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Hacking Apples.  As our resident "techie", Rick said, "Rail against the man...until you become the man".  For years Apple users have been giving Microsoft users the "raspberry", bragging that only Microsoft computers were susceptible to viruses and hackers, and that Apples were immune to that kind of abuse.

Well, they did have a bit of a point.  Microsoft's Operating System ran the vast majority of computers, and being the "king of the computer hill", Microsoft was the biggest target.  Hackers and virus developers all took aim at Microsoft because they could infect more than 90% of the world's computers.  Why bother with Apple when the most you could infect was less than 10%?  I always thought that was a little unimaginative on the part of hackers, but that was their reasoning.

The result of all this was that Microsoft actually became very adept at fending off these attacks.  Considering how much easier it is to destroy than to defend, Microsoft never really gets the credit they deserve for deflecting all these attacks.

Of course, it never got much publicity, but there have been Apple viruses and hacks around for a long time.  Apple was able to deflect these attacks for the most part, but it had to have been considerably easier for Apple to fend off the occasional attack, than it ever was for Microsoft to fight off the constant flurry of attacks aimed at their systems.  Microsoft got really good at it, while Apple is still a little green.  Apple was never really "immune" to attacks.  It was just that...nobody bothered!

With the advent of Microsoft's Vista system, and the consumer's complete disgust with it, sales of Apples, particularly their laptops, took off like the proverbial rocket.  Still, Apple commands a comparatively small fraction of the computer market, and Microsoft remains the prime target.

However, Apple has far surpassed Microsoft's wildest dreams with their gadgets.  In 3 years, Apple sold a total of 50,000,000 iPods.  Microsoft's equivalent, the "Zune", has sold what, a half a dozen?  Well, maybe more than that, but everybody knows what an iPod is, and I don't think "Zune" is even a household word.

While Microsoft is still "the man" in computers, Apple has become "the man" in gadgets, with their iPods, iPhones, "set-top boxes" for televisions, and iTablets.  If Microsoft is still the target for computer hackers, Apple is now the target for gadget hackers.

"Jailbreak" is the name of the most popular Apple gadget hack, and while it took a hacking genius to come up with the "Jailbreak" code, it doesn't take much to use it.  To infect an Apple gadget with "Jailbreak", all you have to do is visit the appropriate website, (I'm not telling what it is.) and download the "Jailbreak" code from there.  It was so easy to do, it was often done.

The code enables a third party to control your Apple gadget, usually an iPhone or iPod.  Now, not everyone is liable to hand their gadget over to a stranger and let them infect it, so hackers went to Apple stores everywhere, and on the pretext of examining the devices, they quickly infected it, and returned it to the store without ever leaving.

Here's a fun plot twist.  The courts have determined that the "Jailbreak" code is not illegal, as it's something you use to modify something you possess.  Hackers should note however that it is illegal to go to an Apple store, and infect a device that you haven't already purchased.  It's not yours!

The "Jailbreak" hack can do much more than allow a third party to control your Apple gadget, allowing a hacker to download malicious code.  On the iPhone for example, your telephone carrier is "locked" so that it can only use AT&T.  "Jailbreak" can unlock your iPhone so that you can use T-Mobile.  "Jailbreak" also enables your iPhone to use a special "SIM card" that allows you to avoid roaming charges, wherever you may roam.  For reasons like these, "Jailbreak" is popular not just with hackers, but regular users as well.

Having determined that it is a legal code, a guy named David Wong has admitted to being the code developer.  Bear in mind though, that while Apple doesn't have the expertise in fighting off hacks that Microsoft does, they'll eventually get this under control, if they haven't already, and regardless of their ability to stop it, or anything else that comes along, downloading "Jailbreak" into your Apple gadget, voids the warranty.

So, if you happen to be one of those wretched souls who bought a "Zune" while the rest of the world was out buying iPods, you can stop hanging your head in shame and proudly take it out of your pocket, or wherever else you've been hiding it, and get the last laugh on these Apple conformists because after all, who's going to bother hacking your "Zune"?  John

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