Is IOS Security software needed?

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I have read that IOS devices do not need security software bc iOS is safe due to sandboxing, and Apple is ‘pretty’ good about keeping malicious apps out of the App Store.  As long as you keep your iOS updated*, practice safe habits online and do not jailbreak, should be ok. Plus, any iOS security software doesn’t really get into the os to detect viruses,etc. it’s not like Android or Windows security software.  Looking for opinions on that and what others are doing for iOS  security, if anything.

* I have not updated to iOS 13 yet bc it has been so problematic, hoping they get it together soon!!  Why should only Windows users have all the fun?

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We use Norton on our PC, Mac OSX, and also have it on the i-Devices. Only upside to using it for our iphones and ipads is when looking to hook up with WiFi outside of the home router, this is when the VPN comes in handy. The VPN gets disabled on those iDevices when we don’t need it. It seems to interfere with the iCloud backup process and I’ve crashed when it’s active. The latter happens frequently on the iphone and ipad, not sure why, but when it’s disabled on our phones and tablets everything works and runs great. Initially I thought it was our apps so I took one off at a time before realizing it was in fact the VPN through the Norton security. So basically we like Norton on the desktop and Mac, it’s the iphone and ipad that don’t play well with it, and unless we need to connect securely on the outside, it stays disabled. You’re correct, staying updated with the iOS is important and helps to ensure safety. We are on iOS 12.4.1 and won’t update until iOS 13 proves to be more stable. Hope this helps.

MacOS iPadOS and sometimes SOS

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Nathan Parker, dmt_3904

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I agree with what you say to the extent that there is no useful alternative anyway, so you need to hope that IOS is built secure enough and that no zero-day gets exploited at large too fast. An IOS antivirus would in all likelihood get bypassed by an iMessage vulnerability, for example.

IOS is simpler than Windows, built on a better foundation for security and probably built more with security in mind from the start. There are far less potential for issues to be exploited on it than Windows and the user and apps can’t do a lot of the things that installed software can do on Windows, plus the App store is filtering (imperfectly) code that you can install on it. If you stick with well-known applications with no ad components, your risk is lower.

The antivirus on an IOS device can’t really do much that would be useful, so although those devices don’t benefit from the real-time protection that you would get form an anti-malware on Windows, they are, history tells and if it is worth anything, less likely to be infected in the first place if you keep it updated (btw I would upgrade to IOS13 now or soon to stay patched), practice safe browsing and of course don’t jailbreak.

You  might want to experiment with scripts/ad blockers to tame down some of the most annoying ads and javascript risks instead of an antivirus, but it can also create issues with your browsing.

What are you people using as extensions to Safari on IOS?

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Nathan Parker, Myst

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I don’t have any extensions to Safari (or FF). I have been mostly using FF recently as of a couple months.  I do constantly (obsessively, compulsively) : ) clear history & website data in Safari & under Data Management in FF to get rid of any cookies, trackers, etc.

Would also like to hear what others are using as asked by Alex.

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AlexEiffel, Nathan Parker, Myst

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AlexEiffel wrote:

What are you people using as extensions to Safari on IOS?

I don’t use any Safari extensions. I have Google as my search engine, had tried Google Chrome app but decided to ditch it. And FWIW, I’m also obsessive when it comes to clearing Safari history. I will be looking into some of the apps Nathan and others mention here on this thread. Great info, thanks.

MacOS iPadOS and sometimes SOS

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AlexEiffel, Nathan Parker

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[dmt_3904]

Glad to hear I am not alone in my obsessiveness

Donna

 

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by dmt_3904.

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Nathan Parker, Myst

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[Alex5723]

dmt_3904 wrote:

Looking for opinions on that and what others are doing for iOS  security, if anything.

I am using iPhone and iPad devices for 9 years and running beta versions of iOS for long too and have never installed nor needed an A/V application. In my opinion iOS doesn’t need an A/V app.
The only “security” app i use is Lockdown (sort of privacy firewall vpn) : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lockdown-apps/id1469783711

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by Alex5723.

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AlexEiffel, Nathan Parker, Myst

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You cannot run “complete” security software on iOS. iOS is sandboxed, and there isn’t a way to run traditional security software on iOS.

Here are some security and privacy apps for iOS that are useful:

• VPN: Secures you on public Wi-Fi by encrypting your connection. I’ve found WiTopia to be good using their Cisco IPSec VPN setup.
• Scam Call Blocker: Blocks scammers from calling you. I’ve found RoboKiller to offer the best one.
• Password Manager: A place to generate and store secure passwords, plus other records. I personally use 1Password.
• Ad Blocker: A way to block ads in Safari on iOS: Firefox Focus and Malwarebytes are two good ones. For Malwarebytes, you only need the free version.

Nathan Parker

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AlexEiffel, Myst, dmt_3904

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Thanks for the info !

 

Is any of the VPNs recommended here : https://the-bestvpn.com/vpn-iphone/ worth trying ?

 

Paying 5$ / month for an app is super expensive from my point of view…yet, I’m not sure a free VPN is safe enough ? What do you think ? Any good free (or cheap) VPN to recommend ?

 

Thanks in advance

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Nathan what do you think of security of  1password?   What if they get hacked? How secure are they?  Too many data breaches!  I see the value in a pw manager, but am nervous about security. Donna

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Nathan Parker

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You want to use a paid service. I don’t trust the free ones. I’ve heard about how the free ones have sold user data for advertising.

You can pay by the year with most of these services and save money. Think of it as similar to paying for an annual antivirus subscription.

I’ve had great luck with WiTopia. Always worked solid over Cisco IPSec.

I’ve also used Private Internet Access which has worked well too, but with not as “flashy” as an interface.

I’ve thought about taking a trial of Verizon Secure Wi-Fi or Webroot Wi-Fi Security just to compare.

The only reason I may let my VPN subscription lapse is I haven’t been using Public Wi-Fi in a while. I have a solid cellular plan on my iPhone and good coverage, plus cellular on my iPad Pro and mobile hotspot on my iPhone. I’d likely use my own cellular connections over Public Wi-Fi, so letting my VPN subscription lapse until or unless I am heavily using Public Wi-Fi again might save me some money.

Nathan Parker

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Myst

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Has anyone tried NordVPN? It gets good reviews and I’m aware of a data breach recently with Nord but they claim to be firing back with tougher security. Everything I’ve read so far about them is good, no logging policy, but some reports say they don’t have the speed other top rated VPNs have. I went to the App Store and read reviews about Express VPN and not as impressive as Nord. Operating on one eye open here so will check back in a few hours.

MacOS iPadOS and sometimes SOS

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Nathan Parker

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NordVPN definitely looks like a good option. It’s the one I might choose !

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Nathan Parker, Myst

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I bought a NordVPN subscription a couple months ago.   I paid for the three-year plan because it  works out to $3 per month.   You cannot get a refund after 30 days.  I want to use it when traveling in on public Wi-Fi.   Of course you can stick to HTTPS but there are new security  issues  with that because bad actors are  setting up their sites as secure.    Nord does seem to slow things down.   And some sites won’t work when you’re on the VPN. But  I figure a vpn gives me some protection.

 

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Nathan Parker, Myst

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dmt_3904 wrote:

And some sites won’t work when you’re on the VPN. But  I figure a vpn gives me some protection.

Can you give an example of a site that doesn’t work with Nord, and what problem you encountered? I read where Nord now works with Netflix VPN “roadblocks”. Once upon a time Netflix blocked it. Here’s a link I found but I question anything that states one thing or another is 100 percent foolproof. https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/nordvpn-can-used-unblock-netflix-heres/

MacOS iPadOS and sometimes SOS

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Nathan Parker

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No I don’t have any specific sites.   It was just during the normal usage of the vpn  When I tried to access a site it would either say out right that it was blocked or it would take a really long time to load  or using this site would be very slow.   I have not tried Netflix or streaming since I don’t have streaming services.    If I find a specific site where I get a block I’ll post back here.    I definitely saw a degradation in speed, though not 100% of the time.    And I’m not technical enough to understand how this works, but some sites recognize when you’re on a VPN and they don’t like it.   Like I said I feel like it offers some protection when on public Wi-Fi vs. nothing.   I always try to avoid ever entering passwords when on public WiFi,  Also, I could just stick to sites that are HTTPS but you have to be careful about those too, try to validate the certificate and ensure the URL is correct.

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Nathan Parker, Myst

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I’ve tried and liked the speed of the Proxy Unlimited VPN free app but it keeps a data log as noted on several sites when comparing VPNs. Your info is shared with third parties. Norton VPN is part of my subscription for the PC and Mac for now, so I added our 3 Apple devices to it since I paid for the 5 device AV. But after random crashing on the iPhone and iPad I disabled it. It also interferes with iCloud backup and other apps. This is why I’m now looking into other paid VPN apps. Express VPN gets great reviews on sites like PC Mag and TechRadar. But when I went to the Apple Store to check it out there were some recent reviews that made me think of checking into other vpn apps like Nord. I’ll keep looking and in the meantime I am going to consider updating to iOS 13.2.3 as recommended by several people. iOS 13.3 should be released by the end of this month, hopefully. After I update to the latest I’m going to install a paid VPN and will post info here at this thread

MacOS iPadOS and sometimes SOS

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Nathan Parker

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Thank you for your answer, I think I’ll pay for one…cheap one, if I can find one

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Nathan Parker

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Nathan Parker wrote:

The only reason I may let my VPN subscription lapse is I haven’t been using Public Wi-Fi in a while. I have a solid cellular plan on my iPhone and good coverage,

Which is good enough as long as you trust your data carrier, from local basestations on up.

That’s not a given, at least not always and everywhere… and local microcells can be a particular bother. It really hasn’t always been difficult enough to set up a fake one.

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Nathan Parker

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Thanks everyone for the questions and comments. Here are my responses:

• In terms of Safari “extensions” for iOS, I use two for ad-blocking: Firefox Focus and Malwarebytes. Both have done well on ad-blocking. I tried Malwarebytes Premium for iOS, but I don’t use enough of the features to warrant the subscription, so I’m allowing it to lapse and downgrade to Free. I prefer RoboKiller for scam call blocking instead.
• I quit using Google as my default search engine a while back (I’ve never been a major Google fan and only use what few services with them I have to). For a while, I used Bing. Lately, I’ve been using DuckDuckGo due to its additional privacy enhancements. So Far DuckDuckGo has met my needs and even found stuff I couldn’t find on the other major search engines for school research.
• I keep wanting to try Lockdown but forgetting to try it. It’s on my list to do. I need to try it soon.
• In terms of 1Password, I like it over LastPass, and it’s more full-featured than iCloud Keychain (iCloud Keychain was a little overly basic for my needs). I’m using the subscription plan and storing my content in the 1Password Cloud, and so far, there hasn’t been any major breach, and my data has been safe for now. 1Password has a section on their website concerning security and privacy. There is a version of 1Password that is still around I believe where you can choose where you share your data (iCloud, 1Password, or not in the cloud at all). I use the subscription/cloud version due to my multi-device usage, but the other option is good to know its there.
• I’ve heard good about NordVPN but never used it. I don’t recall ever having sites blocked with WiTopia or Private Internet Access. I’ve occasionally had a slow site on VPN’s if I was on a slow connection, or sites acted a little “wonky” if I was logged in with a non-US server (I had tried a couple of international servers for fun, and some websites would pop up the “non-US access message”), but overall, performance and site compatibility have been well. Here’s my WiTopia referral link if anyone is interested: https://my.personalvpn.com/ref/r6vhtAXH
• In terms of using 4G over Public Wi-Fi, I don’t 100% trust any cellular provider or ISP, but I’d generally rather use 4G over Public Wi-Fi. I’ve tried running VPN’s over 4G, but the experience isn’t great. The work I do over 4G is generally OK even if there were a security issue, and I do have my work’s VPN if I needed to secure my work connections and route my work over their VPN.

Nathan Parker

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AlexEiffel, Alex5723, Myst

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