{"id":3147,"date":"2011-07-13T11:46:38","date_gmt":"2011-07-13T10:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.darknet.org.uk\/?p=3147"},"modified":"2015-09-09T19:37:10","modified_gmt":"2015-09-09T11:37:10","slug":"french-company-intego-release-first-iphone-malware-scanner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.darknet.org.uk\/2011\/07\/french-company-intego-release-first-iphone-malware-scanner\/","title":{"rendered":"French Company Intego Release First iPhone Malware Scanner"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is quite an interesting story as it’s very closely related to the story we published earlier this week – Malicious PDF Files To Exploit iPhone & iPad Zero Day In The Wild<\/a>. Hot on the tail of that news is the first-ever malware scanning app for iOS devices (iPhone\/iPad etc) from a French security company called Intego.<\/p>\n

The odd thing is the app can’t scan the filesystem of the device due to the iOS<\/a> sandbox – but it can scan remotely hosted files (e-mail attachments, files in your Dropbox account and on on).<\/p>\n

It’ll be interesting to see what kind of response this app gets and if people will be interested in purchasing it.<\/p>\n

A French security company known for its Mac OS X antivirus software today released the first malware-scanning app for the iPhone and iPad and iPod Touch. Intego’s VirusBarrier for iOS has been approved by Apple, and debuted on the App Store Tuesday for $2.99.<\/p>\n

Because iOS prevents the program from accessing the file system or conducting automatic or scheduled scans — as do virtually all Mac and Windows antivirus software — VirusBarrier must be manually engaged, and then scans only file attachments and files on remote servers, said Peter James, a spokesman for Intego.<\/p>\n

“Because of the sandbox, you can’t scan the file system,” said James. “Since you don’t see the iOS file system, the only things you can scan are attachments sent by email or files in, say, your Dropbox folder.”<\/p>\n

Unlike software written for Android — such as Lookout, from the San Francisco-based company by the same name — VirusBarrier cannot scan apps for possible infection. When an email attachment is received by the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, the user can intercede by calling on VirusBarrier, which then scans the file for possible infection before the file is opened or forwarded to others.<\/p>\n

“We’ve had enterprise customers say that although they know you can’t do a full system scan of an iPhone, they don’t like the fact that files go through these devices and end up on a Mac or Windows PC,” said James. “They want their users to be able to check that an attachment is safe.” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It also can’t scan apps for possible infection, which is kind of weak – but I guess it’s supportive of the walled garden approach implemented by Apple<\/a>. Seen as though all official apps are vetted by Apple there shouldn’t be any infections anyway (unless the user executed a JailBreak<\/a> their device).<\/p>\n

Symantec did make some kind of push into the iOS market in October 2010, but I’m not sure what came of it – Symantec Expands Security Products To Cover Android & iOS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With the whole model Apple is running on the iOS platform – there honestly isn’t that many vectors for attack.<\/p>\n