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May 25, 2007
Apollo ain't casual
Apollo ain't casual: Maybe I'm worrying over nothing here, but casual downloads of Apollo apps worry me. These are actual applications, which can read and write your local file drive. You need to know and trust the creator, and all the chains in the distribution process before that code reached your machine. The link goes to Webware.com, which talks about the astonishing 4-of-10 Apollo pack at Digg API contest, but I've seen other posts recently about Apollo galleries and such. I suspect these are all safe today, but would eventually grow into a target for malware. Apollo apps are web apps -- Flash, Ajax -- which have additional security privileges. What you can see in an Apollo app should be very close to what you can preview in a more restricted environment in a browser. Galleries seem like they should have in-browser versions for test-drives, with Apollo versions only for those who really need the desktop functionality, and who are willing to grant file-access privileges. Does this sound right to you too?
Posted by JohnDowdell at May 25, 2007 3:21 PM