Congratulations to the BBC

for not knowing the difference between a smartphone and an iPhone

BBC News - Smartphone scams: Owners warned over malware apps

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Smartphones are especially tempting because they run apps.
<snip>
What makes matters worse is that many people unlock or jailbreak their handsets to get at non-official apps. Many of these are booby-trapped versions of programs that would cost money on the legitimate marketplace.

Jailbreaking a phone also leaves it open to infection if you browse the wrong website.

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Do some research and find that at least with Android (cant speak for WinMo or BB) there is no "jailbreaking" and you have the option to turn on/off installing apps other than from the market. I'm assuming "jailbreaking" and "non-official apps" are iOS specific terms?
So why bother with investigative journalism, let us just assume that world+dog=iPhone owner and appeal to the masses.

To my knowledge, the only iPhone malware is an old (years old) one that required you to a) Jailbreak b) Install SSHD c) Not change the default password.

If anything, that article does Android a favour as nowadays the only main smartphone platform with malware issues is Android. Especially the kind that are mentioned in that article (Dials premium rate phone numbers)

Not only that, but malware apps end up on the official android marketplace. This has never happened to iOS or WP7.

So ya, that article is misleading, not only in the way you mentioned :P

The iPhone retrieves it's apps from Apple's own repositories by default. These apps have signed code, meaning what is submitted to the reviewers can only be distributed on the Apple Store if it's signature matches that seen by the developers. This allows for vetting and filtering of the apps.

The Android Market is the same principle but code is not signed. So it can be vetted then altered later on maliciously. Google have measures to prevent this but there have been cases where apps are later loaded with a malicious payload and delivered to consumers through updates. Always check the permissions on any Android app that you install!

Neither phone permits root access by default and this needs to be unlocked. Jailbreaking derives from breaking the handset's restrictions to use it on another network. With root you can do anything to the OS and thus handset. It also allows you to use unauthorised repositories not hosted by the OS provider or network.

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Originally Posted by CAM

The iPhone retrieves it's apps from Apple's own repositories by default. These apps have signed code, meaning what is submitted to the reviewers can only be distributed on the Apple Store if it's signature matches that seen by the developers. This allows for vetting and filtering of the apps.

The Android Market is the same principle but code is not signed. So it can be vetted then altered later on maliciously. Google have measures to prevent this but there have been cases where apps are later loaded with a malicious payload and delivered to consumers through updates. Always check the permissions on any Android app that you install!

Neither phone permits root access by default and this needs to be unlocked. Jailbreaking derives from breaking the handset's restrictions to use it on another network. With root you can do anything to the OS and thus handset. It also allows you to use unauthorised repositories not hosted by the OS provider or network.

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erm, ok thanks for that. not quite sure what that is meant to be....your update to the BBC article or something?

Just a few things:
Root on an Android phone does not allow you to use unauthorised repositories, ticking the "unknown sources" box does, which exists on any android phone, rooted, unlocked or otherwise. It is a default option on them all.
Jailbreaking, in terms of iOS, as far as I'm aware unlocks the OS, not the phone itself, and not to unlock it to another network. If there is a new iOS update, it kills the jailbreak (I'm not 100% sure, just from what I've read).
Jailbreaking and rooting a phone are entirely different, and many Android phone manfrs are allowing phones to be rooted (HTC in particular, I think Samsung are too), whereas Apple do not allow ANY such activity and will probably sue you sixways to heaven for trying.

Just to add, from todays El Reg:

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Miller's InstaStock app, which was accepted into the iTunes App Store in September, bills itself as a program that tracks stock prices in real time. On Monday, Miller announced that the app contained a secret hack that bypassed protections built into iOS devices that prevent code from running on them unless it has been signed by Apple's official cryptographic seal.

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So the App store isn't the holy grail of security and this was only found out after the coder admitted to it.

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Originally Posted by MK-2

Do some research and find that at least with Android (cant speak for WinMo or BB) there is no "jailbreaking" and you have the option to turn on/off installing apps other than from the market. I'm assuming "jailbreaking" and "non-official apps" are iOS specific terms?

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I don’t see how those are iOS term. One example is recently I had a tablet with android 3.0 on it and to get the fix to get proxy’s working was to jailbreak it to Android 3.1. officially the device only supported up to 3.0 and at the time if you pressed update it would not update past 3.0. Now it supports 3.2. jailbreaking to me means to modify the operating system beyond what the device developer intended or officially supports.

People often jailbreak Android devices to new android versions as the device developer can often be 6 months or more behind the newest version of android. I have even heard teacher’s talk about jailbreaking Android phones to get extra features.

EDIT: A better example the new Amazon tablet is locked down so you cannot access the main Android market. In theory you could jailbreak the tablet to access the non-official apps and use a none official version of Android.

Have to say, I wouldn't consider jailbreaking to be an iOS specific term either. It is overwhelmingly used to refer to Apple jailbreaks, but as a general term I'd class rooting an Android phone as jailbreaking too

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Originally Posted by Pottsey

I don’t see how those are iOS term. One example is recently I had a tablet with android 3.0 on it and to get the fix to get proxy’s working was to jailbreak it to Android 3.1. officially the device only supported up to 3.0 and at the time if you pressed update it would not update past 3.0. Now it supports 3.2. jailbreaking to me means to modify the operating system beyond what the device developer intended or officially supports.

People often jailbreak Android devices to new android versions as the device developer can often be 6 months or more behind the newest version of android. I have even heard teacher’s talk about jailbreaking Android phones to get extra features.

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with android you aren't modifying the OS itself, you are either rooting or exploiting kernel features. neither of which are commonly associated with the term jailbreaking (to me) that the media use in response to iphones being jailbroken to run non apple auth software.
as i said, they use the term to say jailbreaking your phone lets you install non signed code from somewhere else, yet an android phone lets you do that out the box by ticking "allow unknown sources" box.

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Originally Posted by sidewinder

Have to say, I wouldn't consider jailbreaking to be an iOS specific term either. It is overwhelmingly used to refer to Apple jailbreaks, but as a general term I'd class rooting an Android phone as jailbreaking too

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But thats my point, there are two different terms, pretty much doing two different things.
Jailbreak an iphone and next update, they could have put it back as it was. It modifies the OS not the actual phone
Root an android phone, and it will stay rooted (if done properly) as you aren't touching the OS itself, you are touching the bootroms etc

But look at me, an hour into Edugeek life again and I'm arguing, I'll hush now :)

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Originally Posted by MK-2

with android you aren't modifying the OS itself, you are either rooting or exploiting kernel features. neither of which are commonly associated with the term jailbreaking (to me) that the media use in response to iphones being jailbroken to run non apple auth software.
as i said, they use the term to say jailbreaking your phone lets you install non signed code from somewhere else, yet an android phone lets you do that out the box by ticking "allow unknown sources" box.

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How is changing the OS to a different version not modifying the OS?

I edited my post as you replied. Android does not always let you use install non signed code from somewhere else. Take the Amazon tablet it has no access to the main android market. You jailbreak it to access the non-official apps. The Toys R Us tablet is the same its all locked down. Android devices are not always open. Often they can be locked down to that developers own market apps only.

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Originally Posted by MK-2

can't speak for WinMo

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Do you mean Windows Mobile or Windows Phone? They are not the same thing. :confused:

One way to unlock a Windows Phone is to use the Microsoft authorized ChevronWP7 tool.

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Originally Posted by MK-2

you are touching the bootroms

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O_O

No, I'm not.
I swear, I've never touched anyone's bootroms.


Ok, I'll go now. :getmecoat: