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posted by n1 on Saturday June 14 2014, @09:17AM   Printer-friendly
from the safer-in-the-bubble dept.

ZDNet have put out a story claiming that, although Apple's walled-garden approach is not popular with everybody, it does appear to have prevented almost all malware from becoming prevalent on iOS. From the article:

Everyone knows there's no iOS malware, right? Strictly speaking, there is. As a practical matter, there isn't. At least if you stick with the official Apple store, you are more likely to win Powerball than to be hit by iOS malware.

But to make that "strictly speaking" point, FortiGuard Labs's Axelle Apvrille ("the Crypto Girl") felt it necessary to list all the iOS malware on record all 11 instances, eight of which work only on jailbroken phones.

[....]

It's not like iOS isn't an inviting target. There are zillions of devices out there and iOS customers have shown that they are willing to spend money on apps. And there absolutely are ways that iPhones can be attacked, although more likely through vulnerabilities, especially in Safari, than through malicious apps.

In fact, Apple's rules for what it will allow in its App Store are so strict that they effectively ban security software. It's a good thing there is next to no malware, because what you would need to do to block it on your phone is not permitted. Android, on the other hand, has a burgeoning market for security software and no shortage of malware.

Do you agree with this assessment?

 
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  • (Score: 2) by BasilBrush on Saturday June 14 2014, @06:13PM

    by BasilBrush (3994) on Saturday June 14 2014, @06:13PM (#55354)

    Just because you don't like a service, doesn't make it malware.

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  • (Score: 2) by everdred on Monday June 16 2014, @10:07PM

    by everdred (110) on Monday June 16 2014, @10:07PM (#56108) Journal

    Over-simplifying what GP said does not make you correct either.

    Here's a test for malware: give the average Facebook user a plain-language list of ways in which their data can be "legitimately" used under the ToS, and see how many uses they would classify as going against their wishes.

    • (Score: 2) by BasilBrush on Tuesday June 17 2014, @08:56PM

      by BasilBrush (3994) on Tuesday June 17 2014, @08:56PM (#56644)

      That isn't remotely the definition of malware. Again, just because you don't like their service, doesn't make it malware.

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