iPhone users beware – an ongoing phishing campaign impersonating Apple.com, attempts to trick users into submitting sensitive device information, with the scammers in a perfect position to use the data in a countless number of fraudulent variations.

Here are more details on the campaign, and why would phishers want access to such information.

The phishing campaign has been in circulation for over two weeks, and continues using the “FREE 1 Year Warranty Extension Offer” theme in emails coming with subjects such as “IMPORTANT: Your FREE iPhone Warranty Extension for 1 Year!“, leading to domain using fast-flux hosting infrastructure – www.apple.com.PHISHING.com/uk/iphone/warranty.htm.

What’s also worth pointing out is that the phishers require the user to submit their email at the first stage of the process, presumably saving themselves time in validating it, or in an attempt to contact the recipient in the long-term requesting more data.

What are the phishers after? The email of the user, the Serial number, IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity), the type of iPhone (ie. 3G / 3GS) and the capacity of the device (ie. 16GB / 32GB).

Why would a phisher want access to such data? Whereas some would point out that they’re interested in the practice due to the blocked IMEI numbers of stolen devices, which they can now change to ones that are not blacklisted, the long-term possibility of building inventories of such data to be re-sold to criminals looking for ways to bypass prepaid SIM restrictions, is a fully realistic one.

Consider going through related posts: iHacked: jailbroken iPhones compromised, $5 ransom demanded; Source code for ikee iPhone worm in the wild; iPhone’s anti-phishing protection offers inconsistent results; Apple adds malware blocker in Snow Leopard; Apple (Snow Leopard) malware blocker collecting cobwebs
Over the past year, there have been numerous developments internationally aiming to restrict the selling of prepaid SIM cards, which offer a safe heaven for criminals since no personal identification is required/stored when purchasing them.

With safety measures varying from mobile carrier to mobile carrier, with only a few publicly disclosing the protections they’ve built in order to limit the use of cloned devices on their networks, there are still countries where the lack of basic restrictions is naturally resulting in demand for such data, which the cybercrime ecosystem can easily supply through phishing campaigns.

The entire business model can be undermined by the mobile carriers realizing the potential for abuse, and by those actually obliged by law to ensure such activities cannot take place within their networks.

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Apple has finally announced their much anticipated, (almost prayed for) tablet, and it’s called the iPad.

The bridge between a smartphone and a laptop, the iPad has a 9.7- inch touchscreen. It’s reportedly half an inch thick and weighs 1.5 pounds. iPad is powered by A4, Apple’s next-generation system-on-a-chip. Designed by Apple, the new A4 chip provides exceptional processor and graphics performance along with long battery life of up to 10 hours. Apple’s advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology deliver up to 1,000 charge cycles without a significant decrease in battery capacity over a typical five year lifespan. It also has built-in iPhoto, iTunes, a calendar and address book.

The iPad will come in three sizes – 16, 32, and 64GB – and features a speaker Bluetooth and WiFi.

Stay tuned for more updates from Apple’s conference or follow us on Twitter.

A new iPhone SDK has been announced which will allow developers to tweak their apps for the iPad.

Update:The iPad has no flash support for the browser but has a magazine, newspaper and Ebook reader.

Apple also introduced a new version of iWork for iPad, the first desktop-class productivity suite designed specifically for Multi-Touch. With Pages, Keynote and Numbers you can create beautifully formatted documents, stunning presentations with animations and transitions, and spreadsheets with charts, functions and formulas. The three apps will be available separately through the App Store for $9.99 each.

Greenpeace rejoice. Each iPad enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy-efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. iPad contains no brominated flame retardants and is completely PVC-free.

The iPad will cost $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB and $699 for 64GB.

Apple’s iPad can be used as a canvas with artists optimizing the multi-touch display to the fullest.

For convenient typing the iPad will come with an optional keyboard dock and camera connection kit.

iPad features 12 next-generation Multi-Touch applications. Every app works in both portrait and landscape, automatically animating between views as the user rotates iPad in any direction.

iPad runs almost all of the over 140,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for iPhone or iPod touch.

iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch, using the standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable.

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Apple Inc is talking with Microsoft Corp about making it the default search engine provider for the iPhone, replacing Google Inc, BusinessWeek reported on Wednesday.

If Apple displaces Google from its preferred status on the smartphone, it would be perhaps the clearest sign of the growing tension between two Silicon Valley icons, which were considered allies in a common cause against Microsoft. Talks between Microsoft and Apple have been going on for weeks, the article said, citing two people familiar with the matter. Negotiations might not conclude quickly and might still fall apart, the article said. Microsoft and Google declined to comment. Apple was not immediately available for comment.

Microsoft’s Bing search engine, which debuted last year, is trying to wrest market share from Google, the leader in Internet search. Apple’s rivalry with Microsoft dates back years, though they work together in certain areas of the software market. In contrast, the Apple-Google rift is only emerging. The companies compete on a number of fronts, including operating systems and the fast-growing smartphone market. “Obviously with Google and Apple, they seem to be having some friction,” said ThinkEquity analyst Vijay Rakesh. Until recently, replacing Google with Bing would have been seen as unreasonable, but now such a move might be possible, said Oppenheimer & Co analyst Yair Reiner. “While Microsoft and Google pose similar threats to Apple, Google’s budding success with Android and Chrome may represent more immediate dangers to Apple, which could push it into the arms of Microsoft,” Reiner wrote in a research note. Google and Apple have lived in friendly coexistence for years as each became leaders in their arenas. Google is the default search engine on Apple’s desktop and laptop computers. Their ties run deep. Google director Ann Mather was chief financial officer at animation company Pixar, while Apple founder Steve Jobs was CEO. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is an Apple board member and also a senior adviser to Google. But Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple’s board in August, even as Google increased its presence in Apple’s markets. Google has been gaining strong support from handset makers and operators with its Android mobile operating system. Earlier this month, the search giant unveiled its Nexus One smartphone, which will compete with Apple’s iPhone.

Google recently agreed to buy mobile advertising company AdMob for $750 million, a company that Apple reportedly pursued. Apple bought AdMob competitor Quattro Wireless. Apple is working on ways to manage ads displayed on its mobile devices, a move that would challenge Google’s advertising business, the BusinessWeek article said. “Apple sees Android as a competitive platform driving competitive devices and it recognizes that Microsoft is desperate to gain search market share,” said Clayton Moran, an analyst at Benchmark. “Microsoft, I’m sure, will give Apple favorable economics so strategically and financially it could make good sense for Apple,” said Moran. The terms of Google’s deal with Apple are unknown, though browser toolbar deals in the PC world typically involve the search provider paying an upfront fee to the PC maker, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Ross Sandler. The search provider makes the money back when PC users click on search ads. IPhone searches using Google’s search bar appear to return more standard, unpaid results than paid search ads, suggesting that Google might lose money on the deal, Sandler said. For Microsoft to displace Google on the iPhone, “they’re going to have to be willing to lose more money than Google is losing,” Sandler said. Microsoft has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in its money-losing online business as it tries to gain an edge in Internet-based advertising markets. “They’re both playing the same game,” Sandler said of Microsoft’s and Google’s mobile plans. “They both need to be there longer term, it’s just a question of how much do you have to give up today in order to chip away at that longer term vision.”

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Apple Inc is set to announce a new tablet device later this month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, as anticipation builds about what could be the company’s biggest product launch since the iPhone.

Apple plans to ship a multimedia tablet with a 10- to 11-inch touchscreen in March, the report said, citing people briefed by the company. Although analysts and media reports have been speculating for months that Apple planned to unveil a tablet in the first half of 2010, Apple has never confirmed it was working on such a device. The Wall Street Journal-affiliated blog All Things Digital reported earlier Monday, citing unnamed sources, that Apple is planning to make a major product announcement on Jan. 27 at an event in San Francisco. An Apple spokesman declined to comment. Excitement about the tablet in recent weeks has helped propel Apple’s shares to record levels, analysts say. The company’s stock rose 1.6 percent and finished at $214.01 on Monday, a new closing high. Analysts expect the tablet to be priced at between $500 and $1,000.

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