Malicious Android Apps Double in Six Months

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
Heh, all this talk of global infection rates sounds more like a zombie movie than a mobile malware warning. :D

Meanwhile, Android users are increasingly at risk--like users on all mobile platforms are--of unwittingly clicking on links that lead to malware and phishing sites. "The global yearly likelihood of an Android user clicking on an unsafe link is 36 percent (6 percent higher than July 2011)," the report says. "In the United States, the likelihood is higher than the global average at 40 percent."
Click to expand...
 
So a mobile security software vendor is saying the sky is falling, yet they admit that a vast majority of the malware is on 3rd party websites that aren't trustworthy...

I wonder how many sheep will go install Lookout and buy some of their services now because they don't know any better.
 
Wait...... but Android can't possibly get malware? It must be a massive conspiracy created by the Antivirus companies. That's the only logical explanation.
Click to expand...

I lol'd
 
This is what happens when you browse dirty websites with a Flash-enabled browser on a rooted operating system.
 
It is a crock of shit spread by the AV companies. If you go into the market place and allow unknown sources, then you could have this happen. If you WANT to do that and you are a moron, then having AV is probably not a bad idea.

If you get apps from third party sites, then you'd better know what you're doing. I think the fact they let you install whatever you want, from where you want is a GREAT thing, not a bad thing. You do have to turn that function on however, otherwise it pulls from the market place only. Apple has far too much control, so I'm a convert from the iPhone to my Galaxy S II but I don't really shit talk Apple. Their control is great for tards who need to stay in their box; why is that a bad thing? I really don't understand the crux of any of this conversation, nobody would tolerate the level of control they exert over their mobile platform on their desktop. Yet people defend it as if the freedom on Android is a bad thing; its lunacy.

In my mind, it is nearly the same as the AV companies saying you need their protection for the apple platform too, because if you jailbreak and allow third party apps on your iPhone you could get a virus or malware. Yet, nobody would agree with that (not even Android fans), because the assumption is that if you get a virus or rooted with iOS that it's your own dumbass fault. This looks like the same story to me except you don't have to have to jailbreak to enable this function on Android. That is a WEAK link for fanboys to hop on and at the same time, completely miss the point of the freedom in the first place.
 
you don't even have to allow unknown sources. just visit android's marketplace and you and dl some malware right there.

that's the cost of an open system. more freedom requires a more responsible user.

i won't be giving up any of my android phones and tablets any time soon.
 
InorganicMatter said:
This is what happens when you browse dirty websites with a Flash-enabled browser on a rooted operating system.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Flash enabled browser and root access is what forces people to click INSTALL after visiting free-android-apps.xxx. :rolleyes:
 
defuseme2k said:
It is a crock of shit spread by the AV companies. If you go into the market place and allow unknown sources, then you could have this happen. If you WANT to do that and you are a moron, then having AV is probably not a bad idea.

If you get apps from third party sites, then you'd better know what you're doing. I think the fact they let you install whatever you want, from where you want is a GREAT thing, not a bad thing. You do have to turn that function on however, otherwise it pulls from the market place only. Apple has far too much control, so I'm a convert from the iPhone to my Galaxy S II but I don't really shit talk Apple. Their control is great for tards who need to stay in their box; why is that a bad thing? I really don't understand the crux of any of this conversation, nobody would tolerate the level of control they exert over their mobile platform on their desktop. Yet people defend it as if the freedom on Android is a bad thing; its lunacy.

In my mind, it is nearly the same as the AV companies saying you need their protection for the apple platform too, because if you jailbreak and allow third party apps on your iPhone you could get a virus or malware. Yet, nobody would agree with that (not even Android fans), because the assumption is that if you get a virus or rooted with iOS that it's your own dumbass fault. This looks like the same story to me except you don't have to have to jailbreak to enable this function on Android. That is a WEAK link for fanboys to hop on and at the same time, completely miss the point of the freedom in the first place.
Click to expand...

You underestimate how dumb people are.
 
Vermillion said:
Yeah, the Flash enabled browser and root access is what forces people to click INSTALL after visiting free-android-apps.xxx. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

You don't seem to understand how an exploit works, especially with browser plugins.

All someone has to do is exploit a hole in Flash and they can install whatever they want WITHOUT you pressing anything. Just by visiting the page.
 
Oh look, a lot of people defending android blindly. Did NOT expect that.
 
Cali3350 said:
Oh look, a lot of people defending android blindly. Did NOT expect that.
Click to expand...

Well yeah, but Android white knights are even more sensitive than most when it comes to security. How dare you infer that the almighty Linux could possibly have an exploit in the wild!
 
InorganicMatter said:
You don't seem to understand how an exploit works, especially with browser plugins.

All someone has to do is exploit a hole in Flash and they can install whatever they want WITHOUT you pressing anything. Just by visiting the page.
Click to expand...

You don't seem to understand how the sandboxing of applications in Android works. Show me where Android (rooted or not rooted) has been compromised via an active Flash exploit or a browser exploit and has allowed malicious software to install without the user knowing. Oh wait...that hasn't happened yet.

Even recent Flash exploits, like the ones in Flash 10.2.x, were only theoretically able to run remote code against Android. There was never a proof of concept for any Flash exploit on Android even when that same flaw in Windows had active exploits in the wild.

Last I checked all malware for Android needs to be installed by the USER. So I have no sympathy for the people installing crap like Super_Sexy_Japanese_Girls.apk from some random website.

InorganicMatter said:
Well yeah, but Android white knights are even more sensitive than most when it comes to security. How dare you infer that the almighty Linux could possibly have an exploit in the wild!
Click to expand...

Exploit in the wild? No. There are none that anybody has seen. There is malware in the form of bad applications that the user has to install.
 
BDS23 said:
So... WP7 for the win? Or... ... What is this? I don't even...
Click to expand...

For the foreseeable future because of the much smaller market share of Windows Phone, WP users won't have to worry much about this stuff. Security by obscurity isn't a bad thing, just has nothing to do with software engineering.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top