Reclaim your Wireless Connection!
Note: This Beta version of AirFix is free
for personal, non-commercial use. It is not supported and is only
made available as a tool for those who are debugging network applications
via USB ActiveSync.
With the release of ActiveSync 4.0, mobile users
everywhere suffered a great loss. Namely, you can no longer maintain
a network connection while synced. According to Microsoft, they
removed this useful feature because some corporate customers had
thought it was a security risk. However, we believe that taking
it out is a much greater risk[1].
The result of this feature removal is that any
ActiveSync session (via Bluetooth, IR, or USB) will immediately
disable your network connection. Our AirFix program will give the
control back to you, which is where it belongs.
Please note that AirFix is
not designed to allow ActiveSync over a WiFi connection.
Rather, it is a tool that allows you to enable the wireless network
after you are already
synced with the PC (e.g. with a USB ActiveSync connection).
Why would you need a wireless connection while synced?
There are at least two very important reasons why a network connection
is necessary while synced. But before examining these, we first
need to understand how the WM5 platform is debugged.
When a software program is written, it undergoes extensive testing
(hopefully). This testing process often involves debugging, which
generally means a programmer must examine the code as it is executed
on the processor. In the case of WM5, the debugging is meant to
be accomplished via the Visual Studio 2005 package. Visual Studio
2005 uses the ActiveSync connection to communicate with the PDA
and create a debugging session. However, what happens if the program
is a network application?
Well, since ActiveSync disables the network interface, any attempt
to debug the networking component of an application will be pointless.
If the wireless connection is down, the program won't work in the
first place. So it is currently impossible to debug network applications
on windows Mobile 5.0! In addition, there is no way for security
penetration testers to look for vulnerabilities in Windows Mobile
5.0 software. That is, until AirFix.
The second problem, and in our opinion the more serious, is that
taking out network sync has prevented the debugging of any virus,
worm, or trojan horse that uses a network connection. The result
is that the entire Windows Mobile 5 user community is at the complete
mercy of criminals who write malware for their handheld devices.
Windows Mobile 5.0 is wide open to attack, and there is nothing
that any antivirus company can do to prevent it. We can’t
even use the debugger to create virus signatures or to test how
Trojans infect the device. Windows Mobile 5.0 security is now basically
nonexistent. That is, until AirFix.
The Fix:
Airfix will re-enable your ability to connect
to your WM5.0 device using ActiveSync and a network connection.
You will now also be able to use remote debuggers. Download AirFix
now and take back the security of the Windows Mobile platform.
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