“Kaspersky already offers security software for Symbian and Windows Mobile phones, and will soon offer applications for both BlackBerry and Android,” Collins reports. “And although he admits the risk of viruses infecting the iPhone is ‘almost zero,’ he claims that securing the data on the handset is critical, especially as iPhones are increasingly being used for business purposes.”
Collins reports, “He said Apple’s repeating the mistakes it made in the computer market, where it lost out to Microsoft, which encouraged developers to write for the Windows platform. ‘Apple has a three-year timeframe to become the new Microsoft,’ he said. ‘If I were Steve Jobs, I’d spend those three years building a software community around Apple.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The day Mr. Jobs needs your advice, Gene, is the day we head over to Best Buy to buy a Dell. In case you’re confused, that’d be the day right after never. If you were Steve Jobs, you’d be changing the world, not stooping to dropping your crap into a PC-centric media outlet in a weak, failed attempt to make Apple look bad because they won’t let you screw up people’s iPhones for a recurring fee. Stick with Symbian, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and Android; you’re made for each other. And, lastly, it’s acutely obvious that Jobs is building quite the unmatched software community around Apple — just not for leeches.
I suspect Apple is being very cautious about security security software and the hit performance may take by using them, or the problems it could cause with locking phones and not being able to unlock for calls, emergency calls, etc.
Frankly, I just don’t see the huge need for it with remote wiping available.
Good- rightly so.
We don’t need security software.
Well, Eugene – you are not Steve Jobs.
1: don’t need your antivirus
2: MobileMe will already find my iPhone
Hey Eugene, secure this.
Yours truely,
S. Jobs
irrelevant
Don’t want it —
Pig on lipstick.
I think Apple more than capable at providing any “necessary” security features on the iPhone themselves.
=:~)
Were there some cases in the past where the anti-virus software WAS the infection source?
ROFLMAO, how exactly is security software going to accomplish anything if third party apps don’t have access to anything but their own data? What’s it going to do? Just scan itself for viruses?
I think the mac platform and the mac/pc war would have turned out very differently had Jobs been left on the job. I think what we’re seeing now with the iPhone/Pod/Pad is more in line with the way the Mac would have been handled. Scully gave it away.
Go away. We don’t need your stuff to bloat our system, drag it down and generally waste CPU cycles. You have plenty of suckers on the crappy OS side of the mobile sector to feed of on.
OK, ALL OF YOU FOLKS DON’T GET IT–he’s NOT focusing on anti-virus software!! He’s talking about securing data on the iPhone, which IS a real issue for business and enterprise users. Whether you agree or disagree, he’s being perfectly reasonable.
MDN,
Great take!
Say That!
Damn another example of no love coming from MDN
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1. Kaspersky is the best anti-virus solution on the market, it’s not crap like Norton.
2. He’s not proposing anti-virus for the iPhone, he’s proposing better security software. Realistically, the iPhone needs this, as right now there’s no real solution for properly securing your data.
And no, remote wipe doesn’t do it, because it has to be turned on and connected to the cell phone network. And the encryption/password that’s currently available on the iPhone can easily be bypassed (if you don’t believe me, look into it, there’s a number of articles on the web).
There is no legitimate reason for Apple to block this software other than that they don’t want Kaspersky to make them look bad.
Jacob – excellent and on point. Apparently, you actually READ the three paragraphs and came to the same conclusion as any normal, non-rabid Mac fan. Securing data is very important and Apple and Steve Jobs have, to date, done a lousy half-assed job.
Are there ANY apps out there that do a decent job on the iPhone? I haven’t checked yet. Surely there must be a few.
Kaspersky is indeed excellent AV software (though Forefront is awesome as well), but I wouldn’t rely on them for purposes of securing a mobile device. And while I wouldn’t disagree about the comparatively weak device security on the iPhone vis a vis a Blackberry BES environment, Apple is still better suited to rectify that condition if they’re serious about the enterprise, which is a dubious case at best.
“He said Apple’s repeating the mistakes it made in the computer market, where it lost out to Microsoft, which encouraged developers to write for the Windows platform.”
I had to read that 4 times. This guy is borderline retarded.
Jacob have you actually used the iphone configuration tool on the iPhone? umhh if you did you would not say Apple isn’t good at securing data on your phone. The configuration tool is damn good compared to BBS options i’ve seen.
ssl
enterprise level security configuration
if u don’t trust AT&T;u can stay off their network and use your wifi, there is more than one way to skin a cat, your iPhone security is up to you.
Why do we need anti-virus if we rarely even get any from the iPhone firmware. I sense Eugene is just greedy to cash some money out of the iPhone. And since anti-virus software are very popular for using 50-90% of CPU usage, adding this on a phone is a bad idea.
@Jacob et al
Apple’s focus is on the consumer, not business. Having said that, they are more than capable of dealing with data security issues and far more qualified to do so than any third party. Apple certainly have zero need for Kaspersky to butt in. Are you clueless enough to believe that Kaspersky can do what Apple can’t? The issue will be dealt with when Apple deem it fit and proper to do so and not before.
Remember when everybody bitched about the iPhone not supporting third party apps on its initial release? Now look! Seriously, wind your necks in and have a little patience.
=:~)
Would almost zero be
0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001?
They want Apple to provide developers low level access to iPhoneOS so they can install anti-virus software but it is that same lack of low level access that prevents viruses from being there in the first place.
‘Apple has a three-year timeframe to become the new Microsoft,’ he said.
Apple has only three years before it’s hauled up on criminal charges, found guilty and growled at by government watchdogs on two continents forever after?
What an opportunity missed!
I agree with MDN’s take. My boss is always telling me what Apple should do (build a netbook, ect). so I told him one day that he should go to Apple campus and tell Jobs how to run Apple.
That shut him up for a while and yes, I do still have the same job.
Hey, folks, please read the 3 paragraphs, could ya? Won’t ya? Kaspersky says viruses are NOT what he wants to prevent. He wants to SECURE the data. So your stolen company or personal iPhone can’t be peeled like a delicious grape and devoured. So your identities can’t be stolen using data that might be on the iPhone.
Kaspersky is the BEST at what he does. Y’all might want to take a break throwing stones and listen to him a bit.
Remember when every non-Apple company mentioned on MDN used to be “beleagured?” I guess it’s hard, even for MDN, to describe Google as beleagured. Oh, or maybe MDN just didn’t get a new word-a-day calendar for 2010, hehe.
cartoonasaurus, original jake, etc…
Mobile Me does this already
Kaspersky is just a prick that wants to win moar money from FUD.
How old is the fanboi writing the MDN take? 12 or 13?
As was mentioned before- Kaspesrky makes excellent Software that is necessary for millions of Mac users that are required to have AV on their computer in order to use a company’s network or access their servers. Not some open source project- a fully indemnified and supported commercial program.
Kaperski can make a encrypted area app, for those documents that need encryption, they done need the keys to iOS’s back door to make that app
I don’t know about u but I don’t feel like entering a key everytime I want to access a contact! Or regular email or ducument
Dear Mr. Kaspersky,
My Windows Hard drive just crashed. Something about a corrupt startup file. My f*king 4th PC in 3 years, all crashed. Even with your software on board. I have 2 Macs and they have never crashed. Why the f**k would I have you pollute my Mac or my iPhone as well with your crap?
I am so bloody sick of the Windows crowd scaring everyone of some doomsday. It really only happens to your crappy machines. Imagine a security software program not working in the guest modes? Kaspersky and Zone Alarm all caused problems like this. No, Mr. Kaspersky, the best thing to do is not use your software, but change the damn Hardware, where the Malware likes to hangout.
I am really tired of hearing people talk about the Mac/Windows battle way back when that obviously don’t know a thing about it. Learn your history or STFU. Idiot.
He speaks as if Apple discouraged people from writing mac software. WTF. The Mac team INVENTED, yes INVENTED the whole idea of evangelism. At release (well actually before in a confidential way.) And do you know what company established its first real success in applications on that Macintosh? Hint: today their original mac titles live on in a product you may have heard of called “Office.”
Windows won because MS was able to build a mac-like enough experience on top of the existing PC (DOS) standard to keep the corporations who originally bought IBM in its fold.
The parallel today is that APPLE is winning because they’ve been able to leverage the iPod/iTunes ecosystem into a powerful and convenient OS for mobile and consumer computing.
You know who saw the latter coming? Microsoft. They’ve just been clueless about what to do about it.
Why didn’t the mac beat windows way back when? Because MS wasn’t stupid enough to lose their lead. Although Ballmer keeps trying to change this…
“Kaspesrky makes excellent Software that is necessary for millions of Mac users that are required to have AV on their computer in order to use a company’s network or access their servers. Not some open source project- a fully indemnified and supported commercial program.”
It’s not “Necessary”, it’s required by the dolts who run corporate systems because they don’t know any better, and don’t understand the difference between Windows and Unix. We lost our engineer CEO and got an accountant as our new CEO. He brought in a new CTO who’s a Windows-centric idiot. I have NEVER been required to run AV software on my Macs to access corporate via VPN. I’m sure that’ll change in the future as the Windows nazi starts delivering his edicts. The sooner the Windows CMSE world dies the better.
MAybe you don’t need AV software on your Mac, but your company does. Should malware or other online vulnerability harm the company or it’s clients, it could well be legally liable for some or all of the damages. CEOs and CTO/CIOs are paid and held responsible to make sure that all reasonable steps are taken to prevent that from happening.
If you were the CTO/CIO of a public company and didn’t require the use of easily available AV/Malware products and services you could be opening your company to massive financial liability. Maybe it shouldn’t be that way- but it is and is expected.
I have no doubt that Apple makes no comments about the measures they take internally and holds employees to NDAs regarding such things, but would bet that Apple uses AV/Malware software on ALL of it’s servers and networks. You really don’t think they run wide open Mac, Sun and Windows servers in Cupertino- do you?
“Progressive Agent Provocateur”, PAP Smear for short.
Pap, it’s IT drones like you that continue to promote the archaic use of Windows in corporate America. What virus/spyware could come from a Mac system? Your tired rants of the once great and powerful IT community will evaporate like the high paying jobs you once had as Apple decides to go enterprise.
Apple is the best system for all computing, get over it.