[Review] Applocker 2 Going Live In Cydia Tonight!

Applocker 2 is an iOS security system for your applications and much more.

Are you one who loves keeping your iDevice so airtight that not even some of the best iPhone tinkerers can figure out how to get into your stuff? The iOS pass code is a great way to secure your iPhone, but it doesn't exactly offer pristine protection all across your device and figuring a four digit pass code isn't particularly hard to do. If you use the complex option, all someone needs to do is look over your shoulder and they know how to get full access to your iPhone. So, why not add some protective measures even beyond the pass code? Today we will be looking at Applocker 2, the replacement for Applocker which we reviewed at this link.

Applocker 2 is a free update for all Applocker owners, but if you didn't buy Applocker then unfortunately you'll need to pay full price for Applocker 2. Applocker 2 is made by a great iOS developer known as Ori Kadosh. This application is extensive and offers you security protection from unwanted hands all across the seams of iOS. It can provide security for your applications, folders, and much more. But, as we all like to hear, Applocker 2 actually adds security for even more places than Applocker did. You can take a look at the image above to see what has changed in Applocker 2 from Applocker.


With the new Applocker 2, you can lock the device from being tampered with when your iDevice goes into 'jiggle' (app deletion/moving) mode, where the application will show either a green or a red lock; red indicating locked and green indicating unlocked. You can also set Applocker 2 to disable itself on a certain Wi-Fi network. In case you were wondering how that would be useful, you can set it so that when you go on your own Wi-Fi network at home, Applocker 2 will be disabled so that you can use your device regularly. When you go out in public or to friends' houses, where your iDevice might be funked with, Applocker 2 will detect that you're not connected to your home Wi-Fi and activate its features again. It is a pretty cool feature if you ask me; you can see the setting in the screenshot below where you enter your Wi-Fi network name:

 Applocker 2 takes iOS 5 locking to the next level, allowing you to lock notification banners. Additionally, you can keep people from accessing your Camera Roll photographs through the Camera application with that Camera Roll button at the bottom left which means that your photos will be kept private. With Applocker 2, you can lock up to 5 SpringBoard folders in the settings. You will need to type out the names of the folders exactly as they appear for Applocker 2 to recognize them. The entire Applocker 2 changelog can be read from this link. If you're ever worried that while using Applocker 2 that you might forget what your Applocker 2 password was, Ori included a feature that lets you invoke a password reset which requires that you enter a personal phrase and get it right. After you do that, your password will be reset to 1234:

 Applocker 2 has been completely re-written from scratch and isn't just a minor enhancement to the original Applocker. The settings application is much cleaner - showing less clutter and much easier to understand organization. Performance has also been enhanced for older devices. Functionality that mirrors a jailbreak tweak known as KickLock, by developer Pathkiller29, has been integrated into Applocker 2. Applocker 2, once installed, doesn't put any icons on your home screen, instead you have the settings cell in the Settings application. It's compatible with iOS 4 and iOS 5 and it can be enabled and disabled on demand. I think that Applocker 2 is the best iOS lock application on the market - selling for a great price and offering amazing functionality that includes what Applocker was capable of and then extending it to unmatched milestones.

Here is a video demo from Ori Kadosh:

Here's a little about Ori Kadosh, the developer behind Applocker 2:

Anthony: Tell us in about a paragraph a little about yourself; include how you became a developer.
Ori: I'm a high school student from Israel. I guess I became a developer when I found out that I want to create stuff. Most of what I've created was on a need basis (just like Applocker). I started learning when I was very young; long before the iPhone. I've made stuff on several different platforms using various languages. I started as a Flash (yes, Flash, the thing that the iPhone doesn't support) developer; I still love making flash games (even though I have some mixed feelings about the current status of flash).

Anthony: What was some of your motivation behind the tweak? Was there a story behind creating it?
Ori: Actually, I owe my motivation to my dear friends; they just couldn't resist the urge to post embarrassing posts on my Facebook! I thought to myself, "alright, I have a jailbroken iPhone and a dollar, I'm sure there's a dead simple app locking solution in Cydia, right? Wrong." Everything was either overly complex or really expensive. I needed to fix that. So Applocker started as really simple app locking solution. Over the past two weeks that it's been out I've updated it to lock folders, lock the home screen layout (actually that was added with 1.5 which came out today), and lock sessions (unlock one app, everything gets unlocked until you lock your device, then everything gets relocked. Letting you 'multitask' between apps easily). I'm constantly updating it with more features.
 
What do you think about Applocker 2? Will you consider buying this great security application? Share in the comments!

Sources: Ori Kadosh