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Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

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Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#631

Post by 63stack »

HackerThemAll wrote: post #616

Everybody DEMANDS Google "do something" about malware, scam and fake apps. So it does. For an average Joe and Jane, who gets their money stolen, that's a good move. They don't care about technology, they just want their bank, instagram, cat pictures and video calls to work and not get scammed. They are often lured into installing scamware through exactly sideloading APK, completely unaware of the risks. In the articl…

>For an average Joe and Jane, who gets their money stolen, that's a good move. They don't care about technology, they just want their bank, instagram, cat pictures and video calls to work and not get scammed

We could also teach basic computer literacy in schools so people could understand common scams. We could sell phones with "extra protections" that people with less knowledge could buy.

The only reason to force this crap on everyone is control. What google cares about is getting rid of people's ability to block ads, kill youtube vanced, and so on.

Google will implement this, the consumers will pay for it, scams will still exist, and Google will open their hands and say "welp we tried". The infrastructure will already be in place, and it will never be revoked.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#632

Post by creshal »

HackerThemAll wrote: post #616

Everybody DEMANDS Google "do something" about malware, scam and fake apps. So it does. For an average Joe and Jane, who gets their money stolen, that's a good move. They don't care about technology, they just want their bank, instagram, cat pictures and video calls to work and not get scammed. They are often lured into installing scamware through exactly sideloading APK, completely unaware of the risks. In the articl…

> Thanks to the new policy it'll be easy to add a single cert to the blocklist.

And another tomorrow. And then five more the day after, four of which will have been stolen from clueless legitimate developers, whose apps will get blocked too.

Microsoft tried this whole nonsense before, it doesn't work in practice.

> If you want absolute freedom on your device, just install a different Android - for example Graphene, Lineage, /e/OS, or Calix. They are all Android too.

Sounds to me like an APT rootkit vector that will be the next on the chopping block.

> For an average Joe and Jane, who gets their money stolen, that's a good move. They don't care about technology, they just want their bank, instagram, cat pictures and video calls to work and not get scammed. They are often lured into installing scamware through exactly sideloading APK, completely unaware of the risks.

Maybe Joe and Jane should learn their lesson instead, and don't do banking on their cat picture device, if they can't keep it safe.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#633

Post by Gigachad »

CalRobert wrote: post #30
EMIRELADERO wrote: post #19

So that's it then. If this actually goes through, there will be no option in the mobile OS market for an OS that both: a) allows the installation of apps without any contractual relationship with any party, and b) allows the use of mainstream and secure apps like banking

In time, you will only be able to access banking from your desktop using an approved OS and browser with attestation...

How it generally works iso low risk operations have no restrictions, but if you want to send a large amount of money to a new contact, the banks make you approve the transaction on the phone app.

Phone apps are generally significantly more trusted because of the fact you can’t install malware that steals the session token, and they can do a Face ID check before any risky operations.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#634

Post by IshKebab »

gethly wrote: post #96

> Google will begin to verify the identities of developers distributing their apps on Android devices, not just those who distribute via the Play Store This is absolutely unacceptable. That's like you having to submit your personal details to Microsoft in order to just run a program on Windows. Absolutely nuts and it will not go as they think it will.

Microsoft will do this. They just have to go a little more slowly than Google or Apple because there's such a long history and expectation of being able to run any apps. But they're gradually working their way there just like Google and Apple.

Starts with scary warnings for unsigned apps (with a workaround), then they start imposing extra restrictions for unsigned apps, and then they make the SmartScreen workaround more difficult to enable (maybe it needs a registry edit), then they'll remove that workaround in certain markets/editions (maybe the Home version first). Finally they'll remove it everywhere.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#636

Post by schoen »

lentil_soup wrote: post #610

I always wonder, who are the developers doing this? don't they feel bad about going through with these changes or do they fool themselves thinking it's the right thing? is it greed? many other fields have an explicit or implicit ethics code which we seem to lack. I'm thinking about other fields like medicine, engineering, etc. Probably since the entry level to development is low and anyone can do it, it means there's…

They think they're fighting malware, because that is their main motivation.

They're just not also worrying about other effects like making it easy for governments to ban software, or making it hard for people to write software under a pseudonym.

Paternalistic mechanisms are relatively popular in security engineering right now because users are so often unsophisticated and time-constrained, while attackers are so often sophisticated and well-resourced. Paternalism almost always responds to real risks and threats, so it doesn't feel malicious because it's not rooted in malice.

I'm glad that people are so worried about this change, because I find it really alarming. But it's not like restrictions on people's choices have been that unusual as a response to dangers in modern history. In fact, professions like public health, occupational safety, and tort law often seem to presume that the general public probably shouldn't be allowed to make certain kinds of dangerous choices. They might be ethically wrong about that, but they clearly don't see themselves as bad guys for thinking so.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#638

Post by Janicc »

HackerThemAll wrote: post #616

Everybody DEMANDS Google "do something" about malware, scam and fake apps. So it does. For an average Joe and Jane, who gets their money stolen, that's a good move. They don't care about technology, they just want their bank, instagram, cat pictures and video calls to work and not get scammed. They are often lured into installing scamware through exactly sideloading APK, completely unaware of the risks. In the articl…

How would you feel if Microsoft applied the same logic to windows? Suddenly only apps from the microsoft store are allowed.

Why do smartphone makers get all these special privileges while Microsoft got the law handed down on them for daring to bundle a damn web browser with their OS?

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#639

Post by SlowTao »

BrenBarn wrote: post #509
tgma wrote: post #503

The funny thing is Stallman started his fight like half a century ago and on regular days Hacker News shits on him eating something off of his foot and not being polished and diplomatic, and loves practical aspects of Corporate Open Source and gratis goodies and doesn't particularly care about Free Software. On this day suddenly folks come out of the woodwork advocating for half baked measures to achieve what Stallma…

It's possible to believe both that Stallman is over the top and that stuff like this Google action is bad, and even to be right on both. It's even easier to believe that Stallman has had some good ideas but is still a deeply flawed human being, and has also incidentally not been the most effective advocate for his own ideals.

Having spoken to Stallman over the years many times. One of the most difficult people to talk to, but completely spot on with his ideas.

Re: Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

#640

Post by creshal »

cesarb wrote: post #239
seanw444 wrote: post #199

Makes sense why they had to get rid of the "don't be evil" motto. They've been on a roll. I've seen a lot of similar sentiment on this thread, but the reason I use Android is because it gives me more control than iOS by allowing full-on painless sideloading, and custom distributions like GrapheneOS. They're doing everything they can to turn themselves into a worse Apple. All of the downsides of Apple, but none of the…

> There's no reason a competitive Linux-based smartphone can't exist There is; it's the "phone" part of "smartphone". Being a phone makes the device subject to a lot more requirements (for an obvious example, emergency dialing must always be available and work, and at the same time the phone must never accidentally dial the emergency number). In my country, only cell phones certified by the government telecommunicati…

> for an obvious example, emergency dialing must always be available and work, and at the same time the phone must never accidentally dial the emergency number

Why are Pixel phones allowed to be sold then? Google broke emergency calling on a least three different models, and at least once across models.

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