nickhe Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 It looks like Apple is keeping a closer hold on the iPhone’s apron strings than anyone thought, if information uncovered by Jonathan Zdziarski is to be believed. Speaking on iPhone Atlas on Wednesday, Zdziarski – author of a book on iPhone application development – explained that he was performing “forensic examination of an iPhone 3G” when he discovered a suspicious configuration file in the CoreLocation section of the memory. Upon investigating, he discovered a link to a page on Apple’s website which appears to contain the skeleton for a future application blacklist. The page, called ‘unauthorizedApps’, seems to exist so the iPhone can occasionally download a copy and check the signatures of banned applications against installed applications – if a match is found, the app is disabled immediately. Zdziarski believes that this functionality exists “to disable applications that the user has already downloaded and paid for, if Apple so chooses to shut them down.” Clearly, there are legitimate reasons why such functionality should exist – although slightly fewer for why it’s undocumented and downright concealed – including the possibility that Apple can update iPhones with a sort of anti-malware by listing known ‘bricking’ programs in the blacklist. However, it demonstrates that even a ‘jailbroken’ iPhone might not escape Apple’s clutches for long – and how sure can you be that Installer.App or your favourite non-Apple approved software won’t hit the blacklist once it’s activated? Anyone here worried about the possibilities of a hidden remote app killer developed by Apple, or does the Cupertino company just have your best interests at heart? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/120132-rumour-apple%E2%80%99s-secret-kill-switch-in-iphone/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superhai Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 I understand why Apple would do it. But of course it might also be possible to use it on legitimate apps, but which Apple sees as not. Anyway, of course it can be bypassed if you hack your iPhone, like everything else in life. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/120132-rumour-apple%E2%80%99s-secret-kill-switch-in-iphone/#findComment-850141 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headrush69 Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 You should add this newer info on the subject: http://daringfireball.net/2008/08/core_location_blacklist An informed source at Apple confirmed to me that the “clbl” in the URL stands for “Core Location Blacklist”, and that it does just that. It is not a blacklist for disabling apps completely, but rather specifically for preventing any listed apps from accessing Core Location — an API which, for obvious privacy reasons, is covered by very strict rules in the iPhone SDK guidelines. Not as diabolical as has been suggested. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/120132-rumour-apple%E2%80%99s-secret-kill-switch-in-iphone/#findComment-850197 Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickhe Posted August 13, 2008 Author Share Posted August 13, 2008 http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?sho...mp;#entry854996 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/120132-rumour-apple%E2%80%99s-secret-kill-switch-in-iphone/#findComment-855024 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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