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There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

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Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#121

Post by ryuuchin »

The obvious thing to say is to just get a Nexus/Pixel device and enjoy your updates but I'm sure this isn't an option for some people.

I think the best thing that you can do to ensure you still get security updates is either make sure you get a device with an unlocked bootloader or hope there's a root exploit available so you can put something like LinageOS[1] on it.

I picked up an Essential Phone (on the cheap) for the former even though they appear to be getting timely updates so far (one day behind pixel) if you're willing to sideload with adb (and promises of support for 3 years). Also managed to grab it for I don't think I'll ever buy an android phone that's not a pixel (formerly nexus) that's not unlocked again.

[1] https://lineageos.org/

Edit: On second thought some of what I wrote is probably not correct[2].

[2] https://twitter.com/CopperheadOS/status/852833915073056769

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#122

Post by realusername »

kbwt wrote: post #100
ekianjo wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hosted on a dubious server with no guarantee at all there is no malware in it.

It's remarkable how fishy the whole ecosystem around Android ROMs and flashing tools really is. 95% of the posts are in barely comprehensible English. Seemingly every guide tells you to run a random binary from a file sharing host or generic domain. As a rule, source code is non-existent. Downloads are attributable to a forum handle in the best case. Oh and you have to run it with elevated privileges to both your hos…

Android is as mature as Windows XP, every vendor has their own where they customised everything and no-one has a pristine one. And also the pre-installed ROM is also often the same quality as the warez.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#123

Post by jorvi »

scarface74 wrote: post #102
opportune wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but will (networked) apps still work? Is it possible to download apps for previous versions still? If you can revert OS but can't run netflix/facebook/whatever then it's not very useful.

Yes. I have a first generation iPad (running iOS 5) that I rediscovered when I moved. I reset it because I forgot the password. Hulu, Netflix, Crackle, theCW, Plex, Google Drive, CBS (?), and Spotify still work. Apple's productivity apps (Pages,Numbers, and Keynote) also still work and sync with iCloud. On the other hand, I also rediscovered an old first generation iPod Touch (iOS 3). Nothing that requires network ac…

This[0] could give your iPod Touch a slight kick in the butt, and this[1] for your iPad, if you feel inclined to keep using them.

[0]http://www.whited00r.com/index?lang=en

[1]http://www.grayd00r.com

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#124

Post by 5ilv3r »

goalieca wrote: post #82
bitL wrote: post #79

I still have Nexus 7 running on KitKat 4.2 as I dislike material look and for newer Android versions I always go with phones that ship with customized UI that better correspond to my aesthetics sense. Disclaimer: I am a visual artist as well and hate it when somebody enforces certain style, in my case anything flat, low-contrast, confusing where my brain has to spend >20ms identifying controls.

Are you concerned at all with security of the device? Just asking because I know lots of people who stick with older droids and none seem to care.

Old device user here. The frequency of exploits is going up, so older devices with few features and small attack surface are safer than new devices with the bells and whistles and a bigger attack surface. Basically, fuck you to the assholes pushing updates. They are doing it wrong and I reject them. I will accept no update with antifeatures, no matter how much they say it is good for me.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#125

Post by ekianjo »

kuschku wrote: post #66
shp0ngle wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Security, basically. If you care about your privacy, you should care about security (can't have one with the other). You need updated phone for that.

Well, that's not a real issue, is it? It's purely a decision from the manufacturers to be assholes to their customers. There is no technical need that'd prevent them from creating updates. Especially Samsung (which also produces the SoC in-house for all relevant markets).

They have no incentives to do so. I would like Samsung to make it into a business. Have folks pay 5 dollars per year if they want to get ongoing security updates for older devices. I would pay in an instant.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#126

Post by macspoofing »

ryuuchin wrote: post #121

The obvious thing to say is to just get a Nexus/Pixel device and enjoy your updates but I'm sure this isn't an option for some people. I think the best thing that you can do to ensure you still get security updates is either make sure you get a device with an unlocked bootloader or hope there's a root exploit available so you can put something like LinageOS[1] on it. I picked up an Essential Phone (on the cheap) for…

>The obvious thing to say is to just get a Nexus/Pixel device and enjoy your updates

... for 2 years.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#127

Post by 5ilv3r »

patcheudor wrote: post #45
sizzzzlerz wrote: post #19

I've got a 7 or 8 year old Google Nexus phone. Google stopped updating the OS 5 years ago. The only impact I've noticed is that newer apps won't run on and older OS. For me, however, that really isn't a problem since I use it for making and receiving calls and texts, and checking my email. Right now, I'm in no hurry to lay out hundreds for a new phone, Apple or Android, that will be obsoleted in just a couple years w…

Many Android devices of that age and even newer had flaws resulting in the failure to properly validate HTTPS connections as they would accept invalid certificates. As a result, every time I fire up an off the shelf WiFi Pineapple in public and run SSLSplit (not to be confused with Moxies SSLStrip), I get credential after credential, typically starting with e-mail accounts. This is obviously bad because if someone is…

Isn't it telling that the antifeatures pushed by the updates are so much worse than the threat of data interception?

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#128

Post by mjevans »

kuschku wrote: post #108
mjevans wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's only a problem because they're keeping driver support closed. If they contributed a driver for their hardware upstream it would be maintained (by others) as the internal interfaces and standards change. Whenever a security issue or design change happened, their driver would also get updated and fixed with the rest of the kernel. What the hardware manufacturers SHOULD do is create hardware with a well defined c…

That's often not that simple. For example, SAMSUNG might build your device, and get all of their own code openly. But now for the US model, due to CDMA, they need to use a Qualcomm processor. That needs a blob, and Qualcomm won't release that under an open license, nor update it. So the OEM can either just not have CDMA support, or accept foreign blobs. It works like this all way down the stack, down to even camera c…

My understanding about the US side of this is that the software defined radios and FCC compliance are a major portion of the problem.

STILL, that stuff should be equivalent to a firmware blob that should have been baked in to a ROM or EEPROM. The actual driver controlling it should be able to be open, and for regulatory compliance should use 'magic numbers' as specified for the configuration; which as a fact of how to use that device must be configured already /not/ be covered by copyright (in the US at least).

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#129

Post by ryuuchin »

macspoofing wrote: post #126
ryuuchin wrote: post #121

The obvious thing to say is to just get a Nexus/Pixel device and enjoy your updates but I'm sure this isn't an option for some people. I think the best thing that you can do to ensure you still get security updates is either make sure you get a device with an unlocked bootloader or hope there's a root exploit available so you can put something like LinageOS[1] on it. I picked up an Essential Phone (on the cheap) for…

>The obvious thing to say is to just get a Nexus/Pixel device and enjoy your updates ... for 2 years.

It's 3 years now with the Pixel. The Google branded devices have always received timely updates. That's the only point I was trying to make. I'm not saying this is ideal, just pointing it out.

Also unless you get the Verizon version it's going to be unlocked so you can load whatever you want on it.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#130

Post by flukus »

ekianjo wrote: post #53
saagarjha wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've got a 7 or 8 year old Google Nexus phone. There's probably an Android O ROM out there that someone on XDA has compiled for your device.

Hosted on a dubious server with no guarantee at all there is no malware in it.

It's android, it's entire reason for existence is to be a malware platform.
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