Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Can Remotely Kill Purchased Apps
Meshach writes "The terms of service for Microsoft's newly launched Windows Store allows the seller to remotely kill or remove access to a user's apps for security or legal reasons. The story also notes that MS states purchasers are responsible for backing up the data that you store in apps that you acquire via the Windows Store, including content you upload using those apps. If the Windows Store, an app, or any content is changed or discontinued, your data could be deleted or you may not be able to retrieve data you have stored."
I doubt the three people who own one of these devices reads slashdot.
So can apple.
To offset political mods, replace Flamebait with Insightful.
I can understand a company wanting, or needing, to provide a way to remove malware or illegal content. I can't say I fully agree with it, but I can understand the need. So the existence of such a system, in and of itself, isn't a particularly Bad Thing.
But this had better not be misused. Unless it's actively and secretly causing damage to the system (sending out spam or whatnot), it had better have a court order to be forcibly removed from users' computers. Maybe even then.
No deleting people's apps just because the seller removed it. No deleting people's apps because of some vague DMCA request. It had better be a legitimate, legally-validated removal.
I think a good way to ensure this would be that, if it is ever used, both Microsoft and the seller have to refund the cost to the user. That won't help much for free apps, but it would really help make sure regular apps aren't pulled back for no real reason.
They're moving towards a complete lease model as opposed to ownership.
You already lease your software anyway.
This version of Windows will pretty much make you lease your hardware what with the "secure" boot for all practical purposes. And you'll be leasing any administrator access MS might grant you as well.
Check your premises.
What the hell is wrong with our IT industry and its hostility towards their users? When did this start and where did we go wrong that brought us to this state?!
That may be the case, but I've never had Apple yank an app from my iPhone. Even an app that I purchased that Apple subsequently removed from the store for "violations". Still have it and I used it many many times since it was no longer "legit".
I have had Amazon delete a book I was in the middle of right off my Kindle (not in mid-read, when the kindle went to sleep). They did refund me, but that's not quite the point is it Amazon?
"This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence" - Vyvyan "The Young Ones"
Get off my lawn.
I've already lived this with iTunes. I bought iFitness (more here. During an iOS upgrade there was some sort of issue and PC backup turned out to be corrupt and couldn't restore the apps. "No problem," I thought, "I downloaded all of these apps from the store, I can just re-download everything."
Nope, despite being one of the five best fitness apps it was pulled from the market for unknown reasons. Some claim it was banned for posting fake positive reviews, but that seems completely unnecessary considering how much praise iFitness received.
Because of that I no longer trust my phone or the "cloud" to keep my data safe.
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
And I'm guessing that the majority of folks here have at least one windows box.
I have several. The flowers love the sun and the heat from the house keeps them from perishing on those freak cold spring nights.
have root access to them.
You mean this? They "defeated" it by turning it off. Pretty serious exploit I think.
-1 overrated isn't the same thing as "I disagree".
There's a Windows phone now? And it has apps too? Plus the data you upload to Microsoft servers can be deleted by them? *And* they put a killswitch in the phone to uninstall apps remotely?
;)
...seriously, this is exactly what everyone else does, following the shitty example that Apple and Amazon set for them. I know you can jailbreak an iPhone and turn off the killswitch with a swipe of the finger, but I doubt anyone cares enough yet to jailbreak a Windows phone. But they will. Whether there are ever enough apps in the Windows Store to make Microsoft have to wipe one from the few phones they sell is another question
Geeks like to think that they can ignore politics, you can leave politics alone, but politics won't leave you alone.-rms
2009: Your article talks about people being able to run the app still. The app which therefore hasn't been remote wiped. It doesn't work because the head-end it talks to was taken down. That was owned and run by the app vendor, not Apple. This is clearly not remote-kill; this is the risk of any head-end reliant app from any vendor anywhere. See also: http://www.pcworld.com/article/167383/update_apple_pulls_hottest_girls_porn_app_from_itunes.html?tk=rel_news
2010: Note the "Update: No" in http://www.razorianfly.com/2010/07/08/did-apple-just-use-the-ios-kill-switch/
See? We can both cherry pick random unsubstantiated Google search results.
TTBOMK there has been not one single verified, independently documented, uncontested example of a remote-kill on iOS. Numerous apps have been pulled from the store, though.