Introducing Hackulous Security

The weather’s gettin’ rough out there!
As many of you have already caught on, there’s a ton of sites out there pretending to be the *ulous sites, but they’re not. They’re phishing sites — sites that fool you into thinking they’re the real thing, but they log your IP address and try to trick you into giving up personal information. Many of them contain lies about the scene and the *ulous services to try to scare you, and some of them plan to trick you into installing hacked, malicious versions of programs like Installous and Crackulous.

But never fear, Hackulous Security is here!
Hackulous Security ISN’T a be-all-end-all solution to these problems, but this simple package offers a great deal of protection against these malicious websites and the programs they try to install. Think of Hackulous Security as an antivirus application — download it now and you’ll be protected against what’s out there, but make sure to keep up with updates so you continue to be protected against whatever attacks we find in the future.


What’s with the Installous update?
Not much has changed in Installous at all — that’s why the version change, 2.0.1 to 2.0.2, is so tiny. Installous was simply updated to include support for Hackulous Security, and will be tied more strongly into the system in the future. Unfortunately we don’t have any big exciting new features for Installous quite yet, but the extra security is definitely worth it.

So what does Hackulous Security actually do?
Currently, Hackulous Security is a firewall of sorts. Whenever your iPhone attempts to contact (or phone home to) a malicious website, it will stop the connection in its tracks. You won’t be able to connect to Cydia sources that are there solely to harm your device, and any harmful websites you get sent to will show you a Hackulous Security “Blocked” page, not unlike what many of you are used to from AVG Antivirus, Norton, or McAfee. In the future, it will also search-and-destroy iPhone malware and (god forbid) viruses. Hackulous Security does not monitor or log your connections. It is a simple blacklist that prevents your device from making connections to sites that are confirmed to be malicious.

Is Hackulous Security Safe?
As safe as can be. When you install it, it will get a listing of current bad hosts from this website. And just in case would-be attackers try to re-direct your device to their OWN servers to control the list, Hackulous Security uses two different kinds of encryption that can’t be duplicated by any other site. No system is immune to being hacked, but installing Hackulous Security now (or simply updating Installous) will give you the best protection currently available.

Is this a background process? Will it eat battery?
No and no!The blacklisting feature used by Hackulous Security is already a part of the iPhone OS kernel, and the blacklist is already being checked against every connection you make — even without Hackulous Security installed. This package is simply a method of updating that already-built-in blacklist safely and securely. It is not a background process and uses no more battery than your device already does.

How do I get it?
Hackulous Security, as well as the Installous update, are on our Cydia repo right now. If you don’t already have the Hackulous Cydia repo, find out how to install it HERE.

I want more information about these bad sites and the attackers!
If you’re signed into your Hackulous account, you can get the whole story here: http://hackulo.us/forums/index.php?showtopic=21024

IF CYDIA IS GIVING YOU A SIZE MISMATCH ERROR:
That’s normal right after an update. Just go to the “changes” tab and hit the “Refresh” button in the upper-left corner. Then you can upgrade with no issues.


[via Hackulous]