Malware for iPhones can range from simple consumer tools like FlexiSpy and mSpy to more powerful spyware like YiSpector and The Hacking Team, which take advantage of flaws in Apple’s business certificates.
The majority of spyware grants the attacker access to email messages, SMS messages, phone calls, GPS position, and a variety of other things. Owners of iPhones and iPads understandably want to protect themselves from spyware, but finding an anti-virus or anti-spyware app on the App Store is tough.
Apple’s Strict Requirements
According to 9to5Mac.com, Apple banned a big number of “anti-virus” programs from its App Store early this year. Although Apple has not issued an official announcement on the policy change, it is likely that these apps were removed due to misrepresentation. According to Apple’s developer guidelines, “apps that read or write data outside its designated container area will be rejected,” which means that any anti-virus or anti-spyware app available on the App Store will be unable to scan other apps or files on the device, effectively rendering them useless.
Anti-Virus Apps That Didn’t Work
Anti-virus and anti-spyware apps that did exist on the App Store did not scan or safeguard the device in the same manner as desktop anti-virus solutions did; instead, the majority of them scanned incoming email messages for harmful attachments. However, “hacking” an iPhone using an email message is nearly hard, and most iPhone malware and viruses require physical access to the device to be installed. It’s also unlikely to identify any viruses or spyware if you installed one of these apps after the device was first hacked.
