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Hackulous closure prompts rise of portals that allow bootleg iOS apps without a jailbreak
The somewhat unexpected shutdown of Hackulous' community, and the corresponding departure of related tools like Apptrackr and Installous, left iOS app pirates in something of a panic: many of those who jailbroke their devices expressly for ill-gotten goods suddenly lost one of their main sources. While they haven't earned much sympathy, they've also triggered a surge in services that don't require a jailbreak at all. Months-old pay service Zeusmos has seen a spike in popularity, but more recent upstart Kuaiyong is drawing the most attention. It's offering others' commercial releases through the web, for free -- and on a scale into the thousands of bootleg installs per app, suggesting that it may be abusing enterprise policies rather than Zeusmos' apparent reliance on developer slots. There's no immediate sign of a crackdown, but those app writers concerned about their revenue might take consolation in knowing that the risks might outweigh the rewards. iTunes syncing breaks the moment a pirated app reaches a device, and there's no guarantee that every copy will be malware-free. Zeusmos also claims to be clamping down on questionable sources in an attempt to steer users towards homebrew apps. Even with those disclaimers, it's still possible that Hackulous' end may have created more problems for some developers than it solved.
New services allow app piracy without jailbreaking
With the fall of app piracy tool Installous and the seemingly difficult-to-jailbreak iOS 6 holding its own, it might appear that those who prefer to pirate apps rather than pay for them would be having a rough time. According to TNW, that's simply not the case. Thanks to a pair of services which have recently risen to prominence, users can pirate paid software without even worrying about jailbreaking. Zeusmos and Kuaiyong are the two programs in question. Zeusmos charges users of jailbreak-free devices for the privilege of using its "cloud plan." The service provides free licenses and provisioning profiles for paid apps, allowing pirated versions of the software to run on just about any device. Kuaiyong is a Chinese service which allows the install of paid apps via an online tool. As TNW notes, the service appears to be using bulk enterprise licenses for the apps, with the same set of credentials being used over and over again for many users. Since posting the story, the creator of Zeusmos reached out to TNW to plead his case, insisting that Zeusmos is only intended to be used to code-sign apps for use in testing or outside the App Store. But whatever the claimed intent, it's clear that both of these services are keeping app piracy alive and well. It probably goes without saying, but using either of these services not only cheats app developers out of their livelihood, but could also lead to malicious software being installed on your devices. Without any kind of security measures in place to police and verify the apps being distributed, you're playing a dangerous game of roulette by engaging in such activity.
