Saurik brings AFC2 support to iOS 8

iExplore Root Acccess

For those of you who prefer to manage iOS’s file system via USB, we have some good news for you. Saurik recently pushed an AFC packaged called Apple File Conduit 2 to jailbroken iOS 8 users. The package, which is downloadable from Cydia right now, allows users to browse the entire iOS root file system when your device is connected to your computer via USB.

As Saurik explains, AFC stands for Apple File Conduit, and it is how apps like iTunes and iPhoto are able to read the media contents of an iOS device. Unfortunately, plain old AFC is in a jailed state, and will only allow you to browse certain files pertaining to media and the like. With AFC2, you get access to the whole kit and kaboodle.

Saurik goes on to explain:

…please understand that AFC2 is considered by many to be a security hole: you might not want to provide full USB filesystem access…due to security concerns, modern “jailbreaks” now avoid installing AFC2 by default.

Alternative AFC2 packages for iOS 7.1 solve this problem in a way that many in the core developer community feel crosses the bounds of what is legal.

This package does not have this issue: rather than redistributing software from Apple, this package downloads (and verifies, of course) the files as needed.

Unfortunately, this is arguably more “finicky” and might sometimes fail.

I thereby ask that any users who do run into installation issues (not that I expect any) appreciate the complex problem we have with this package.

So, in a nutshell, there are some things you’ll need to consider before using AFC2. I understand that there’s definitely a convenience factor of being able to plug your iPhone into your Mac, and being able to immediately browse and transfer files using apps like Macroplant’s iExplorer. But with the added convenience comes the matter of security concerns, so it’s best to maintain a balanced viewpoint of this ability.

And, as Saurik stated, you may also experience installation issues due to the more complex nature of the AFC2 support employed by Apple File Conduit 2.

Do you use AFC on your jailbroken device? Are you happy to see it supported in the iOS 8 jailbreak?

Here is iFunBox on my iPhone 5s running iOS 8.1 jailbroken:

iFunbox ios 8.1