As can be expected, with the appearance of the first iPhones, the first iPhone hacks came into existence and have been around, spreading since then. DVD Jon, notorious for various reverse engineering projects (which means getting details of systems one is not supposed to know) was the first to write a software program to hack his iPhone just five days after the original release date. And though he was not yet able to hack his iPhone in such a way as to be able to get activated on another carrier, other than AT&T, he could use all the other functions of his iPhone. Many have followed in his footsteps in iPhone hacks since then, with a varied set of intentions and methods.
Types of iPhone Hacks
It could quite simply be asserted that the two basic kinds of hacks are the good and the bad hacks. There are the ones that help you unlock your phone, so that you should be able to use another carrier apart from AT&T, whether you need this option to use your phone outside the United States or becasue you are not comfortable with AT&T's pricing. Some want to hack their iPhones not even to choose another carrier, but just to be able to use third-party applications, which is not normally supported by Apple. Then there are the so-called bad hacks, when some hackers try to hack iPhones and Apple's system to get details of other iPhone users and thus be able to get passwords, personal and private information.
Brick, Firmware, Jailbreaking
There are some basic terms you should be familiar with, which you could have already encountered but are not sure about their meaning. The term brick refers to a hardware which becomes unusable for one reason or another. Hacking your iPhone can basically render it inoperable, or it can become unuseable if you update your iPhone and Apple has something new built in to make your hacked iPhone useless. Some hackers though are constantly working on writing newer and newer hacks, which can possibly recover your iPhone.
The firmware is basically the operating system and programming, the basic and in-depth specifics, which are not available to the everyday user. Apple periodically releases updates that fix former bugs and offers new features, and will possibly work on and stop iPhone hacks. Firmware version 1.1.1. is quite famous for rendering many iPhones useless, turning them into bricks, although a fix was released some weeks later.
IPhones are naturally built in such a way that users are unable to modify the operating system and basic software. Jailbreak is a type of iPhone hack in which the user can gain access to the inner structure and thus modify it, either to unlock the iPhone or install and run third-party applications not approved by Apple.