So you want to Jailbreak your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad? All you have to do is visit JailbreakMe.com on your device and follow the directions  and voila Jailbroken! No computer needed! So how does it work?

The way it works is that the web page you visit loads a simple PDF document, an article on Gizmodo.com has a great explanation:

It just requires the user to visit a web address using Safari. The web site can automatically load a simple PDF document, which contains a font that hides a special program. When your iOS device tries to display the PDF file, that font causes something called stack overflow, a technical condition that allows the secret ninja code inside the font to gain complete control of your device.

The result is that, without any user intervention whatsoever, that program can do whatever it wants inside your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Anything you can imagine: Delete files, transmit files, install programs running on the background that can monitor your actions… anything can be done.

So after you Jailbreak your iPhone how can you protect it? Well there isn’t much protection, but there is an app on the Cydia store that you can download called PDF Loading Warner. So in summation, as long as you don’t go to any PDF links and don’t load any PDF from any  non-trusted sources you’ll be fine!

Apple has yet to say anything about this issue. So remember if you do jailbreak your iPhone be aware of the risks!

Will you Jailbreak your iOS device?

Does this security vulnerability scare you or do you not care?