Apple Can Remotely Disable iPhone Apps 550
mikesd81 writes "Engadget reports Apple has readied a blacklisting system which allows the company to remotely disable applications on your device. It seems the new 2.x firmware contains a URL which points to a page containing a list of 'unauthorized' apps — a move which suggests that the device makes occasional contact with Apple's servers to see if anything is amiss on your phone. Jonathan Zdziarski, the man who discovered this, explains, 'This suggests that the iPhone calls home once in a while to find out what applications it should turn off. At the moment, no apps have been blacklisted, but by all appearances, this has been added to disable applications that the user has already downloaded and paid for, if Apple so chooses to shut them down. I discovered this doing a forensic examination of an iPhone 3G. It appears to be tucked away in a configuration file deep inside CoreLocation.'" Update: 08/11 13:07 GMT by T : Reader gadgetopia writes with a small story at IT Wire, citing an interview in the Wall Street Journal, in which this remote kill-switch is "confirmed by Steve Jobs himself."
excuses, let it rain (Score:3, Funny)
Re:makes sense to me.. (Score:4, Funny)
A 12$ flash light, anyone?
Don't you mean a 512 dollar flash light?
Re:It is a Core Location Blacklist (Score:2, Funny)
...Ãoeclblà in the URL stands for ÃoeCore Location BlacklistÃ...
Say what?
Re:Security Risk? (Score:2, Funny)
10 points to the first person to brick some iphones with this!
Re: CoreLocation (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, come on don't you spoil our neat little flamefest based on mere guesswork and Anti-Apple bias with your boring and irrelevant facts, please.
I mean this if Slashdot, if you want news, please go to CNN.com. Ah, damned, they don't want their stories being diluted by facts either...
Re:It is a Core Location Blacklist (Score:5, Funny)
That'll be Slashdot's lack of unicode support -_-
Jeeze! If we can put a man on the moon, you'd think that... Oh, nevermind...we can't even do that anymore either.
Re:Refunds (Score:5, Funny)
Probably for violating an Apple business method patent.
Slashdot VS Logic (Score:2, Funny)
Slashdot: Well, yeah, I mean it would stop bad apps from being runaway in the wild, right?!
Microsoft: Hey guys, lets make a cellphone, and have it phone home to see if there are any bad apps running on it!
Slashdot: WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, OH MY STALLMAN, THE HUMANITY!!!!
512$ ought to be enough for anyone (Score:3, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:excuses, let it rain (Score:4, Funny)
I'll bet you think Linux is a good desktop solution for the average user.
wow, expensive *and* restrictive? (Score:5, Funny)
Where can I sign up for the really expensive phone with no buttons, locked into a single provider, that I can't modify or enjoy in any way (except the approved ways I suppose).
I'd really like one of those.
Re:It is a Core Location Blacklist (Score:5, Funny)
No, /. sucks. Try to point out the price of something in Euros. It won't work.
"10 Euro".
Hmm, seems to work here...
Re:Is /. falling behind? (Score:3, Funny)
Old news for nerds. Stuff from last week. (tm)
business method patent? (Score:5, Funny)
Hmmm, explains a lot - though I can see a lot of infringement cases come up. Including one against patent infringement lawyers. I wonder who'll represent Apple there?
Re:Security Risk? (Score:5, Funny)
These points you speak of... are they redeemable for cash?
Re:makes sense to me.. (Score:5, Funny)
which allows the company to remotely disable applications
You mean like what complete strangers currently do now on a windows pc?
Re:Security Risk? (Score:2, Funny)
These points you speak of... are they redeemable for cash?
They are good for one free app from the app store.
Need to go to Church (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, come on don't you spoil our neat little flamefest based on mere guesswork and Anti-Apple bias with your boring and irrelevant facts, please.
I mean this if Slashdot, if you want news, please go to CNN.com. Ah, damned, they don't want their stories being diluted by facts either...
Yeah! And another thing, I'm getting a kick out of negative Apple posts getting +5 and positive ones getting -1 !
I'm going to church to today because I'd never thought I'd see this on Slashdot! There's all these wars and oil and food prices are through the roof. I think I saw this in a movie about the World coming to an end with that 'Growing Pains' kid all grown up. And my cat, it slept with a dog last night.
The end is nigh!
Re:excuses, let it rain (Score:3, Funny)
I use Linux almost exclusively on my home PC, but none of my friends do; they want to play games or don't want to learn to use a new OS or whatever. It's not that they've drank the MS kool-aid. They just don't have the same outlook as I do.
Presumably you don't have outlook at all on that Linux box. Evolution / Kontact maybe.
Re:Steve Jobs (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Refunds (Score:3, Funny)
I have my black "CoreLocation Blacklist #1 certified by Apple" stickers ready, with a nice lime green apple logo background, in case anyone wants to buy em...
What, you think only Vista can have nice stickers like that??
Re:makes sense to me.. (Score:5, Funny)
Not trusting them keeps them honest.
Wouldn't that make Microsoft the most honest company ever?
Re:Refunds (Score:3, Funny)
But what would the other pretentious hipsters think of me if I did that???
Re:It is a Core Location Blacklist (Score:2, Funny)
& is also your friend.
Now you have two!