But iOS has pirated apps too, so the app store didn't stop that.
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Apple's Craig Federighi Says Sideloading on iPhone Would Open the Floodgates to Malware
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Lockdown macOS then. With apple silicon, there is literally no reason apple can’t do that.
Oh wait there are scam apps on App Store already. Wonder how many scam apps on Mac App Store right now and how expensive they are.
Last bit is hilarious…
Democracy through autocracy?
Seriously, Apple really should’ve preload more “non-removable” apps on each category and deny warranty if you download third party apps and causes issues. Apple approved way or no way. Absolute lockdown.
Android still exists because Google subsidizes it like all their products by picking up customer info in order to sell targeted advertising. (Same reason they pay apple billions per year to be the default search engine in safari.)
Without these services Google wouldn’t be able to charge the ad rates that it does.
The services I am talking are already being sold and are cheaper off of iOS (if they can be purchased on iOS at all). Things like streaming streaming services and, yes, cross-platform mobile games.
There’s a reason why there are so many apps that, once downloaded, are nothing but a log in screen. Think about why.
Ah yes, because macs are completely flooded with malware all the time ?
Up until now, Mac has had far fewer applications because it is such a small platform compared to iOS.
I’m sure we will see more differences in how apple handles side loading of Mac apps as the M chip rollout continues.
One change underway has been for apple to make it far easier for devs to port an iOS app to macOS.
I imagine that eventually apple will link macOS and iOS app sales together. Eventually requiring a Mac port to be made by larger devs or kicking an app out of iOS App Store should a dev offer a side load app for Mac.
This is one thing I’m still a bit shocked after a full year of Apple Silicon Mac release. Apple really should’ve just lockdown macOS like iOS from macOS Big Sur. No technical reason why not to. Xcode is IN the App Store. No reason Adobe software, Carbon Clone Copy, iStats, Cinebench R23, and thousands of other utilities can’t exist in Mac App Store. /s
TLDR version of this is Apple disabling “sideloading” in macOS cause all of those points you mentioned are risks on macOS too.
Clearly you've never heard of macOS.
I don’t see that future coming anytime soon ever since they disable “legit” sideloading almost any iOS apps from Big Sur 11.3. Plus iOS apps are traditionally designed for touch input, something Mac doesn’t have. That could mean lots of extra work for devs for little to no gain.
If apple somehow claims 90% of global computer marketshare we’d see some dramatic shift. But before that, I doubt it.
It just works, huh? That motto got abandoned years ago.... since Apple products no longer "just work", tragically. Thanks timmy.
Please remind me again how an app can access my contacts without me accepting the prompt.
From when our world becomes so black and white with no shade in between? Never? Good.
Besides, simple thinking like this is why armchair Craig can never be the next Craig.
What a simple polarised way demonising side-loading, as If apple engineers would suddenly lose all of their power for limiting side-loading apps to do certain things.
Apple could build world’s best content consumption device with hardware power matching server farms and people would still use it for checking twitter.
And people think that sideloading apps will mean that they can do more with us not stopping them. It doesn‘t take a developer to know that you simply can‘t do these things anymore on iOS without the user knowing. But obviously their marketing feeds on people being misinformed.
Sideloaded apps have to answer to the same laws of physics as do apps on the App Store. Only difference is that they passed the censorship.
Black and White thinking is simple and super easy to understand, and as such, reinforcing it is easy too. It’s psychological stuff, though I don’t know much deeper of this thought process.
The issue isn't user choice - its Facebook pushing users outside the store so they can monitor behavior and track users across the entire internet (again, but this time without getting their enterprise certificates revoked).
You also have the issue that if you can enable side loading, certain apps (like bank apps) will try to detect that is enabled and disable functionality like they do today with other root kit detections.
If your app is outside the play store, it doesn't necessarily get access to any play services. Play services and the Google official apps are how Android plays lip service to open source (via AOSP) while still locking manufacturers into agreements and developers into the play store.
This lip service is also why Google has sometimes faced regulatory scrutiny that Apple hasn't.
As several people have pointed out - the jailbreak option is the one and only way to side load apps. Let’s say Apple agrees to provide an option to Jailbreak device in the settings, probably near the delete device option.
Imagine the warning:
“In Jailbreaking the device, it will no longer be unable to access the App Store, Apple software updates, Apple support and Apple warranty. Side loading software on to the device may cause the functionality of your device to fail. You may also lose functionality and support for purchased apps. To reverse a Jailbreak, requires full delete & reset to factory settings. Are you sure you want to Jailbreak the device?”
Good luck!
Imagine the warning:
“In Jailbreaking the device, it will no longer be unable to access the App Store, Apple software updates, Apple support and Apple warranty. Side loading software on to the device may cause the functionality of your device to fail. You may also lose functionality and support for purchased apps. To reverse a Jailbreak, requires full delete & reset to factory settings. Are you sure you want to Jailbreak the device?”
Good luck!
Well that kind of makes the point. Apple already has a system in place for identified developers. I understand that can be subverted in some places, but it would staunch a lot of the rampant malware, especially with the notarization process.
Some things are not preventable via API.
Say for example that a malicious developer wants to trick you into installing an app, then provides an interface to try to get you to enter your banking credentials.
The stores not only do an initial review, but do identity verification of the authors before letting software be published. This means both the opportunity to try and catch the scam before it is pushed out, and to better enable legal prosecution of the people performing the scam.
If you have interactive presentation and network access, you can attempt to phish banking credentials. You can't really sandbox malicious behavior, you can only protect against specific attacker models.
Report: macOS malware boomed in 2020, but still a fraction of Windows threats - 9to5Mac
A study looking at new malware found in the wild during 2020 says that threats developed for macOS saw a...
9to5mac.com
Yes it does. People need to just stop spreading lies.
Report: macOS malware boomed in 2020, but still a fraction of Windows threats - 9to5Mac
A study looking at new malware found in the wild during 2020 says that threats developed for macOS saw a...
9to5mac.com
The only reason macOS is as "secure" as it is, is because Windows has the most marketshare, most companies back-bone environments are Windows based.
People really need to stop being so selfish when it comes to any security on their devices. So what if I know how to prevent side-loading, but does my grandma? AND when my grandma DOES get malware, my contact info will now be exposed because I am in the contact list. Which leads to spam calls, emails and more unwanted communication. Also, any device infected can be turned into a zombie system used to send those unwanted communications or participate in DDoS attacks.
Uh....me and everyone of my friends and family ONLY choose Apple due to being closed instead of Android. I would absolutely LOVE to get a MUCH BETTER phone for $500 Android than iPhone, but the locked down experience is worth it. Unless you are saying us 15 people are the only 15 people in the planet that thinks this way?