iPhone Online

 
With so many great applications pre-installed on the iPhone, and so many opportunities to waste hours playing with them, it is easy to forget that it is, at heart, a communications device. Its name would suggest that it is a phone, but it should more accurately be described as a fully fledged, Internet-enabled mobile communicator, with integrated email, web browsing, video-streaming and route-planning tools. Not bad for something thinner than a pack of playing cards.

Many of these applications rely on an Internet connection to work, which is why Apple has integrated
802.11b/g wireless networking into the device (below). Often referred to as wifi, this is a globally-accepted standard that allows you to get online at home, at work, and in coffee shops, railway stations and airports around the world.

However, because wifi is an inherently insecure medium, network administrators often put in place several safety measures, with which your iPhone setup will need to comply before you can gain access. Each will be set up in a different way, and you will have to talk to the administrator of each network to find the exact details, but these are the most common security measures in use and the best way you can make your iPhone compliant.

MAC address filtering

Every wireless networking device, including Bluetooth modules, is identified by a string of eight alpha-numeric digit pairs. For example, 00:b3:c7:d8:0a:2f. The code pairs arc in hexadecimal, with numbers running from 0 to 9, and the letters from a to f. No two devices will ever carry the same identifying string, which means these combinations can be used as a highly effective security tool.

By interrogating each wireless device that attempts to connect to it, such as an iPhone or mobile computer, a wireless access point can individually authorise and deny network access to each one, and no matter how many passwords you have at your disposal, it is almost impossible to circumvent this measure in any conventional way.

If your network administrator has used MAC address filtering, you will need to ask them to add your iPhone to the list of authorised machines by giving them its unique MAC address. To (ind this, click on Settings > General > About from the Home screen and read off the number beside Ethernet address. You can safely ignore the MAC address beside the Bluetooth entry at this time.

Hidden network names

Sometimes networks arc not only filtered in this way but hidden altogether. All networks are given a name, which is not necessarily unique, and they broadcast these along with their regular data signals so that users can easily identify them and connect. However, almost every wireless access point can optionally hide this name to make it more difficult for casual passers-by to connect without authorization.

If you know that you arc in range of such a network and would like to manually connect, tap Settings > Wi-Fi > Other and enter the network name exactly as given by the network administrator. You may be asked for a password here, which wc cover next.

Encrypted connections

Once you have gained access to the network, your data will by default be sent backwards and forwards over the wireless connection totally unencrypted. This would allow nefarious users to intercept your communications and read all manner of sensitive data, including emails, banking details and website passwords.

Fortunately, all networking devices are capable of encrypting this data so that it is much more difficult to read (although still not entirely impossible) using WEP or WPA encryption. You need not know in advance whether or not a network is using these measures, as selecting one that employs it will throw up an input box asking you to enter the relevant password. Again, check with your network administrator what this should be.

The mobile Internet

By default, the iPhone will use a wireless Internet connection whenever it can (above),

but it is also possible to connect over the mobile phone network. Bear in mind that if you do this while away from a regular wifi network, you will pa)1 usage fees based on the amount of data you pass over the connection.

Therefore, try to limit your non-wifi browsing to text-based content wherever possible, and certainly avoid videos and streaming audio, as this will quickly rack up expensive charges if you exceed the transfer limits stipulated as part of your chosen contract.

Bear in mind, also, that if you are roaming onto other networks when using your iPhone overseas, these fees are likely to be even higher and, in some instances, you may find that all data connections arc terminated and you are restricted to using your iPhone as a regular mobile phone. There is little that can be done about this, as it will depend largely on the agreements in place between your service provider and the foreign mobile network operator.