We’ve all seen those fake iOS devices that are being made in China, but did you know that Apple’s App Store is being cloned there, too? A service called KuaiYong, which means “use quickly” in Chinese, according to MIC Gadget, lets iPhone and iPad users download and install pirated iOS apps without jailbreaking.
The service has been around for almost a year, so how has it gone unnoticed for so long?
The reason you’ve never heard of KuaiYong is that it’s currently inaccessible outside of China. If you try to visit it from another country, the website detects that you’re not a local and then it just feeds you an error. It’s thought that this block is in place in an effort to prevent detection by Apple.
However, MIC Gadget believes that KuaiYong could be planning to make its service available internationally in English.
Those who can gain access to it are opened up to a world of pirated iOS apps that won’t cost you a penny. What’s more, you don’t even need to jailbreak to install them. MIC Gadget explains how KuaiYong works:
KuaiYong is basically using bulk enterprise licensing to bypass Apple’s safeguards. So the Chinese service is essentially distributing the exact same app – with the same license ID – over and over again.
KuaiYong began as a desktop application for Windows PCs, but the pirates behind it recent launched a web-based version at 7659.com that makes the service accessible to almost anyone — providing they live in China, of course.
It already has 5 million users, according to its creators, who claim they developed the service as an alternative to the App Store because “most Chinese Apple users are not familiar with iTunes system and how to effectively manage it.” They also claim that the number of jailbreakers in China has decreased thanks to their service.
MIC Gadget warns, however, that KuaiYong could be used to distribute malware to iOS devices.
The Android eco-systems in China are working in this way. And there’s a strong likelihood that whatever the pirate team is doing is using illegally obtained licenses at the least, and credit-card fraud at the worst.
We may see KuaiYong popping up in the U.S. and other countries soon, then, but we strongly suggest you avoid it at all costs.
Source: MIC Gadget
