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Google Play has been spreading advanced Android malware for years

arstechnica.com

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Re: Google Play has been spreading advanced Android malware for years

#51
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't say anywhere that it's infallible. https://support.google.com/android/answer/2812853?hl=en

Do you really expect it to say “Google Play Protect is infallible”? It’s obviously pitched as anti-malware and the fact that it’s not working is an issue despite them not saying it’s perfect.

The fact that it's failed to stop this particular attack does not mean this anti-malware solution is "not working".

Re: Google Play has been spreading advanced Android malware for years

#52
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is why with every macOS and Windows release there is some small fine tuning to drive the herd into the sandboxing model. Like frogs cooking in water, macOS and Windows users will be eventually realize that all their apps are store based as well. And for everything else they get Web apps, including AAA games.

Which AAA games are web apps?

The ones being served by Stadia, xCloud, GeForce NOW and PS Now.

Plenty to choose from.

Re: Google Play has been spreading advanced Android malware for years

#53
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would still prefer to have to trust just one authority for my platform than a multitude of random developers. > Let this be another nail in the coffin of the "walled garden" farce. There is no coffin, the walled gardens are not dying, and have long since become the norm, which happened because the people found them to be better than the alternative: getting apps (and manually updating them) from many different sour…

> which happened because the people found them to be better than the alternative Walled garden only exists because mobile devices make self-install alternatives very difficult or impossible to get on purpose, otherwise they would not be able to compete in any ways. Case in point, the Mac App Store and the Windows Store are both moderate failures despite a lot of technical & marketing push.

I'd say that they are more than moderate failures. I've heard from many acquaintances who aren't as tech literate as myself that one of the major reasons they got rid of their iPhone was not being able to install applications from outside sources.

Myself, I would never want to trust anything centralized.

Re: Google Play has been spreading advanced Android malware for years

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is your “knowledge” going to help you? Are you capable of vetting every app you install?

I’m capable of knowing which app I’m going to install. I’m unlikely to fall for Instagram-styled icons that promise me free face filters.

So would you have possibly side loaded an app from a trusted vendor like Epic?

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/aug/10/fortnite-on-an...

Back in the day would you have installed an app from a supposed trustworthy source like SourceForge?

https://www.information-age.com/hotbed-malware-another-blow-...

Or even further back, would you have trusted downloading software from CNet owned Download.com?

https://malware.wikia.org/wiki/Download.com

Re: Google Play has been spreading advanced Android malware for years

#55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is pretty much the same, I've been trying to create a developer account for three entire weeks and it still shows as "pending" without info. I saw on the forums that for some people it can take months. It looks like some bureaucratic government body from the 90s. I now advise my friends to switch to Android if they want to see the app, there's a limit on what I can put with. These companies should just be broke…

At least Apple doesn’t serve you malware or harvest your personal data for profit.

Apps in the iOS App Store are allowed to embed silent spying that you can't disable (also known as spyware) that upload your location and activity data to third parties without your consent.

You're deemed to have agreed to this as a user based on the App Store Terms of Service.

Don't buy Apple's lies about privacy. It's just marketing.

Re: Google Play has been spreading advanced Android malware for years

#56
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the contrary, Apple has served malware to far more users than Google despite having far fewer total users. https://blog.lookout.com/xcodeghost-apps Apple also uses your GPS data to update its location service (for profit), and unlike Android offers no way to opt out — if you want to get your location on an iDevice, Apple will get it, too. If you want to do something crazy like write apps for your own device withou…

>unlike Android offers no way to opt out — if you want to get your location on an iDevice, Apple will get it, too. As far as I know there is not a way to opt out of this in (Googlified) Android. If you have Play Services installed (which you do, unless you've taken unreasonable steps to avoid it such as rooting and installing a 3rd party ROM), you get a dialog box popup whenever you enable location services which inf…

If you don't like Google, installing a community ROM that doesn't violate your privacy would be perfectly reasonable. If you want a megacorp service but not from a megacorp, I think you won't find that anywhere.

Re: Google Play has been spreading advanced Android malware for years

#57
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> which happened because the people found them to be better than the alternative Walled garden only exists because mobile devices make self-install alternatives very difficult or impossible to get on purpose, otherwise they would not be able to compete in any ways. Case in point, the Mac App Store and the Windows Store are both moderate failures despite a lot of technical & marketing push.

I'd say that they are more than moderate failures. I've heard from many acquaintances who aren't as tech literate as myself that one of the major reasons they got rid of their iPhone was not being able to install applications from outside sources. Myself, I would never want to trust anything centralized.

Clearly the iPhone is a massive failure and everyone is getting rid of theirs. In what country are you seeing this?

Re: Google Play has been spreading advanced Android malware for years

#58
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least Apple doesn’t serve you malware or harvest your personal data for profit.

Apps in the iOS App Store are allowed to embed silent spying that you can't disable (also known as spyware) that upload your location and activity data to third parties without your consent. You're deemed to have agreed to this as a user based on the App Store Terms of Service. Don't buy Apple's lies about privacy. It's just marketing.

The user decides if an app has access to his location.

Re: Google Play has been spreading advanced Android malware for years

#59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m capable of knowing which app I’m going to install. I’m unlikely to fall for Instagram-styled icons that promise me free face filters.

So would you have possibly side loaded an app from a trusted vendor like Epic? https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/aug/10/fortnite-on-an... Back in the day would you have installed an app from a supposed trustworthy source like SourceForge? https://www.information-age.com/hotbed-malware-another-blow-... Or even further back, would you have trusted downloading software from CNet owned Download.com? https://malware.…

No, I only use Facebook and WhatsApp at the moment. I used to downloads lots of malware from porn sites back when I was much younger though.

Re: Google Play has been spreading advanced Android malware for years

#60
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which AAA games are web apps?

The ones being served by Stadia, xCloud, GeForce NOW and PS Now. Plenty to choose from.

That's a pretty loose definition of a web app, but I agree that those services are pretty poor.
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