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Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

techcrunch.com

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Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#341

Post by xorblurb »

bitmapbrother wrote: post #323
oefrha wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could be exaggerating a little bit, but do check https://arstechnica.com/security/ .

And where is your proof that Stagefright is actively being exploited? All you did was point to a scaremongering blog post with no data. According to Adrian Ludwig, Android security director, not 1 Stagefright exploit has ever been seen in the wild according to the telemetry they receive from SafetyNet and the 1.4 billion devices it's installed on.

Would a successful targeted exploit be detected?

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#342

Post by [deleted] »

bitmapbrother wrote: post #335
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It isn't "their own OS". It's Google's OS, which is explicitly and directly controlled by Google's contracts, which you continue to pretend do not exist. It is a single platform, and it is by no means an open source one. If it was, it wouldn't require the explicit approval of a single corporate entry to distribute it or any updates to it.

Yes, it actually is. An OEM builds their own OS from source. Google does not own their OS. Also, why are you claiming that I'm pretending that the MADA contract does not exist? If an OEM wants Google Play Services and Apps then they must agree to the terms in the MADA. It appears you have an problem separating the Android OS the OEM builds and the Google Apps and Services that are given to them.

[deleted]

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#343

Post by douche »

chickenbane wrote: post #260
_wmd wrote: post #25

I guess this means we can officially stop hating on Microsoft for having such a lax attitude towards security, considering their last OS to suffer from that attitude was released 16 years ago, and it accounts for less than 3% of present day traffic according to statcounter.com Meanwhile according to the same stats, Android sits around 37.9%, and I have to wonder just how many of those devices are still impacted by fo…

> you should have started on it years ago As somebody who has been following Android for a while, this statement is incredibly unfair. The Android ecosystem is huge and remarkably safe. For those actually interested in the details, the Android security team releases annual security reviews, and the report for 2016 was just released: https://security.googleblog.com/2017/03/diverse-protections-... The tldr: the number…

Bullshit. I've never had a kernel update in six plus years from my carrier. And while they are kind of a micky-mouse operation, they are the 5th leading mobile provider in the US...

P.S. don't get service from US Cellular if there are other options

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#344

Post by averagewall »

chickenbane wrote: post #260
_wmd wrote: post #25

I guess this means we can officially stop hating on Microsoft for having such a lax attitude towards security, considering their last OS to suffer from that attitude was released 16 years ago, and it accounts for less than 3% of present day traffic according to statcounter.com Meanwhile according to the same stats, Android sits around 37.9%, and I have to wonder just how many of those devices are still impacted by fo…

> you should have started on it years ago As somebody who has been following Android for a while, this statement is incredibly unfair. The Android ecosystem is huge and remarkably safe. For those actually interested in the details, the Android security team releases annual security reviews, and the report for 2016 was just released: https://security.googleblog.com/2017/03/diverse-protections-... The tldr: the number…

> Basically, if you only install apps from Google Play and never enable unknown sources (the default and the vast majority of users) you are safe.

Except for the half a billion Chinese Android users who can't access Google Play.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#345

Post by douche »

narrator wrote: post #179
_wmd wrote: post #25

I guess this means we can officially stop hating on Microsoft for having such a lax attitude towards security, considering their last OS to suffer from that attitude was released 16 years ago, and it accounts for less than 3% of present day traffic according to statcounter.com Meanwhile according to the same stats, Android sits around 37.9%, and I have to wonder just how many of those devices are still impacted by fo…

Just to play devil's advocate: Windows became the dominant platform when it had terrible security. Android became the dominant platform when it had terrible security. Maybe people don't care that much about security vs other features. At it's low point, Windows security was a lot worse than Android security. At one point, a fresh Windows XP machine plugged into the Internet would be compromised within a couple of min…

I remember routinely wiping and reinstalling windows 98 and XP back when my folks were on dial-up. Browser security in those days was an almost unimaginable joke.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#346

Post by douche »

iraklism wrote: post #307
Shank wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand this metric at all. I've heard it colloquially, but I highly doubt anyone was scanning IP address ranges so often that you could be passively attacked on the internet without any interaction by two minutes in. Even more so, people are often behind NAT, which acts as a good firewall on its own. Maybe it's related to browsing habits? IE? I mean, you aren't going to get hit by a drive-by attack…

Same thing applies today. Just fire up a DO instance and tail -f access.log You will see random scanning attempts within minutes. Same principle , minus the effectiveness.

On my custom blog running on ASP.Net/Azure, I constantly see people trying to hammer WordPress admin urls.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#347

Post by mattnewton »

CaptSpify wrote: post #319
mattnewton wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree it isn't perfect, but services that phone home to google servers can't realistically be open source. Google is pushing them insofar as it is trying to make them better. I think it's still a far cry from the state of affairs on iOS or MacOS, and the fact that you can fork it if you are willing to replicate those apis is still reassuring.

> I agree it isn't perfect, but services that phone home to google servers can't realistically be open source. Yes, they can. Google makes a conscious choice not to make them open source. There's no fundamental law or anything saying that they can't. I think the better question is: Why do those services need to phone home? There are plenty of apps that should work just fine without doing that, but don't.

Why does location services need to phone home? Or the App Store? Or push notifications? I think most of these are obvious. I am not aware of any non-obvious ones, but if so they are more likely for crash reporting or usage metrics than for advertising.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#348

Post by acchow »

Someone1234 wrote: post #51
_wmd wrote: post #25

I guess this means we can officially stop hating on Microsoft for having such a lax attitude towards security, considering their last OS to suffer from that attitude was released 16 years ago, and it accounts for less than 3% of present day traffic according to statcounter.com Meanwhile according to the same stats, Android sits around 37.9%, and I have to wonder just how many of those devices are still impacted by fo…

The sad part is that these are issues with Android that Linux already solved. Google uses Linux within Android but instead of allowing the underlying parts to be updated via package management-like functionality, the kernel level stuff is only distributable as images in one "big bang" go. You could have a bug in a single binary at the kernel level, but instead of a tiny 1Kb diff patch you wait a year for a giant 1.2…

> but instead of a tiny 1Kb diff patch

Wouldn't this require phones to compile their own kernels?

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#349

Post by cale250 »

enzanki_ars wrote: post #301
digi_owl wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno. Enthusiasts may track the versions coming out of Google HQ. But for most updating is a hassle rather than something they look forward to. This because it means downtime for their device, and if the update fails it may leave them with a bricked device (chance is small, but it is still in the back of their mind). For most people a computer, a phone, or a tablet is an appliance.

iOS updates are something that seems like many people look forward too. If Android updates were as unobtrusive as updates to iOS (even Windows 10 is getting closer to unobtrusive updating), then there wouldn't be much of an issue there. We are getting closer to the point where being secure and up to date is almost painless. That should be our goal in the tech industry.

They are more painless if you happen to have a Pixel. It downloads and installs the update on another partition, prompts for a reboot and comes up a minute later. The trade-off, of course, is space.

Re: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system

#350

Post by yokohummer7 »

najati83 wrote: post #315
Shank wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand this metric at all. I've heard it colloquially, but I highly doubt anyone was scanning IP address ranges so often that you could be passively attacked on the internet without any interaction by two minutes in. Even more so, people are often behind NAT, which acts as a good firewall on its own. Maybe it's related to browsing habits? IE? I mean, you aren't going to get hit by a drive-by attack…

People in this thread don't remember the NET SEND spam from Windows Messenger. (Which was a system service and had absolutely nothing to do with MSN Messenger) You could basically do "NET SEND 12.34.56.78 my spam message" and it would appear on the screen of your victim. http://blogopod.com/image/2008/net-send-spam-big.gif

Actually I liked that feature. We used to chat with each other using it when I was in school. It was definitely a right choice for Microsoft to disable the Messenger service, but I was a bit sad when it actually happened.
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