Filer and Filer Lite Updates

About a week ago I was contacted by someone on Apple’s Developer Relations Team, regarding Filer Lite.  Their concern was that a 3rd-party library (the FTP Server) had a vulnerability, and that without action, they may approve the app from the store.  I needed to either address the vulnerability or remove the feature.

There is a newer version of this library available but I do not know if it addresses the vulnerability or not.  So for my immediate response, I removed the feature.  I submitted a 2.1.1 update for Filer Lite (and Filer, too). Both updates are currently in review, and yesterday Apple removed Filer Lite 2.1.0 from the store.  I hope that 2.1.1 is approved shortly and back in the App Store.

Removing a feature was not my preferred course of action.  I believe in focusing on great functionality and supporting the features implemented to provide that functionality.  I was unable to support a feature that I had promised to, and I apologize to my customers for that.

The FTP server functionality has always been a source of usability issues with the apps.  This implementation always requires additional 3rd-party software - The Finder in Mac OS X cannot upload to FTP sites, and the FTP client in Windows just doesn’t work well with this particular FTP implementation.  There were timeouts, crashes, inconsistencies, etc.

Since FTP Sharing was never a first-class experience in Filer, I’ve continued to improve the other functions that get files in and out.  I’ve added support for iTunes USB Sharing (far faster and more reliable than the network), Tap-And-Hold, and improvements to the Web Sharing.  These all have made it easier to get files moved around, and I will continue to develop them.  These have all been free updates to the product.

I also plan to address any void left by removing the FTP server.  I don’t have any announcements to make today, but that upgrade will surely be free, just as the others have been.