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Want to read Wired, the New Yorker, or another popular publication on your iPad for free? Well, it seems that you can.
According to the Huffington Post (via CrunchGear), the iPad has a security hole that allows anyone with a brain to freely download paid publications without dropping a cent. In just a few simple steps and a single word change, a user can make a bunch of publications show "download" instead of "buy." This will actually allow the user to download free of charge. The single word is located in a .plist file. Once changed from "purchasable" to "viewable" the iPad seems to be fooled into thinking that you don"t have to pay to check out these apps. Similar types of vulnerabilities can be found with other, non-publication apps as well.
Adobe, who manages both the Wired and New Yorker iPad apps has told the Huffington Post that are very concerned about piracy issues on the iPad. In their statement, Adobe confirms the problem and vows to protect its content.
"We have confirmed that it is possible for experienced users with detailed instructions to access some digital publications on the iPad that have not been purchased. We are working on a fix and expect to deliver a new version of our Digital Content Viewer to publishers on Friday, October 8."
Seeing as it"s already the 14th of October and the hack was still working a few days ago (when the Huffington Post posted their article), it would seem that the parties involved in the fix don"t seem to be in too much of a rush. At the time of writing, no statement has been made by Apple. It seems that publishers will have to find a way to protect their content by their lonesome.