Apple says it blocked $1.5B in fraudulent App Store transactions, 1.6M risky app...

JP234

The only people who want the Apple App Store crippled in this fashion are politicians looking for some soapbox to stand on during their next campaign. But it's a losing proposition for them. Apple users WANT Apple to regulate, test, evaluate and control what software runs on their machines BEFORE finding out they've downloaded some piece of spyware, malware, Trojan Horse, virus, spam geyser, or other inappropriate winds up on their devices. If that means all apps come through the App Store, we're fine with it.

As for those sorry Android users, they don't give a crap about the App Store. They can buy and/or download anything from anywhere, masquerading as anyone, and deal with the fallout when their bank accounts are drained, their email boxes fill, their phones stop working, their identities are stolen, or worse, the FBI comes knocking at the door with a warrant.

xyzzy-xxx

rob53 said:

So, once Apple is forced to open the iPhone to alternate app stores will Apple be able to get rid of any fraudulent apps from these (fraudulent) app stores? Probably not. 

Well, if you buy from other stores, these stores will need to compete with Apple and earn a reputation to prevent spam apps. On the other hand, many privacy violations were never stopped by the App Store (like pasteboard sniffing or bugs in iOS that enabled spyware) but fixed directly in iOS. These fixes will work for any software, regardless from which source installed!

avon b7

rob53 said:

So, once Apple is forced to open the iPhone to alternate app stores will Apple be able to get rid of any fraudulent apps from these (fraudulent) app stores? Probably not. 

Apple hasn't stopped this activity. It is impossible to stop. You can only take action to mitigate the wider impact try to keep numbers down. 

Other stores could do a worse job at this. They could also do a better job. That has to be seen. That said, Apple would have no right to meddle in a third party app store. 

Any store that is demonstrably proven to be a seething mass of malware will not be a success. The Google Play Store is not an example of this by the way.