Apple wins this round: iOS piracy haven Hackulous shuts down

One of the unspoken truths of jailbreaking an iOS device is access to pirated apps. Defenders of the jailbreak scene often cite app piracy as a scourge against their path to legitimacy; the Cydia store does not condone it, but offers alternative apps that would not otherwise be offered by Apple.

After many years of reigning at the top of the iOS app piracy world, Hackulous, which provided the “try before you buy” portal Installous, has unceremoniously shut down. The Cydia repository, which provided a means to download pirated iOS apps, is no longer accessible, while the web-based portal no longer responds to requests.

The message behind the shutdown was not one of federal investigation, though that may have been the case. The admins cited a “ghost town” in the official forums, likely due to lower user interaction. iOS 6 has yet to see an official jailbreak, meaning modern devices such as the iPhone 5 and iPad mini cannot access apps from outside official means. iPhone 4S and iPad with Retina Display users still have access to a true untethered jailbreak, but it’s limited to iOS 5.1.1.

This is a silent win for Apple, as the company has prevented any exploits in its newer devices being used for nefarious purposes. The jailbreak scene has slowed down considerably as a result, and as we near the release of iOS 6.1 there are no indications that an untethered jailbreak for newer iDevices is on the way, despite previous claims.

Source: Torrentfreak