Thursday 31 March 2016

Ghost emails

Ghost emails

Mysterious messages from spooky senders are appearing on iPhones

What are they?
Emails dated ‘January 1, 1970’ being sent to iPad and iPhone users. They have perplexed thousands of people because they have no subject, sender or content, and can’t be deleted. Many users are worried that they are being hacked – or haunted.


Which is it?
Neither. It’s actually a flaw in iOS that occurs when users check their emails in a different timezone. The problem is that to tell the time iOS uses Unix, an operating system developed by Bell Labs in 1969. Unix counts how many seconds have elapsed since January 1, 1970 (about 1.45 billion). It’s an effective way for computers to measure time, but because Unix works on Greenwich Mean Time it can get confused by a new timezone. It reacts by reverting to the default date, 46 years ago.

So it doesn’t do any harm?
No, and it’s easy to fix. Just close the app that received the mysterious email, then perform a factory reset by pressing the lock and home button at the same time. But while the solution is simple, it’s still a little unsettling to get an email dated 22 months before they were even invented.

So that would have been October 1971?
Correct. Coincidentally, the inventor of email died just a few days before reports of ghost emails emerged. Ray Tomlinson – who suffered a fatal heart attack on 5 March aged 74 – sent the world’s first email while working on ARPANET, a precursor to the internet. Read more on his Wikipedia page: www.snipca.com/19946.

Wasn’t there a more dangerous ‘January 1, 1970’ bug recently?
Yes, and it was exposed by a hoax that lots of people fell for. Instructions posted on forums appeared to demonstrate that by changing an iPhone’s date to ‘January 1, 1970’, you would unlock a hidden feature that replaces Apple’s current logo with its old multi-coloured one (see image). But doing this actually ‘bricks’ the device, turning the screen black. You can’t do anything to turn it back on.

Thankfully, after dragging its feet, Apple has released a fix that allows users to ‘un-brick’ their iPhones using iTunes. It will also prevent users from changing the date to any time before January 1, 2001. But this update – called iOS 9.3 – is still in beta, so it may take some time to arrive on your device.

Are there more Unix bugs to come?
Yes, a huge one – when Unix time actually comes to an end. It’s a similar problem to the millennium bug, which triggered fears of global computer meltdown. As well as obliterating software in PCs, phones and routers, it could break anti-lock braking systems in cars and GPS receivers in aeroplanes. It’s serious stuff, though only 32bit systems are at risk. Anything running 64bit will survive because it can process more values, such as numbers.

So when does Unix time end?
At precisely 3:14:07 on the morning of 19 January 2038 (a Tuesday, in case you were wondering), when computers everywhere will reset to 13 December 1901. You can set your alarm clocks now. This ‘Year 2038’ problem is a well-known timebomb in the world of computing, and even has its own Wikipedia page (www.snipca.com/19947). Worryingly, there is no known solution. We have 7,965 days (and counting) to find one.