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Mac Rumors has reported that Apple has introduced a blacklisting system in the iPhone OS 2.x updates which allow iPhones to check for malicious applications and call home, giving Apple the ability to deactivate them over the air.
According to Mac Rumors, Jonathan Zdziarski, author of iPhone Forensics, reveals (via iPhone Atlas) the remote url that Apple is using to keep a list of the offending applications:
https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps
This url appears to keep a list of black listed apps which appears to contain a test application name. Zdziarski 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."
This doesn’t sound good for Apple’s reputation, as there has already been a lot criticism on Mobile Me. There have been talks in Mac Rumors forums that this move is for security purposes and many Apple ‘fan boys’ don’t mind it. But let me remind all of us of a time when Microsoft was criticized for it’s WGA calling home behavior, when Sony had to face a lawsuit due to it’s root kit calling home, and when Adobe had to under go similar criticism from users. Why is Apple treated differently, when it has already been doing these things, like sneaking Safari in through Apple Update into your Windows OS, without your approval. Recently, it has also sneaked the Mobile Me control panel without consent with iTunes. How far are we going to tolerate Apple’s tactics?
Those who are defending Apple on this should remember that Microsoft, Sony and Adobe weren’t taking any unfair advantage of your system or gaining access to your very personal information either. Many will defend Apple on the basis of their EULA and that it already stated that, but why are Microsoft and others required to provide notifications for consent about anonymous gathering of data which can be used to improve quality of software.
Apple is being considered as a ‘Do no evil’ corporation, where as, the very basis on which it formed its cult following in 1984, with the ad telling people to think different and break free from the Big Brother’s spell. Now, the irony is that Apple itself is doing the same, and people have to wake up and realize that Apple is no different then other companies and it should be treated the same. We haven’t seen any company to be left alone after finding out that it uses a ‘call home’ feature, there certainly isn’t any reason for Apple to get away with it!
