Some people, really security conscious people, would probably prefer iTunes ask for a password any time it does anything, always. Better safe than sorry. Who knows who could be using your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad after all, from a friend to a colleague to a spouse to a child to a friend's colleague's spouse's child. You really want to risk $100 in Hello Kitty apps suddenly showing upon your Home screen?

Other people, really convenience-oriented people, would probably like iTunes to ask for a password as little as possible. Maybe never. If you're the only one who ever uses your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, and it never leaves a place you control, then why should you be bothered by having to enter in a password every time an app has a minor bug fix update?

Personally, I'd like a choice (big surprise, right?) Give me a Settings option for "always ask", or "only ask for paid transactions". I don't think "never ask" is safe, so I'm fine with that not being there. What about you? How often do you think iTunes should ask for your password?

Private Info HD is now available and offers a safe way to keep important information on your iPad. This Digital Wallet will safely store Credit Card info, Bank accounts, Web Logins, Photos, Videos, files, and so much more locked behind a personalized password, protected by AES256 bit encryption.

• Organized sections for "Wallet" items, Photos, Videos, Voice memo's, and various other files
• Adding notes is painless and quick, set your own desired font & size, change text alignment, and even swap background/text color for easy viewing day or night.
• Securely store important information such as web logins, credit cards, bank accounts, SSN with AES256bit encryption and available iOS Data Protection
• Transfer files with ease via wifi, import email attachments, open files downloaded from safari and other supporting 3rd party apps.
• Continue using the app while a wifi file transfer is in progress
• View PDF's, Word, Pages, Numbers, and many other documents.
• Send files to other 3rd party supporting apps
• Email & Rename files
• iOS Data protection available for all content managed in Private Info HD
• Smooth, animated, easy to use custom interface.
• Option to set a password hint to show on lock screen with the touch of a button
• Multitasking support - transfer files in the background, quickly come back to where you left off.
• Options to automatically lock app when it is interrupted/ multitasking.

Mr. Burns has given us a few promo codes to give out to you, our awesome readers! For a chance to win, just let us know what kind of information you will store in Private Info.

If you pick this one up, let us know what you think! Trailer and screenshots after the break.

UPDATE: Congrats to winners Jondel77, Zak Kauffman, Rob, CassieDog, Michael Perlman, and r6isnum1. Enjoy!

[$8.99 - iTunes link]

Have an app you'd love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we'll take a look.

Having problems with your MobileMe password lately? We're hearing from users (and our own Rene!) that MobileMe both on the web at me.com and on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad complains your password is wrong when it's the same password you've always used. We'll take a look at the symptoms and possible solutions after the break!

So MobileMe suddenly starts rejecting your password and you're sure you're typing it in correctly? Here are some things to try:

On me.com, simply entering the password a second time seems to work for some while on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, even though there's a warning, email, calendars, etc. seem to keep syncing without a problem. In other words it is annoying but you can muscle through.

For others, me.com stops working entirely but switching back to the old mac.com version (user@mac.com instead of user@me.com) works fine. Then when Apple fixes it on their end you can switch back.

While this is not technically an iOS 4.2 bug it did seem to start happening right around the time Apple released iOS 4.2. Perhaps the transition from pure me.com service to also supporting Apple ID's for the now free Find my iPhone feature caused some server side hiccups?

Meanwhile you can also always try the old stand by of deleting the account from your device and then adding it back again. It's a pain but maybe less so than the repeated error popups.

If you're experiencing the MobileMe password bug and if these fixes or any others helped you out, let us know in the comments!

There seems to be a fake jailbreak tool circulating at the moment that is being called "greenpois0n" that is claiming to be using the SHAtter exploit. Now this would all be fine and dandy except for the simple fact that the SHAtter jailbreak exploit has yet to be released by the Chronic Development Team. According to security researcher Costin Raiu at the Kapersey Labs, all that greenpois0n is doing is stealing users passwords.

We've seen scams similar to this before and we will more than likely see them again in the future so please remember if you see any website or program that claims to be capable of jailbreaking a iOS device running 4.0.2 or above, it is highly likely a scam or something much more damaging unless of course if it were to be released by Dev Team or Chronic Development Team themselves.

For more jailbreaking information be sure to visit our jailbreak and unlock forum.

[Ars Technica]

Apple has updated their MobileMe News "blog" with a helpful tip for added security, and for when that security necessitates the need for a helpful little reminder.

First up, Apple reminds everyone that even good passwords, left static for too long, grow old and stale.

One simple way to increase the security of your life online is to change your account password periodically.

You can change your MobileMe password via the Account icon, and Apple provides some suggestions for picking good passwords. (Here's ours -- use something long and with lots of numbers and symbols thrown in. Pseudo-random is the best. Use GRC.com to generate it, or use a good password manager (I use 1Password on the Mac, my PC friends recommend RoboForm) to both generate and store lots of logins).

Next up is what to do if you forget your MobileMe password, and it's fairly standard stuff, involving a secret question:

Should you ever forget your MobileMe password, go to the MobileMe login page at me.com and click the Forgot password link. You'll be taken to a page and given the option of resetting your password by answering a secret question to establish your identity.

Pro tip: If you're even a semi-public figure, or just "don't trust anyone" make up a fake history, with fake maiden names, pet names, etc. or anyone who knows your background can hack your account as easily as they did Salma Hayak's.

One of our favorite apps on the Mac -- and the iPhone -- is on sale for today only:

First, we have partnered with macZOT! to bring you a special deal! This Thursday, Oct 30th, for one day only, 1Password will be available for an incredible 50% off its regular price: 1Password Halloween Special!

The 1Password iPhone App is, of course, free, but the Mac app is usually $39 bucks, so this is almost a full $20 off. Of course, some people will complain it's not "free" as well, but then these same people typically don't work for free either, as trying to feed a family doesn't work for "free". Support great software and great developers will be here to support us with even more great apps.

Typically among the very first apps I install when I'm setting up a system, flawless password management and syncing make this not only a "just works" but a "must have". (Plus, their UI and general graphic design work is awesome, and that hooks me every time!)

Get it before the stroke of midnight!

figure 1: the most important feature is highlighted

There's another password manager on the scene, and this one looks to be the most secure version that I've seen. 1Password is a mac-only application, so there unfortunately isn't a password manager I could securely recommend to Windows iPhone users yet. The application has a little button that sends an encrypted bookmarklet to Safari that you can then sync to your iPhone. You can open the bookmarklet and view your passwords with a master password that you assign within 1Password.

The bit that gives 1Password the nod above others at the moment is that the bookmarklet is encrypted with good cryptography. The blowfish cipher is a well-respected cipher by Bruce Schneier, one of the most respected cryptologists out there, and 1Password uses blowfish's maximum key length of 448 bits within the bookmarklet. So, if you're looking to store your passwords with heavy-duty security, 1Password might be worth your look.