[kbz1960]

Android has the most of everything when comparing to BB's ecosystem, almost

LOL well played

[reeneebob]

That could be but there are plenty of free ones, on windows anyway, that do a better job than the paid ones.

Yes, but it's kind of like what Michael Moore had to say about network news or the NRA. Make the citizenry live in fear, lead with the goriest, most violent story (or in the NRA case keep talking about government overthrows and other ridiculousness ) and you end up with people running to buy guns and the membership coffers getting filled up by the overly paranoid. (And please let's not get into a gun control debate, it's an analogy). Now substitute the anti virus manufacturers for the NRA...

The best defense is common sense. Period. And no amount of overstating (or posters making it sound like 99% of android users are malware attacked) makes it true. And if people continuously get infected because of their own stupidity, well, they kind of deserve it.



SENT FROM TAPATALK 2 - Anything I say in no way represents the view of my employer, amd please do not PM me regarding account information or questions. Thanks.

[kbz1960]

Yes, but it's kind of like what Michael Moore had to say about network news or the NRA. Make the citizenry live in fear, lead with the goriest, most violent story (or in the NRA case keep talking about government overthrows and other ridiculousness ) and you end up with people running to buy guns and the membership coffers getting filled up by the overly paranoid. (And please let's not get into a gun control debate, it's an analogy). Now substitute the anti virus manufacturers for the NRA...

The best defense is common sense. Period. And no amount of overstating (or posters making it sound like 99% of android users are malware attacked) makes it true. And if people continuously get infected because of their own stupidity, well, they kind of deserve it.



SENT FROM TAPATALK 2 - Anything I say in no way represents the view of my employer, amd please do not PM me regarding account information or questions. Thanks.

While true as I've said a lot of people don't follow that advice even when given. Sure the anti companies may use some scare tactics but it still doesn't diminish it's a real threat considering there were millions of bot net computers around the globe.

[qbnkelt]

So I asked this before and not sure if anyone ever answered. Are you suggesting that Trend Micro, Norton, McAfee, Malwarebytes, Spywareblaster and on and on companies are the sources of viruses and malware so they can sell their software that wouldn't be needed otherwise?

Not at all. I would not say that at all. Can you *imagine* the repercussions of such actions? No.

But have they got a vested interest in making super duper absolutely sure that everyone on this solar system knows about every thing that could possibly go wrong??? oh yah....

[kbz1960]

Not at all. I would not say that at all. Can you *imagine* the repercussions of such actions? No.

But have they got a vested interest in making super duper absolutely sure that everyone on this solar system knows about every thing that could possibly go wrong??? oh yah....

LOL true. From the millions of bot nets that are probably still online I say it can't hurt. Maybe those that have been told and should know better will listen someday but probably not.

[xandermac]

Its the least vulnerable platform. Are you denying that? Or please advise which platform is less vulnerable?

Right now, because of its curated AppStore and lack of sideloading I'd say iOS is the least vulnerable.


Sent from my 4s using TapaTalk

[Jonesy1966]

Infosecurity published a report a couple of months ago that suggested all 100 of the top 100 Android apps were infected with malware of one description or another.

[wolf_359]

Well......certainly alot to think about in terms of security. The part i have trouble understanding is why people do things like sideloading if it increases risk so much. I use apps only downloaded from BB World as i understand BB takes steps to ensure those apps are secure. Maybe i'm wrong cause i'm in no way a tech person. I havn't seen an app invented yet that i can not do without if it means compromising my security. I don't own an android device and from the sounds of things i don't think i ever will. No offence to those who do, just my preference for me. Cheers.

[Tre Lawrence]

Infosecurity published a report a couple of months ago that suggested all 100 of the top 100 Android apps were infected with malware of one description or another.

Now that piques my interest. All the top 100 have malware?

[gxgs]

Infosecurity published a report a couple of months ago that suggested all 100 of the top 100 Android apps were infected with malware of one description or another.

WOW HAHAHAHA holy shiet, bullsh*t much?
Do you even know the difference between malware and adware or even analytic adware?
Malware = malicious software, adware = ad supported software, analytic adware = ads used to get anonymous statistics about certain application usage, which pretty much every company does, including blackberry.

Please somebody remove this post, saying that swiftkey (the very same keyboard API the playbook uses), or titanium backup, root explorer, rom manager, poweramp, rom toolbox, tapatalk, documents to go, shazam, all part of the top 100, are malicious software already constitutes a good case of disparagement.

Now that piques my interest. All the top 100 have malware?

Nope, just another case of an ignorant baseless claim.

This just tells you how much have other people in this website used an android device... for more than 2 days.

[Tre Lawrence]

Well......certainly alot to think about in terms of security. The part i have trouble understanding is why people do things like sideloading if it increases risk so much. I use apps only downloaded from BB World as i understand BB takes steps to ensure those apps are secure. Maybe i'm wrong cause i'm in no way a tech person. I havn't seen an app invented yet that i can not do without if it means compromising my security. I don't own an android device and from the sounds of things i don't think i ever will. No offence to those who do, just my preference for me. Cheers.

Not a lot to take offense at. We live in a world where we get to choose platforms. That is a blessing. Choice is good.

[Villain]

Google collects so much data with all of it's services.... googles main reason for all of it's services/products is to gain information to build up it's search engine bigger, faster and stronger.

Android, Gmail, Google maps, Google search etc all collect your personal information.

with that being said...myself I'm not opposed because it does have pros

[KermEd]

Just because we don't see it, it doesn't mean malware doesn't exist.

I've said it a lot before, but Google Play, BBWorld and Apple's AppStore all have applications with malware.

Google: Free Google Play Apps - some with tons of users - have been found that monitor emails and sms messages and transmit them.

Apple: Free AppStore games and apps - also with tons of users - sit in dormant stages for years. Then they start making thousands of random 1$ in-app purchases without asking to apps you don't have installed.

BlackBerry: there is no reason info gathering and maleware can't exist on the platform. Apps are not checked for storing data on servers. And people can install Android apps. Its just a matter of time but I'm certain there are apps. BBOS5/6/7 have apps in AppWorld that collect your PIN for unstopable spam.

via Tapatalk

[brmiller1976]

Heh. No real response from the Android people who made the demands of me that I fulfilled, ignoring the stories on thousands of malware apps from Google Play, and now they're proposing that Android malware is a conspiracy by the makers of anti-virus apps and threat analysis companies. ROFL

I think the average observer can figure out the real story now. Mission accomplished!

[brmiller1976]

I assume you don't use Gmail, YouTube, Chrome, Bing, Hotmail, Facebook or Websites like Crackberry that make money off of the data they "mine" from you? Save the holier than thou attitude, you aren't impressing anyone with your isolationist musings!

Get back to me when Crackberry, Hotmail or Bing are scraping user data such as online banking details and keystrokes, ala Chrome, and saving them in a personal repository on a server to sell to advertisers.

"Hey, user 4512332124583 has an account with Chase with a $100,000 balance and an investment account with Fidelity that has $250,000 in it. How much would you like to pay to get advertising to this user, Citibank, Bank of America and Schwab?" -- Google

"Oh, after he runs that harmless, highly-ranked game he downloaded off the official store, he won't have ANYTHING in either account." -- Google Play malware author

[brmiller1976]

We have seen proven cases of similar "hidden functionality" problems hitting iPhone apps, and it is also possible to do the same with BlackBerry apps uploaded to BBWorld. We know some earlier apps for BBOS had extra undeclared functionality (Many will remember spam from JaredCo) and there is nothing to stop someone uploading a similar BB10 app. The only defense is the human user's intelligence.

Please stop trying to pretend that the threats are equivalent. Google Play has around 1/10 of its apps as malware -- that would be around 40,000 to 50,000 at last count -- as CONFIRMED threats. That's on top of around 250,000 other apps that can be sideloaded, downloaded as virus packages via the web browser, etc.

iOS had around 200 out of 750,000. BlackBerry had two. TWO. Windows Phone had one. ONE. And they were all removed, while the toxic apps on Google Play remain there, for the most part, undiscovered by anybody other than helpless users.

Security on iOS, BB and Windows Phone consists of large teams who carefully audit every app submitted to the store for download and act quickly for the few that slip through. Security on Google Play is an automated piece of software that only checks for old threats, and Reddit threads that point out deadly apps only AFTER they've been detected and infected millions of users.

The average iOS, BB or Windows Phone user will likely never encounter malware, ever. The average Android user is not only more likely to encounter malware on a monthly basis, but the rate of growth on that platform is such that malware will be a daily problem by the end of the year.

That's why "anti-virus" is the third most popular category of app on Android, and not even a significant category on BB, iOS or Windows Phone.

[brmiller1976]

Why on earth should anyone apologise to you brmiller?

Because you claimed the apps didn't exist until I named them.

Now that I've named several of them, you're moving the goalposts and claiming that the millions of people who were infected by them, including my friends, are "stupid" and "deserved it" because they weren't "careful."

The entire point is that if someone has to be "super-careful" when using a device in order to avoid having it damaged or destroyed, or their personal information stolen, then they made the wrong choice and should consider a device like a BlackBerry where the need for such caution is much lower.

There's no point to having an app store with "hundreds of thousands of apps" if most of them are dangerous software that has to be "avoided" or "carefully considered" before being installed.

In Android world, your local supermarket's food section is full of poisoned food that can harm or kill you, and if you buy the tin of beans or steak cut from the meat section loaded up with botulism, it's YOUR fault that you "didn't choose carefully," not the store's fault for selling toxic food.

Then again, the Android Brigade knows this already, and is busy being on the warpath to keep people from learning about the reality -- that the Google Play market is full of booby traps.

The reality is that most people want to be able to shop in a store that is safe, and Android isn't safe.

[reeneebob]

Because you claimed the apps didn't exist until I named them.

Now that I've named several of them, you're moving the goalposts and claiming that the millions of people who were infected by them, including my friends, are "stupid" and "deserved it" because they weren't "careful."

The entire point is that if someone has to be "super-careful" when using a device in order to avoid having it damaged or destroyed, or their personal information stolen, then they made the wrong choice and should consider a device like a BlackBerry where the need for such caution is much lower.

There's no point to having an app store with "hundreds of thousands of apps" if most of them are dangerous software that has to be "avoided" or "carefully considered" before being installed.

In Android world, your local supermarket's food section is full of poisoned food that can harm or kill you, and if you buy the tin of beans or steak cut from the meat section loaded up with botulism, it's YOUR fault that you "didn't choose carefully," not the store's fault for selling toxic food.

Then again, the Android Brigade knows this already, and is busy being on the warpath to keep people from learning about the reality -- that the Google Play market is full of booby traps.

The reality is that most people want to be able to shop in a store that is safe, and Android isn't safe.

You named them, and 'millions were infected' .

So many were infected that there's not even a CACHED page hit for this 'bettertwitter' app you 'named '. Not even a blog post from one of the millions you apparently have personally talked to and vetted enough to speak on their behalf. I notice you also 'conveniently glossed over that fact'. According to searches on Google, Bing, yahoo, that app doesn't exist and never did, not even in cached page form.

I gotta give you credit. You seem to truly believe the **** you're shovelling. However, you sound like the Sean Hannity of Android reporting. Which just means that most reasonable people will not take you seriously.

It is entertaining, though.

SENT FROM TAPATALK 2 - Anything I say in no way represents the view of my employer, amd please do not PM me regarding account information or questions. Thanks.

[brmiller1976]

Right now, because of its curated AppStore and lack of sideloading I'd say iOS is the least vulnerable.


Sent from my 4s using TapaTalk

Windows Phone has a similar arrangement.

[brmiller1976]

You named them, and 'millions were infected' .

I linked to info about thousands of malware apps that infected millions.

So many were infected that there's not even a CACHED page hit for this 'bettertwitter' app you 'named '.

So for one of the five apps I listed, you couldn't find data -- so that invalidates the other four, plus the thousands of other apps listed in the links I provided. Gotcha.

According to searches on Google, Bing, yahoo, that app doesn't exist and never did, not even in cached page form.

ROFL. Not even sure what to say about this other than that.

I gotta give you credit. You seem to truly believe the **** you're shovelling. However, you sound like the Sean Hannity of Android reporting. Which just means that most reasonable people will not take you seriously.

This is a great example of the Great Android Jihad in action. Point out facts they don't like, and result is not a response to the vast majority of the points you bring up, but an effort to nitpick a minor thing and then a bevy of personal attacks on the bearer of bad news.

My fact-based argument doesn't require personal attacks, because it's fact-based.

In Android-Land:

1) Every security company is a liar and probably makes up all the viruses they find, just to target Android, as part of some grand conspiracy funded by Microsoft, Apple and BlackBerry.

2) They demand that people who know victims of Android malware from the marketplace list all the apps. When this is done, they ignore all the thousands of apps that are listed except for the one they claim they cannot find in a Google search, and claim this invalidates the general observations.

3) When this rather-hilarious line of argumentation fails to sway the argument in the face of the documented malware epidemic, they compare the bearer of bad news to (respectively) Ann Coulter, Rachel Maddow and (now) Sean Hannity. I guess a comparison to Hitler is eventually inevitable.

The one thing they cannot do is validate the security of Android -- because Android is not secure. Period.

[darkehawke]

Its the least vulnerable platform. Are you denying that? Or please advise which platform is less vulnerable?

That has nothing to do with what i was saying. Blackberry is the least vulnerable as it simply does not attract a high number of users right now, even when the market share was at its highest.

[Omnitech]

In the end it will be the strength or weakness of the entire BB10 platform that makes RIM/BBRY's future. Security is part of that picture but BB7 phones are more secure than Android and how much did that contribute to the success of RIM/BBRY?

You made a stink about people "throwing tar" at Android. The reason I can tell you this is an emotionalized debate is because we have people acting like they are defending their religion or something, with all the rampant exaggerating and defensiveness. Analogy:

I'm somewhere with a female friend, I notice a random thread on her clothing that sticks out. I say: "Oh hey, looks like there's some thread there". One can get various responses. For example, the woman could respond "Oh thanks" and brush off the thread, or ignore it, whatever. Or she might get upset, accuse me of criticizing her wardrobe or something. I've seen the whole spectrum.

The point is: I just noticed something. I didn't even have any particular position on what should be done about it, may have just been idle chatter. The response varies depending on a person's pre-conceptions, self-esteem and in some cases their emotional projections.

Getting back to the matter at hand: when I or anyone else state that Android (in general) is well-known to have significant security issues, or that it has a significant malware problem - it's a statement of fact. That fact is not disputed by virtually anyone with a clue in the I.T. sector who has any knowledge of the situation.

Your judgement, or anyone's judgement, about what that means is a separate matter. But please refrain from accusing people of "throwing tar" simply because they state the obvious. And I'm telling you as someone who has been an I.T. consultant for over 20 yrs and someone who works in computer security among other areas, that this Android malware issue is a settled fact. WHY it is what it is, or whether it can be successfully mitigated or avoided or fixed or whatever, is a separate question.

Whether or not I think that means that the platform is doomed, whether or not I think that means that the platform is useless, whether or not I think that platform is fundamentally inferior to Blackberry or any other operating environment is also a separate matter.

So before you start accusing people of "unfairly throwing tar", I would ask you consider your own emotional involvement in the issue, which might be clouding your objectivity.

[darkehawke]

I linked to info about thousands of malware apps that infected millions.



So for one of the five apps I listed, you couldn't find data -- so that invalidates the other four, plus the thousands of other apps listed in the links I provided. Gotcha.



ROFL. Not even sure what to say about this other than that.



This is a great example of the Great Android Jihad in action. Point out facts they don't like, and result is not a response to the vast majority of the points you bring up, but an effort to nitpick a minor thing and then a bevy of personal attacks on the bearer of bad news.

My fact-based argument doesn't require personal attacks, because it's fact-based.

In Android-Land:

1) Every security company is a liar and probably makes up all the viruses they find, just to target Android, as part of some grand conspiracy funded by Microsoft, Apple and BlackBerry.

2) They demand that people who know victims of Android malware from the marketplace list all the apps. When this is done, they ignore all the thousands of apps that are listed except for the one they claim they cannot find in a Google search, and claim this invalidates the general observations.

3) When this rather-hilarious line of argumentation fails to sway the argument in the face of the documented malware epidemic, they compare the bearer of bad news to (respectively) Ann Coulter, Rachel Maddow and (now) Sean Hannity. I guess a comparison to Hitler is eventually inevitable.

The one thing they cannot do is validate the security of Android -- because Android is not secure. Period.

how many apps did you list as malware?
i cant seem to find your post

[Omnitech]

I'm correct "for the most part"? Do you have a sliding scale for how much you tolerate websites and services making money off of the data that mine from you?

Yes I do as a matter of fact. My degree of tolerance is directly related to how abusive and/or intrusive I believe the entity's business practices are. Not exactly an esoteric concept.

It's not a defensive response, I just find it amusing that people think Google is evil for mining data and making money from it. Everybody does it!

No, as a matter of fact, everyone does NOT do it. That's a rather weak way to attempt to dismiss a considered viewpoint, tbh.

Now you're perfectly free to not care about such things, of course. But let's not just create our own private facts just because you'd rather not acknowledge what is actually going on. There are lots of people in this world that care little about privacy and monetization of confidential, personal data. I just don't happen to be one of them.

On the whole question of who does or doesn't abuse private/confidential data, here's a web search engine that doesn't track what people search for, unlike the popular alternatives:

https://duckduckgo.com/

Here's a recent review by the Electronic Freedom Foundation on various internet providers and online sites and their approach towards user privacy and confidentiality. I'm proud to say that an outstanding local-to-me ISP called Sonic.net did quite well in this comparison:

https://www.eff.org/pages/who-has-your-back

[Omnitech]

Malware devs offer $100 a pop for 'active' Google Play accounts ? The Register
Malware-flingers can pwn your mobile with OVER-THE-AIR updates ? The Register
Japanese govt: Use operator-run app stores, not Google Play ? The Register
China's Android users warned of giant botnet ? The Register
'Shake to charge', similar crapps foul up Amazon Android store ? The Register
Android Trojan taints US mobes, spews 500,000 texts A DAY ? The Register


Took me 15 seconds to find that. Like taking candy from a baby...