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App Store Top Free Charts Manupulated by Fake Downloads from Bot-Farm Companies
(107 posts) (24 voices)-
letmeknow
Memberlol @Birkemose, you are one of the best developers in this forum, but the way you think about this is like a farmer in 3rd world. Just simply write an app with scheduler read a link from a website point to the requested app; similar to review/rating & download it. You don't need to download the whole app, just download for several seconds & cut.
For iTunes, if I download a few bytes & resume a week later, it still work, even the app change its price, I don't have to pay more to get what I downloaded.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Posted 3 months ago # -
bradparks
Memberfor what it's worth, I still think the automated download approach could be working.... all it would have to mean is that the hackers would have to have a ton of accounts, and that they've also found an exploit so they don't have to download the actual files.
e.g.
- keyloggers on people's pc's or mac's log their username and password for itunes when they go to login
- the hackers don't need to create accounts.... they use real people's accounts.
- they know of an exploit with itunes that either a) lets them automate the login/start download process using itunes and cancel it automatically or b) lets them just hit an url when logged into itunes that marks the file as downloaded, without even needing to navigate in itunes at all.and all big companies, no matter how big, have bugs and exploits in their systems..... so it could be happening like this too....
Posted 3 months ago # -
To be objective:
1. We know botnets exist, presumably they are capable of downloading a given app from iTunes.
2. There is very likely a commercial demand for such a system - the rewards of being in the charts are known to us all.
3. Given Apples record with policing the app store (I'd argue pretty spotty, especially with clones and such) they likely don't have anything in place to detect bot purchases. And if they did, it would be in a continual arms race with whoever runs these things.
4. I've certainly seen some dubious things in the chart - apps with 4 star ratings but hundreds of 1 star reviews and nothing else. I don't know the name of the last one I saw but often they're ones that claim to be able to locate other people's phones (pre 'find your friends').I guess in summary, this may well be happening, apple may or may not be fighting it, and may or may not be winning. We don't have the hard data to prove it either way.
One thing that is clear is that the app store sales are too heavily weighted towards chart position. It would be in developers and Apple's best interests if they could spread the wealth a bit more evenly.
Posted 3 months ago # -
@Birkemose That's a good point, no-one knows for sure what's in Apples ranking algorithm except the Grand High Exalted Mystic Poobah of Ranks and Fudgery.
But logically, if they count them in the daily sales totals you receive from them, it would make sense that those totals are used in their ranking.
Posted 3 months ago # -
PurveyorAppo
MemberWhat's this? http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/08/apple-restores-qihoo-360-mobile-apps-in-the-app-store/ related?
Posted 3 months ago # -
According to a post on TA: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90778/7722938.html
Beijing-based Qihoo 360, China's biggest online security firm, blamed the removal to unusual activity in user ratings. It suspected Kingsoft Corp of being involved in the activity and said it was ready to sue Kingsoft. Beijing-based Kingsoft was not available to comment yesterday.
LOL. Bot farm being used as an offensive weapon?
Posted 3 months ago # -
Well I guess a CAPTCHA would help here. If apple puts a human check like this then this problem is officially over.
Posted 3 months ago #
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