Apple Bans Jailbreakers From the App Store 507
Hugh Pickens writes "Adam Mills writes in the Examiner that Apple has been cutting off access to the iTunes App Store for iPhone hackers and jailbreakers. Sherif Hashim, the iPhone developer who successfully hacked the iPhone OS 3.1.3 and unlocked the 05.12.01 baseband for iPhone 3GS and 3G devices, discovered he'd been cut off and twittered: '"Your Apple ID was banned for security reasons," that's what i get when i try to go to the app store, they must be really angry.' Another hacker, iH8Sn0w, who is behind the Sn0wbreeze tool, confirms that his account has also been deactivated even though iH8sn0w's exploit had only been revealed to Dev Team, the group responsible for the PwnageTool. 'It is kind of surprising that two people associated with jailbreaking have had this happen to them so soon after one another, but it's too early to say if this is a campaign that Apple is starting up,' writes Mills."
Dear oh dear... how about some fact checking? (Score:5, Informative)
The other guy cobbled a VB front-end onto a load of other people's utilities to make a questionably legal Windows version of an existing OSX program for creating custom firmware bundles.
Bit of an overreaction on Apple's part if you ask me.
Re:So they should (Score:4, Informative)
I jailbroke my phone to get these features:
1. A bash shell and openssh so I could have scripts for maintaining servers with me at all times.
2. Multitasking - why should GPS apps suspend and lose location info when someone calls? Why should Rhapsody not be allowed to run in the background? (Note to Apple: offer a Rhapsody-like streaming service please)
3. Steve Jobs may like how the iPhone GUI looks, but I don't worship Jobs and have my own ideas how my iPhone theme should look. Jobs is a brilliant guy, but he is a bit narcissistic. Why should he lock down my phone because I choose to use it differently than he uses his?
4. To enable tethering, which I haven't used other than to test it, but to know it's there if I am in a pinch and need internet access from a laptop immediately while on the road
And yet, I've not "pirated"[sic] a single application. I know people who don't jailbreak who claim to "pirate"[sic] apps, by syncing friends' phones to their macs (I don't know if it can be done as I'm not interested in "stealing"[sic] apps). I download plenty of apps from the app store - and some music (I'm mostly happy with my CD rips, but I do want to buy some tracks on occasion). I even purchase paid apps, such as TomTom, bejeweled, and quite a few others. Funny thing though, aside from TomTom, Defend Your Castle, and bejeweled, I don't bother with the apps I paid for all that much. I've found that many of the free ones are better, or just about as good! Why buy "fastlane" when the only real improvement over the free version is additional scenery?
I don't "pirate"[sic] apps or music, and have no desire to. And yet, I jailbroke my phone. In fact when I mistakenly downgraded to 3.1.3 (and did not have my hashes on file) I figured out a way to upgrade generate the hashes and upgrade from 3.1.3 back up to 3.1.2.
Posted anon since I figured out how to successfully revert back to 3.1.2 and I do not want Apple to ban me from the app store, since I actually LIKE giving Apple money in exchange for product on occasion.
Re:Figured it'd happen (Score:5, Informative)
Get a grip people. There haven't been any reports that Apple is banning people who jailbreak their own personal phones, they have banned TWO people who are involved in discovering and propagating exploits for the iPhone. Yes, these hacks are being used to jailbreak but it's a much different thing to ban someone who is actively seeking new ways to break into the iPhone OS than it is to ban someone unlocking their own phone.
If Apple starts banning en-masse people who have jailbroken their iPhones then we can break out the torches and pitchforks. Until then it's a company saying "no more soup for you" to a couple of hackers who are looking to exploit the company's secure system. And yes, I'll be right there with the rest of you if Apple does start pushing around joe average over this issue.
Re:Not just for jailbreakers (Score:5, Informative)
Really? Wow, so Google doesn't lock people out of accounts that have had too many bad login attempts?
Because that is exactly what has happened here [apple.com]; nothing sinister.
Re:So they should (Score:3, Informative)
$99 isn't that much if you're already spending $1000/year for service.
Three problems with your argument:
I can't help mysef. (Score:5, Informative)
cede [google.com] , not seed.
The stats from October (Score:5, Informative)
Back in Oct 09 there were 4 million jailbroken iphones, of those at 38% have at least one pirated application. The numbers are real and growing. In order for the app store to be a viable business Apple has to protect the IP of the app holders. It's really sad, because there are great free uses of jail broken phones. It's too bad the pirate community ruined things for the free software community.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/new_iphone_app_piracy_statistics_reveal_try_before_you_buy_myth.php [readwriteweb.com]
Re:I don't believe it (Score:5, Informative)
As of oct 09 38% of jail broken iPhones had pirated apps on them. The number is rising. It's more or less a case that the pirates ruined it for the free software folks.
You mean apple ruined it for 62% (Score:1, Informative)
You mean apple ruined it for 62%.
Re:So they should (Score:3, Informative)
Nonsense - I signed up for the iPhone Developer Program as an Individual, as have many. It's one of the first questions asked, as it determines how you're listed in the App Store.
Re:I don't believe it (Score:5, Informative)
And you can still use your iPhone. You just don't get access to iTunes.
Re:I don't believe it (Score:3, Informative)
Personal computing was built by hackers. There would be no IBM clones, no Apple I, without people pushing the limits of what they could get their hands on.
The IBM PC clones weren't built by hackers (I doubt the PC would have been the most attractive machine to a hacker-type anyway), it was built via a clean-room reverse engineering of the original PC BIOS.
Re:I don't believe it (Score:5, Informative)
I cannot believe Apple did not learn this lesson the last time in the 80s. They were in the drivers seat with the PC and they refused to let anyone develop any software for it. Well, everyone gave them the finger and now almost everyone uses a Microsoft OS (although I am glad that is finally changing). Looks like Apple's need to control every thing and try to sell all the software themselves is catching up with them now that Android is out.
Perhaps I don't understand you right, but when did Apple refuse to allow anyone to develop software for their PC's?
Re:I don't believe it (Score:2, Informative)
Let's not jump to conclusions now (Score:4, Informative)
Re:I don't believe it (Score:3, Informative)
What?
I don't remember that. The Apple ][ was pretty open, and I had absolutely no problems developing for it nor finding software. Hell we even had Apple clones in our user's group.
What gave Microsoft DOS the market share were all those cheap IBM PC clones (even cheaper when the manufacturer went bankrupt) and the pirated copies of WordStar, WordPerfect, and Lotus 1-2-3.
The number one selling point for the IBM PC clones (back then they were called PC compatibles, and thanks to the crappy clones provided by Sharp "MSDOS Compatible" was coined) was why spend your hard earn money on a toy computer when you can buy a computer that would run all the programs you used at work.
By the way, the mistake Apple made in the 80's was not courting over any big software firms to make products that were compatible or at least similar to the software on the PC. Apple is not making this mistake, since they created a App marketplace first. Remember they had a VC firm seed the new software companies that made the apps for the iPhone OS 1.0.
You have confused Apple's inability to attract big software firms (and their titles) to the Apple II platform in the 80's with the "wall-garden" of the present. If anything, Apple is ensuring their market share. If the ability to have an open software market was the key ingredient for success, then all the articles on CNET, Slashdot, etc would be calling all the new phones the next "Windows Mobile Killer".
Instead of trying to astroturf the Android OS with these sensational stories, or flaming the iPad, or anything else from Apple. Maybe we should wonder why it's hard to find an Asus EEE netbook in the US that comes preinstalled with something other than Windows XP or Windows 7 Starter Edition?
Now get off my lawn!
Re:Not surprised... (Score:1, Informative)
There are only two bubbles Apple "forces" you into:
1. Mac OS X only runs (without hacking) on Apple hardware. 2. iPhones OS only runs (without hacking) App Store software.
Everything else is very open.
I think you forgot:
3. iPod music players that only work with iTunes (Dont even think you can hack these to be straight drag/drop mp3 players either)
4. Apple TV (without hacking your own codecs in so it can play anything)
5. The new iPad probably has its own little bubble as well
hmm.. I think that about covers everything they sell, or did I miss something
Apple like their bubbles, even if you don't realise they are there..
Re:What are the security risks? (Score:2, Informative)
I am not sure you are replying to the correct /. post