Just in time for the holiday shopping season, the iOS App Store is seeing a deluge of fake shopping apps branding themselves with designer names in hopes of trapping gullible buyers. Apple is now stepping in to remove the counterfeit apps, which are sneaking in by changing the content after Apple’s approval or by resubmitting apps under different names and credentials after being outed as fraudulent. After reports of apps using reputable companies’ names to shill their fake wares in the App Store surfaced in the and, Apple removed hundreds of offenders. But hucksters keep coming back: The Times found that an app called Overstock Inc. Was trying to convince shoppers that it was Overstock.com by selling clothes and Ugg boots. In October of 2016, the number of apps removed from the App Store increased by 238 percent, with Apple purging a total of 47,300 apps throughout the month. The new ban extends to all Apple platforms. Firefox upgrade for windows 10. In March, Apple removed Calendar 2 from the Mac App Store after the app began mining cryptocurrency on people’s devices in exchange for premium. Download quickbooks 2011 for mac. ![]() Apple killed the app, only to see it return the next day, because sketchy developers are finding new ways to bypass the company’s traditionally tough app review process. But the company is doing its best to crack down on developers who use existing brands’ names to submit fake apps, an Apple spokesperson told the Times. “We strive to offer customers the best experience possible, and we take their security very seriously,” said Apple’s Tom Neumayr. ”We’ve set up ways for customers and developers to flag fraudulent or suspicious apps, which we promptly investigate to ensure the App Store is safe and secure. We’ve removed these offending apps and will continue to be vigilant about looking for apps that might put our users at risk.” Shopper beware So what’s the harm of installing a fake app? If you try to buy a product, at best you’ll be frustrated by app crashes or annoying pop-up ads. At worst, you’ll hand over your credit card info to a sketchy company and never receive the item you ordered. How to tell if a retail app is legit: How many reviews does it have? How many previous versions have been released? Does the language sound like it was written by an adult professional with a good grasp of English? ![]() If any of the above seem suspect, go to the store’s website and see if you can find an App Store link directly from the source. ITunes for PC and Mac is putting the emphasis back on being an app for music. It’s no longer a place for you to get iOS apps, but it’s still got movies, TV shows, audiobooks, and podcasts. Today, Apple quietly released iTunes version 12.7 for both Windows and macOS, and the most immediate change is that it no longer contains any options for syncing apps or ringtones to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. “If you previously used iTunes to sync apps or ringtones on your iOS device, use the new App Store or Sounds Settings on iOS to redownload them without your Mac,” Apple tells users in the update prompt. Apple says that even after this update, apps and ringtones that “are no longer available for redownload” can still be synced by plugging in your iOS device, so I’m guessing (read: I hope) this remains a way of transferring over custom ringtones. Additionally, the duplicate of the iOS App Store that was previously part of iTunes has been removed completely. It’s just gone. Goodbye to all this. In recent years, Apple has constantly taken criticism over the bloated, jack-of-all-trades/master-of-none piece of software that iTunes has become. This appears to be at least one significant step in streamlining iTunes and bringing it back around to the app’s original purpose. Apple has also simplified things elsewhere, noting that iTunes U content is now included in the Podcasts section of the app, and internet radio stations are in the music library sidebar. All of the changes are. This move accomplishes two things for Apple. For one, it directs users to the completely redesigned App Store coming in iOS 11 that has a much bigger editorial focus. Second, cutting out the App Store should make a much easier task. Who knows if it’ll actually make the iTunes app itself any better or faster, but at least it’s getting more efficient.
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