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Quick Tip: Free online antivirus scans

There's a time and a place for giving your PC the once-over with an online scan. CNET Editor Tom Merritt explains when and why you may want to supplement your full-time antivirus software, and offers up some good destinations for making a quick system sweep from the Web.

Setting up a corporate mail server for the iPhone

While the iPhone still doesn't support Exchange-sans-IMAP, Apple has posted a Knowledge Base document explaining how to set up a corporate mail server for IMAP so that you can use iPhone to retrieve your email from that server. Per the document "These key steps will need to be completed by the IT support team or network administrator to enable access from iPhone to the corporate mail server."

The procedure requires opening port 993, installing a digital certificate, and opening port 587, 465, or 25 must be opened to allow email to be sent from iPhone: "Apple … Read more

Add speed dial icons to the iPhone 1.1.3 home screen

A clever hack from iPhone developer NateTrue lets you put speed dial numbers on iPhones running software/firmware 1.1.3. Here's how it works:

Enter the URL: (phone number).tel.QLNK.net in MobileSafari then go to the page. This is a custom server from NateTrue that essentially makes bookmarklets out of the entered telephone number. You'll get a "Call" popup -- hit cancel. Now you will be at a Web page with the URL you entered in step 1. Tap the " " button at the bottom of the screen, then tap "Add … Read more

iPhone 1.1.3 usage tip: no swiping necessary

Here's a minor usage tip for iPhone software/firmware 1.1.3: switching between multiple home screens doesn't require swiping (or "flicking") your finger across the display. You can also tap the area directly to the right or left of the small dots at the bottom of the screen.

As described by iPhone Atlas reader David Alford:

"As you add additional home pages to the iPhone, multiple dots start appearing just above the icon dock that by default displays the main functions of the iPhone. (Phone, Mail, Safari, Ipod) You can easily move from one … Read more

Sync your iPhone with Ubuntu Linux

Mac OS X and Windows are no longer the only options for iPhone synchronization. As first noted by French iPhone blog Le blog iPhone, Ubuntu has posted a community document explaining how to wirelessly sync music with the iPhone (or iPod Touch) from within the Ubuntu 7.10 distro. The sync mechanism includes functions for editing and playing songs and playlists, and requires an iPhone that is enabled for third-party applications (jailbroken).

The instructions require that users install OpenSSH and the BSD Subsystem through Installer.app (as described in our guide), then add the "iPod convenience package" in … Read more

"Low disk space" error with third-party iPhone apps, fix

If you're using an iPhone running software/firmware 1.1.2 or iPod Touch and have installed several third-party applications, you may begin receiving an error message that states "Warning: You are running out of disk space. Please delete some photos or videos," even though there is still significant storage space on the device.

Here's what's actually happening: the iPhone (or iPod Touch) places a low, artificial size limit on its /Applications directory, which is reached after installing a number of third-party apps. In order to get around this problem, you need to store your … Read more

Use the iPhone with Mac OS X 10.4.9 and earlier

The iPhone, by default, requires 10.4.10 or later. However a poster to the Hackintosh forums, "JSN1", has created a utility that allows the iPhone to mount on and interact with systems running Mac OS X 10.4.9 and earlier, as long as they are running iTunes 7.3 or later. The tool works by modifying the file SystemVersion.plist, essentially tricking various software (including iTunes) into thinking that the system is running a newer version of Mac OS X.

Problems might ensue when trying to sync and otherwise operate the iPhone with Mac OS X … Read more

Complete guide to iPhone jailbreaking and applications

We've updated our Applications page with complete instructions for jailbreaking every iteration of iPhone firwmare/software, using Installer.app to install/uninstall applications and add new sources, and what to do if you'd like to restore your iPhone to default state.

Delete iPhone SMS messages one at a time

Though we're still searching for a way to delete multiple email messages from the iPhone simultaneously, an enterprising developer has now developed a native third-party application that will allow you to delete individual SMS text messages instead of simply clearing conversations (the iPhone's only option, by default), which will delete all text messages with a given contact.

The interface is still a bit clunky -- messages are organized and labeled by incoming number, not contact name -- and there are some quirks (like the misspelling of the word "Delete"). Still, this third-party app fills a lapse … Read more