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App Auto-Tweets False Piracy Accusations
An anonymous reader writes "Certain iPhone and iPad applications from a Japanese company have broken software piracy detection mechanisms that are sending out tweets on the user's own Twitter account, saying, 'How about we all stop using pirated iOS apps? I promise to stop. I really will. #softwarepirateconfession.' The trouble is, it's sending these out on accounts of users who actually paid up to $50 or more for the software and who are legally using it. The app is asking for access to users' Twitter accounts, but does not give the reason why it is asking, so the author of the article concluded (rightly) that things were being done deliberately. Would you want your legally purchased software to send out messages to all of your contacts on Twitter or on other social networks saying that you were a software pirate? Would you excuse the writers of the software if it was just an error in their piracy detection measures?"
no
This is character assassination.
You know that old joke about crying "FIRE" in a crowded theater? The bottom line is that you must be damn sure the place is really catching fire before doing that.
The software owner should be legally charged.
Lisias@Earth.SolarSystem.OrionArm.MilkyWay.Local.Virgo.Universe.org
This app cost 50$ and it was only when the user got an update, that the app insisted on getting Twitter credentials. So he paid heavily for an app which subsequently sent out a dodgy update. Not a very nice practice.
Actually that solves MANY problems.
Flamebait much? People pay far more than that for desktop apps. People tend to think that an iOS iPhone or iPad app is going to always be some simple thing, and a lot are. But there are plenty of higher end "desktop quality" apps available on the platform.
Granted I don't personally believe a Dictionary app would be, but hey, an app is worth what people are willing to pay.
Back to the topic of what's triggering these erroneous piracy messages, there could be a couple of things at play. Some people are reporting its happening on Jailbroken devices that also have the "Install0us" app installed, which is to be fair used solely for app pirating. It may be the app sees "Hey, I'm on a hacked device with a pirate store installed" and assuming it itself has been pirated for that reason.
However, other users are reporting the same issue on non-jailbroken devices which leads me to believe that these apps were targeted for iOS 5.1.1 and may be seeing the massive backend library and OS changes Apple made for iOS6 and incorrectly assuming its running on a Jailbroken devices due to unexpected OS differences.
I'm not defending the app maker for obviously going overboard on anti-piracy measures, just trying to figure out the 'why' of it being triggered for paying customers.
- "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
If you don't use Twitter/Facebook, you're obviously hiding something.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
As an iOS user since the original iPhone I have a few points to make.
Firstly, part of me wishes it were more open and that's why I've always used available jailbreaks.
Secondly, when one looks at the amounts of malware available for each platform it does become clear that the 'walled garden' does seem to have an affect on device security.
It really is a double edged sword, but I can see the merits of both arguments.
- "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
If I were one of those folks, I would follow these steps to register a complaint with Apple. Just saying.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
Seriously, would it be so hard to include that in the article?
The company you want to avoid from now on is called "Enfor", and they deserve to have this bullshit rubbed in their face. If you want to sock 'em in the gut, email Apple and explain to them what happened after you legitimately purchased the app, and ask for a refund. I'm sure this is breaking one of their SDK rules somewhere, but even if it isn't- they have a walled garden to protect legitimate users from this kind of crap. When stuff like this gets past them, it makes Apple look bad as well as the company who wrote it.
So email Apple and tell them how you feel about this betrayal of trust. Tell them the app has publicly humiliated/embarrassed you, that you want a refund, and that this whole situation has shaken your confidence in Apple's walled garden. If enough people do this, Apple will turn around and tear a strip off Enfor- either by freely issuing refunds to anyone who asks for it, or by taking down the offending apps (goodbye sales!), or by banning the developer.
I noticed one of these twitter posts from Teller (the silent half of Penn and Teller) earlier today. I assumed it was a joke that I didn't understand, but it makes sense now.
I'm more than willing to make a statement in court to the effect that I assumed he was admitting to performing illegal acts if it helps in any subsequent lawsuit against the turd-like cretins who abused people's trust in their products by misrepresenting them publicly in this way.
Yeah, he must be a serial killer or something.
When I'm in a country where I have severely limited vocabulary in the local language, a good dictionary application is one of those can't-live-without things that I actually do depend on for getting by. I haven't seen how good this application is/isn't, but I'd pay more than $50 for a great dictionary app. Also, a mobile version is more valuable than a desktop version. I know from experience what it's like pulling a notebook computer out of a bag when I get stuck trying to read a sign or communicate with a stranger. I'll give you a hint: it's not as practical as pulling a phone out of your pocket.
Except that he explained the reasoning for having Installous on a jailbroken phone, and others have rung in saying that Installous isn't what's flagging it, or the only reason.
There is no rational for having installous on a jailbroken phone other that to install pirated apps.
TFA:
When Scanner Pro, which I also legally own, introduced a bug in the app that made the app stop working completely on my device. Installous lets you browse a list of available pirated versions of the app, which also means you can use it to go back to an older version of an app you legally own.
Does the above says something about your rational abilities? Naaahh... a simpler explanation exists: who the hell bother to actually RTFA?
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
" the "Install0us" app installed, which is to be fair used solely for app pirating."
No it's not.
It's also one of the easiest (and in some cases only) way you can revert to previous versions of apps. I don't pirate apps on iOS, and I rarely have a use for Install0us, but a couple of times it's saved me when a newer version of an app was unusable and Install0us was the only way to get a previous version re-installed and running again.
In the spirit of being fair though, ya, it's mostly for pirating, but I wouldn't jump to the definitive conclusion that someone who has it on their iOS devices is pirating apps.