[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
www/proprietary malware-apple.html
|
From: |
Therese Godefroy |
|
Subject: |
www/proprietary malware-apple.html |
|
Date: |
Mon, 1 Oct 2018 16:02:51 -0400 (EDT) |
CVSROOT: /webcvs/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Therese Godefroy <th_g> 18/10/01 16:02:50
Modified files:
proprietary : malware-apple.html
Log message:
Add missing items and regenerate from recfile.
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/proprietary/malware-apple.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.74&r2=1.75
Patches:
Index: malware-apple.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /webcvs/www/www/proprietary/malware-apple.html,v
retrieving revision 1.74
retrieving revision 1.75
diff -u -b -r1.74 -r1.75
--- malware-apple.html 19 Sep 2018 13:08:16 -0000 1.74
+++ malware-apple.html 1 Oct 2018 20:02:50 -0000 1.75
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
-<!-- Parent-Version: 1.85 -->
+<!-- Parent-Version: 1.84 -->
+<!--
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ Generated from propr-blurbs.rec. Please do not edit this file manually !
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+-->
<title>Apple's Operating Systems are Malware
- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
<!--#include virtual="/proprietary/po/malware-apple.translist" -->
@@ -37,291 +42,113 @@
<div class="summary" style="margin-top: 2em">
<h3>Type of malware</h3>
<ul>
-<li><a href="#back-doors">Back doors</a></li>
-<li><a href="#censorship">Censorship</a></li>
-<li><a href="#insecurity">Insecurity</a></li>
-<li><a href="#pressuring">Pressuring</a></li>
-<li><a href="#sabotage">Sabotage</a></li>
-<li><a href="#interference">Interference</a></li>
-<li><a href="#surveillance">Surveillance</a></li>
-<li><a href="#incompatibility">Incompatibility</a></li>
-<li><a href="#drm">Digital restrictions
- management</a> or “DRM” means functionalities designed
+ <li><a href="#back-doors">Back doors</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#censorship">Censorship</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#deception">Deception</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#drm">Digital restrictions
+ management</a> or “DRM”—functionalities designed
to restrict what users can do with the data in their computers.</li>
-<li><a href="#jails">Jails</a>—systems
+ <li><a href="#incompatibility">Incompatibility</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#insecurity">Insecurity</a></li>
+<!-- <li><a href="#interference">Interference</a></li> -->
+ <li><a href="#jails">Jails</a>—systems
that impose censorship on application programs.</li>
-<li><a href="#tyrants">Tyrants</a>—systems
+ <li><a href="#pressuring">Pressuring</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#sabotage">Sabotage</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#surveillance">Surveillance</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#tyrants">Tyrants</a>—systems
that reject any operating system not “authorized” by the
manufacturer.</li>
-<li><a href="#deception">Deception</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3 id="back-doors">Apple Back Doors</h3>
-<ul>
-<li><p>
-Mac OS X had an
-<a
href="https://truesecdev.wordpress.com/2015/04/09/hidden-backdoor-api-to-root-privileges-in-apple-os-x/";>
-intentional local back door for 4 years</a>, which could be
-exploited by attackers to gain root privileges.
-</p></li>
-
-<li><p>The iPhone has a back door <a
-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3358134/Apples-Jobs-confirms-iPhone-kill-switch.html";>
-that allows Apple to remotely delete apps</a> which Apple considers
-“inappropriate”. Jobs said it's OK for Apple to have this
-power because of course we can trust Apple.
-</p></li>
-
-<li><p>The iPhone has a back door for <a
-href="http://www.npr.org/2010/11/22/131511381/wipeout-when-your-company-kills-your-iphone";>
-remote wipe</a>. It's not always enabled, but users are led into
-enabling it without understanding.
-</p></li>
-</ul>
-
-<h3 id="censorship">Apple Censorship</h3>
-
-<p>Apple mainly uses iOS, which is a typical jail, to impose censorship
-through the Apple Store. Please refer to <a href="#jails">Apple Jails</a>
-section for more information.</p>
-
-<h3 id="insecurity">Apple Insecurity</h3>
-
-<p>These bugs are/were not intentional, so unlike the rest of the file
- they do not count as malware. We mention them to refute the
- supposition that prestigious proprietary software doesn't have grave
- bugs.</p>
-
-<ul>
- <li>
- <p>A vulnerability in Apple's Image I/O API allowed an attacker
- to <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/22/stagefright-flaw-ios-iphone-imessage-apple";>execute
- malicious code from any application which uses this API to render
- a certain kind of image file</a>.</p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>A bug in the iThings Messages
- app <a
href="https://theintercept.com/2016/04/12/apple-bug-exposed-chat-history-with-a-single-click/";>allowed
- a malicious web site to extract all the user's messaging history</a>.
- </p>
+<ul class="blurbs">
+<!-- INSERT backdoor -->
+ <li id="M201607284">
+ <p>The Dropbox app for Macintosh <a
+
href="http://applehelpwriter.com/2016/07/28/revealing-dropboxs-dirty-little-security-hack/";>
+ takes control of user interface items after luring the user into
+ entering an admin password</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201011220">
+ <p>The iPhone has a back door for <a
+
href="http://www.npr.org/2010/11/22/131511381/wipeout-when-your-company-kills-your-iphone";>
+ remote wipe</a>. It's not always enabled, but users are led into
+ enabling it without understanding.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M200808110">
+ <p>The iPhone has a back door <a
+
href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3358134/Apples-Jobs-confirms-iPhone-kill-switch.html";>
+ that allows Apple to remotely delete apps</a> which Apple considers
+ “inappropriate”. Jobs said it's OK for Apple to have
+ this power because of course we can trust Apple.</p>
</li>
</ul>
-<h3 id="interference">Apple Interference</h3>
-<p>Various proprietary programs often mess up the user's system. They are like
sabotage, but they are not grave enough to qualify
-for the word “sabotage”. Nonetheless, they are nasty and wrong.
This section describes examples of Apple committing
-interference.</p>
-
-<ul>
- <li><p>Apple forced millions of iThings to download a system upgrade
- <a
href="https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7256669?tstart0=";>without asking the
users</a>.
- Apple did not forcibly install the upgrade but the downloading alone
caused lots of trouble.</p>
- </li>
-</ul>
-
-<h3 id="pressuring">Apple Pressuring</h3>
-
-<p>Proprietary companies can take advantage of their customers by imposing
arbitrary limits to their use of the software. This section reports examples
of hard sell and other unjust commercial tactics by Apple.</p>
-
-<ul>
- <li><p>Apple Siri
- <a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/oct/27/apple-music-subscribers-siri-questions";>refuses
to give you information</a>
- about music charts if you're not an Apple Music subscriber.</p>
- </li>
-</ul>
-<h3 id="sabotage">Apple Sabotage</h3>
-
-<p>These are situations in which Apple employs its power over users
-to directly intervene in ways that harm them or block their work.</p>
-
-<ul>
- <li>
- <p>Apple has <a
href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/31/17412396/telegram-apple-app-store-app-updates-russia";>blocked
- Telegram from upgrading its app for a month</a>.</p>
-
- <p>This evidently has to do with Russia's command to Apple to
- block Telegram in Russia.</p>
-
- <p>The Telegram client is free software on other platforms, but
- not on iThings. Since <a
href="/proprietary/proprietary-jails.html#apple">they
- are jails</a>, they don't permit any app to be free
- software.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>MacOS High Sierra forcibly reformats SSD boot drives, and <a
-
href="https://www.macworld.com/article/3230498/storage/apple-file-system-apfs-faq.html";>
- changes the file system from HFS+ to APFS</a>, which cannot be accessed
- from GNU/Linux, Windows or even older versions of MacOS.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>Apple will stop <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/06/iphone-ipad-apps-games-apple-5-5c-obsolete";>fixing
bugs for older
- model iThings</a>.</p>
-
- <p>Meanwhile, Apple stops people from fixing problems themselves;
- that's the nature of proprietary software.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>The iPhone 7 contains DRM specifically designed to <a
-
href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/kbjm8e/iphone-7-home-button-unreplaceable-repair-software-lock";>
- brick it if an “unauthorized” repair shop fixes it</a>.
- “Unauthorized” essentially means anyone besides Apple.</p>
-
- <p>The article uses the term “lock” to describe the DRM,
- but we prefer to use the term <a
- href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#DigitalLocks">
- digital handcuffs</a>.</p>
- </li>
-
-
- <li>
- <p>The Apple Music client
- program <a
href="https://blog.vellumatlanta.com/2016/05/04/apple-stole-my-music-no-seriously/";>scans
- the user's file system for music files, copies them to an Apple
- server, and deletes them</a>.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li>
- <p>Apple <a
-href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160608183145/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/14/uninstall_quicktime_for_windows/";>
-stops users from fixing the security bugs in Quicktime for
- Windows</a>, while refusing to fix them itself.</p>
- </li>
+<h3 id="censorship">Apple Censorship</h3>
- <li>
- <p>iOS version 9 for
- iThings <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/feb/05/error-53-apple-iphone-software-update-handset-worthless-third-party-repair";>sabotages
- them irreparably if they were repaired by someone other than
- Apple</a>. Apple eventually backed off from this policy under
- criticism from the users. However, it has not acknowledged that
- this was wrong.</p>
- </li>
+<p>Apple mainly uses iOS, which is a typical jail, to impose censorship
+through the Apple Store. Please refer to the <a href="#jails">Apple Jails</a>
+section for more information.</p>
- <li><p><a
href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/2541250/apple-mac/update--apple-plays-hardball--upgrade--bricks--unlocked-iphones.html";>
- An Apple firmware “upgrade” bricked iPhones that had been
- unlocked.</a> The “upgrade” also deactivated applications
- not approved by <a href="/proprietary/proprietary-jails.html">Apple
- censorship</a>. All this was apparently intentional.</p>
- </li>
+<h3 id="deception">Apple Deception</h3>
- <li><p>Apple
- <a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/04/apple-deleted-music-ipods-rivals-steve-jobs";>
- deleted from iPods the music that users had got from internet music
- stores that competed with iTunes</a>.</p>
+<ul class="blurbs">
+<!-- INSERT deception -->
+ <li id="M201308290">
+ <p>“Dark patterns” are <a
+
href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/29/4640308/dark-patterns-inside-the-interfaces-designed-to-trick-you";>user
+ interfaces designed to mislead users, or make option settings hard
+ to find</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>This allows a company such as Apple to say, “We allow users
+ to turn this off” while ensuring that few will understand how
+ to actually turn it off.</p>
</li>
</ul>
-<h3 id="surveillance">Apple Surveillance</h3>
-<ul>
- <li><p>Apple proposes
- <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/15/apple-removing-iphone-home-button-fingerprint-scanning-screen";>a
fingerprint-scanning touch screen</a>
- — which would mean no way to use it without having your
fingerprints
- taken. Users would have no way to tell whether the phone is snooping on
- them.</p></li>
-
- <li><p>iPhones <a
href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/17/iphones-secretly-send-call-history-to-apple-security-firm-says/";>send
- lots of personal data to Apple's servers</a>. Big Brother can
- get them from there.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li><p>The iMessage app on iThings <a
href="https://theintercept.com/2016/09/28/apple-logs-your-imessage-contacts-and-may-share-them-with-police/";>tells
- a server every phone number that the user types into it</a>; the
server records these numbers for at least 30
- days.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li><p>Users cannot make an Apple ID (<a
href="http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/49951/how-can-i-download-free-apps-without-registering-an-apple-idcool";>necessary
to install even gratis apps</a>) without giving a valid email address and
receiving the verification code Apple
- sends to it.</p>
- </li>
- <li><p>iThings automatically upload to Apple's servers all the photos and
- videos they make.</p>
-
- <blockquote><p>
- iCloud Photo Library stores every photo and video you take,
- and keeps them up to date on all your devices.
- Any edits you make are automatically updated everywhere. [...]
- </p></blockquote>
-
- <p>(From <a href="https://www.apple.com/icloud/photos/";>Apple's iCloud
- information</a> as accessed on 24 Sep 2015.) The iCloud feature is
- <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202033";>activated by the
- startup of iOS</a>. The term “cloud” means
- “please don't ask where.”</p>
- <p>There is a way to <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201104";>
- deactivate iCloud</a>, but it's active by default so it still counts as a
- surveillance functionality.</p>
-
- <p>Unknown people apparently took advantage of this to
- <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/01/naked-celebrity-hack-icloud-backup-jennifer-lawrence";>get
- nude photos of many celebrities</a>. They needed to break Apple's
- security to get at them, but NSA can access any of them through
- <a
href="/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html#digitalcash">PRISM</a>.
- </p></li>
-
- <li><p><a
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/10/30/how-one-mans-private-files-ended-up-on-apples-icloud-without-his-consent/";>
- MacOS automatically sends to Apple servers unsaved documents being
- edited</a>. The <a
-
href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2014/10/apple_copies_yo.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter";>
- things you have not decided to save are even more sensitive than the
- things you have stored in files</a>.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li><p>Apple has made various
- <a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/04/apple-data-privacy-icloud";>
- MacOS programs send files to Apple servers without asking permission</a>.
- This exposes the files to Big Brother and perhaps to other snoops.</p>
-
- <p>It also demonstrates how you can't trust proprietary software,
- because even if today's version doesn't have a malicious
- functionality, tomorrow's version might add it. The developer won't
- remove the malfeature unless many users push back hard, and the users
- can't remove it themselves.</p>
- </li>
-
- <li><p>Various operations in
- <a
href="http://lifehacker.com/safari-and-spotlight-can-send-data-to-apple-heres-how-1648453540";>
- the latest MacOS send reports to Apple</a> servers.</p>
- </li>
+<h3 id="drm">Apple DRM</h3>
- <li><p>Spyware in MacOS:
- <a
href="http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/privacy-advocates-worry-over-new-apple-iphone-tracking-feature-161836223.html";>
- Spotlight search</a> sends users' search terms to Apple.</p>
+<ul class="blurbs">
+<!-- INSERT DRM -->
+ <li id="M201704071">
+ <p>DRM makes the iPhone 7 nearly <a
+ href="iphone7-sabotage">unrepairable</a> by anyone else but Apple.</p>
</li>
- <li><p>Apple admits the
- <a
href="http://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/spotlight-suggestions-in-os-x-yosemite-and-ios-are-you-staying-private/";>
- spying in a search facility</a>, but there's a lot
- <a href="https://github.com/fix-macosx/yosemite-phone-home";>
- more snooping that Apple has not talked about</a>.</p>
+ <li id="M201512260">
+ <p><a
+
href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bmvxp4/switzerland-wants-a-single-universal-phone-charger-by-2017";>
+ Apple uses DRM software to prevent people from charging an iThing
+ with a generic USB cable</a>.</p>
</li>
- <li><p><a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/23/iphone-backdoors-surveillance-forensic-services";>
- Several “features” of iOS seem to exist for no possible
- purpose other than surveillance</a>. Here is the <a
-
href="http://www.zdziarski.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/iOS_Backdoors_Attack_Points_Surveillance_Mechanisms_Moved.pdf";>
- Technical presentation</a>.</p>
+ <li id="M200811210">
+ <p><a
+
href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/11/apple-downgrades-macbook-video-drm";>
+ DRM (digital restrictions mechanisms) in MacOS</a>. This article
+ focuses on the fact that a new model of Macbook introduced a
+ requirement for monitors to have malicious hardware, but DRM software
+ in MacOS is involved in activating the hardware. The software for
+ accessing iTunes is also responsible.</p>
</li>
- <li><p>The <a class="not-a-duplicate"
-
href="http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/privacy-advocates-worry-over-new-apple-iphone-tracking-feature-161836223.html";>
- iBeacon</a> lets stores determine exactly where the iThing is, and
- get other info too.</p>
+ <li id="M200708130">
+ <p><a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/2007/08/aacs-tentacles/";>
+ DRM that caters to Bluray disks</a>. (The article focused on Windows
+ and said that MacOS would do the same thing subsequently.)</p>
</li>
- <li><p>Apple can, and regularly does, <a
-
href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/05/new-guidelines-outline-what-iphone-data-apple-can-give-to-police/";>
- remotely extract some data from iPhones for the state</a>.
- </p>
- <p>This may have improved with
- <a
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2014/09/17/2612af58-3ed2-11e4-b03f-de718edeb92f_story.html";>
- iOS 8 security improvements</a>; but
- <a href="https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/09/22/apple-data/";>
- not as much as Apple claims</a>.</p>
+ <li id="M200703310">
+ <p>iTunes videos have DRM, which allows Apple to <a
+ href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FairPlay";>dictate where its
+ customers can watch the videos they purchased</a>.</p>
</li>
</ul>
@@ -333,68 +160,72 @@
particular, from switching to free software which can liberate the device
the software runs on.</p>
-<ul>
-<li>
-<p>Apple devices lock users in <a
-href="https://gizmodo.com/homepod-is-the-ultimate-apple-product-in-a-bad-way-1822883347";>
-solely to Apple services</a> by being designed to be incompatible with all
-other options, ethical or unethical.</p>
-</li>
-
-<li>
-<p>iWork (office software that runs on MacOS, iOS and iCloud) uses secret
-formats and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IWork";>provides no means
-of converting them to or from Open Document Formats</a>. iWork formats
-have changed several times since they were first introduced. This may have
-had the effect of thwarting <a
-href="https://github.com/obriensp/iWorkFileFormat";>reverse engineering
-efforts</a>, thus preventing free software from fully supporting them.</p>
-
-<p>iWork formats are considered <a
-href="https://wiki.harvard.edu/confluence/download/attachments/204385883/Format%20profile%20-%20Apple%20iWork%20Pages%20v04.docx?version=1&modificationDate=1459873751000&api=v2";>
-unfit for document preservation</a>.</p>
-</li>
-
-<li>
-<p>In MacOS and iOS, the procedure for <a
-href="https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/export-photos-videos-and-slideshows-pht6e157c5f/mac";>
-converting images from the Photos format</a> to a free format is so tedious
-and time-consuming that users just give up if they have a lot of them.</p>
-</li>
+<ul class="blurbs">
+<!-- INSERT incompatibility -->
+ <li id="M201803300">
+ <p>In MacOS and iOS, the procedure for <a
+
href="https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/export-photos-videos-and-slideshows-pht6e157c5f/mac";>
+ converting images from the Photos format</a> to a free format is so
+ tedious and time-consuming that users just give up if they have a
+ lot of them.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201802120">
+ <p>Apple devices lock users in <a
+
href="https://gizmodo.com/homepod-is-the-ultimate-apple-product-in-a-bad-way-1822883347";>
+ solely to Apple services</a> by being designed to be incompatible
+ with all other options, ethical or unethical.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201605044">
+ <p>iWork (office software that runs on MacOS,
+ iOS and iCloud) uses secret formats and <a
+ href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IWork";>provides no means of
+ converting them to or from Open Document Formats</a>. iWork
+ formats have changed several times since they were first
+ introduced. This may have had the effect of thwarting <a
+ href="https://github.com/obriensp/iWorkFileFormat";>reverse engineering
+ efforts</a>, thus preventing free software from fully supporting
+ them.</p>
+
+ <p>iWork formats are considered <a
+
href="https://wiki.harvard.edu/confluence/download/attachments/204385883/Format%20profile%20-%20Apple%20iWork%20Pages%20v04.docx?version=1&modificationDate=1459873751000&api=v2";>
+ unfit for document preservation</a>.</p>
+ </li>
</ul>
-<h3 id="drm">Apple DRM</h3>
-<ul>
- <li><p>iTunes videos have DRM, which allows Apple to <a
- href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FairPlay";>dictate where its customers can
- watch the videos they purchased</a>.</p>
- </li>
- <li><p>The DMCA and the EU Copyright Directive make it <a
-href="https://boingboing.net/2017/11/25/la-la-la-cant-hear-you.html";>
- illegal to study how iOS cr...apps spy on users</a>, because this
- would require circumventing the iOS DRM.</p>
- </li>
+<h3 id="insecurity">Apple Insecurity</h3>
- <li><p><a
-
href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bmvxp4/switzerland-wants-a-single-universal-phone-charger-by-2017";>
- Apple uses DRM software to prevent people from charging an iThing with a
- generic USB cable</a>.</p></li>
+<p>These bugs are/were not intentional, so unlike the rest of the file
+ they do not count as malware. We mention them to refute the
+ supposition that prestigious proprietary software doesn't have grave
+ bugs.</p>
- <li><p><a
-
href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/11/apple-downgrades-macbook-video-drm";>
- DRM (digital restrictions mechanisms) in MacOS</a>. This article
- focuses on the fact that a new model of Macbook introduced a requirement
- for monitors to have malicious hardware, but DRM software in MacOS is
- involved in activating the hardware. The software for accessing iTunes
- is also responsible.</p>
+<ul class="blurbs">
+<!-- INSERT apple-insec -->
+ <li id="M201607220">
+ <p>A vulnerability in Apple's Image I/O API allowed an attacker to <a
+
href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/22/stagefright-flaw-ios-iphone-imessage-apple";>execute
+ malicious code from any application which uses this API to render a
+ certain kind of image file</a>.</p>
</li>
- <li><p><a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/2007/08/aacs-tentacles/";>
- DRM that caters to Bluray disks</a>. (The article focused on Windows
- and said that MacOS would do the same thing subsequently.)</p></li>
+ <li id="M201604120">
+ <p>A bug in the iThings Messages app <a
+
href="https://theintercept.com/2016/04/12/apple-bug-exposed-chat-history-with-a-single-click/";>allowed
+ a malicious web site to extract all the user's messaging
+ history</a>.</p>
+ </li>
</ul>
+<!--
+<h3 id="interference">Apple Interference</h3>
+<p>Various proprietary programs often mess up the user's system. They are like
sabotage, but they are not grave enough to qualify
+for the word “sabotage”. Nonetheless, they are nasty and wrong.
This section describes examples of Apple committing
+interference.</p> -->
+
+
<h3 id="jails">Apple Jails</h3>
<p><a
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=IOS_jailbreaking&oldid=835861046";>
@@ -416,44 +247,48 @@
big enough to mean that the iThings are no longer jails.</p>
<h4>Examples of censorship by Apple jails</h4>
-<ul>
- <li>
- <p>Apple <a
-
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/29/technology/china-apple-censorhip.html";>
- deleted several VPNs from its app store for China</a>, thus using
- its own censorship power to strengthen that of the Chinese
- government.</p>
- </li>
- <li>
+<ul class="blurbs">
+<!-- INSERT jails -->
+ <li id="M201710130">
<p>Apple is <a
href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/10/iranian-hardliners-want-isolated-internet";>
- censoring apps for the US government too</a>. Specifically, it
- is deleting apps developed by Iranians.</p>
+ censoring apps for the US government too</a>. Specifically, it is
+ deleting apps developed by Iranians.</p>
+
<p>The root of these wrongs are in Apple. If Apple had not designed
the iMonsters to let Apple censor applications, Apple would not have
had the power to stop users from installing whatever kind of apps.</p>
</li>
- <li>
+ <li id="M201707290">
+ <p>Apple <a
+
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/29/technology/china-apple-censorhip.html";>
+ deleted several VPNs from its app store for China</a>, thus using its
+ own censorship power to strengthen that of the Chinese government.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201701064">
<p>Apple used its censorship system to enforce Russian surveillance <a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/technology/linkedin-blocked-in-russia.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0";>
by blocking distribution of the LinkedIn app in Russia</a>.</p>
+
<p>This is ironic because LinkedIn is a surveillance system itself.
While subjecting its users to its own surveillance, it tries to
- protect its users from Russian surveillance, and is therefore
- subject to Russian censorship.</p>
+ protect its users from Russian surveillance, and is therefore subject
+ to Russian censorship.</p>
+
<p>However, the point here is the wrong of Apple's censorship of
apps.</p>
</li>
- <li>
+ <li id="M201701050">
<p>Apple used its censorship system to enforce China's censorship <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/05/apple-removes-new-york-times-app-in-china";>
by blocking distribution of the New York Times app</a>.</p>
</li>
- <li>
+ <li id="M201605190">
<p>Apple censors games, <a
href="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/05/apple-says-game-about-palestinian-child-isnt-a-game";>
banning some games from the cr…app store</a> because of which
@@ -461,47 +296,46 @@
considered acceptable.</p>
</li>
- <li>
+ <li id="M201509290">
<p>Apple <a href="http://ifixit.org/blog/7401/ifixit-app-pulled/";>
banned a program from the App Store</a> because its developers
committed the enormity of disassembling some iThings.</p>
</li>
- <li>
+ <li id="M201509230">
<p>As of 2015, Apple <a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/23/apple-anti-choice-tendencies-showing-in-app-store-reproductive-rights";>
systematically bans apps that endorse abortion rights or would help
women find abortions</a>.</p>
+
<p>This particular political slant <a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/dec/01/siri-abortion-apple-unintenional-omissions";>
affects other Apple services</a>.</p>
</li>
- <li>
- <p>Apple has banned iThing applications that show the confederate flag.
- <a
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/25/apple-confederate-flag_n_7663754.html";>
+ <li id="M201506250">
+ <p>Apple has banned iThing
+ applications that show the confederate flag. <a
+
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/25/apple-confederate-flag_n_7663754.html";>
Not only those that use it as a symbol of racism</a>, but even
strategic games that use it to represent confederate army units
fighting in the Civil War.</p>
- <p>This ludicrous rigidity illustrates the point that Apple should not
- be allowed to censor apps. Even if Apple carried out this act of
+
+ <p>This ludicrous rigidity illustrates the point that Apple should
+ not be allowed to censor apps. Even if Apple carried out this act of
censorship with some care, it would still be wrong. Whether racism
is bad, whether educating people about drone attacks is bad, are not
the real issue. Apple should not have the power to impose its views
about either of these questions, or any other.</p>
</li>
- <li>
- <p>Apple rejected an app that displayed the locations of US drone
- assassinations, giving various excuses. Each time the developers
- fixed one “problem”, Apple complained about another.
- After the fifth rejection, Apple <a
- href="http://mashable.com/2014/02/07/apple-app-tracks-drone-strikes/";>
- admitted it was censoring the app based on the subject
- matter</a>.</p>
+ <li id="M201412110">
+ <p><a
+
href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/11/papers-please-game-ipad-nude-body-scans";>
+ More examples of Apple's arbitrary and inconsistent censorship</a>.</p>
</li>
- <li>
+ <li id="M201405250">
<p>Apple used this censorship power in 2014 to <a
href="http://boingboing.net/2014/02/07/apple-yanks-last-remaining-bit.html";>
ban all bitcoin apps</a> for the iThings for a time. It also <a
@@ -511,42 +345,340 @@
killing more acceptable than marijuana.</p>
</li>
- <li>
- <p><a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/11/papers-please-game-ipad-nude-body-scans";>
- More examples of Apple's arbitrary and inconsistent censorship</a>.</p>
+ <li id="M201402070">
+ <p>Apple rejected an app that displayed the locations
+ of US drone assassinations, giving various excuses. Each
+ time the developers fixed one “problem”, Apple
+ complained about another. After the fifth rejection, Apple <a
+ href="http://mashable.com/2014/02/07/apple-app-tracks-drone-strikes/";>
+ admitted it was censoring the app based on the subject matter</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<h3 id="pressuring">Apple Pressuring</h3>
+
+<p>Proprietary companies can take advantage of their customers by imposing
arbitrary limits to their use of the software. This section reports examples
of hard sell and other unjust commercial tactics by Apple.</p>
+
+<ul class="blurbs">
+<!-- INSERT pressuring -->
+ <li id="M201510270">
+ <p>Apple Siri <a
+
href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/oct/27/apple-music-subscribers-siri-questions";>refuses
+ to give you information</a> about music charts if you're not an Apple
+ Music subscriber.</p>
</li>
</ul>
+
+<h3 id="sabotage">Apple Sabotage</h3>
+
+<p>These are situations in which Apple employs its power over users
+to directly intervene in ways that harm them or block their work.</p>
+
+<ul class="blurbs">
+<!-- INSERT sabotage -->
+ <li id="M201805310">
+ <p>Apple has <a
+
href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/31/17412396/telegram-apple-app-store-app-updates-russia";>blocked
+ Telegram from upgrading its app for a month</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>This evidently has to do with Russia's command to Apple to block
+ Telegram in Russia.</p>
+
+ <p>The Telegram client is free software on other platforms, but not on
+ iThings. Since <a href="/proprietary/proprietary-jails.html#apple">they
+ are jails</a>, they don't permit any app to be free software.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201710044">
+ <p>MacOS High Sierra forcibly reformats SSD boot drives, and <a
+
href="https://www.macworld.com/article/3230498/storage/apple-file-system-apfs-faq.html";>
+ changes the file system from HFS+ to APFS</a>, which cannot be
+ accessed from GNU/Linux, Windows or even older versions of MacOS.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201706060">
+ <p>Apple will stop <a
+
href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/06/iphone-ipad-apps-games-apple-5-5c-obsolete";>fixing
+ bugs for older model iThings</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>Meanwhile, Apple stops people from fixing problems themselves;
+ that's the nature of proprietary software.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201704070">
+ <p id="iphone7-sabotage">The
+ iPhone 7 contains DRM specifically designed to <a
+
href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/kbjm8e/iphone-7-home-button-unreplaceable-repair-software-lock";>
+ brick it if an “unauthorized” repair shop fixes it</a>.
+ “Unauthorized” essentially means anyone besides Apple.</p>
+
+ <p>The article uses the term “lock”
+ to describe the DRM, but we prefer to use the term <a
+ href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#DigitalLocks"> digital
+ handcuffs</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201606080">
+ <p>Apple <a
+
href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/14/uninstall_quicktime_for_windows/";>
+ stops users from fixing the security bugs in Quicktime for Windows</a>,
+ while refusing to fix them itself.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201605040">
+ <p>The Apple Music client program <a
+
href="https://blog.vellumatlanta.com/2016/05/04/apple-stole-my-music-no-seriously/";>scans
+ the user's file system for music files, copies them to an Apple server,
+ and deletes them</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201602050">
+ <p>iOS version 9 for iThings <a
+
href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/feb/05/error-53-apple-iphone-software-update-handset-worthless-third-party-repair";>sabotages
+ them irreparably if they were repaired by someone other than
+ Apple</a>. Apple eventually backed off from this policy under
+ criticism from the users. However, it has not acknowledged that this
+ was wrong.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201510020">
+ <p>Apple forced millions of iThings to <a
+ href="https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7256669?tstart=0";>download
+ a system upgrade without asking the users</a>. Apple did not
+ forcibly install the upgrade but the downloading alone caused lots
+ of trouble.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201504090">
+ <p>Mac OS X had an <a
+
href="https://truesecdev.wordpress.com/2015/04/09/hidden-backdoor-api-to-root-privileges-in-apple-os-x/";>
+ intentional local back door for 4 years</a>, which could be exploited
+ by attackers to gain root privileges.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201412040">
+ <p>Apple <a
+
href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/04/apple-deleted-music-ipods-rivals-steve-jobs";>
+ deleted from iPods the music that users had got from internet music
+ stores that competed with iTunes</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M200709270">
+ <p><a
+
href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/2541250/apple-mac/update--apple-plays-hardball--upgrade--bricks--unlocked-iphones.html";>
+ An Apple firmware “upgrade” bricked iPhones that had been
+ unlocked</a>. The “upgrade” also deactivated applications
+ not approved by <a href="/proprietary/proprietary-jails.html">Apple
+ censorship</a>. All this was apparently intentional.</p>
+ </li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<h3 id="surveillance">Apple Surveillance</h3>
+
+<ul class="blurbs">
+<!-- INSERT surveillance -->
+ <li id="M201809070">
+ <p>Adware Doctor, an ad blocker for MacOS, <a
+
href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wjye8x/mac-anti-adware-doctor-app-steals-browsing-history";>reports
+ the user's browsing history</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201711250">
+ <p>The DMCA and the EU Copyright Directive make it <a
+ href="https://boingboing.net/2017/11/25/la-la-la-cant-hear-you.html";>
+ illegal to study how iOS cr…apps spy on users</a>, because
+ this would require circumventing the iOS DRM.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201709210">
+ <p>In the latest iThings system,
+ “turning off” WiFi and Bluetooth the obvious way <a
+
href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/21/ios-11-apple-toggling-wifi-bluetooth-control-centre-doesnt-turn-them-off";>
+ doesn't really turn them off</a>. A more advanced way really does turn
+ them off—only until 5am. That's Apple for you—“We
+ know you want to be spied on”.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201702150">
+ <p>Apple proposes <a
+
href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/15/apple-removing-iphone-home-button-fingerprint-scanning-screen";>a
+ fingerprint-scanning touch screen</a>—which would mean no way
+ to use it without having your fingerprints taken. Users would have
+ no way to tell whether the phone is snooping on them.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201611170">
+ <p>iPhones <a
+
href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/17/iphones-secretly-send-call-history-to-apple-security-firm-says/";>send
+ lots of personal data to Apple's servers</a>. Big Brother can get
+ them from there.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201609280">
+ <p>The iMessage app on iThings <a
+
href="https://theintercept.com/2016/09/28/apple-logs-your-imessage-contacts-and-may-share-them-with-police/";>tells
+ a server every phone number that the user types into it</a>; the
+ server records these numbers for at least 30 days.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201509240">
+ <p>iThings automatically upload to Apple's servers all the photos
+ and videos they make.</p>
+
+ <blockquote><p> iCloud Photo Library stores every photo and video you
+ take, and keeps them up to date on all your devices. Any edits you
+ make are automatically updated everywhere. […] </p></blockquote>
+
+ <p>(From <a href="https://www.apple.com/icloud/photos/";>Apple's iCloud
+ information</a> as accessed on 24 Sep 2015.) The iCloud feature is
+ <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202033";>activated by the
+ startup of iOS</a>. The term “cloud” means “please
+ don't ask where.”</p>
+
+ <p>There is a way to
+ <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201104";> deactivate
+ iCloud</a>, but it's active by default so it still counts as a
+ surveillance functionality.</p>
+
+ <p>Unknown people apparently took advantage of this to <a
+
href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/01/naked-celebrity-hack-icloud-backup-jennifer-lawrence";>get
+ nude photos of many celebrities</a>. They needed to break Apple's
+ security to get at them, but NSA can access any of them through <a
+
href="/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html#digitalcash">PRISM</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201411040">
+ <p>Apple has made various <a
+
href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/04/apple-data-privacy-icloud";>
+ MacOS programs send files to Apple servers without asking
+ permission</a>. This exposes the files to Big Brother and perhaps
+ to other snoops.</p>
+
+ <p>It also demonstrates how you can't trust proprietary software,
+ because even if today's version doesn't have a malicious functionality,
+ tomorrow's version might add it. The developer won't remove the
+ malfeature unless many users push back hard, and the users can't
+ remove it themselves.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201410300">
+ <p> MacOS automatically <a
+
href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170831144456/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/10/30/how-one-mans-private-files-ended-up-on-apples-icloud-without-his-consent/";>
+ sends to Apple servers unsaved documents being edited</a>. The
+ things you have not decided to save are <a
+
href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2014/10/apple_copies_yo.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter/";>
+ even more sensitive</a> than the things you have stored in files.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201410220">
+ <p>Apple admits the <a
+
href="http://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/spotlight-suggestions-in-os-x-yosemite-and-ios-are-you-staying-private/";>
+ spying in a search facility</a>, but there's a lot <a
+ href="https://github.com/fix-macosx/yosemite-phone-home";> more snooping
+ that Apple has not talked about</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201410200">
+ <p>Various operations in <a
+
href="http://lifehacker.com/safari-and-spotlight-can-send-data-to-apple-heres-how-1648453540";>
+ the latest MacOS send reports to Apple</a> servers.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201409220">
+ <p>Apple can, and regularly does, <a
+
href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/05/new-guidelines-outline-what-iphone-data-apple-can-give-to-police/";>
+ remotely extract some data from iPhones for the state</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>This may have improved with <a
+
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2014/09/17/2612af58-3ed2-11e4-b03f-de718edeb92f_story.html";>
+ iOS 8 security improvements</a>; but <a
+ href="https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/09/22/apple-data/";>
+ not as much as Apple claims</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201407230">
+ <p><a
+
href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/23/iphone-backdoors-surveillance-forensic-services";>
+ Several “features” of iOS seem to exist
+ for no possible purpose other than surveillance</a>. Here is the <a
+
href="http://www.zdziarski.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/iOS_Backdoors_Attack_Points_Surveillance_Mechanisms_Moved.pdf";>
+ Technical presentation</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201405080">
+ <p>Apple can, and regularly does, <a
+
href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/05/new-guidelines-outline-what-iphone-data-apple-can-give-to-police/";>
+ remotely extract some data from iPhones for the state</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201401101">
+ <p><a
+
href="http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/privacy-advocates-worry-over-new-apple-iphone-tracking-feature-161836223.html";>
+ Spotlight search</a> sends users' search terms to Apple.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201401100">
+ <p>The <a class="not-a-duplicate"
+
href="http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/privacy-advocates-worry-over-new-apple-iphone-tracking-feature-161836223.html";>
+ iBeacon</a> lets stores determine exactly where the iThing is, and
+ get other info too.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201312300">
+ <p><a
+
href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-30/how-nsa-hacks-your-iphone-presenting-dropout-jeep";>
+ Either Apple helps the NSA snoop on all the data in an iThing, or it
+ is totally incompetent</a>.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201308080">
+ <p>The iThing also <a
+
href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/08/ios7_tracking_now_its_a_favourite_feature/";>
+ tells Apple its geolocation</a> by default, though that can be
+ turned off.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201210170">
+ <p>There is also a feature for web sites to track users, which is <a
+
href="http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/10/17/how-to-disable-apple-ios-user-tracking-ios-6/";>
+ enabled by default</a>. (That article talks about iOS 6, but it is
+ still true in iOS 7.)</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li id="M201204280">
+ <p>Users cannot make an Apple ID (<a
+
href="https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/49951/how-can-i-download-free-apps-without-registering-an-apple-id";>
+ necessary to install even gratis apps</a>) without giving a valid
+ email address and receiving the verification code Apple sends
+ to it.</p>
+ </li>
+</ul>
+
+
<h3 id="tyrants">Apple Tyrants</h3>
-<ul>
- <li><p>Apple arbitrarily
- <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/12/01/ios-8-1-signing-window-closed/";>
- blocks users from installing old versions of iOS</a>.</p>
+
+<ul class="blurbs">
+<!-- INSERT tyrants -->
+ <li id="M201412010">
+ <p>Apple arbitrarily <a
+ href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/12/01/ios-8-1-signing-window-closed/";>blocks
+ users from installing old versions of iOS</a>.</p>
</li>
- <li><p>The iThings are tyrant devices: they do not permit
- installing a different or modified operating system. There is a
- port of Android to the iThings, but installing it
- requires <a
href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150721065208/http://www.idroidproject.org/wiki/Status";>
+ <li id="M201205280">
+ <p>The Apple iThings are tyrant devices. There is a
+ port of Android to the iThings, but installing it requires <a
+
href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150721065208/http://www.idroidproject.org/wiki/Status";>
finding a bug or “exploit”</a> to make it possible to
install a different system.</p>
</li>
</ul>
-<h3 id="deception">Apple Deception</h3>
-<ul>
- <li><p>“Dark patterns”
- are <a
href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/29/4640308/dark-patterns-inside-the-interfaces-designed-to-trick-you";>user
- interfaces designed to mislead users, or make option settings
- hard to find</a>.</p>
-
- <p>This allows a company such as Apple to say, “We allow
- users to turn this off” while ensuring that few will
- understand how to actually turn it off.</p>
- </li>
-</ul>
-</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
+</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
<div id="footer">
<div class="unprintable">
@@ -603,7 +735,7 @@
<p class="unprintable">Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2018/09/19 13:08:16 $
+$Date: 2018/10/01 20:02:50 $
<!-- timestamp end -->
</p>
</div>
- www/proprietary malware-apple.html,
Therese Godefroy <=