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- ScottMcIntyre, on 08/19/2008, -1/+27I'm loving the use of 'kerfuffle' in the headline... an i-deal word to sum up the story.
- cloudberries, on 08/19/2008, -2/+19"The idea that Apple can choose what functionality my applications should have frightens me," Jon Zdziarski, who discovered the existence of the kill switch, recently wrote on his blog. "How about legislation that requires a mandatory kill switch be integrated into every human being, so that the police can kill an individual without even needing to dispatch an officer to a scene?"
Right, like that's almost exactly the same thing. - aimhelix, on 08/19/2008, -1/+14I really hate reports on news like this that includes the keyword ***MAY***.
- inactive, on 08/19/2008, -2/+14"Privacy advocates' concern over what Apple will do with iPhone user data may be overblown, industry experts say."
Translation
"pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" - jggube, on 08/19/2008, -2/+13"Kill-Switch" is such a mysterious term, that's why people are making a big deal about it.
- JohnnyRad, on 08/19/2008, -1/+10"How about legislation that requires a mandatory kill switch be integrated into every human being, so that the police can kill an individual without even needing to dispatch an officer to a scene?"
dude needs to seriously chill out. it's a phone... - inactive, on 08/19/2008, -6/+15Apple already knows their tastes in music. Now it also knows which games they like to play, and which productivity applications they like to use.
- DeFex, on 08/19/2008, -0/+9apple has always had a kill switch in their portable products. its called "warranty expiration day"
- ThankTheCheese, on 08/19/2008, -1/+9Wait, how did they go from Apple being apple to remotely kill an application to them harvesting our email, playlists, Web history and contacts? There are two completely separate issues. Apple does not know any of this information, particularly if you do not get your music from iTunes. Just because the info is on your phone does not mean it is sent to Apple.
If you want to write a story about online privacy, go ahead, It's a relevant and interesting topic, but I hate it when they use a popular piece of technology in the heading to sex the article up. - serif69, on 08/19/2008, -1/+8If you think it's a privacy concern that a retailer knows what you like to buy, the only solution is never buy anything from anyone, ever. I had a garage sale this past weekend, and you know what? I know what people bought from me.
But this has nothing to do with the so-called "kill switch", which is a app blacklist that the phone checks to verify that none of the apps installed on the phone have been blacklisted. If they are, the phone deletes them. No information is actually sent to Apple in this instance. Hence overblown. - CatsAreGods, on 08/19/2008, -0/+7Make that "technology" instead of "Apple" and you'll be even more correct.
- kraetos, on 08/19/2008, -2/+9So here's a free tip: whenever BusinessWeek writes anything about Apple, it's either wrong, sensationalized, or both.
- FredFredrickson, on 08/19/2008, -4/+11No, they're making a big deal about it because it's ***** that someone at Apple HQ can just press a button and delete applications you've put on YOUR phone.
- joshualamgroup, on 08/19/2008, -1/+7Why is everyone making such a big deal out of this?
Look at the benefits.. a malicious program can just disappear.. you wouldn't want it to steal all your personal information from Safari slowly, would you? (I know, that's impossible with the SDK, but just imagine) - Anjow, on 08/19/2008, -0/+6BossPrefs v2.12b (available on Cydia) includes the option to disable the killswitch functionality.
- nathanww, on 08/19/2008, -6/+12The thing with the kill switch is that if this were not apple, it wouldn't be called a "kill switch", it would be called "leaving a backdoor in your product to hack into later"
- worminater, on 08/19/2008, -0/+5kerfuffle is pwn
- Zippo, on 08/19/2008, -0/+5All the hype articles about the "kill switch" really do blow this whole thing out of proportion. You'd think that Apple had some form of remote connection to your iPhone and had the capability to shut it down at their whim. They don't.
Instead, all the "kill switch" is is just a list of blacklisted apps. If a bad app got past Apple and into the wild, Apple would simply remove it from the App Store and add it to a blacklist. iPhones say "hey, I've got an app that's on the blacklist. Delete"
The blacklist isn't even remote. It's included in the software updates, meaning it's done locally.
This doesn't effect any app not sold on the App Store (ie: jailbroken apps). No app has yet been added to the blacklist.
Honestly, ***** if I want malware on my iPhone, so this is not necessarily a bad idea.
In short, this is a complete non-issue. - MacParrot, on 08/19/2008, -4/+9Fred if that application somehow makes it through the venting process (not that hard to do) and it's discovered that it will do bad things to your phone, why not allow them to kill the app. Not everyone that owns an iPhone is going to be checking every few minutes to find out if something is potentially dangerous.
Until Apple uses this for nefarious purposes or to line their own pockets or just because they don't like someone, STFU. You're whining. - bradleyland, on 08/19/2008, -0/+5Man, I love kerfuffle. What's that sauce they put on it called anyway?
- FredFredrickson, on 08/19/2008, -2/+6And people wouldn't be trying to assure you to just look the other way and get over it, either.
- bbtweb, on 08/19/2008, -1/+5glad somebody said it - this guy sounded super paranoid at the least. Maybe Apple should just add a way to turn the kill-switch on or off to make people like him sleep easier. I, on the other hand, appreciate the attempt to protect me from malicious programs I may not know are transmitting personal information where it shouldn't be going.
- skintigh, on 08/19/2008, -6/+10Would you let Bill Gates install a backdoor kill switch on your computer?
Then why is it ok for Steve Jobs to have one installed in the far, far, far more important, sometimes *literally* life-saving, computer in your pocket?
Bury me for daring to use reason and logic about an Apple product... a product that can't have the memory upgraded or the battery swapped out like my smart phone and (as far as i know) like every single other smart phone on the market (except the last iphone). Pass the kool-ade. - ThankTheCheese, on 08/19/2008, -1/+5Read their privacy policy -- they do not collect that information in the same way they, and Microsoft, do not harvest your word documents and other information on your PC.
I don't want to sound like an Apple apologist, I just don't like alarmist headlines. - inactive, on 08/19/2008, -0/+4Me too. What other word would ya use. It's a kerfuffle indeed.
- inactive, on 08/19/2008, -0/+4"if you don't have anything to hide then you shouldn't have any problem"
People like you should be stripped of your citizenship, if you're American. The rest of us would be much happier, and probably get along quite well with eachother. - MacParrot, on 08/19/2008, -1/+5What possible life-saving iPhone app could Apple delete if it still works as a phone?
Again, unless Apple actually uses this in a malicious manner this is overblown BS. My reasons for not wanting an iPhone (and not having bought one) have nothing to do with Apple being able to kill bad apps. - skintigh, on 08/19/2008, -0/+4If you have nothing to hide then you wont mind if I install a camera in your daughter's bedroom and your bathroom, right? I'm from the government/big-buisiness so it's ok. And I can listen in on her phone calls, too. And track everywhere you daughter goes, and who she talks to, and what she does. It's to fight terrorism, it will never be misused, I pinky-swear.
- Galaxylander, on 08/19/2008, -0/+3That's why everyone is FREAKING OUT about it, right? Right? There's no hypocrisy, this is a non-issue and people are just assuming it can do things that it downright can't. It's for malicious apps that could break your phone, that's about it..
- Andrwmorph, on 08/19/2008, -2/+5Can they nix homebrew programs? Could apple delete installer.app off my phone?
- drunkenoaf, on 08/19/2008, -1/+4I'll bury you for not understanding what the kill switch is. It's a list of malicious applications that the iPhone shouldn't use. Reason and logic dictates that that's rather a good thing. Much like antivirus defintion files your antivirus program phones home and updates periodically.
Man, you've taken Colbert's rant literally. It won't actually kill you. - JSager, on 08/19/2008, -1/+4In the meantime, google probably knows what you ate for breakfast, your dog's middle name, and has a picture of that girl you slept with you never tell anyone about. You know who I mean.
- TheWorm, on 08/19/2008, -0/+3I think they used it here because Fake Steve uses it frequently on fsj.
- theutopian, on 08/19/2008, -0/+3Dugg for usage of Kerfuffle.
- drunkenoaf, on 08/19/2008, -1/+4How is this different from an antivirus product updating itself (ie phoning home) for new virus definition patterns?
It's a list of bad stuff that shouldn't be running and should be removed. It's a tool for removing malicious software. How is this bad?
Unless some coder at Apple starts smoking crack and adds mobilesafari.app to the list, it really isn't going to be a problem, is it? - pond70, on 08/19/2008, -0/+3HAHAHAHAHA....
- drunkenoaf, on 08/19/2008, -1/+4What? As in hacking Apple's servers (or fooling an iPhone into using another blacklist) and then adding iPint or some other apps to the apps they now say you can't run... Piddling nonsense.
About a third of the iPhones out there are using "custom firmware"-- iPwned, jailbroken by Zibri, etc-- even my one is. Surely there's a place to worry about backdoors being introduced, rather than a list on Apple's servers. - Galaxylander, on 08/19/2008, -0/+3skintignasdfzfasd, They can't just "Kill your phone!!1" they can blacklist a specific application that might do something harmful to the phone, they're not going to just randomly blacklist an application for no reason. If you're using APPS ON YOUR ***** PHONE to monitor someone's heart condition you deserve to have something like that happen. NO phone is ready to do something that important, iPhone or not.
- Galaxylander, on 08/19/2008, -1/+3What the ***** are you talking about? Why do all you people seem to think that Apple wants to shove their hands in your pockets? Apple isn't a money whore, their computers, contrary to popular belief don't really have a premium and that's been proven oh, I don't know, a billion times? How about you look at Windows? $400 + for Vista when it was released? I think Ultimate is still $300+ now! OS X is $199, and every Mac came with iLife on it.
- bluezombie, on 08/19/2008, -0/+2So ... like ... there's this hidden corbomite device inside ALL the iPhones ... right? And there's this big RED button ... just like the Staples Easy Button ... right in the middle of Steve Job's desk ... see? And if he slams his hand down on the button, all the corbomite devices will exlode at once. Engulfing the world in a firey wave of destruction. Now THAT would be a Kill Switch!
If I were Apple I'd build one in too. Having an easy, targeted way to disable a particular software is a truly wonderful way to immediately stop jailbreakers, virus writers, malware distributors and anyone else that wants to pee in my koolaid. Especially if you are shooting to have a single platform assume total market dominance. The more iPhones walking around, the juicier the target. Ya know? I mean for the love of gawd, folks, its not like they found out that he is secretly turning on the web cam so he can watch you in the bathroom. That's a total rumor. But I bet now that I said it, though, it turns up in some blog somewhere as a FUD grenade. - yabos, on 08/19/2008, -3/+5This is stupid. The so called kill switch compares the com.mycompany.myapp string against Apple's database of malicious apps. This is done ON THE PHONE not on Apple's servers. Guess what, they know every app you bought from the iTunes store and I don't see how this is any huge privacy concern.
- wwwdot1jesdotus, on 08/19/2008, -2/+4A bit jealous are we?
- adn6691, on 08/19/2008, -0/+2leave the apps alone!!
- drunkenoaf, on 08/19/2008, -0/+2People are taking Colbert's kill switch threat-down too seriously.
http://video.aol.com/partner/hulu/the-colbert-repo ... - huskerdude, on 08/19/2008, -0/+2I have no interest in the article, but heartily dugg for use of the word kerfuffle.
- MacParrot, on 08/19/2008, -1/+3The nonsense about my daughter's bedroom is BS and not worth discussing. As far as cell phones go, what makes you think that the NSA and/or other countries intelligence services aren't already doing this?
Or do you actually believe that your wireless transmission can't be intercepted, decoded, and stored anytime (insert country name here) decides it's in their best interests to do so?. - gllopc, on 08/19/2008, -2/+4If it wasn't being called a kill switch then no one would care as much.
Also, if Microsoft had a closed system in which they sold and delivered applications to their branded phones, and a malicious app got through their approval process, then I'm sure someone would say "Why doesn't Microsoft have a way of recalling the app? So irresponsible...". - MacParrot, on 08/19/2008, -0/+2I think you're taking this to the nth degree. If having a phone that is customizable to what you want over approved applications, then you shouldn't buy an iPhone. This is one of the reason why I HAVEN'T bought one. I have zero sympathy for those that ended up with bricked phones because they hacked them. If hacking the damn thing is what you're into, don't upgrade it until said upgrade has been tested against hacked phones. Someone smart enough to do the hack should know this.
The rest of your examples are speculative nonsense. There are much better phones to buy than the iPhone if its limitations can't be lived with. - Zippo, on 08/19/2008, -0/+2Nope, can't even kill jailbroken apps. Just kill any official App Store apps that turn out to be malware.
- donisewell, on 08/19/2008, -0/+1amen! just disabled it last night.
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