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App Store Stopped 1.6 Million 'Risky' and 'Untrustworthy' Apps From Defrauding Users, Says Apple

This is the offshoot of the cancer known as app subscriptions. It's a software version of catfishing, where you keep sending them money until you have to cancel your account just to stop the withdrawals. A big start would be for Apple to crack down on the subscription model overall. Only highly sophisticated apps should require subscriptions -- everything else, including buying game upgrades to progress, should be banned.

This model has gotten way out of control and encourages this kind of activity.
 
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BootsWalking said:
The data is Google is paying $11 Billion/year to Apple, 82% of Google's revenue coming from ads, and targeted ads earning much more for Google's than the non-targeted ads Google's competitors have to settle for after Apple's app tracking transparency changes. Where do you think Google is getting the data for targeted ads on iOS?
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I never argued where the revenue or the deal with Google is.

You’re throwing the wrong data the question I posed.

Where is the leaked data from Apple users?

Targeted ads from Google? Google is the base search engine on my iPhone. I don’t yet use a VPN. If I search for financial internet based banks in Canada sure I’ll see a few results to research. I’ve r the next 72hrs I’ve yet to find specific ads in sites I visit mentioning any of them at all.

Targeted ads to me means if I search for a TB3 dock, I should see best value TB3/4 docks in ads on sites I see in the next 24hrs. I have yet to ever see that since Google took over from AltaVista / Yahoo!

I think many use Target Ads as a term yet don’t really see what it should be. With all the searches in years I’ve done and all the data Google should have on me Google should be:

Pointing me to skater shoes, Jordan 3s/36s/17s/7s, button fly jeans, better khakis than Gap has, miniDisc software to extract on Win10/11 or macOS that works properly (I’ve done crazy forum searches on this uggh), flights to Costa Rica, passports, sneaky paternity tests (to ease doubts without alarming anyone; not for me/my family), the real deal on why Crypto works like a damn pyramid scheme, why is it tough to find real love and is the answer always going to be ….


42!

;)
 
Beautyspin said:
securityaffairs.co

Apple fixes the sixth zero-day since the beginning of 2022

Apple released security updates to address a zero-day bug actively exploited in attacks against Macs and Apple Watch devices.
securityaffairs.co securityaffairs.co


What about this?
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Apple software is not immune to software bugs. If we are talking about zero day vulnerabilities being the benchmark how secure an operating system is then imo from worse to best: windows -> android -> ios. Of course, we can now debate this until the cows come home; but this is a different argument than the store from 3 years ago, regarding the price of exploits on the open market.
 
hagar said:
That’s a completely unfounded statement.

While not promoting blind fate in Apple, there is zero proof that Apple is just pretending to curate the App Store.

Every removed dangerous app is one less threat.
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My problem is Apple is marketing. If we think of these appstores as air conditioning filters, the PlayStore would be MERV 3? and marketed as MERV 3. The AppStore would be MERV 16?, but marketed as MERV 20?. Fanbois claims it's HEPA.?‍♂️
 
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InnSuu said:
You're probably ok, searching for Flappy Birds, or Notes.

Even searching using the exact App spelling will often present you with an Apple re-spelling and the message 'are you sure you want...?'.
Click to expand...

Can you give a specific example of an app this happens with? I've never had this happen with hundreds of app downloads, at least not that I remember.
 
Unregistered 4U said:
That site is just getting their info from Apple. And, as we know from their Apple’s recent infographic, you can’t trust the information Apple provides. It’s just as likely that Apple didn’t close any exploits at all. It’s possible the exploits never existed and Apple’s just saying they closed some in order to paint a picture that they care about security.
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Zero-day vulnerabilities are generally found by third-parties and they are only reported to the actual vendor and not published immediately. Google's (project zero) and other thrid-parties routinely find zero-day vulnerabilities and reports them to vendors such as Apple. It waits 60 days before publishing it so that the vendor has 90 days to fix the vulnerability. A zero-day (also known as a 0-day) is a computer-software vulnerability previously unknown to those who should be interested in its mitigation, like the vendor of the target software.

Project Zero - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org



Apple Iphone Os : Security vulnerabilities, CVEs

Security vulnerabilities of Apple Iphone Os : List of vulnerabilities affecting any version of this product
www.cvedetails.com

They are tracked and verified. It is not like Apple says something and people will believe it blindly. There is a system to track it. Even the US Government tracks the vulnerabilities through CVE, NIST, CISA and other worldwide organizations.
 
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Well they missed at least one app under review by Privacy commissioner in Canada: look for Tim Hortons app

www.reuters.com

Tim Hortons app tracked movement in violation privacy laws -Canadian regulator

Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons' mobile app regularly tracked and recorded locations of its users even when their app was not open in violation of the country's privacy laws, Canada's privacy regulator said on Wednesday in a report concluding a two-year-old investigation.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com

It did all what you don't want from an app.
If there is one I easy guess there are more.
 
Maximara said:
It isn't impossible to code a virus or malware for an Apple product (as proven by Chris Johnson's Disinfectant and Gatekeeper in the late 80s and early 90s); it is just that the market is so small and the payout os small that the programmers that write such things prefer to go after the larger market (Windows) as it has a lot more potential "marks".
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Ugh. The old security through obscurity argument. It's utter BS. I can count on one hand the number of pre-OSX mac that didn't have malware/virus that came in for repairs in the 90's. Zero. Every single machine brought in for repair had some sort of virus...every single one. Apple's market share back then was less than 5%, yet 100% of the machines I repaired had a virus on it. We used to have a betting pool on the number of viruses we would find. I would usually choose 3.
I can count on one hand the number of OSX macs that had malware/virus that came in for service. One. It was ad-ware caused by PICNIC/PEBMAC.
Pre-OSX mac shares 5%, OSX mac shares 15%. Mac gained market ground with the release of OSX, yet dramatically reduced the amount of malware at the same time. Security through better security, not security through obscurity.
 
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bookofxero said:
Bull, or stores like Target would not have fraud prevention departments... or is your assertion that fraud prevention does not step in and prevent fraud?
The fact is that card issuers can and do put an onus on the merchant to mitigate fraud risks - by having chip readers, verifying signatures, requiring the physical card, verifying ID, etc.
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LMAO. When was the last time you dealt with merchant over a fraudulent transaction? You don't. You deal with YOUR bank. The bank may have their own dealing with merchant separately, but it does not involve YOU in any way.
 
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dk001 said:
Example
Recently found an app, Crystal Defenders, on an older Android. I remember playing this on an iPhone.
So I dropped into the App Store and started typing it in. It came up as an option in the search list so I clicked it. A number of pages later I never did find it. Found all kinds of crap, most which had nothing to do with that type of game.

Next step - Googled it. That is when I found out is was a discontinued app.
Now why couldn't the App Store tell me that instead of teasing me on and scrolling through pages.
And since it was discontinued why did it show up as a search selection?
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I’m genuinely amazed that you think the App Store will only allow you to type into the search box words that correspond to the names of apps in the store. Like, seriously?!

Your search results were the nearest relevant matches based on your search term.

The App Store search results show apps you can actually download and install, not discontinued apps.
 
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gaximus said:
As long as Target is using the approved equipment required by the bank. It's in their contract to have chip readers(EMV complaint), if they don't they responsible for fraudulent charges. Same as if they accepted fake money, they wouldn't take it to a bank and say "we didn't mean to take this fake money, but we'd like you to swap it out."
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That's a given. Fraud still takes place, and the customer does not deal with the merchant over it. They deal with their bank. Apple has no role here, but they assume it anyway.
 
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Unregistered 4U said:
The app does just what their website does, which is no price tracking. If they WANTED to to price tracking on their website, they could as I use appsliced.co to track prices. THEY cut themselves :D
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Nope their back in time very App centric business got anticompetitively cut off by Apple from one day to the other, there is no way to save your business once something like that happens, specially when you’re unable to contact your users(just another anticompetitive rule).

Good that antitrust cases are going on, now it’s time for Apple to lose a piece of the cake, I will enjoy watching this happen.
 
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Wildkraut said:
Nope their back in time very App centric business got anticompetitively cut off by Apple from one day to the other, there is no way to save your business once something like that happens, specially when you’re unable to contact your users(just another anticompetitive rule).

Good that antitrust cases are going on, now it’s time for Apple to lose a piece of the cake, I will enjoy watching this happen.
Click to expand...
Appsliced.co seems to be doing just fine. Maybe they’re just better at business. :)
 
mrochester said:
I’m genuinely amazed that you think the App Store will only allow you to type into the search box words that correspond to the names of apps in the store. Like, seriously?!

Your search results were the nearest relevant matches based on your search term.

The App Store search results show apps you can actually download and install, not discontinued apps.
Click to expand...
Yes. I expect the name I type in to be the top of the search (or at least close) and if it doesn't exist here are some alternative/similar apps I may be interested in.

The game was discontinued in the App Store in 2016. Yet when I typed in the search bar, I got to "Crystal De" and "Crystal Defenders" showed up as a choice.

Search in the App Store, and to be fair, Google Play don't indicate it isn't available. Yet a 3rd party Android store, F-Droid tells you it doesn't exist. Aurora Store does not display it as a selectable search item. A search on Google shows when it was pulled.

Not rocket science. Search in App Store is by far the worst IMO.
 
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Wildkraut said:
Nope their back in time very App centric business got anticompetitively cut off by Apple from one day to the other, there is no way to save your business once something like that happens, specially when you’re unable to contact your users(just another anticompetitive rule).

Good that antitrust cases are going on, now it’s time for Apple to lose a piece of the cake, I will enjoy watching this happen.
Click to expand...
I'll "celebrate" when this happens and we'll see the extent over the next few years. As the saying goes: "it's not over until the phat lady sings."
 
citysnaps said:
That's a possibility.

For me... I would want to see a *demonstrated* track record of fraud prevention with results metrics similar to Apple's to prove that that an alternate app store's claims are based on reality, and not just words.
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Fair point but how would a new App Store operator be able to demonstate that ability on day one? Perhaps there should be a requirement to produce a quarterly report on how they're keeping users safe, and if they're not up to snuff then they lose their license to operate?
 
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mi7chy said:
going to steam.com there's only one Steam app
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Small note, but Steam is actually Steampowered.com - they hate that they can't get steam.com

I suppose that the owners of Steam.com could take advantage of this confusion, but right now it's just a photo of a train...
 
dk001 said:
Yes. I expect the name I type in to be the top of the search (or at least close) and if it doesn't exist here are some alternative/similar apps I may be interested in.

The game was discontinued in the App Store in 2016. Yet when I typed in the search bar, I got to "Crystal De" and "Crystal Defenders" showed up as a choice.

Search in the App Store, and to be fair, Google Play don't indicate it isn't available. Yet a 3rd party Android store, F-Droid tells you it doesn't exist. Aurora Store does not display it as a selectable search item. A search on Google shows when it was pulled.

Not rocket science. Search in App Store is by far the worst IMO.
Click to expand...
The fact that Crystal Defenders appeared when you typed Crystal De is a result of the search algorithm determining that is what you are likely to be trying to type, not an indication of the exact name of a current, downloadable app on the App Store.
 
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freedomlinux said:
Small note, but Steam is actually Steampowered.com - they hate that they can't get steam.com

I suppose that the owners of Steam.com could take advantage of this confusion, but right now it's just a photo of a train...
Click to expand...

I use steamcommunity.com but wishful thinking they'd buy the short version. BofA was smart to buy bofa.com.
 
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