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is there anything much useful I can do with an iPad 1? (not picture frame) (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

32 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I have an iPad 1. I barely used it when it was given to me and then it more or less sat unused apart from the occasional booting to see if it still works every few years.

I'm fairly sure it would still work today though I haven't tried for about 3 years. Trouble is, it never got much use because when I got it from my Mum in 2012 it was already becoming obsolete and after about a year I couldn't do basic web browsing because almost every site just crashed whatever browser I ran, none of the apps in the app store would work anymore and the bookshelf app (think that's what it was called. Came with the tablet) I tried to use to make it basically an e-reader device stopped working. There were many similar issue I forget the specifics about but basically amounted to the hardware working fine but being mostly unusable even for old software.

I wondered if there were any good ways to make use of or generally rehabilitate this device. I had hoped there'd be a lot Linux options for something like this but it looks like the earliest model anyone made.any progress with was iPad 2.

Any suggestions besides picture frame?

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I would note that, because it's so old and out of support for everything, anything you got running on it would be full of security vulnerabilities.

Like, do not connect this to a network you care about kind of vulnerable.

I'd frankly just find a way to recycle it safely and learn to do that earlier with devices you're not using, so others can use them instead of just sitting in a closet. (It's not like I'm not guilty of the same thing.)

[–] doublejay1999 12 points 1 year ago (3 children)

What makes his 13 year old iPad a target for hackers ?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

Software vulnerabilities that aren't (and never will be) patched.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Anything with any computing power an internet connection can be a target. It will likely become a part of a bot net used to ddos, spam, or crack passwords. In addition, it'll give hackers access to any accounts you're logged in to, such as apple ID, email bank etc, so it could be further used to steal your identity or money.

Because it's so old and full of vulnerabilities, it makes it an easy target. If it gets hacked, it'll most likely be automatic process, without any intervention from the hacker, and there may be no signs that the device is infected.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Unethical Idea for OP: create a botnet to ddos, spam, mine crypto or hack passwords! Give life to your old iPad (and other people's too!)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Devices that are no longer supported and kept up to date with security updates contain known, but unpatched, vulnerabilities. Some of them are software based, but some are a function of the hardware itself. Connect these to a network, manage to do something that gets them compromised, and you've given bad actors a foothold on your network.

Because most networks, especially home networks, tend to be configured in a way that trusts local network traffic more than external traffic, such a foothold can further compromise your systems. Very few people have the resources, or technical know-how to properly segregate potentially dangerous or vulnerable devices on a network.

That's what.