Apple applies for patent to kill jailbroken devices

Apple applies for patent to kill jailbroken devices Apple looks like it's ramping up its battle to prevent iPhone andiPod owners from jailbreaking their devices.

The company has went for a patent, titled "Systems and Options for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device," that covers a series of safety measures to automatically protect devices from thieves and various other "unauthorized users." Unauthorized users apparently relates to people participate in jailbreaking, that allows devices to exercise apps not approved by the company producing the operating system--such as google nexus 4 case Apple, the most crucial target of such bypasses.

The application, that is filed in February 2009 and published Thursday, describes measures to discover "particular activities which can indicate suspicious behavior," to make certain "safety measures" tend to be delivered to restrict the device's functions. Them range from the "hacking, jailbreaking, unlocking, or avoidance of a Sim," good application. Apple also intentions to send warnings to owners via e-mail or sms when such activity is detected.

The application also describes a selection of measures that might be would once help identify the unauthorized user, with the activation of a camera which can capture and geotag the device's surroundings, and perchance current user, and transmit that information to a new remote device:

In some embodiments, an unauthorized user are often detected by comparing the identity from the current user about the identities of authorized users of the computer. To illustrate, best nexus 4 case an image of this current user is generally taken, a recording through the current user's voice should be recorded, the heartbeat within the current user may very well be recorded, or any education represent the above. The photograph, recording, or heartbeat should be compared, respectively, towards a photograph, recording, or heartbeat of authorized users of the computer to know whether match. Should they you should never match, the contemporary user is usually detected as an official unauthorized user.

When unauthorized use have been detected, "access to specific applications nexus 4 bumper case could possibly be restricted, permission to access sensitive information is generally restricted, sensitive information could possibly be erased via the computer...," the job states, effectively wiping and bricking the machine.

Apple representatives for you to immediately answer to a request for comment.

In July, U.S. Copyright Office ruled that bypassing a manufacturer's protection mechanisms to permit "handsets to execute software applications" much more violates federal copyright law. However, with regards to U.S. Copyright Office has declared the solution legal, Apple has repeatedly discouraged users from loading a very bypass, reminding them that to do so will void their device's warranty.

"As we've said before, the vast majority of customers tend not to jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty that can make the iPhone that need be unstable and not only just work reliably," Apple had said with a statement in answer at the ruling.