[RedFlower]

I won't say which one, but my carrier's customer service reps always grill me a little for sticking with an old Blackberry. BUT they always say that a Blackberry hack is rare/unheard of. As I pondered the advantage of the newer phones, I found this article on Google's release of updates to fix pretty serious Android security flaws on Google Play apps.

https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/10/google-fixes-serious-android-security-flaws/

According to the article, only Nexus users get this particular new patch first. Even if BB and my carrier are good about rolling out the latest security patch released earlier this month, that doesn't mean that this specific patch will be included until at least the next update.

My question is this: In your experience, have the PRIV/DTEK50 really offered additional protection against malware on apps, or did they really detect anything suspicious on your phone that probably wouldn't have been flagged by "lesser" Android phones? I have to pose this question to the actual owners of the PRIV and DTEK. Have the BB claims to better security and proactive warnings to protect against vulnerabilities to your phone matched up to reality? What is your experience with security under an Android operating system?

[Mirko935]

Most Android malware that various websites like to talk about are really irrelevant to anyone who uses more than 5 % of their brain and malicious apps can only be obtained from weird third-party hosts, by downloading an apk and installing them that way.

By default Android cannot install apps that way, in order to install it you would have to first turn on Developer options, then within them enable installation of apps from "Unknown sources" which warns you of the security risks associated with enabling it before turning it on. Second step would be to actually find such an app, download apk and confirm that you want to install it. There is another check that the system does at the moment you try to install that app. So mostly it's not a real danger.

Now and then you can hear about cases of malicious apps on Play Store like the ones that your article mentions, but it's mostly some obscure unknown apps. If you install generally well-known apps from respectable developers you will most probably never have problems. In 5 years of using Android phones, rooting them etc. I never stumbled upon a single malicious app.

Don't know if I answered your question or not, but basically that's my experience and opinion. I don't think I have much to worry about.

EDIT: Regarding additional BB protection, I did mess around a little with adb and DTEK app warned me that my software has been changed, that it doesn't match the original cryptographical hash etc. and the warning wouldn't go away until I did a factory reset so I think there are some additional measures that could mean that BB's software on Android would notice a change, i.e. a security risk, made by a malicious app.

[gizmo21]

I can't not answer the question if the BlackBerry Android held something back on my device as I'm quite suspicious for myself so I act cautiously, but I want to correct your introduction that ONLY Nexus devices get those patches first.
The monthly updates CAN be delivered to customers by any manufacturer on the day Google delivers them, they get them some weeks before to do the integration - but most manufacturers pass that opportunity.

BlackBerry has a record since DEZ 2015 to have delivered any monthly update in time and even sometimes before Nexus updates (at least for unlocked non carrier BlackBerry shop devices). The beta users even get it always some days prior to that nexus date.

In this special article case BlackBerry delivered those September patches on 6th, so 5 days before Engadget wrote the article: http://support.blackberry.com/kb/art...mber=000038411
This time even the non carrier on BlackBerry shop devices were supplied on time.

On top the last quadrooter vulnerability mentioned in the article too, was even patched out of line by rapid patching hotfix some 20 days before Google patched nexus devices: http://blogs.blackberry.com/2016/08/...lnerabilities/

So if all that stopped any rogue software on BlackBerry devices I can't tell but at least BlackBerry seems to take it seriously when it comes to patch what is patchable.
Only future or Marty McFly can tell if they can hold the pace.

[okyoureabeast]

In my time owning an android phone, I have never run into a case of Malware.

In fact, even all the way back to older Blackberry phones, Windows Mobile, and egad Palm OS (i'm getting old) I've never seen or run into any malware. You almost have to want to infect yourself.

I remember back in 2002, I got a virus on my computer that infected my entire home network! Every machine was unable to access the internet. Personally, I blame myself for the way I configured it and for using IE 6.

N00b mistakes

[gizmo21]

But as you can see here even in the play store there are apps that circumvent the google security measures:

https://securelist.com/blog/mobile/7...le-play-store/

Would be interessting to know if it would have been able to root a BB device, were the whole XDA community has failed so far. This one seems only to have used exploits valid until 2015 so with this one BB should have been secure, at least if your carrier is delivering the patches on time.

[zephyr613]

Well, there is this:

https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.i...-official.html

It is for next year and for "N" but interesting.

[bitek]

no I do not

[Wezard]

You might want to go over to XDA and read the thread about rooting the Priv. Typically one of the vulnerabilitys you are referring to is used to get into a device and accomplish root. The guys trying to root the Priv are whining and crying about not being able to use them because the patches come too fast, and if they did manage to get into the device, the next update would undo all their work.
You might manage to get something in an app that plants adds, but uninstalling the app takes care of that.
Like mirko935 says, you have to really try to have your Priv infected.

[Paraliotis3]

well not only priv from now on we have both Priv and DTek50 , both secure android devices

[ggendel]

You might want to go over to XDA and read the thread about rooting the Priv. Typically one of the vulnerabilitys you are referring to is used to get into a device and accomplish root. The guys trying to root the Priv are whining and crying about not being able to use them because the patches come too fast, and if they did manage to get into the device, the next update would undo all their work.
You might manage to get something in an app that plants adds, but uninstalling the app takes care of that.
Like mirko935 says, you have to really try to have your Priv infected.

That's why I went for the Priv (plus the PKB). Unfortunately on Verizon patches stopped in the beginning of June and only covered patches released in April. I'm so jealous.

[newcollector]

In a word, "No!"