The Sandbox Is Not Optional on iOS

From a post at ReadWriteWeb by Dan Rowinski on Lookout, a “security” app for the iPhone:

Lookout has created an app that is as simple as the iPhone. It is lightweight, easy to use and works. In terms of malware, Lookout can add its Android-style virus detector if iOS is ever drowned in malware.

No, it can’t. App Store apps can only read and write to the file system within their own sandbox. They can’t examine other apps, nor the data of other apps. There will never be third-party antivirus software in the App Store so long as the sandboxing rules remain in place. And so long as the sandboxing rules remain in place, there shouldn’t need to be.

We can argue about whether you should run anti-malware software on your Mac. But it can’t even exist on non-jailbroken iOS devices.

★ Wednesday, 19 October 2011