Cydia

Cydia news and information: read the latest development about Cydia, including jailbreak tweaks.

Locktopus App Password Protects Specific iPhone Apps

Sébastien Page ∙ August 9, 2010

Locktopus is a new applications that will let you password protect specific applications directly from the springboard.

After creating a password in Locktopus, you will be able to protect an application with this password by tapping and holding the app icon and wait until they start wiggling. Then tap the little "lock" badge on the app icon. Next time you try to launch this app, it will ask for the password.

Locktopus is available in Cydia for $2. I haven't tried this app so I don't know how it compares to the free LockDown app, which basically does the same thing. If you try it, please let us know how you like it.

Tethering: How to Tether the iPhone 4

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated August 31, 2010

Until last week when the iPhone 4 was finally jailbroken, your only option to tether the iPhone 4 was to go through the official, legit and expensive way: AT&T. If like me you think that an extra $20/month just to tether your iPhone 4 is a little too much, we've got a solution for you. It's called MyWi.

We've talked greatly about MyWi on iDB before but for those of you who just arrived let me tell you briefly what it does. MyWi is an app that let's you turn your iPhone into a wifi hostpot. Turn it on and share your iPhone Internet connection with computers around you. That's how simple it is.

Tethering Your iPhone 4 Using MyWi

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone 4 is jailbroken (see iPhone 4 jailbreak instructions)

Step 2: Launch Cydia and search for “MyWi 4.0”.

Step 3: Download and install the free MyWi trial then reboot your iPhone.

Step 4: Launch MyWi and tweak the settings to your liking:

Change the hotspot name Change the channel Enable Wep security Enable USB/Bluetooth tethering

That's it. You can now tether your iPhone using MyWi. Your iPhone doesn't even have to be plugged in your computer. You can just use MyWi as a hotspot, but remember it will drain your battery like crazy.

While MyWi is not illegal in itself, AT&T (or your local carrier) might have a policy in place to prevent you from using apps like MyWi. As long as you don't get caught, it's all good...

If you want to keep MyWi after the 10-day trial, it will cost you about $20. Although it comes with a hefty price, I believe MyWi is one the best jailbreak apps out there.

UPDATE: There are cheaper alternatives to MyWi. Click here for more info.

PDF Loading Warner Protects Your iPhone From this Nasty Security Hole

Sébastien Page ∙ August 3, 2010

Yesterday we told you that the exploit used by JailbreakMe to jailbreak your iPhone was a major security issue as it can download pretty much anything to your iPhone, including some malicious code, via a PDF glitch. We gave you a manual fix but there is now an easier way to patch this bad exploit that puts your iPhone at risk.

You can simply go to Cydia and download PDF Loading Warner. It's a free app that will display a warning before allowing your iPhone to download a PDF file. This will avoid you being duped by a malicious software.

While this app gives you another layer of security, you're in no way safe from having your iPhone compromised, at least until Apple officially patches this exploit. On the safe side though, chances of you being hacked are very thin so don't stress out too much over it.

Signal Maps the Cell Towers Your iPhone is Connected to

Sébastien Page ∙ August 3, 2010

Signal is a new jailbreak app by Dev Team member PlanetBeing that lets map the cell towers your iPhone is connected to and displays detailed cellular information from the baseband. I can't see much use for this app unless you're the kind of guy who really wants to know where is cell phone signal is coming from.

The app is available in the Cydia Store for $4.99, which I think is a bit pricey for such an application. The good thing is you support PlanetBeing and keep it motivated to work on baseband-related stuff (ie. iPhone unlock).

If you download this app, please let us know what you think about it.

SpringFlash: the First Jailbreak App for iPhone 4 Only

Sébastien Page ∙ July 31, 2010

With the iPhone 4 jailbreak to be released soon, BigBoss has created a jailbreak application dedicated to this device only. The app is called SpringFlash and like the name suggests, it is an application that takes advantage of the iPhone 4 LED Flash to serve as a flashlight.

SpringFlash will be a Springboard Activator-based application which means you will have to use Activator to define a gesture or activation method to launch the app (ie "tap and hold the status bar). Since it is Activator-based, the great advantage of SpringFlash is that you won't have to look for the app icon to launch it when you need it.

I'd like to say that I have tried SpringFlash but since there is now iPhone 4 jailbreak yet, that would be a lie...

SpringFlash will be available under the BigBoss repo for free. Now we just need a jailbreak!

[BigBoss]

Want to Get Rid of iAds? There’s An App for That

Sébastien Page ∙ July 20, 2010

We saw before that it is possible to opt out of targeted iAds. But what if you don't want to have any iAd at all on your iPhone? You guessed it, there's an app for that...

Don't even waste your time looking in the App Store because you won't find anything there. However, if your iPhone is jailbroken, head over to Cydia and add the following repo: http://apt.macosmovil.com/

When you're done, search for iAdKiller on Cydia and install the app. Finally, reboot your iPhone or iPod Touch, and voila!

Obviously, iAdKiller is for iOS 4.X and will only work on jailbroken iDevices. Now enjoy your iAd free iPhone!

Thanks Ydro for the tip.

List of Jailbreak Apps Compatible With iOS 4

Sébastien Page ∙ June 21, 2010

With iOS 4 coming up, jailbreakers might wonder what Cydia apps will or will not be compatible with their iPhone. iDB reader Ed left a comment in my article about how to make sure your iPhone is ready for iOS 4 in which he linked to a spreadsheet of apps that are compatible with iOS 4.

Check out the list and contribute to it if you can. The more the merrier.

Proswitcher for iPad Alpha Release Available

Sébastien Page ∙ June 14, 2010

Proswitcher for iPad is now available in alpha release. Ryan Petrich, most likely my favorite jailbreak developer, just informed me that he made Proswitcher for iPad available to the general public instead of pushing the alpha to just a few users.

For those of you who don't know Proswitcher, it is a great jailbreak app that gives a nice and simple UI to Backgrounder, the app that first brought multitasking to the iPhone.

You can get Proswitcher HD (or whatever it will be called) on your iPad by adding the following source to Cydia: http://rpetri.ch/repo.

Be warned! This is an alpha release which means it can be very buggy. As soon as I installed the app, my screen froze, I hard rebooted several times until the issue finally disappeared. Other than that, I haven't had any issue.

I'm very excited to get Proswitcher on my iPad. That is one jailbreak app I was really missing.

Give it a try and tell us what you think.

Thanks to @MikeErickson for the tip.

How to Password Protect Specific iPhone Apps

Sébastien Page ∙ June 10, 2010

LockDown is a new application available in Cydia that lets you protect individual applications with a password. If like me your iPhone gets into many hands, there might be some applications you'd like to use LockDown with.

If you have an iPhone and your kids are used to play with it, installing LockDown on a few of your apps might be helpful to prevent them from accidentally delete some of your stuff.

LockDown gives another layer of protection to your sensitive data, even though we saw that anyone willing to can easily steal your iPhone data.

You can download LockDown from Cydia for free. One advice though, don't do the mistake I just did... Don't install this on your iPad (at least not as of today) because it is not compatible and will get you into trouble...

App Switcher Circuitous Updated for iPad

Sébastien Page ∙ June 5, 2010

The excellent Circuitous has been updated for the iPad. For those of you who don't know Circuitous, it is a custom app switcher that shows your open applications in a dock on top of your springboard from where you can easily and quickly launch and exit apps.

To get Circuitous to work at its best, you will need to install Backgrounder and Activator.

Circuitous previously made it in our list of best jailbreak apps for iPhone. Something tells me it's now going to make it in our list of best jailbreak apps for iPad.

Quickly Change Wifi Network With YFiSelect

Guest Author ∙ Updated February 5, 2016

Do you hate the fact that you have to exit out of your app and go into the settings just to change your wifi network? Well now there’s an app for that!

From the developer that brought you jailbreak apps such as Music Controls, Calendar Pro and Resupported comes his latest app called YFiSelect. YFiSelect gives you quick access to your wifi network options from anywhere.

In order to get YFiSelect to work you just simply hold your carrier down until you get prompted to change your wifi network or you hold down the wifi button in SBSettings. It is also compatible with Activator and WiCarrier.

YFiSelect is available on Cydia for $0.99. It is compatible with the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

ProSwitcher HD for iPad to be Released Soon

Sébastien Page ∙ May 30, 2010

ProSwitcher, one of the best jailbreak apps that brought multitasking to the iPhone is about to be updated for the iPad. Ryan Petrich, the developer of ProSwitcher sent a tweet a few hours ago announcing the future release of the application.

For those of you who aren't familiar with ProSwitcher yet, it is a multitasking app for the iPhone that kinda replicates the Palm Pre “cards” feature by adding a very nice UI to Backrounder, the jailbreak app that allows you to run apps in the background.

I'm a big fan of Ryan Petrich's work in general, and specially of ProSwitcher which I consider a must-have application. I'm definitely looking forward the iPad release. So far, there is no estimated time of arrival but I doubt it will take too long.