

Apple bans hackers from App Store - jmtame
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10454364-93.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

======
jmtame
pasted from BigBoss on Cydia:

This warning applies to owners of 3GS iPod touch 3 iPod touch 2 with serial
_MC_ Any 3g unlockers

iPhone OS 3.1.3 is now out from Apple. Supposedly it fixes some very rare
battery reporting issues on 3gs devices with a specific problem (It does not
make your battery last longer). There are no new features. The release only
stops jailbreaks. That's right. No new features.

DO NOT UPDATE YOU WILL BE SORRY.

Currently there is no jailbreak for this firmware. Unofficial sources have
confirmed that they have patched up the method we used to jailbreak 3.1.2 so
you will not be able to jailbreak. If you update you will lose all your
jailbreak apps and will not be able to get them back. In other words, updating
means you lose a lot of stuff in return for almost nothing back. In addition,
there is no ETA on a jailbreak for 3.1.3. It may never be jailbroken. It is
likely that they (dev team, geohot) will not waste another hole on 3.1.3. They
will most likely hold it for the bigger update that will come with the release
of the iPad and iPhone 4.0. Unlockers - you cannot unlock the new baseband.
This would apply to those 3g users that can jailbreak 3g. If you update, you
will not be able to unlock.

To summarize: \- Update adds NO NEW FEATURES, do not update.

------
yumraj
Does anyone know why Apple has not invoked DMCA against jailbreaking? Is it
because DMCA does not cover how the jailbreak hacks work or is it something
else.

I don't know much about the inner workings of jailbreak, nor have an iPhone,
but given the way Apple protects its IP, I'm really curious.

~~~
sjs
Apple can serve DMCA notices till they're blue in the face. Outside the US
people will just laugh them off.

Not to mention that if they start prosecuting their customers that's terrible
PR, and the ones most likely to jailbreak are the ones recommending iPhones to
their friends and family (i.e. the technically inclined), and also the ones
who would make a huge fuss about it. It really would do them no good at all.

------
jrockway
Why do people bother with iPhones? Seems like that in the time it takes to
find exploits, you could just fix all the parts of Android you don't like
instead.

~~~
theBobMcCormick
Completely agree. Apple is becoming more and more user unfriendly. Why pay for
that kind of abuse?

~~~
blasdel
Because the abuse is precisely what makes the ecosystem as user-friendly as it
is. They want any iPhone user to be able to pick up your iPhone and have it
behave the way they expect. They don't want users to be scared of them the way
they are of their PCs. They don't want the massive fragmentation present on
Android. They don't want all the coolest software that would otherwise be
AppStore-friendly coming out via user-hostile ad-hoc channels.

The beatings will continue until usability improves.

~~~
cookiecaper
This doesn't really make sense. It's fine for Apple to release their phones a
certain way because of those concerns. It's not fine for them to log into my
phone and reset everything I've done because it doesn't match their overall
vision for the device. It's my phone and I can do what I want to it.

If that doesn't match with Apple's philosophy, they should at least be upfront
with the idea that you're leasing the device and that Apple reserves the right
to override anything you do to it because it doesn't match their "vision".

If only there was a way Apple could ensure there were no stickers, skins, or
markings on individual iPhones. Then they could really make sure no one got
confused and thought the iPhone was ugly!

~~~
jsz0
Apple/carriers don't do OTA firmware updates on the iPhone. It's your choice
to install the update or not.

~~~
cookiecaper
While it's better that the device isn't updated automatically, it's the same
effect; I assume Apple bills these updates as essential for security and
functionality features, so one may assume it's necessary and install over
their stuff, perhaps unknowingly (if a friend administered the jailbreak, or
if they didn't pay much attention and just assume it works with updates).

It's really just not worth the hassle, honestly. I will never own an iPhone
primarily for these reasons.

------
mortenjorck
_Other hackers have also reported that their Apple IDs have been banned. It
seems that this action of Apple's is merely a warning, as these hackers can
always just create another Apple ID and access the App Store that way. It
would be a lot harsher if Apple decided to ban their devices._

Your App Store purchases are locked to your Apple ID via FairPlay DRM, right?
While indeed less serious than a device ban, that puts all your existing apps
(or other non-music purchases) in a pretty uncertain state.

~~~
kidko
Jailbreaking allows the installation of cracked apps, which basically makes
the App Store DRM a non-issue.

~~~
kevingadd
Only if you're okay with breaking the law* and standing on ethically
questionable ground* just to use an app that you bought.

If your ISP gets a DMCA notice because you were downloading a cracked version
of an app that you already own, do you think they're going to accept the
explanation that 'it's okay, I already own it'? What about in the context of
some of the proposed 'three strikes' laws? Nasty potential minefield.

* Depending on interpretation, of course.

~~~
cookiecaper
Hmm, well, this is different I think. Most jailbreakers aren't doing it so
that they can violate copyright and use apps without the consent of the rights
holder, most jailbreak so that they can install apps from non-approved
sources, use the phone on non-approved networks, and gain extra leverage over
the device (SSH, etc.).

To me, that just sounds like doing what you want with a device you own, and
telling Apple that you appreciate the sentiment but don't need their
babysitting.

When you download a movie or a game from an unauthorized source, that's
copyright infringement. When you download an exploit that lets you use your
phone in the ways you want, that's just downloading an exploit; it doesn't
transmit any substantial intellectual property owned by any other party, so I
don't understand your complaint or comparison, really.

The one provision which jailbreaking may violate is the DMCA's restriction on
circumvention of "copy protection". Technically, sharing any mechanism to
circumvent "copy protection" is illegal in the United States. I don't think
that jailbreaking qualifies as a circumvention of copy protection on balance,
though, because most people aren't doing it to make copies, but of course that
depends on the judge.

~~~
rbarooah
Do we actually have any statistics on what 'most people' are jailbreaking
their iPhones for, or is this just guesswork? I am quite prepares to believe
that most of the hackers who actually create the jailbreaks are doing so for
ideological reasons, or for technical satisfaction, but what about all the
people who just install the jailbreaks?

~~~
barrkel
I jailbroke my iPod Touch in order to disable the auto-rotation "feature".
I've never installed a cracked app.

------
jrmg
Has it actually been confirmed that these people are really 'banned'?

This is the same message that you get if you enter (or, more importantly,
someone else enters) your password wrongly multiple times:
<http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2446>

------
sonpo
I'm far from taking sides, but I am surprised it took Apple so long to start
this type of banning. I am not sure how it benefits Apple in the long run, but
I am sure that if the App Store were my business I probably would have done
this. And sooner.

~~~
sjs
Things like the 3.1.3 update are precisely why my next phone will run Android,
not iPhone OS.

