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Malicious apps infect 25M Android devices with 'Agent Smith' malware

phys.org

121–130 of 222 posts

Re: Malicious apps infect 25M Android devices with 'Agent Smith' malware

#121
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> comparatively ancient Android 7.0 7.0 is ancient? 5.1, or rather 4.4 is ancient.

The Android ver on my phone is 4.1. Still runs just fine, but then again all I use it for are calls/SMS, so there's little scope to be exploited.

It might still be vulnerable to stagefright, exploitable over MMS.

Re: Malicious apps infect 25M Android devices with 'Agent Smith' malware

#122
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just make it so the batteries are easily replaceable. It's wasteful to buy a brand new phone when all you need is a new battery.

A battery replacement is $79. No one is forcing you to buy a new phone.

A lithium ion battery doesn't cost anywhere near that much, its either poor design and/or profiteering on the device manufacturers part to charge that much for a $15 battery to be replaced.

Re: Malicious apps infect 25M Android devices with 'Agent Smith' malware

#123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>which extends the life of old phones. Except they were caught purposely throttling older phones with those updates, not exactly what i'd call extending life.

> purposely throttling So that the phones don't randomly shut off because their lithium ion batteries were old. Yes, they should have told people but it wasn't done maliciously.

>but it wasn't done maliciously.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion.

Re: Malicious apps infect 25M Android devices with 'Agent Smith' malware

#124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's easy... make the batteries easily replaceable... oh wait.

You can replace the battery by going to an apple store, giving them $49, and then picking it up a few hours later. That's not a terrific challenge.

What if you don't live near an apple store? Why not let the user manage their own battery, that is also not a terrific challenge.

Re: Malicious apps infect 25M Android devices with 'Agent Smith' malware

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment and most replies use "carrier" as shorthand for "carrier and/or manufacturer". This looks funny to me because my carrier is T-Mobile and doesn't add bloatware AFAICT. Using "manufacturer" as the shorthand would make more sense to me.

T-Mobile does add software to phones. Wi-Fi calling requires T-Mobile-specific OS-level modifications. You won't be able to use it on unbranded unlocked phones. It's definitely not bloatware though.

I'm pretty sure the Nexus 5X I got off of craigslist is an unbranded, unlocked phone with an OS from Google, and it makes wifi calls on T-Mobile.

Re: Malicious apps infect 25M Android devices with 'Agent Smith' malware

#126
post #55
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That was an attempt at graceful degradation that wasn’t communicated well. That was nearly outright fraud which went swimmingly well. The big issue wasn't so much the unannouced throttling. It was that Apple knew that a lot of customers had battery issues but misled them (by denying the entire issue) so that they'll buy a new device. Instead, the debate turned on slightly more defencible for Apple. Slightly more de…

Apple has had a battery replacement option for quite a few years. Apple Store employees don't work on commission, so a customer coming in with a battery problem would most likely be offered the battery replacement option before being sold a new phone.

Employees can only give answers they know about, and a general battery issue was denied by Apple. That they didn't tell their own employees does not clear Apple from misleading their customers.

Aside, I'm pretty sure that Apple Stores do care about margin, and so do employees that identify with their business or are encouraged by their managers, but I am not accusing them (the employees) of anything.

Re: Malicious apps infect 25M Android devices with 'Agent Smith' malware

#127
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google never forbid updating phones... They forbid forking Android.

That's what he said. They didn't forbid it, but they also didn't mandate it be allowed.

I fail to see the relevance of Samsung not updating their phones to Google not wanting Android to be forked. If Samsung had forked Android, they still wouldn't update old phones.

Re: Malicious apps infect 25M Android devices with 'Agent Smith' malware

#128
I have been begging attacked from apps peograms that dump my phone data for over 5 yesrs found out 18 months a go im no wizard i but i tryed every thing to keep wife and friends from havking me but you know i find data save then gone every time she whins. Im 56 BA in communications electronics and a Veteran and i cant battle any more alone i tryed she lied to my sons about are arguments made me out to be delusional and crazy my sons bought it and now they hate me if i could do one thing it would be to show my youngest who said he hated me last week.the truth that im not crszy.but there so far away i could show them and they woud say i made it up.my wife sex sites her hacking softeare one site https://socal.ress.rr.com was up but i no longer have access the take eveything i have given up cant even break even the android devices attacking me won. richycat62@gmail.com

Re: Malicious apps infect 25M Android devices with 'Agent Smith' malware

#129
post #2

> Google already fixed at least one of the Android exploits used by "Agent Smith," nicknamed Janus, in 2017 but the fix hasn't made its way onto every Android phone. It's a potent reminder that millions of phones around the world are being used without the latest security measures. Because Samsung (or similar) or even more weirdly, Sprint (or similar) just doesn't fucking update our Android versions for months, or ev…

Which is why Pixel or Android One devices are the way to go.

Re: Malicious apps infect 25M Android devices with 'Agent Smith' malware

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what I love about Apple. They gave the carriers a big middle finger when it comes to the usual bullshit of bloatware, sticking their logos on things or getting in the middle of updates. That’s because they cared about the end user experience. Google was happy to just grab market share at the expense of the users by allowing carriers to continue with their usual shenanigans. For this reason Apple will have my…

> That’s because they cared about the end user experience. I'm sure 100% of any revenue going to Apple and not shared with anyone had nothing to do with that.

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