now anyways: its creator is currently soliciting donations to keep the servers that power it running.

How Much Data Do You Need To Make Your Smartphone Really Awesome?

A 1GB Data Plan will give you around 4,100+ minutes of voice or about 266 minutes of video using George Mobile. Is that awesome, or would you like more?

How much data does Voice use?

Consuming expensive data is one of the biggest concerns for people when they are thinking about choosing a Mobile Voice-Over-IP (“mVOIP”) application. Most VOIP applications are optimized to only use a small amount of data when making calls.

For example, when making a voice call, you consume around 0.24 MB per minute¹ giving you 4,100+ total talk minutes for 1 GB of data. Most carriers offer 1 GB of data per month with their wireless packages. This allows for virtually unlimited talk with a mVOIP service like George. And, George Mobile includes a variety of options for voice call quality including 32Bit HD.

What about Video?

When you make a video call, it’s compressed using a video encoder. A minute of video uses around 3.75MB, which translates to about 266 minutes of video time for 1 GB of data.

To compare, 1 GB of monthly data can get you:

• 4,166 minutes of talk time on George
• 266 minutes of video calling on George
• 67 minutes of HD Youtube Video
• 429 minutes of streaming HD music
• 2000 HD Pictures
• 5000 Webpages

Are you ready to make the switch to MVoIP?

As David Pogue said “More and more people avoid using up their cellular minutes by relying on the Internet to carry their voices, using apps”. While your carrier’s voice plans may not be improving, competition is heating up around data packages and network speeds. George Mobile uses significantly less data than many people expect, it can easily replace your voice plan while saving you money each month.

¹Math for nerds:

• Audio: George uses a variety of codecs, but by default it uses G.729so I used that codec.
  • 31.2 Kbps^A (includes headers) = 4KBps * 60 seconds = 240KB = 1000 MB / .24 MB = 4,166 total minutes
  • G.711 is used for higher quality calls
• Video: George uses H.264for video compression
  • 500kbps^B for 320×240 resolution = 62.5KBps * 60 seconds = 3,750KBps = 1000 MB / 3.75MB = 266 total minutes
• HD video on YouTube – 720P @ 625KBps
• HD Streaming music – 192KBps
• HD pictures – 1024×768 = 500KB
• Webpages – with images ~200KB

Justin Laberge is the Community Manager at George Mobile He can be reached through @getgeorgemobile