Apple's App Store: Walled Garden Doesn't Completely Protect Against Fake Apps

I'm not a fan of walled gardens controlled by DRM and in fact I despise them. This is something that Apple uses widely in all of its products, with examples including iPod syncing requiring iTunes to work and iPhone apps only being buyable from the App Store - jailbroken iPhones are of course refreshingly free of this restriction. The effect of this is to restrict consumer choice and tends to push up prices as consumers have nowhere else to go in this monopoly market. However, when it comes to the App Store, it does have one benefit: the pre-screening that Apple does for every app means that they are of a certain quality and at least won't contain malware or commit fraud.

Well, usually.

Check out the Netflix login screens from the article picture. Look similar, don't they? The left is the real thing, the right a fake. Unfortunately, unlike your typical spam email with all its typos, bad grammar and other dead giveaways, unless you were already familiar with the Netflix login screen, you wouldn't be any the wiser, even if you're normally pretty sharp at spotting scams.

Fake apps and plagiarized apps are a hot topic these days, as there's a lot of dishonest people trying to scam others in this market and while Apple is very proactive in pulling stuff like this, it isn't perfect. Other examples include "version 4.0" of Camera+ which gained access last month, but was busted as a fake. The real app was only at version 2.4. Also, a developer called Anton Sinelnikov was reported by The Guardian as writing many fake apps. For example, he ripped off Plants vs. Zombies with Plants vs. Zombie and several others, along with Temple Jump a complete rip-off of Temple Run, a free five star game. This last one is interesting, because the developer of Temple Run, Imangi Studios, tweeted that Apple had pulled other fake apps by Sinelnikov, but not Temple Jump. Presumably, he's not too happy about the fake. However, the real problem that I can see for copycats, is where they don't give credit to the original, that they're copying. After all, there is truth in the saying imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and it only boosts interest in the original product - but credit and a referral to the original must be given.

So, how to spot such fake apps? Here's a couple of tips, as PCWorld explains:

• You should always be discerning when it comes to what applications you install on your computing devices, even if they come from the Apple App Store. Even malicious code has made it in.
  
• Before downloading anything from Apple or the Android Market, take a good look at the reviews other users are giving. Since disgruntled mobile users are usually quick to give feedback on apps, don't ever download anything with a one- or two-star rating.

Indeed, it's good common sense and even if the above has been followed and something still doesn't feel right, you should follow your gut instinct and perhaps run it past a friend.

So, it looks like Apple should be more vigilant in its screening process too. Perhaps it should demand that all source code be inspected for every approval, before the app is allowed in?

Source: PCWorld