Android Malware Up 427 Percent Since July

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IOS is for PC illiterate wanna be geeks that need helping hand to use the device. Average user's are 14 year old girls and morons
Android is for computer literate people that need more features then the average moron
Windows phone is people scared of the new and like being told how to use their device

 
yep, 427% from what: sure sign of biased 'journalism' trying to use partial data in a manipulative way...

I would just forget the handful of obvious unnecessary apps out there requesting access to private data

Let's start with Google and Market in the first place:

phones come preloaded with apps and games that are either not useful for
most (like games that come with it, or apps where way better ones are available
on Market), and, here is the thing: cannot be removed!

common to all these: collecting an excessive set of privacy data
excessive in the sense of not necessary for the function of the program itself

now, marketing firms want to get a grip on this nice data source that the phone owner
cannot defend against

looking at 'Twidroid', it is an 'OK' app for twitter, but
1) there are better ones on Market
2) who needs that when I can go to twitter.com directly using the browser and have the full feature set available "from the hose's mouth"

that app already requests privacy data

comes a clever marketing firm Über something:
buys that precious data source

here comes the hammer:

wants to 'update' to their 'new' version which requests way more invasive
access to privacy data than the original (that was the mo for the move!)

the android owner cannot remove this thing
the Über-guys want of course to update the existing old one on the phones
with theirs, so they get the additional data from all phones, that's the reason for the investment in the first place

user does notices the additional privs and does not update
user sets auto-update to 'no' (box unchecked)

oh, surprise, over night the thing did update!
what, the auto update box did check itself!

remove update (too late, the data has already been captured...)
set to auto-update off

same old


Forget the handful of obviously useless examples of crapware who's only goal is to collect phone user's data

Google themselves, through lucrative agreements, is the biggest violater
- force feeding collecting apps
- equipping apps with overrides of user's wishes (resetting the auto update to 'on' so over night while nobody seems to be watching the app updates and collects the precious set of confirmed data)

As long as there are apps that come with a phone that cannot be removed,
making an exception of course of the SW that is necessary to operate the
phone on the provider's network,
there is not protection of privacy!

Let's start with the biggest malware and spyware criminals first, who force feed spyware to 250+ Million phones

then maybe talk about some idiots who want to get on the bandwagon exploiting dumb or greedy people...

Mike N
 
Just goes to show how dumb these ifan trolls are. There is malware on the iphone as well. There have been numerous articles about Apple patching iOS because of similar issues. NicoleFox - Android is currently on top - iOS slid 2 percentage points in the last quarter. Your cheerleading isn't changing anything.
 
Recent Dolphin HD "news", cough, affected both iOS & Android, cough... (on the contrary to what many pathetic journalists "thought")
http://blog.dolphin-browser.com/2011/10/27/webzine-does-not-store-user-data/
 
[citation][nom]NicoleFox[/nom]iOS is still on top because...[/citation]
Because, cough, you are from, cough, outer space... 😉
On planet Earth Android vs iOS is 3 vs 1 and gap is only widening.
 
Be very afraid. Buy their software. Be very afraid. Buy their software.

Nah.... No thanks.

 
just today I wanted to download an app that tells me the bus times, but it wanted permission to view my phone number, phone calls, phone ID. So I passed, and wrote the developer a little e-mail. Let's see what he answers.
 
[citation][nom]bv90andy[/nom]just today I wanted to download an app that tells me the bus times, but it wanted permission to view my phone number, phone calls, phone ID. So I passed, and wrote the developer a little e-mail. Let's see what he answers.[/citation]
Likely so the app can stop and tell you you're getting a phone call. But emailing him was a great idea if you don't understand why an app needs permissions.

Now if the rest of the world would stop and think like you did, there would be a lot less infected electronic devices in the world. among other things.
 
Well it goes to show when something gets really popular they develop ways to hurt it. This is true for Windows and now its starting for Macs. The only reason Linux is safe from most exploits is because no one wants to develop a virus for an operating system only 1% of the population uses.
 
These apps will then appear on the market with whatever description the developer submitted without ever going through any kind of verification process. The result of this is tons of malicious application
Wasn't there a story a week or so ago about a white hat hacker submitting and being approved by Apple and stock app that could download and install malicious software through an exploit in the built in browser? Considering he was banned ONLY because he told Apple to fix the security issue, how many apps are already on iOS that has malicious code?
 
[citation]The only reason Linux is safe from most exploits is because no one wants to develop a virus for an operating system only 1% of the population uses.[/citation]
And because most Linux users have a clue... 😉
 
The best anti-virus is common sense.
Know what you download and don't open it unless you have confirmed its clean.
Great site for checking files: http://virustotal.com
I also have UAC turned up to prompt for credentials on the secure desktop.
For android I use anti-virus.
 
im sorry to say, that i just did the math. the only way to get 427% increase is if the number is at least 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, or 600. everything else comes to a point.
 
Malware is just Trojans in disguise, hopefully everyone here has passing knowledge of that ancient fable, because that is the key how malware does the stuff they do.

Permissions for the chains along the malicious acts are essentially given by us, the users thinking it was for allowing boobs to show or that integration tool that calls Facebook straight from phone or just innocent game when it is for leaking user info to a zombie server, that's hard to defend against so I have finger in Factory Reset, contacts in SIM, and minimum user information on 3G stream. Otherwise the permission framework is quite solid. The only alternative is BREW not using iOS, neither Android, nor Windows Phone or anything else that has "smart" in its title and that's a pain too.
 
Wow, can't say anything bad about Android! People get all defensive. Truth is (at least in the free App and game sections) that just about every program wants access to the phone number, call state, number dialed, internet etc. etc., . Just pick any 10 programs (Angry Birds for instance) and check the permissions it requires. I bought an Android phone, based on all the great user reviews, but I have been very disappointed in the Android Market itself.
 
using 427% increase would be at least 427 new virus's since there cant be a half virus counts so the least sum could be 100 to be divided into 1 full virus right? so that means if there was an increase of 427% min amount of virus that there could be would be 527. I could still be off since im writing this late but its not 1 virus that they started off at,. Im very weiry of andriod now (i have a tablet running 1, and have 2 phones wify's and mine) im not an android hater by no means, but im concerned at the fact there will be pointed attacks now that its so succesful. I think kids (meaning of age to own a phone) will be the big targets not adults as much since adults can buy there apps (on an average bases) Where kids will go for free apps since they will be less decerning of implications. I know some will say that if your kid is to stupid they shouldnt have a phone, well no matter how smart yours kids are they will still do things that will sound and be stupid. I think andriod should do what IOS does, i think they should monitor at least to curb the problems that will arise in the future. Otherwise it will fall to the fait that windows has as a rep. only problem phones are more personal the computers were when this became problamatic. Phones also have info on our personal friends at times.
 
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