Windows Phone Thoughts: Windows Marketplace for Mobile 'Security' Severely Lacking

There are a few significant problems with the new Windows Marketplace for Mobile, not the least of which is security from a developers point of view. The idea is that you buy an app from the Marketplace, it installs onto your device, then deletes the CAB file that it downloaded to install itself, and that's that. But what happens if you don't allow the CAB file to be deleted, or find a way to grab it before the process deletes it? More than one person has been able to figure this out, and it's not that difficult apparently. The concern here is, of course, that developers will be reluctant to put their apps onto the Marketplace if they don't feel their investments will be protected.

From a user perspective, knowing that sometimes phones get messed up - and let's not forget the disaster that is ROM updating on the Windows Mobile platform - it's important to keep backups of your applications. I haven't heard anything about a new version of Windows Mobile Device Center that would allow the user to keep a copy of Marketplace applications on their PC. So how exactly does the consumer protect their investment in software? That's a piece of the puzzle that can't be ignored. Ideally I suppose you'd be able to enter your Marketplace ID into the device and be able to re-download all the apps you've purchased...but I don't think it works that way. Anyone with a 6.5 device care to comment? Yeah, this is me not having a clue again because I don't have a 6.5 device to test. <sigh>