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There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

danluu.com

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Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#221

Post by junkscience2017 »

enraged_camel wrote: post #163
junkscience2017 wrote: post #3

For most users, the phone works and they don't care. For everyone in my family, iOS updates are just an annoyance.

People in your family don't care about security?

Honestly, no. Do you take your car in for service the moment your car dash light signals for an oil change? If you aren't in tech, you aren't going to see a pressing need.

I won't let my wife log in to our brokerage because she insists on using dictionary words as passwords. My parents tape their passwords to their laptops. Heartbleed is way down the list for them.

The biggest security threat is still phishing, to which we all remain mostly vulnerable.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#222

Post by khedoros1 »

fian wrote: post #181
johndoe90 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think if you update often enough (at least when some vulnerabilities found), you're more safe than if you don't.

Except many times the update will ask to expand its access to information in your phone it shouldn't need. So you choose between explicitly granting permission for unnecessary data access or don't update and hope you don't get owned via a vulnerability in that app.

Those are the apps that I remove from my phone. Holding my security hostage to get at more data? Deleted.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#223

Post by pishpash »

tpallarino wrote: post #104
userbinator wrote: post #48

With current and older devices working perfectly well, and new devices being even less serviceable and more user-hostile with greater efforts towards planned obolescence, is it any wonder that people just aren't "upgrading" any more? I don't consider this a problem, but a sign of an ecosystem that is gaining stability. In fact I'd say it's even better, from an e-waste perspective, that the amount of churn has decreas…

As someone who goes as long as possible without performing updates, this is exactly the reason why. Example: Last time I updated my iPhone, the music app got an update and now they are trying to shove iCloud down my throat. Not to mention needless UI changes when I was more than satisfied with how it was before.

With the incentive structure of updates with certain popular software not supported by other revenue, you're always going to get a worse version (more ads, less features), to such an extent that I turn off all updates and only whitelist a few. Permissions are the ways to lock down phones, and security patches, not the permanent beta that is updates.

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

#224

Post by enzanki_ars »

gumballhead wrote: post #214

I often get sympathetic comments for being an Android developer because of this. It's honestly not that bad. Android provides backwards compatible support libraries for whatever SDK you're supporting, and was designed from the beginning to handle diverse screen sizes and hardware. By far a bigger problem is manufacturers shipping their own version of Android that is sometimes incompatible with the SDK. I've had to im…

The problem with outdated versions is not app compatibility, but security updates. If a zero-day were released, most of these devices would never receive an update fix the issue.

Worst case scenario: An Android zero day that can be spread via WiFi or Bluetooth that infects devices in a cryptolocker style. The more versions it can affect, the better.

Shoot. Probably shouldn’t give people ideas, especially when I have an Android device. At least it runs LineageOS and can be updated easily...

Edit: To clarify my idea, imagine the Windows XP crypolocker viruses, but for Android instead, spreading not through cell towers or WiFi routers, but instead spreading via the cellular/WiFi/Bluetooth chips in the devices.

I’m starting to wonder if I should buy a portable Faraday cage for my devices...

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

#225

Post by jandrese »

jasode wrote: post #20
junkscience2017 wrote: post #3

For most users, the phone works and they don't care. For everyone in my family, iOS updates are just an annoyance.

Yes, I think user apathy has to be a big part of it. I have a 2012 iPhone5 with iOS 6.1.3 still on it. I never upgraded it. When iOS 7 came out, all the news reports said it killed the battery. Same with iOS 8, 9, and finally iOS X. Yes, I assume that eventually, iOS point release 7.x.x fixed the battery issue but I don't care to keep visiting news websites to figure out which exact version is finally "safe" to upgra…

I wouldn't always believe those "the update made my phone slow" stories you see whenever there is a new OS. Many seem to be pre-written by the haters and always posted regardless of what the truth is.

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

#227

Post by slyall »

ryuuchin wrote: post #129
macspoofing wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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.

Nexus 5x and 6p was always 2 years of Android version updates plus another year of security. They have recently increased that by a month or two.

https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en

Add me to the list of Nexus users who like plain Android with guaranteed updates but don't really want to pay $650+ for our next phone.

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

#228

Post by pjmlp »

2-4-Flinching wrote: post #189
deathanatos wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I, like the parent poster, am running the latest update for my phone. Yes, I know I'm a walking vulnerability, but short of purchasing a new phone, there is nothing I can do about it. IIRC, updates for my device were cut off before it was even out of warranty , and I'm sorry, I'm not dropping — I can't drop — $600 every year and a half on new hardware just to get new software. Vendors need to support devices for the…

You don't have to drop $600 every year and a half. Which would only be $34 a month over that period. You can drop $600 every 3 years with google devices and have monthly security updates. You could save $17 every month for that 3 year time to buy the next phone. If you want to stay secure you will, if it not a priority you wont.

Which is a waste of money for a device that otherwise is fully working.

The beauty of consumist society and digital waste.

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

#229

Post by junkscience2017 »

staticassertion wrote: post #213
mindslight wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most phones already come with two persistent implants - the user-antagonistic OS, and the baseband processor! I'm all for trusting computing devices to act as one's agents, but attempting to do so with anything resembling a modern mobile phone is barking up the wrong tree. Even though just having one means taking the location-tracking hit from negligently designed cellular protocols, further exposure can be mitigated…

Most people are willing to accept the risk that the NSA is listening in on them. Most people are not willing to accept the risk of an arbitrary person being able to steal their identity.

That already happened as a result of Equifax. Your SSN is no longer secret...so rejoice, you are free to choose whatever phone you like!

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

#230

Post by khedoros1 »

crankylinuxuser wrote: post #151
kuschku wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basically yes, but that's often not good enough either. Lots of third party code OEMs end up with in their kernels, unmaintainable, and often incompatible with anything.

Now waitasec... I own Crappy unupdated Android one of. And the drivers use the Linux kernel. Last I checked, they need to release source for their drivers. So where is it? And why can't we upstream those patches and "fix" android?

Maybe they pull the stuff Nvidia does: write an interface kernel module, then have the driver itself in a library that the module loads. Since the actual driver is never part of the kernel tree...
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