Quick plug for a webinar I just completed today. You can see the recording here:
https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/9221/72861
Marco..
First there was iOS 6.1.1 made available last week to fix specific cellular issues that was introduced in iOS 6.1, which was released late in January.
Now iOS 6.1.2 Fixes an Exchange calendar bug that could result in increased network activity and reduced battery life.
This has been much discussed and an official Apple Knowledge Base article is posted here about it: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4532
On the iPhone 5 it is a 12.8Mb download:
Marco..
Historical, just as in the “old days” with Windows Mobile and Pocket PC before it, Microsoft has made a handy emulator available as part of the SDK that is freely downloadable and installable.
An emulator is not just useful for developers anymore, but also for a corporate enterprise administrator it could be handy for testing applications, configurations or infrastructure. But especially if there is no physical Windows Phone 8 device handy, you could jumpstart the platform understanding and even support for it. :-)
In this posting I will give a overview, good reference points and tips to utilize the Windows Phone 8 emulator.
Requirements
The Windows Phone SDK 8.0 has the following basic requirements:
- Windows 8, running 64-bit. A 32-bit system is not supported.
- 4Gb RAM minimum
- 6.5Gb of disk space
For the Windows Phone 8 emulator these additional requirements also apply:
Operating System:
- Windows 8 Professional or Enterprise Edition
Hyper-V:
- Hardware virtualization
- Second Level Address Translation (SLAT)
Network:
- DHCP, so the virtual machine can get a IP address on the local network
A great handy small 3rd party utility to detect if you have the necessary SLAT support is located here: http://slatstatuscheck.codeplex.com/
On older equipment you may find that you have basic virtualization support, but lack the SLAT or other features.
To properly understand and enable the virtualization settings I recommend to look at these helpful pages:
- Technet: Hyper-V: How to Fix BIOS Errors Enabling Hyper-V
- How to enable Hyper-V for the Windows Phone Emulator
- (WP8) Emulator (XDE) Troubleshooting Tips
Installation
Installation is pretty straight forward and simple. Please go here, http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio, and download the “Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Phone” version. It will require approximately a whopping 6.5Gb of disk space, but provides a cost free option with all the basics. You will need to register for free and obtain a product key for long term use. Only takes 2-seconds with your existing Microsoft Live ID and will be e-mailed to you.
To utilize the Windows Phone Emulator 8.0 the machine and CPU you are installing on must support hardware virtualization.
If the virtualization support is available and properly enabled before you start the installation, it will automatically install all the necessary Hyper-V components if not already installed.
Usage
Some simple steps on how to start and use the emulator without having to be a developer.
1. Run the Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Phone by tapping the tile:
2. Create a new project by selecting “New Project”:
3. In the New Project dialog window leave the default “Windows Phone App” and click OK.
4. Leave the target version as “Windows Phone OS 8.0”, and click OK.
5. The new project will now be created..
6. Once completed the Visual Studio Express will display the empty project source code. Ignore the code windows, and please notice the “Emulator WVGA” button in the upper left of the screen:
The dropdown shows several different emulator resolutions present (you don’t have to select a new selection):
Information on the resolution options:
| | Resolution | Aspect Ratio | Scaled resolution |
| WVGA | 480 x 800 | 15:9 | 480 x 800 |
| WXGA | 768 x 1280 | 15:9 | 480 x 800 |
| 720p | 720 x 1280 | 16:9 | 480 x 853 |
7. Once you execute the Emulator, it will build/compile the source code and start up the emulator, load and execute the Project code. In our case, it should come up with a empty page as shown. Please click on the Windows button.
8. As on a physical device, after pressing the Windows button it should display the home screen with the tiles:
If you have DHCP running on your local network, the emulator should have access to the same network and Internet if available. As in this quick test in Internet Explorer shows:
Emulator Toolbar
The toolbar next to the emulator has several nifty features which can be useful when utilizing the emulator.
= Close emulator and shut it down
= Minimize the emulator window. Retrieve it from the taskbar.
= Flip emulator display left and right, as you would a physical device
= Fit to screen. It will expand or shrink the emulator display to fit the screen size.
= Zoom. You can expand or shrink the emulator display.
= Open the Additional Tools window (see below)
= Drag the emulator display
The Additional Tools window has additional functionality for setting Accelerometer and Location data for the emulator. It also has functionality to take screenshots and view network information.
Keyboard Shortcuts
These keyboard shortcuts substitute the physical buttons on a Windows Phone device and may make it easier to demonstrate various aspects.
F1 = Back arrow button. Escape key can also be used.
F2 = Windows Start button
F3 = Search button
F6 = Camera button that is pressed halfway
F7 = Camera button that is fully pressed
F9 = Volume up
F10 = Volume down
F12 = Lock device/Power button. Press it twice to see the lock screen.
PAGE DOWN = When text box is highlight, moves visual keyboard down, and you can use your physical keyboard for input
PAGE UP = When text box is highlight, moves visual keyboard up.
PAUSE/BREAK = Toggle keyboard
Documentation
Hope this helps any efforts to setup and use the Windows Phone 8 emulator. Here are some additional links that may be helpful.
SDK 8.0 links:
- What's new in Windows Phone SDK 8.0
- Windows Phone Emulator
Mark Chamberlain has a great list of tips here: (WP8) Emulator (XDE) Troubleshooting Tips
Additional troubleshooting information can be found here: Troubleshooting the Windows Phone 8 Emulator
Marco..
The mobile space is definitely becoming mainstream and various companies have taken legal actions to hold their ground and a piece of the potential business. Recently Apple and Samsung battled it out and in the past such legal moves has shaped the various products used for computing for a longer period of time. Recently larger companies, perhaps foes between themselves, have even bounded together to purchase important patent holdings.
I’m not a patent expert, so this probably could drag out in court for some time and no-one will state much about it until settled one way or the other. But these appear to be some very fundamental patents Good referenced in the court papers. Here is a listing of them and the direct US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) links:
This could have the potential to shift some of the balance between the current MDM vendors, open up cross licensing opportunities for specific features, or perhaps even potential buy-outs. Time will tell if some software code changes can get some out of the hot water.
All the gory details have been posted here: http://good.com/patent-litigation
Marco..
This minor update appears to have address the Exchange Meeting calendar issues reported in the last 3-4 weeks. The update is about 50-70Mb in size and requires 787Mb of fee storage on an iPhone 5 to install. As described on the http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1606 page this provides the high-level details on what is included:
iOS 6.0.1 Software Update
This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:
• Fixes a bug that prevents iPhone 5 from installing software updates wirelessly over the air (This appears to be a separate patch that is offered and installed before the iOS upgrade is offered. Go to Settings->General->Software Update)
• Fixes a bug where horizontal lines may be displayed across the keyboard
• Fixes an issue that could cause camera flash to not go off
• Improves reliability of iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation) when connected to encrypted WPA2 Wi-Fi networks
• Resolves an issue that prevents iPhone from using the cellular network in some instances
• Consolidated the Use Cellular Data switch for iTunes Match
• Fixes a Passcode Lock bug which sometimes allowed access to Passbook pass details from lock screen
• Fixes a bug affecting Exchange meetings
Security details are available here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5567
Rumors are also stating that a iOS 6.1 release will likely be released in the early Q1 timeframe. It is currently unknown what new features could be included.
Marco..
A bug has surfaced for iOS 6 users under some specific circumstances. It appears that several companies first reported in late September and it has escalated in recent weeks. It centers around meeting cancellation notices, which get broadcasted to all invitees not just the organizer.
As posted to the Apple Support forum thread, https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4351951, Microsoft and Apple appear to already working together to see if they can resolve it. Microsoft has a public article posted here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2768774.
Adam Glick from the Microsoft Exchange Team has also blogged about it with a few mitigation ideas: http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2012/10/23/ios6-devices-erroneously-take-ownership-of-meetings.aspx
On the delegation related problems, this article may assist as well: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309185
An excellent recap, and history behind this infamous bug is also described here:
http://www.tuaw.com/2012/10/04/exchange-ios-meeting-hijack-history-goes-back-well-before-ios/
I’m already seeing several companies that are writing notices to their employees about this problem, and perhaps to wait to upgrade their devices to iOS 6 if at all possible.
There is also buzz about an upcoming iOS 6.0.1 update for keyboard, camera and Wi-FI bug fixes. Time will tell if Apple decides to place some client side updates into the next iOS release as well.
BTW, a nice handy round-up of other known ActiveSync client issues, and some resolutions are documented here by Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2563324 Marco..
This is a biggie. This appears to be a true full remote control solution, not just from within a custom application, like the SOTI or other solutions tout. We will have to find out more information on October 24th. :-)
http://www.apperian.com/remote-control-for-ios/
- Full-system screen sharing for your iOS device
- Fully compatible with iOS5/iOS6, including the iPhone 5
The big question is if Apple will approve the app, or if can be done only with an in-house Enterprise deployment..
Marco..
If you haven’t already started to support it in your own environment, there is a great deal of activity centered around applications on mobile devices in the enterprise. There are various tools and solutions to assist. Ranging from application development, Mobile Application Management (MAM), and Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions.
Here is a quick link to an article that sums it up pretty well:
http://www.viziapps.com/enterprise-app-stores-for-managing-and-deploying-mobile-apps/
I think the main unknown at this time is how the new Microsoft Windows 8 platform will provide the ability to support an Enterprise App Store for private in-house coded applications, not provided on the public Windows App Store.
Marco..
I have gathered up a good overview of the new features for both iOS 6 and iPhone 5 that may be helpful from the various news and announcements earlier today.
I have compressed the information in some brief tables to better organize the information and content.
iOS 6 Cheat Sheet
This latest iOS release provides a slew of new features. While mostly geared to the consumer market, here is a possible list of business related features known at this time that may be beneficial to have knowledge of or promote.
| Area | Description |
| Availability | General public availability on September 19th. Over-The-Air upgrades on support models running iOS 5 or above. |
| Supported Models | iPhone 4S
iPhone 4 (CDMA & GSM)
iPhone 3GS
iPod Touch 4th Gen
iPad 2 (WiFi, WiFi + 3G - CDMA & GSM)
iPad 3rd Gen (WiFi + CDMA & GSM) |
| Non-Supported | iPad 1st Gen – Last iOS supported will be 5.1.1. |
| Developers | The Golden Master (GM) image is available starting September 12th to all developers for application testing before public availability. |
| Features | Pictures and overview: http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/
Detailed overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_version_history |
| Feature Availability | Not all the new iOS 6 features will be available in all countries such as maps, local search information, and language dictation. Please see: http://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability/ |
| Features – Business
(in random order) | Hands free operation:
- Siri can read items from Notification Center.
- "Eyes Free", allowing car companies to build-in Siri integration
Passbook:
- New app that manages a user's boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, loyalty cards, etc. in one app.
- Passes are updated in real time if changes are made (e.g. spending money on a store card, flight time, gate change, etc.).
- Passes are location and time-based, appearing on the lock screen when relevant. Settings:
- "Bluetooth" moved to top of Settings list.
- Added "Do Not Disturb" mode, allowing users to avoid calls and notifications unless calling parties are on the user's Favorites group.
- New Privacy Controls. Apps must now ask for permission to access the users photos, calendars, contacts and reminders.
- "Wi-Fi plus cellular" option added under "Cellular", to allow apps to use data over cellular if experiencing issues establishing connection through Wi-Fi. Phone:
- Adds phone icon on lock screen for additional ignoring options, similar to the camera sliding icon on the lock screen in iOS 5.1.
- When ignoring a call, the user can message the caller or set a Reminder to call them back later or send one of three customizable quick SMS response. Mail:
- VIP inbox stars important emails from user defined VIP group members.
- Flagged emails inbox.
- Attach photos and videos quickly with a long-press.
- Open password-protected Microsoft Office documents.
- Added Pull-to-Refresh gesture to update Mail accounts.
- Per account Signatures. Contacts:
- Search All Fields.
- Custom Vibrations for Text Message Notifications Safari:
- Fullscreen landscape mode (for iPhone 3GS and newer; iPod Touch (4th generation) and newer).
- iCloud tab syncing across iOS devices and Macs.
- Offline reading list caches the user's reading list for later use, even when not connected to the Internet (not available for iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch (4th generation)).
- Faster JavaScript engine.
- Support up to 25 open tabs on iPad. YouTube:
- Removed as an integrated app due to an ended licensing deal with Google. Google created a stand-alone YouTube app for the App Store that was available for download on September 11, 2012. Lost Mode:
- If iPhone is lost, Lost Mode triggers an attention grabbing sound, prompting the person who finds the iPhone to call a specific number set by the owner remotely. Networking:
- Global Network proxy for HTTP.
- IPv6 support for Wi-Fi and LTE. Security:
- Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization added. AppStore:
- Updating an app no longer requires the iTunes password to be entered.
- Install free apps without an Apple ID. (feature however appears to be removed since beta?) Accessibility Guided Access:
- Allows user to lock exiting of the app in Single App Mode.
- Allows users to disable certain controls within a specific app.
- Locks the home button from being used to act like a kiosk. |
iPhone 5 Cheat Sheet
All-in-all an impressive new device it appears. A quick run down of the technical details is below, although there are some gaps that I list afterwards.
For end-users that have already chosen iOS over Android in today’s market, the iPhone 5 brings a larger screen and the same ease of use if your end-users are comfortable with the iOS platform. The LTE connectivity and faster CPU will also assist the power and information hungry end-users. All is the lightest phone device Apple has created so far.
| Area | Description |
| Availability | Pre-orders start on Friday September 14th. Shipping on September 21st in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. 22 more countries starting on September 28th. |
| Pricing | Same price as the 4S in the US. $199 for 16GB. $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB. iPhone 4 is now free on contract. iPhone 4S is now $99 on contract. |
| Audio - Mics | The audio system - there are three microphones. Front, bottom, and back. This is for voice recognition and noise cancelation. |
| Audio - Speaker | Five magnets in the transducer, a new speaker design, and is smaller overall — 20% smaller than the iPhone 4S speaker. |
| Audio - MO | "wideband audio" Your voice will sound more natural. It requires Mobile Operator (MO) partnership. |
| Camera - Back | 8-megapixel, 3,264 x 2,448 backside-illuminated sensor, five-element lens and f/2.4 aperture. Same as the iPhone 4S but thinner. |
| Camera - Features | A new dynamic low light mode. It evaluates nearby pixels to give up to 2 f-stops greater low-light performance.
A new image processor in the A6 to reduce noise and includes a so-called "smart filter" to do better at color-matching. 40% faster image capture. |
| Camera - Panorama | Panorama pictures by sweeping your phone. A 28 megapixel resulting image.
(Also supported on iPhone 4S running iOS 6, I tested it!) |
| Camera - Front | The front-facing camera is now 720p, backside illuminated. |
| Video | 1080p still but with better video stabilization and facial recognition. |
| Battery | 8 hours of 3G or LTE talk time or browsing. 10 hours on WiFi browsing. |
| CPU | New A6 chip. 2X faster CPU and 2x graphics compared to the A5. Running 1.2 or 1.6Ghz probably. |
| Radio - WiFi | 802.11a/b/g/n. Now added 5Ghz support for 802.11n together with 2.4Ghz. Up to 150Mbps. |
| Radio - MO | GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA and LTE.
In the US: Sprint, AT&T and Verizion. All will support LTE.
Please see http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/ for the 3 models to choose from. |
| Radio - SIM | It will use a newer “nano-SIM” instead of the current micro-SIM card. So even a tad smaller and not compatible. |
| Screen | 326ppi Retina display, 4-inches. 1136 x 640 resolution. Same width, but taller. |
| Weight | Weighs 112 grams. 20% lighter than the 4S at 146 grams. 7.6mm thick, 18% thinner than before. Made entirely of glass and aluminum. |
| Case | The white version has a raw aluminum back. The black one has the black anodized backing. |
| Connector | Called “Lightning”. Adaptors will be available from the old 30-pin connector for $29 in October. Double sided, so you can plug it in either way. |
| Further information | Pictures and overview: http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/ |
Lacking features other devices on the market now have:
- NFC - Near Field Communications (many newer Android and Windows Phone devices)
- Wireless charging (Nokia Lumia 920)
Some brief statements from Apple:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/apples-phil-schiller-explains-new-lightning-port-doesnt-thi/
On the Mobile Operator side:
- No China Mobile support it appears.
- No support for the 800Mhz and 2600mhz frequency bands for other countries in Europe.
Marco..
Something that many global customers are asking for is VPP support outside of the United States for their end-users. It appears that day has finally arrived.
As of today the following countries have now been added:
Australia
Canada
France
Italy
Germany
Japan
New Zealand
Spain
United Kingdom
No word if additional countries will be added later on, but it appears to be a similar approach as to any AppStore changes with the larger ones first. For the latest always hit up the main page here: http://www.apple.com/business/vpp/.
To access and purchase apps in each county necessary it appears, you must use your VPP Apple ID with the correct country store link with the 2-character country code. This table also provides the current link (could change in the future) of the local language VPP Guide if you need it:
You can also jump from one to another once you are logged in. PayPal payment is only accepted in the United States. Other local payment options may vary depending on the country.
I have not yet tried a full test with a MDM solution, so your MDM success may vary until each vendor comes out with clear support statements.
The Apple Configurator v1.1 fixes some problems using VPP vouchers, so if you are using that, make sure you update it. See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5339 for more info.
For the developers out there, please see https://developer.apple.com/programs/volume/.
BTW, on the separated Apple Education side, it currently appears that the additional countries are not quite yet active, http://www.apple.com/education/volume-purchase-program/. I would assume they would follow rapidly if there are no hiccups on the business side.
Let me know how the new country work out for your deployment needs!
Marco..
It’s a little late, but I’m first now catching up on some of the recent news. :-) With the BlackHat and DefCon conferences in Las Vegas recently completed, there was a flurry of security news happening last few months. Here is a brief run-down of some highlights I found as it possibly affects the mobile computing world.
Slow patching puts Android users at further risk:
http://www.infoworld.com/t/mobile-security/slow-patching-puts-android-users-further-risk-198668
Take away: Android Beam (via NFC or Bluetooth) vulnerabilities to execute files, down-level OS and apps still being used by mobile operators.
Tools released at Defcon can crack widely used PPTP encryption in under a day:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/tools-released-defcon-can-crack-widely-used-pptp-encryption-in-under-day-198882
Take away: Stop using PPTP VPN and WPA2 Enterprise, use IPSec or OpenVPN and don’t use WPA2 for WiFi if using MS-CHAPv2 authentication..
Inside how Google scans for Malware:
Slidedeck: https://media.blackhat.com/bh-us-12/Briefings/Percoco/BH_US_12_Percoco_Bouncerland_Slides.pdf
Whitepaper of their findings: https://media.blackhat.com/bh-us-12/Briefings/Percoco/BH_US_12_Percoco_Adventures_in_Bouncerland_WP.pdf
Take away: Google bouncer app verification holes, how to make your internal or public applications more secure.
BTW, Google has now updated their Developer policy per August 1st 2012 (unknown if Trustwave helped pushed this along): http://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy.html.
Google now is combatting spam, malware, and SMS/email usage. Any app updates after 30 days of this new policy and don’t comply are subject to warning or removal from Google Play immediately. This is excellent news!
Devices scanned on Mobile Networks:
https://media.blackhat.com/bh-us-12/Briefings/Mulliner/BH_US_12_Milliner_Probing_Mobile_Operating_Slides.pdf
Takeaway: If deploying on a public mobile network, especially M2M devices, make sure the devices can be locked down in some fashion. Reminds me of the old modem war-dailing days. :-)
Advanced Android Exploitation with AFE (Android Framework for Exploitation):
http://toorcamp.org/content12/38
http://www.infoworld.com/t/mobile-security/android-malware-made-easy-modular-kit-199294
Takeaway: The Android platform could quickly become infested with bot networks as the current Windows platform. Understand malware and secure against it.
Apple iOS SMS Security Vulnerability
http://www.pod2g.org/2012/08/never-trust-sms-ios-text-spoofing.html
Takeaway: Careful to take basic communications as granted, SMS spoofing exists on any platform. Apple states it’s iMessage verifies addresses.
Marco..
A component that most Mobile Device Management (MDM) products use today is the Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP). This was propelled by the use from Apple for iOS 4 devices in 2010, and Cisco and VeriSign who designed it in early 2000. The protocol was designed to make the issuing and revocation of digital certificates as scalable as possible. Especially its usage in MDM solutions for the growing BYOD footprint could be of a concern.
Vulnerability Details
US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) released this Vulnerability Note #971035 on June 27th: http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/971035
It stated: “An attacker could elevate their permissions by requesting a certificate of a different, possibly higher privileged user that would allow them to access resources that they would not otherwise be able to access.”
Certified Security Solutions (CSS) is credited to report the vulnerability and more exact details are documented in their 8-page whitepaper here: http://www.css-security.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SCEP-and-Untrusted-Devices.pdf
A 12 minute video demoing the vulnerability and security overview is available here: http://www.css-security.com/scep/
Product Concerns
Mark Diodati from Gartner has pointed out that the following vendors have modified or proxied their SCEP enrollment process so better validation of the distinguished name is performed to better protect against this potential vulnerability:
AirWatch, Good Technology, Fiberlink, MobileIron, and Zenprise
The same can also be said about Silverback MDM, and probably several other vendors. If you are concerned you should ping your vendor and get more details.
But as Ted Shorter from CSS also points out his blog article, even if the various products in use might not be directly affected, it’s important to look at the full solution and what potential risks you may have and how it is implemented.
The Future
As the US-CERT posting highlights, the IETF Draft for SCEP has since March 2011 also mentioned other solutions such as Certificate Management Protocol (CMP) [RFC4210] and Certificate Management over CMS (CMC) [RFC5272] that have more comprehensive functionality. And “implementers are encouraged to support one of these comprehensive standards track certificate management protocols in addition to the protocol defined in this specification”.
As the market matures further with Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) I would suspect an increase in functionality and use of newer security standards and processes. With all the MDM products on the market, the top players continue to add features that they hope will differentiate themselves better.
Marco..
The new folks over at Deloitte Digital have put together a nice infographic that even compares your new shiny mobile device to your toothbrush. And I know all of you out there are already using your devices while out shopping and just waiting to use NFC. :-)
Source: http://www.deloittedigital.com/blog/digital-disruption-infographic
Head over to my Pinterest page if you want to check out my collection of Infographics and let me know if you have some good ones!
http://pinterest.com/marconielsen/
Marco..
More for the channel readers out there, but a quick plug for an article where I was quoted talking about the importance of MDM solutions, the changing business landscape of BYOD and also understanding all the infrastructure aspects surrounding mobile platforms today.
See the full article here:
http://bsminfo.com/doc.mvc/profit-from-managing-mobile-field-force-deployments-0001
Marco..
A colleague of mine gave me a heads up on this new piece of documentation that Apple released without any public fanfare. But quietly slipped it into links on the http://www.apple.com/ipad/business/ and http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/ web sites.
iOS Security – May 2012:
http://images.apple.com/ipad/business/docs/iOS_Security_May12.pdf
It’s a 20 page light read that goes in some depth about the various security processes and features within the Apple operating system. Hopefully this indicates a change of documentation from Apple and who knows what iOS 6 could bring around the corner. :-)
Marco..
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