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I think a lot of people have short memories. When Apple launched the iPhone computer security was a disaster, the security of the AppStore was a massive benefit

I think a lot of people have short memories. When Apple launched the iPhone computer security was a disaster, the security of the AppStore was a massive benefit and the fact that we don't have massive botnets of mobile phones is in no small part down to the massive effort that was put into security. But they seem to have solved this problem so well that people have forgotten it was even a problem to begin with.

nonane 6y ago
This line of argument is incorrect: It’s not the AppStore that makes secure apps possible: It’s the mandatory sandbox that apps run inside that actually makes the system secure. It’s fairly easy to push malicious code to the AppStore but bypassing the sandbox restrictions is what keeps bad apps at bay.
- hortense 6y ago
  Reading the comments it seems that very few people understand this, which seems incredible to me.
- JamesSwift 6y ago
  Yes, this is one of my biggest pet peeves and largest disconnects when reading these threads. I dont understand how people can accept apples privacy and protecting the consumer argument when that has nothing to do with the app store. That is iOS itself and its permission model. Do people really think app store approvers are doing malware analysis on apps and analyzing network traffic to approve them?
  - finnthehuman 6y ago
    Conversation on this website is full of people who can't see a mixed bag and acknowledge the bad parts are bad. People who know better tend to have the self control not to engage. I often get baited into engaging.
- nodamage 6y ago
  I mean, both contribute to the security of the ecosystem. There are plenty of APIs available within the sandbox that are meant to be used by developers to use for legitimate purposes. But those same APIs could be abused by malicious actors as well. That is why Android has historically had more problems with malware even though Android apps are also sandboxed.
ysleepy 6y ago
It is the other way around though. I firmly believe iOS security is driven by preventing jail breaks and homebrew apps to protect their AppStore revenue.
nabla9 6y ago
You misunderstand the case. This is not case just about AppStore being only store. This is Apple misusing AppStore's monopoly position. In many cases competition law allows single supplier, but they are not allowed to misuse their power. Epic makes three cases: (1) Apple prevents other companies from setting up their own app stores; (2) Apple prevents other companies from providing their own "payment processing" services in the market; (3) Apple imposes an arguably unreasonably high fee upon sales in the market (30%), to the detriment of consumers.
slenk 6y ago
The fact we don't have massive phone botnets definitely can't be directly attributed to Apple's App Store
tutino 6y ago
SandBoxing != AppStores You could have good security with sandboxing without AppStore. On the other hand the AppStore is full of spyware/malware (TikTok, FB, etc.) and Apple is of course doing nothing about it as it brings more user and revenues. Not saying the situation is any better on other platform though

nonane 6y ago

This line of argument is incorrect: It’s not the AppStore that makes secure apps possible: It’s the mandatory sandbox that apps run inside that actually makes the system secure. It’s fairly easy to push malicious code to the AppStore but bypassing the sandbox restrictions is what keeps bad apps at bay.

hortense 6y ago
Reading the comments it seems that very few people understand this, which seems incredible to me.
JamesSwift 6y ago
Yes, this is one of my biggest pet peeves and largest disconnects when reading these threads. I dont understand how people can accept apples privacy and protecting the consumer argument when that has nothing to do with the app store. That is iOS itself and its permission model. Do people really think app store approvers are doing malware analysis on apps and analyzing network traffic to approve them?
- finnthehuman 6y ago
  Conversation on this website is full of people who can't see a mixed bag and acknowledge the bad parts are bad. People who know better tend to have the self control not to engage. I often get baited into engaging.
nodamage 6y ago
I mean, both contribute to the security of the ecosystem. There are plenty of APIs available within the sandbox that are meant to be used by developers to use for legitimate purposes. But those same APIs could be abused by malicious actors as well. That is why Android has historically had more problems with malware even though Android apps are also sandboxed.

ysleepy 6y ago

It is the other way around though. I firmly believe iOS security is driven by preventing jail breaks and homebrew apps to protect their AppStore revenue.

nabla9 6y ago

You misunderstand the case. This is not case just about AppStore being only store. This is Apple misusing AppStore's monopoly position. In many cases competition law allows single supplier, but they are not allowed to misuse their power. Epic makes three cases: (1) Apple prevents other companies from setting up their own app stores; (2) Apple prevents other companies from providing their own "payment processing" services in the market; (3) Apple imposes an arguably unreasonably high fee upon sales in the market (30%), to the detriment of consumers.

slenk 6y ago

The fact we don't have massive phone botnets definitely can't be directly attributed to Apple's App Store

tutino 6y ago

SandBoxing != AppStores You could have good security with sandboxing without AppStore. On the other hand the AppStore is full of spyware/malware (TikTok, FB, etc.) and Apple is of course doing nothing about it as it brings more user and revenues. Not saying the situation is any better on other platform though