IOS 7.1.2 vulnerabilities and security issues

1) currently there are no malware or virus for non jailbroken iOS devices, any claims to state otherwise are suspicious at best.

2 ) software updates from Apple are at this time the best defense to maintaining the security of your device. Your device is not supported indefinitely but it may not be susceptible to specific issues later, conversely it may be open to issues that are addressed in updates you are no longer eligible for.

3) if you are going to 3rd party sites to facilitate configurations your devices security is in question. Because an articles says you can install something without jailbreaking it is a matter of opinion, misleading or unintentional it does not mean any part of it is true.

4) It could be due to bad connection to your cell provider, your wi-fi, it could be your display needs to be cleaned.

How to clean your Apple products - Apple Support

5) for a number of reasons, if the device was altered then that would be the top of my list. Older software may be incompatible, newer software may be too complex for older systems or not entirely tested to any extent with the older device. A device sometimes need to be reset as well, or the device could be depredated or degraded due to age and beyond repair. IC circuits don't last indefinitely.

Reset your iOS device to factory settings - Apple Support

6) Your ISP or your connection or the senders ISP or connection are the most likely culprits in this scenario. It's possible the device is degraded due to age or incompatibility with other systems or your ISP's decision to no longer support your device.

Hi HJay80. Regarding your item (3), apps from the app store come with certificates from Apple that are verified during the installation process. Any program not from the Apple app store can only be installed by exploiting a security hole to bypass the verification. That is, by jailbreaking the device. This allows the app to introduce any other programs that it may choose.

HJay80 wrote:

Hello Diana.McCall, thank you for your response.

In other words, one effect of a jailbroken IPhone is the ability to install/download things that are not found in the Apple App Store, which implies that the display of applications that are not found in the Apple App Store in the home screen of the IPhone would prove the IPhone to be jailbroken, am I right? Thank you in advance.

Not necessarily. If the apps used to be available but are no longer in the app store, they could still be on your phone. That wouldn't mean anything except you have some old apps.

The app you want to look for is called "Cydia".

No OS is safe from anything. Companies support an OS up to a point. Two years ago Microsoft dropped development support for Windows 7 which by many estimates is the most prolific OS in the world; but MS will continue to provide securities patches until 2020, after that time if an exploit is detected MS has no responsibility to offer a securities patch to help out Win 7 users. OS X and iOS follow this rule as well. The last securities patch from Apple (July 19, 2017) for OS X was available for Yosemite, El Capitan and Sierra, but if you had some OS X version proceeding that (OS 10.9.x Maverick or below) there was no patch available. since as Apple states:

"For our customers' protection, Apple doesn't disclose, discuss, or confirm security issues until an investigation has occurred and patches or releases are available."

It's kind of vague if those systems that did not get the patch are vulnerable to something that was fixed for a later OS. Either way Apple is no longer supporting those systems, If you choose to use them or you have no choice because your device wont run a newer OS (or iOS) you are on your own.

In the case of the possible Wi-Fi hack Apple released a patch for iOS 10.3.3 but no other version. While the description of the issue addressed appears it could be releated to the hack reported Apple does not say so conclusively:

iOS 10.3.3
Released July 19, 2017
Contacts
Available for: iPhone 5 and later, iPad 4th generation and later, and iPod touch 6th generation
Impact: A remote attacker may be able to cause unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution

Not knowing if this was hardware related, software related or both there is no way to tell if iOS devices running a previous version of iOS (9.2.3 or below) need this of they are now susceptible to a potential or "in the wild" issue.

No company supports an smart device or a computer indefinitely so at some point you either need a new device or try to continue with what you have when support is no longer an option.

#2) To clarify Apple does not disclose the details of security patches at least not to the degree Microsoft is compelled to, so no "specifics" can be given, at least from Apple, but here might be an example:

You own an iOS device with an Intergraded Circuit (IC) Wi-Fi chipset from Foxconn and Apple stopped using those chips for newer model iOS devices and started using another generation IC's from Foxconn, then Apple or a White Hat Securities Lab found out that theoretically someone could write code to access your device from a line of site distance to where your iOS device is by an exploit on the newer IC model wi-fi radio. So Apple patches this exploit and even though your iOS predates support for the patch, your older IC for the wi-fi is not susceptible to this theoretical attack. The other side of this is all Foxconn IC's were effected but Apple is not making patches for your device any longer.

#3) If you are getting software installed on your iOS device from Apple or the App Store than no, you can't force a jailbreak remotely or with software Apple distributes, but if you compromised your device by facilitating an install of something that did not come from Apple or the App store then an article on the internet can and will claim whatever they want; knowingly or ignorant about it's authenticity.