Rumor: iPhone update to have a secure erase feature

I've been a little worried about selling my iPhone after reading about a certain iPhone forensics toolkit out there. You see, a clever hacker discovered that "deleted" information on a refurbished iPhone can be completely recovered with a little know-how and his toolkit. An Oregon State Police detective put the toolkit to the test and was able to recover email, photos, and even financial information from a refurbished iPhone he bought at the Apple store (screenshots of his findings were posted online as proof).

Trust me when I say I'm not the only one worried about this security risk. Some people published a few workarounds (Securosis, Zdziarksi) on how to properly wipe personal data off your iPhone before selling it, but these are too complicated for the average user. The really good news (and we're really hoping the rumors are true) is that Apple is including a more robust data wipe feature into the next iPhone update.

Apple Insider reports that those familiar with the beta version of iPhone Software v2.0 say this new data erase function will take about an hour to complete, but should completely wipe out all your personal data from the iPhone. Nothing is confirmed yet, since Apple won't release the update until next month, but I'm definitely following this story and will update you once the software is released.