IOS Device Security: Viruses, Problems and Solutions

With this material, we continue to discuss the issues of data security on modern mobile devices. Earlier, an article "Android and security: viruses, problems and tips" was already published on the site.

Apple has done its best, the operating system it created has a really good level of security. It was achieved, however, by rather harsh measures. After all, it's not just about the programme code, which can always be hacked in the end, but also in the method of distributing applications. Installation of the latter is possible exclusively through the App Store. And before getting there, the applications undergo a rigorous security check from Apple itself. The result is obvious — there has not been a single virus epidemic in the years of iOS existence. Although it happened a couple of times that applications with "holes" still penetrated the App Store, but they were removed from there very quickly.

The installation of applications is possible only through the App Store, at the same time, all software is thoroughly tested

Apple regularly releases updates that not only add new features, but also eliminate identified security problems — this applies to both smartphones and tablet PCs, laptops, smartwatches, etc. It is important at the same time that all users get the opportunity to upgrade at once, even if they own devices of previous generations. In the case of Android, everything is much sadder — outdated smartphones and tablets often do not receive any updates, which makes them vulnerable.

We also do not forget about the restriction of user actions. The owner of an iOS device does not have many additional features available in Android, he also does not have access to the file system. From the point of view of protection, this approach is fully justified. It is well known that the vast majority of security-related problems are most often caused by incorrect actions of the user himself. However, not everyone likes such strong restrictions. But here you have to choose: either you use a limited but secure iOS, or switch to Android, or jailbreak your device.

Jailbreak — for those who strive for freedom

Cydia is a software application that allows you to install third-party programs, opening access to the file system

Almost immediately after the appearance of the iPhone, the struggle began to make this device somewhat more open, to add to it features that provide additional freedom to the user. After all, the very first model had so many limitations that it was not much different from the usual "dialer". So, the user could not install not only applications, but even their own ringtones.

Gradually, as the iPhone OS (as iOS was originally called) developed, Apple expanded the functionality. But she did it slowly, often without taking into account the real needs of users. And so the concept of jailbreak was born (Jailbreak, English — "Jailbreak"). It is believed that the very first jailbreak was made on July 10, 2007, when hackers from the iPhone Dev Team announced that they had learned how to install third-party ringtones and desktop wallpapers. A little later, the first third—party application appeared - a simple game. Apple reacted quickly by releasing an update that removed the possibility of hacking. But hackers have found other loopholes again. Since then, this struggle has been waged with varying success.

The "Erase data" function after 10 failed input attempts the password will destroy all the user's personal data

As the functionality of iOS itself expanded, jailbreak provided users with more and more new features. There were also "left—wing" app stores (the most popular among them is Cydia) that distributed utilities that would never have been tested in the App Store, as well as pirated versions of programs.

However, along with freedom, jailbreak brought additional security problems. At first, this procedure (which in those years required additional skills from the user) often led to the device not working properly. And installing applications of unknown origin, the user always risked getting some kind of "surprise" in the kit. It is not necessarily that this was a "hole" in security. So, the device could start to slow down very much or the battery charge began to melt literally before our eyes.

But over time, hackers brought the jailbreak to a kind of perfection. Today, to hack a device, it's enough to simply connect it to a computer and run a special utility. And if you do not then install any untested utilities and tweaks, then you can not be afraid of unnecessary problems.

However, users' interest in jailbreaking is gradually falling, it becomes simply unnecessary. The fact is that modern iOS no longer keeps the user in the same limited framework as it was a few years ago (although it is still far from Android freedom). Most users are quite satisfied with this. It is even rumored that the era of "escape from prison" will soon come to an end, because Apple will eventually bring its system to such a level that it simply will not want to be hacked. And, of course, jailbreaking is never done by users who are really concerned about security issues.

Additional protection never hurts

But even if iOS is secure, some additional security settings will still be useful.

It should be remembered that all these settings, although they have the most positive effect on the security level of the device, deprive you of some degree of comfort. For example, displaying an incoming message on the lock screen is really very convenient. That is, here the user has to decide for himself what is his priority, comfort or safety.

The Find My iPhone app can locate the lost device or erase all data from it

Some attention should also be paid to the security of your Apple ID account, to which your devices are linked. Here are some basic rules:

— Use only reliable email for her, like Gmail.com or Outlook.com;

— Do not forget to specify a backup mailbox (also from a reliable service) that can be used to recover your password;

— Try to make the password itself sufficiently reliable, longer than 8 characters;

— Use answers to security questions, the answers to which are known only to you.

Of course, these are not all ways of additional protection available to iOS users. However, they are quite enough to significantly increase the security of your personal data.