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iPhone phone home? Can Apple kill your apps? [Update - Don’t worry]
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iPhoneAtlas reports that there is another new feature of Firmware 2.x that isn’t so hot. Apparently, the iPhone (and presumably the iPod Touch) has a process by which it can check for and disable unauthorized programs. The article goes on to say that the firmware has a URL with a list of unauthorized applications. Currently, that list is empty.
Jonathan Zdziarski, author of an iPhone Forensics Manual, has this to say about the blacklist:
I personally don’t find this all that frightening, but it does bother me that my iPhone can “phone home” periodically. This is likely for killing any apps that may have slipped through Apple’s fingers at the App Store, but don’t live up to their terms. It’s interesting to see that the list is empty though, even with the recent troubles for NetShare. Apple is apparently not crazy about using this feature yet.
Does this bother you? I can see why they’d want to have this enabled on iPhones, as they can protect users against applications that have been found to be malicious after being released on the App Store. But where does the phoning home stop?
Update: So, it seems there may have been some misinterpretation about this blacklist. Here’s what DaringFireball.net has to say…
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