1. VeniceBB's Avatar
    Hi guys

    I posted pretty much this same question before on the Sideloading forum, and on goodereader.com, but I can't seem to get a real answer.

    At this time the only sideloaded Android app I have is Kindle. I was however curious to see what else was out there, and I stumbled upon and AVG Virus Scanner app. That got me thinking.
    I know the Android Player enables us to use certain Android apps, but honestly, I have no idea how it works and in what way it interacts with PlayBook's native OS. So if you take an app like AVG, that's designed to protect the Android environment, and you convert it for the PlayBook, how functional will it be in the end? Will it only recognize the Android environment when you run it, thus only protect/scan the part of your PB that's reserved for Android? Or will it cross the borders and protect/scan the entire PB? And even if it does reach beyond the 'Android part'... will it have any value at all? It is after all designed specifically for Android, not for QNX, right? And just to be clear on this, I'm not talking about apps that have been converted and admitted to the App World by their original developers.

    The answer I got on goodereader was this: it mainly just scans the android aspect of your machine. We had people who thought they had maelware on their playbook due to files they got elsewhere and wanted an anti-virus solution

    To me that answer doesn't really answer my question. 'Mainly just' seems to imply there might be exceptions. I see quite a lot of people have downloaded this bar file, but if my gut feeling is right and it doesn't really work on protecting your PB, offering this bar file is nothing more than creating a false sense of security for those who worry about internet security. Now I'm not really all that worried about the PB when it comes to security, but I'm just trying to understand better.

    I'm not well versed in the inner workings of the PB or Android, so could someone with a little more insight offer help here and explain it to me? Thanks so much!

    Edit: Oh crap, messed up my topic title That was supposed to be 'Question about..."
    Last edited by VeniceBB; 03-12-12 at 05:04 PM.
    03-12-12 04:54 PM
  2. SifJar's Avatar
    Yeah it'll basically only have access to the Android side of things. Due to the way apps have to be sideloaded, it's less likely you'll get Android malware on the PlayBook, and I personally question the utility of AV apps on a portable device anyway (although there's no doubt they'll probably become quite important).

    And as you say, even if it could scan the rest of the PB, it wouldn't be much good as it is specifically designed to detect Android malware, and so wouldn't pick up on potentially malicious native QNX apps.

    EDIT: So basically, there is no point installing AVG on the PB.
    VeniceBB likes this.
    03-12-12 05:30 PM
  3. VeniceBB's Avatar
    Thanks, that's pretty much what I thought when I saw it.
    I'm really not worried about my PB but it would be kind of nice of the people converting/sharing those kind of apps to actually mention that instead of having people believe they get a fully functional security app.
    03-13-12 03:24 PM
  4. SifJar's Avatar
    I haven't noticed those apps anywhere, but I'm sure they are about, and if so they're rather pointless, but the people who are likely to not know that are the ones who will feel safer with one installed, even if it actually offers no protection. May as well let them have the placebo of installing an AV app
    03-14-12 12:57 PM
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