Granted, the iPhone's standard security measures are pretty basic: If you want, you can select a four-digit PIN code that must be entered to access the smartphone. It’s something, at least. Or is it? Turns out the latest iPhone firmware upgrade, version 2.0.2, has introduced a flaw, discovered by a MacRumors forum member, that could - with a few simple steps - allow anyone to access all your personal data.

All one needs to do is Tap Emergency Call and double tap the home button to unlock a password-protected iPhone. This lets you into Favorites, which is convenient in the case of an emergency where the PIN code's been forgotten or is in doubt.

The thing is, these few steps would give an intruder the same direct access to your Favorites (and all the personal contained within, not just phone numbers) as well, allowing them to quick dial anyone in that list. This type of access to individual contacts can easily lead to full access to Safari, SMS and Maps as well. Another problem is that folks also get direct and full access to your iPhone's Keypad, Voicemail, Recents and Contacts as well.

Until Apple releases a fix to this problem (quickly, I hope), there is a simple workaround you can perform to offset bug. You can simply reassign the purpose of the iPhone's Home button to a function other than favorites .

To do this:

From the Home screen, tap Settings. Then hit General and tap Home Button. On this page, you'll see Phone Favorites checked with the Home option above and iPod below it. Pick the one you want.