WSJ: Dark Side Arises for Phone Apps

Wall Street Journal:

Online stores run by Apple Inc., Google Inc. and others now offer more than 250,000 applications such as games and financial tools. The apps have been a key selling point for devices like Apple’s iPhone. But concerns are growing among security researchers and government officials that efforts to keep out malicious software aren’t keeping up with the apps craze.

This isn’t a big surprise. Apple certainly has an advantage here with their walled garden approach, since they control what apps can be installed on the iP* devices. Google can do likewise with what apps they allow in the Android Market, but since apps can be installed from elsewhere, it almost doesn’t matter.

Freedom vs. security? Of course, if you want a device that “just works” and acts like an appliance, Apple’s approach, tending more towards security, appears to be better.

Posted on 714 days ago by Bill Heyman