Hotspot sniffer eavesdrops on iPhone

People who use public WiFi to make iPhone calls or conduct video conferences should beware, as it has just become a lot easier to monitor these conversations in real-time, reports The Register.

At a talk on Saturday, at the Toorcon hacker conference, in San Diego, two security researchers showed the latest advances in the open source UCSniff tool for penetrating VOIP systems. With a few clicks of a mouse, they eavesdropped on a call between two audience members using popular iPhone applications that route the calls over the conference network.

For more than a year, UCSniff has provided everything a hacker needs to plug a laptop into a network and within seconds begin intercepting VOIP transmissions. But until now, the program has allowed eavesdroppers to reassemble the conversations only after they were concluded.

Toshiba has introduced a methanol fuel cell device that can provide power for mobile handsets, says Computing.co.uk.

The palm-sized Dynario direct methanol fuel cell starts shipping on 29 October, in Japan, and can be used to recharge mobile devices through a standard USB connection.

Dynario generates power through the catalysed oxidation of methanol, a chemical reaction that generates water, carbon dioxide and usable power - enough to charge two typical mobile phones, according to Toshiba.

Computer hackers have targeted the Guardian newspaper's jobs Web site in a "sophisticated and deliberate" move, says the BBC.

The breach put the personal details of some of the site's users at risk, and those who may have been affected have been identified and e-mailed.

The Guardian said it had since been "assured" by the supplier that runs the site that the system is now secure.

Now that smartphones are popular, Microsoft's operating system, Windows Mobile, is foundering, reports The New York Times.

Cellphone makers that have used Windows Mobile to run their top-of-the-line smartphones ‑ including Samsung, LG, Kyocera, Sony Ericsson ‑ are now also making Android devices.

Twelve Android handsets have been announced this year, with dozens more expected next year. Motorola has dropped Windows Mobile from its line entirely in a switch to Android. HTC, a major cellphone maker, expects half its phones sold this year to run Android.