PdaNet, the popular (and free) tethering app in Cydia, has been updated to mask unauthorized data tethering. This comes after carriers like AT&T have started cracking down on iPhone owners who use MyWi to tether without losing their unlimited data plan.

AT&T has been flagging any packets that appeared to come from a secondary device before sending out a notice to users. PdaNet prevents this by using a method of masking packets sent through the network so your carrier can’t tell if the data is coming from a device other than your iPhone.

The app also includes features like USB tethering and basic Wi-Fi security in addition to controlling the broadcast channel and WiFi signal strength, just like MyWi. You can either use the free version, or upgrade to the full version for $15.95 (limited time deal, normally $29) to access secured websites.

Any readers out there using PdaNet? What do you think of it?

Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they’re fair game.

To see what we picked this week, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Alli’s Pick: TV Forecast

Easily one of my most used apps, TV Forecast has a place of honor on my home screen. A very simple app, you add your favorite shows, and it lets you know when they’re coming on.

In addition to telling you the day and time, TV Forecast gives you a synopsis of the episode and even information on past episodes. I especially like it since I never know when shows will come back from hiatus. With TV Forecast, I never miss anything!

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

Brian’s pick: Stardunk

Stardunk is an incredible basketball type game that allows you to play by yourself or online globally against other players using Game Center. The goal of the game is to score as many points by getting the ball through the hoop as many times as you can within the designated amount of time. You can also get multipliers for perfect shots and also gain add-ons like 3 balls at once by hitting the 4 blocks behind the rim. The graphics are stunning and the gameplay is virtually flawless. It is an intensley addictive game and for being a free app it is well worth the download.

Check out our review for Stardunk.

[Free - iTunes link]

Chris’s pick: Sky Mobile TV

Sky Mobile TV is easily my most used iOS application. It is a UK only app; it is linked to Sky Satellite TV services available in the UK. If you are a subscriber to Sky Sports channels, this app will enable you watch them over WiFi or 3G on your iOS device. The quality of the stream is simply stunning and even on a limited 1-MB ADSL connection it is flawless. The app is a universal binary so runs great on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

In my home, it is difficult to get near the TV Remote control due to my wife and two children hogging it all the time, now I can sit down in the evening, catch up on the latest sports news or watch a live Premiership football (soccer) game all from the comfort of my iPad.

A word of warning, Sky Mobile TV is not compatible with iOS 4.2. Sky is working on an update; but it may not be done in time.

[Free - iTunes link]

Farbod’s pick: PdaNet (jailbreak)

Much like the popular MyWi, PdaNet allows for tethering your iPhone’s 3G signal to another device via either the creation of a wifi hotspot or through a USB connection.

PdaNet requires that your iPhone be jailbroken and it comes with a 14 day free trial. Afterward, there is a $15.99 option to continue using the app without secure sites being blocked.

I very much prefer PdaNet to MyWi as the transitions from on and off are much smoother and PdaNet has a much smaller footprint than MyWi. You can get it on Cydia, give it a try!

Georgia’s pick: Connectuss

This puzzle game is your old connect the dots game taken to a new level. Very simple and easy, plus lots of fun!

[Free - iTunes link]

Leanna’s pick: Plants vs Zombies HD

Of all the different platforms I have played Plants vs Zombies, the iPad is by far my favorite. PopCap games got me addicted all over again (I even played while my students took an exam). Being able to touch the large screen in multiple places is what makes the experience that much greater.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, the objective is to place plants with special powers that will fight off the zombies that are trying to get into your house. If the zombies get in, they’ll eat your brains! There’s nothing like a good ol’ zombie killing.

[$9.99 - iTunes link]

Rene’s pick: Simplenote

On the surface Simplenote is just what its name implies: a simple, universal iPhone/iPad note-taking app. Scratch that surface, however, and what do you find? More surface. Kidding. You find some very interesting sync possibilities, not just for you, but for family teams as well.

We waited a long time to get notes sync on iOS and frankly it never fails to disappoint. Simplenote lets you set up an account and it automagically mirrors the content of the app not just on your iOS devices but with the cross-platform desktop Notational Velocity as well. This is great if you want to quickly type something on your iPhone, update it on your iPad and later view and edit it on your Mac, Linux, or Windows box. But that’s just the beginning. Let’s say you put both your and your spouse’s iPhone on the same Simplenote account. You write down a shopping list and go shopping. She grabs the cereal, deletes it from the list. Boom. It’s gone from the list on your iPhone as well. You child at home finishes the milk. They run over to the iPad, add milk to the list. Double boom. It’s on both your and your spouse’s iPhone and the race to the dairy isle is on! Change spouse to business partner and you can easily use Simplenote to share ideas back and forth on whatever project you’re currently working on.

It’s not a task manager. It’s not a reminder. It doesn’t have deep organization or triggers or alarms or location popups. It’s simple as the name implies. And sometimes that’s just what you need.

[Free - iTunes link]

Your pick?

You’re part of the team as well, so jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

PdaNet has been hailed as the best reason to Jailbreak your iPhone. Why? Because it sets your iPhone up as a WiFi router that you can easily connect to with your laptop. This setup is ideal for a lot of users for a few reason:

1. It’s dead-simple to set up, as it doesn’t require any weird software or modem configuration on your laptop
2. Since the iPhone becomes a simple WiFi router, there are no blocked ports. Unlike NetShare, PdaNet is not a ‘SOCKS proxy,’ so you can use any internet protocol (like iChat or AIM) and not have to worry about whether or not it will work.
3. Although you’d take a big old hit on speed, you could theoretically share your internet connection with several computers.

There is one major caveat you need to be aware of with PdaNet, however. The Terms of Service on the standard AT&T iPhone contract and also on their standard Data Plans do not allow you to tether. Most people simply ignore this and go ahead and tether anyway — being careful not to overdo it to prevent AT&T from hitting them with extra fees or even a cancellation. If that doesn’t worry you, read on for a full how to on getting PdaNet setup to tether to your Laptop!

Step One: JailBreak your iPhone

This might be the most intimidating part of the entire process, but fret not. Jeremy has supplied us with easy-to-follow instructions that will guide you through the entire process. During this process, pay attention to the ‘Customize your firmware” section — you’ll want to make sure you check “Add Cydia” to your firmware, as that’s where PdaNet lives.

1. How to Jailbreak an iPhone 3G with a Mac
2. How to Jailbreak an iPhone 3G with a Windows PC
3. How to Jailbreak a 1st Generation iPhone with a Windows PC

After you’ve jailbroken your iPhone, you might consider a quick detour to the Top 5 Must-Have Jailbreak Apps to celebrate your newly Jailbroken iPhone.

Step Two: Set Up Cydia

Once your iPhone is Jailbroken, you’re going to want to install PdaNet. The place you install from is Cydia, which is an application that connects you to tons of jailbroken applications, much like the more-familiar installer.app. However, it’s very likely that Cydia isn’t going to be up-to-date yet when you first start it up, so we’ll need to get that going.

First, start up Cydia and you can go ahead and go through the introductory screens. It will ask you to make some “Essential Upgrades” and you should do that right away. It may also ask you to choose what sort of interface you want, I chose the most basic interface and suggest you do the same.

When the app is finally done with its first-run update stuff, you’re going to want to hit the “Changes” tab at the bottom:

Go ahead and hit the “Upgrade” button in the upper-right of your screen to install everything there. The reason you’re doing this is because PdaNet is hosted by ModMyi.com and you won’t be able to download it until that repository is updated. The short version: go ahead and do those updates.

Step Three: Install PdaNet!

Now that you have Cydia updated, you’re ready to use it to install PdaNet. Go head and tap the Search tab on the lower-right. In the search bar at the top, simply tap in “pdanet” (or just “pda”) to autofilter the list of all apps down to the one we want: PdaNet. Then tap PdaNet in the list.

You’ll see an info screen for PdaNet. Tap the “Install” button in the upper right, then the “confirm” button in the upper right on the next screen, then watch the magic install happen:

Congratulations! You’ve installed PdaNet!

Step Four: Set up an AdHoc WiFi Network

Although PdaNet is a full-on WiFi router, it doesn’t actually set up a WiFi network that your computer can just join. Instead, what you’ll need to do is set up an “Ad Hoc WiFi Network” on your computer and then join that network on your iPhone. What this essentially does is tell your computer to create a WiFi Network and allow computers on that network to share internet connections. Your iPhone will then become one of those ‘computers’ and your laptop will be able to use its network.

This seems a little intimidating, but in truth it’s very simple. The good news is you should only have to do the hard stuff the first time. The second time you want to tether you can just switch to that Ad Hoc network and turn on PdaNet!

One quick note: the PdaNet application has a convenient question mark button on the lower left which is a link to this How To at June Fabrics’ (the maker of PdaNet) website. If you’re setting up a new computer and don’t have access to this guide, that’ll do the trick.

Ok, another quick note: for those who are very security conscious, we should note that the network you’re going to set up will only be able to use WEP encryption for security. WEP encryption is kind of like a door made of paper: it will prevent the casual passerby from entering, but it won’t stop anybody with even a little bit of determination. If you’re concerned that a hacker could be within WiFi range or are otherwise security sensitive, PdaNet is probably not the tethering option for you.

How to set up an Ad Hoc WiFi Network on a PC

First, open up your Control Panel and then “Network Connections”

Now, you need to right-click on your “Wireless Network Connection” and then you’ll select “Properties” in the dropdown.

Now that you’re looking at the properties of your Wireless Connection, you need to switch to the “Wireless Networks” tab.

On this window, there’s an “Add” button there underneath “Preferred networks.” Go ahead an click that. You’re about to create your first Ad Hoc WiFi Network!

The window that appears after you click “Add” is where you’re going to enter all the info for your Ad Hoc Network. Give it a name like “PdaTether”. Set your “Network Authentication” to “Open” and your “Data Encryption” to “WEP.” Then set a “Network Key” to something easy to remember, but not too easy. This is the password for your Ad Hoc Network. We very strongly recommend you set a password, otherwise anybody in the area will not only have access to your internet connection, but also network access to your computer. Not Good.

Next, be sure to click “This is a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network; wireless access points are not used.” Once you’ve done that, click OK. Congratulations, you have set up your Ad Hoc WiFi Network. Jump down to Step Five.

How to Set Up an Ad Hoc WiFi Network on a Mac

Try not to get too cocky about this, Mac-people, but your instructions are a bit easier than for the PC folks.

Step one, click on the Airport icon in the upper right of your screen and select “Add New network.” On the window that pops up, you simply need to enter a network name, leave the channel on automatic, and then click the box next to “Require Password.”

As the instructions on the window indicate, you should only enter a 5-letter password; we recommend a mix of letters and numbers. As mentioned in the Windows section, we very strongly recommend you set a password, otherwise anybody in the area will not only have access to your internet connection, but also network access to your computer. Not Good. Click OK and then, boom, you have created an Ad Hoc WiFi network!

Step Five: Connect your iPhone to Your Ad Hoc WiFi Network

Now grab your iPhone and head into Settings, Tap Wi-Fi, and then select your new network. Enter your password and smile a bit: you’re almost done!

Step Six: Open PdaNet

Now hit the home button and open up PdaNet –iIt will check to make sure that your WiFi connection is the right kind, and then once it is, pow, it will “Just Work.” You can tell because PdaNet will switch over to the following screen, which lists connected computers and data transferred.

At this point, we’re going to go ahead and recommend you plug your iPhone in to keep it charged, as you’re really going to be sucking down the battery. As mentioned at the top of the article, be careful you don’t use too much data or you might sent up a red flag at AT&T.

PdaNet does have a feature that allows you to exit out of it to check another app, but beware that it may shut down if you don’t head back to it fairly quickly. I haven’t tried it yet, but I suspect that Backgrounder might allow PdaNet to operate in the background indefinitely.

Step Seven: Turn off PdaNet and Celebrate!

When you’re done, just hit the toggle switch at the bottom of PdaNet and then head back to your computer and switch your network back to what you normally use. Huzzah — you’re now a mobile master!

I’ve gone ahead and followed Jeremy’s excellent iPhone Jailbreak instructions for one specific reason: the ability to install PdaNet on my iPhone for tethering. PdaNet let us know, along with reader Lawton, that they’ve given up waiting for App Store approval (which will likely never come anyway) and have gone ahead and released their application for jailbroken iPhones. You can get the full skinny here.

PdaNet for the iPhone is heads and shoulders above their other offerings in that it doesn’t require any software on your laptop. You simply need to set up an ‘ad hoc’ WiFi network (here’s how) on your laptop and then have your iPhone join that network. Then, boom, you’re online.

PdaNet will also work in the background (yet another reason to Jailbreak — real background apps), although they caution that you’ll want to make sure that you get back into the app relatively quickly so it doesn’t idle. They’ve also implemented another neat accelerometer-based feature: set your phone face-down and it will turn off the screen, saving power. Truth-be-told, though, you should probably leave it plugged in, an active 3G connection and WiFi connection isn’t going to be very good to your battery.

One last note: over-usage of PdaNet’s tethering is likely to draw the eye and the ire of AT&T, so use with care!

Thanks to Lawton for the tip!

Null River sends word that Apple has officially responded to them (at long last) and the response is sadly what we expected:

Looks like Apple has decided they will not be allowing any tethering applications in the AppStore. As such, NetShare will not be available in the iTunes AppStore. We are seeing a lot of similar reports from various developers who’s applications were abruptly removed and banned from the AppStore without any violations of the terms of service. This is all unfortunate news for the iPhone platform end-users.

Of course, this also bodes ill for PdaNet and any other folks looking to create tethering apps. Just ain’t gonna happen, folks.

The App Store cancellation / banning / NDA / mystery is starting to approach critical mass. Dave Winer nails the real issue here: there’s no way to app developers to find out whether or not they’re going to even be allowed to sell their app via the App Store until after they’ve put all the work into creating it. Developers are all sitting “Before the Law,” hoping the gatekeeper will suddenly become reasonable and rational. For tethering apps, at least, that hope is in vain. We’re still holding out hope for Podcaster and, well, for a lot of others.

(Netshare and Winer links via Daring Fireball)

Seems like it’s been an eternity since the pulling of the NetShare application officially brought us into the age of Apple pulling apps from the App Store on an almost daily basis. Without NetShare, the only folks who have been able to utilize their iPhones’ 3G connection for Laptop connectivity have been the crazy ones.

For the rest of us, there’s just the teeniest, tiniest glimmer of hope, that AT&T will relent and allow official tethering.

Until then it’s a waiting game. While you wait, think a bit about folks on PalmOS and Windows Mobile, folks who can not only tether, but can tether in a special ‘proxy mode’ that’s actually quite clever. See, when you tether, your carrier can tell you’re tethering (and can therefore charge you more). What lucky users on these other platforms do is trick their networks into thinking they’re just browsing via their phone. They do this via an awesome piece of software called PdaNet.

So: PdaNet for iPhone? It’s still the waiting game:

Our latest response from Apple is that the PdaNet application will be given new “consideration”. But that was more than a week ago and it still has an “In Review” status. There is not much we can do at this point but just to wait.

Sadly, that response from June Fabrics is now three weeks old and still no sign of PdaNet in the App Store, so things don’t look so good.

Come on, Apple and AT&T, allowing us to tether our laptops to our iPhones would make an awesome “One More Thing.”