Virus protection for the iPhone: useful or unnecessary?

Is virus protection for the iPhone useful or rather unnecessary? We answer this question in the following article.

Virus protection on the iPhone: How secure is iOS

The operating system of your iPhone is basically protected against viruses. The closed environment with its hidden file system makes it much harder for hackers to plant a virus there compared to a Windows PC or Android smartphone.

• In addition, you download your apps exclusively from the App Store. Apple scrutinises every piece of software. New applications are only released for use if everything is in order.

• Unlike Windows and Android, with iOS you don’t have to worry about viruses and other pests damaging your system or making it unusable.

• However, your data is not always necessarily in a safe place even on iOS. For example, in 2019, a major security flaw was discovered in iOS that gave hackers access to a wide range of sensitive data, such as contact details and WhatsApp chats.

The hacker’s favourite: the jailbreak

Tamper with the system by jailbreaking it, you open the door for hackers to access your smartphone.

• The file system is exposed here and is particularly vulnerable to malicious attacks. What a jailbreak is and what you should know about it, you will learn in the following video.

• By modifying your operating system, you don’t just unlock locked features. You can also install software that is not from the App Store. It is unclear whether these files are safe. This makes it easy for malware to get in.

• In the past, for example, the Trojan “TinyV” made it onto numerous iOS devices. Many users use the jailbreak to download game apps for free. A well-known paid game was offered illegally in the jailbreak store “Cydia” and was also infected with a Trojan.
  The NSA has also gained access to several iPhones in the past with the tool “Pegasus”. This was also only possible thanks to a jailbreak. However, the method was extremely complex and can no longer be used today.

  Virus protection for the iPhone: Really useful?

  If you search for virus protection apps in the App Store, you will hardly find anything.

  • Apple’s iOS operating system is locked down so that only verified content has access. As things stand, the threat from a virus is not realistic.
  • A virus protection is therefore not needed. To convey this image, Apple also no longer offers anti-virus apps at all. Apps like Avira Antivirus and Virus Barrier were removed from the Store after a short time. They were not really useful on iOS anyway.
  • The situation is different after installing a jailbreak. The jailbreak is supposed to open up precisely this closed nature of iOS. Although this makes the system individually configurable, it also makes it much more insecure.