From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.advocacy

To keep the discussion together in this canonical thread...

Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone
Subject: Re: Hackers have learned to remotely hack any iPhones running iOS 13 to iOS 17.2.1
Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2026 19:11:59 -0800
Message-ID: <10og521$15pr$[email protected]>

Chris wrote:

This is the reason why you should regularly buy a new iPhone.

The oldest phone that can still run iOS 18 is the XS, which is a 7 yo
phone. So yeah, make sure to buy a new iphone at least every seven years

We've covered this topic before so for those with an open mind, the iPhone
is no more secure than any other phone, which has been proven many times.

The only difference is that Apple brilliantly markets the iPhone as "safe".

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people don't have the educational background or intelligence to separate brilliant marketing from the truth.

No consumer phone is "safe" and neither is safer than the other.
They're different. But both are extremely easily hacked by malefactors.

Android, when hardened, is vastly safer than iOS ever could be; but that's
not useful for most people who don't have a clue how to harden any phone.

It's actually a nice thing though, that Apple's brilliant marketing has
used 'safety' as the reason they locked the iPhone users into a prison.

I've observed that iPhone owners, as a rule, "feel safer" when they're told
by Apple's brilliant marketing that they lost functionality "for their
safety", but Google's project zero & other efforts prove that to be a lie.

We have covered this in gory detail so I'll just reference solid evidence.
Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone,comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: What are the merits of the claim that iOS is "way more secure"?
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2025 12:15:53 -0700
Message-ID: <10ic5d9$2mvn$[email protected]>

Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone,comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: What did Google's project zero really say about Apple never
testing much of their iOS code?
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2025 11:34:16 -0700
Message-ID: <10ic2v8$307u$[email protected]>

Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone,comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: What does the CISA KEV database say about Android/iOS known
critical exploits?
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2025 11:20:58 -0700
Message-ID: <10ic26a$1pu9$[email protected]>

Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone,comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: What does it really mean when an entity chooses iOS or Android as their main platform?
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2025 11:10:02 -0700
Message-ID: <10ic1hq$2ckt$[email protected]>

Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone,comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: Security Is Far More Comprehensive Than Simple Malware Statistics
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2025 22:06:24 -0700
Message-ID: <10iajkh$l9v$[email protected]>

Those threads were researched so that this endless discussion of the myths
that the iPhone is somehow (magically?) safer, could be put to rest.
--
Only one in a million people truly understand heavily marketed products.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.advocacy

Keeping the comprehensive-security posts together for reference...

Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone
Subject: Re: Hackers have learned to remotely hack any iPhones running iOS 13 to iOS 17.2.1
Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2026 19:50:40 -0800
Message-ID: <10og7ah$22v8$[email protected]>

MummyChunk wrote:

Google experts found a large set of vulnerabilities in Apple smartphones.

The OP didn't post a reference so it's hard to tell what's going on.

Looking it up, the references might be any of the following in recent news reports, but to save effort in the future, the OP should reference a link.

*Coruna iPhone Exploit:*
*Google Warns of Advanced iOS Hack Targeting Older Devices*
*Security experts warned that outdated iOS versions*
*could pave the way for an iOS exploit.*

<https://www.techtimes.com/articles/314957/20260303/coruna-iphone-exploit-google-warns-advanced-ios-hack-targeting-older-devices.htm>

*This iOS 'Exploit' Kit Can Hack Vulnerable iPhones Using 23 Different Attacks*

<https://www.pcmag.com/news/this-ios-exploit-kit-can-hack-vulnerable-iphones-using-23-different-attacks>
"Security researchers discover the 'Coruna' exploit kit running on
malicious Chinese websites that were able to secretly hack vulnerable
iPhones running iOS 13 to 17.2.1."

*A suite of government hacking tools targeting iPhones is now being used
by cybercriminals*

<https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/03/a-suite-of-government-hacking-tools-targeting-iphones-is-now-being-used-by-cybercriminals/>
"Security researchers have identified a suite of powerful hacking tools
capable of compromising iPhones running older software that they say
has passed from a government customer into the hands of cybercriminals."

It's useful to keep in mind no computer platform is safe, and in the mobile device world, neither iOS nor Android is "more safe" than the other.

They're different.
But neither is safer.

It's only Apple marketing that claims iOS is safer, and even then, it's
mainly the brilliant justification for locking iOS owners into a prison.

There is no bona fide security professional on the planet, that anyone on
this newsgroup has ever found to claim that iOS is safer than Android.

That's because it's not.

But what hurts iOS is that iOS full support is far shorter than Android
full support when we look at Apple's main two competitors to the iPhone.
a. Samsung Galaxy
b. Google Pixel

But when you lump in *all* Android devices, then the picture changes.
Yet, all Android 10+ phones are updated monthly, for the core modules.
--
Only one in a million people truly understand heavily marketed products.
That's because very few people have the background to question the myths.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.advocacy

Keeping the topic together... for future reference...

Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone
Subject: Re: Hackers have learned to remotely hack any iPhones running iOS 13 to iOS 17.2.1
Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2026 19:50:47 -0800
Message-ID: <10og7ap$23eg$[email protected]>

Your Name wrote:

This is the reason why you should regularly buy a new iPhone.

Complete bollocks and scaremongering, as usual. :-\

While the OP didn't provide a reference for us to find the specifics...

There is some truth to that 'scaremongering', but as Chris already noted,
it has to be an old iPhone that no longer gets all known security fixes.
<https://support.apple.com/en-us/100100>

Since we're on this newsgroup to factually discuss the iPhone, it's
important to note that, compared to Android, iOS has very severe issues
when it comes to how Apple summarily drops the iPhone from full support.

Unlike every other common consumer operating system, Apple never in its
entire history has fully supported more than a single release at a time.

Even today, Windows 10 is still fully supported (for security fixes).
But that's not how Apple security bugfix support works.

Unlike every common consumer operating system out there... only Apple
only fully supports a single release (on both macOS & on iOS/iPadOS).

Note that every consumer operating system OEM extends belated support to
older devices, but it's not full support, and it's not a written promise.
<https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/01/apple-patches-ancient-ios-versions-to-keep-imessage-facetime-other-services-working>

Even Apple will sometimes update an older OS version when the need arises.
<https://techtwisted.com/news/apple-extends-security-support-critical-patches-released-for-legacy-iphones-and-macs/>

As far as I'm aware, of all common consumer operating systems, only Android
10+ phones are nowadays updated forever (via Project Mainline), but even
so, that's not full security support, either. It's monthly patches forever.
--
When I discuss security on Apple newsgroups, I tell it like it is, which
rarely turns out to be how Apple's brilliant marketing 'claims' it is.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.advocacy

But honestly: did we expect anything different from him?

Didn't you promised not to change your posting nym for a while, Arlen?


On 2025-12-21 21:06, Marian wrote:

Tyrone said:

 e. You and I use completely different definitions of phone "security"
    etc.

Yes.  I use multiple sites (some that YOU provided in your attempt to
show
that Android is more secure) that ALL show that the vast majority of
security
issues/malware happen on Android.  You use a single site that says iOS
had 3
more zero-day patches than Android last year.  Even with that, iOS is
STILL
way less likely to be infected. Thus, iOS is way more secure than
Android.
So obviously, you are going to continue your absurd, undocumented
claims.  No
one is shocked. As you stated, ignoring facts is not what adults do.

No serious security expert claims "iOS is way more secure".
There isn't one in the entire world, in fact, that you can find.

--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.advocacy

On 2026-03-07 11:17, Alan wrote:

But honestly: did we expect anything different from him?

Didn't you promised not to change your posting nym for a while, Arlen?

On 2025-12-21 21:06, Marian wrote:

Tyrone said:

 e. You and I use completely different definitions of phone "security" >>>>     etc.

Yes.  I use multiple sites (some that YOU provided in your attempt to
show
that Android is more secure) that ALL show that the vast majority of
security
issues/malware happen on Android.  You use a single site that says
iOS had 3
more zero-day patches than Android last year.  Even with that, iOS is
STILL
way less likely to be infected. Thus, iOS is way more secure than
Android.
So obviously, you are going to continue your absurd, undocumented
claims.  No
one is shocked. As you stated, ignoring facts is not what adults do.

No serious security expert claims "iOS is way more secure".
There isn't one in the entire world, in fact, that you can find.

Apologies!

The narcissist didn't renege. He just revived a thread that hadn't seen
a post in two and a half months.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.advocacy

On Mar 6, 2026 at 8:52:23 PM MST, "Maria Sophia" wrote <10og7do$25p1$[email protected]>:

There is no bona fide security professional on the planet, that anyone on this newsgroup has ever found to claim that iOS is safer than Android.

This is a lie.
--
It's impossible for someone who is at war with themselves to be at peace with you.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.advocacy

On 2026-03-08 05:37:18 +0000, Brock McNuggets said:

On Mar 6, 2026 at 8:52:23 PM MST, "Maria Sophia" wrote <10og7do$25p1$[email protected]>:

There is no bona fide security professional on the planet, that anyone on
this newsgroup has ever found to claim that iOS is safer than Android.

This is a lie.

As usual, since the "Maria Sophia" (and various other posting names
used) is nothing but a brainless name-changing know-nothing troll best
ignored / killfiled by everyone with common sense.


--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.advocacy

I get it that Apple owners believe that Apple locked them into their prison ecosystem "for their safety" simply because Apple marketing told them that.

And yet, there is no safety.
So maybe Apple's real motive wasn't safety after all.

Think about that.
I also get it why nobody can find a single bona fide security professional
who will claim that all of iOS is more secure than all of Android is.

Even I wouldn't claim that all of Android is more secure than all of iOS. They're both insecure. In different ways. As neither is secure.

Yet, Apple marketing is brilliant in their propaganda to the contrary.

Hence I get it that many journalists believe the rather brilliant Apple marketing propaganda that the iPhone is somehow (magically?) safer.

Security is a long chain of events, where one link being more secure is how Marketing gets away with their claims, but it's not how security works.

Every link of the chain must be more secure for the claim to hold overall.
As one more secure link is almost meaningless when the rest are insecure.

I also get it that, due to the prison system Apple wardens, the one metric which Android will have more of due to app freedom, is malware statistics.

So that's one link in the long chain of security where iOS does win.
The freedom of Android not being in a prison system adds that insecurity.

But when you count almost every other metric, from zero days to Apple's
lack of code testing coverage to known important exploits, iOS has no
advantage whatsoever over Android, and, in fact, often is far worse.

While we've discussed all those facts above in detail in the past, with references backing them up, maybe the lovers of the prison ecosystem can
back up their claims that they can find even a single bona fide security professional who claims with evidence that iOS is 'safer' than Android is.

If those who love the Apple prison ecosystem have a reference, I'll read
it, but that reference must be from bona fide security professionals.
--
I will not respond to anything from Snit or Alan Baker for obvious reasons.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.advocacy

On 2026-03-08 08:58, Maria Sophia wrote:

I get it that Apple owners believe that Apple locked them into their prison ecosystem "for their safety" simply because Apple marketing told them that. And yet, there is no safety.
So maybe Apple's real motive wasn't safety after all.
Think about that.
I also get it why nobody can find a single bona fide security professional who will claim that all of iOS is more secure than all of Android is.

Note the goalpost shift from:

"There is no bona fide security professional on the planet, that anyone
on this newsgroup has ever found to claim that iOS is safer than Android."

To:

"I also get it why nobody can find a single bona fide security
professional who will claim that ALL of iOS is more secure than ALL of
Android is."

Arlen can never play it honestly.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2