BT apparently has a patents case against Google in the US
|
| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| tracyanne Jul 30, 2012 3:56 AM EDT |
I suspect this claim is mostly FUD |
| jdixon Jul 30, 2012 9:10 AM EDT |
> I suspect this claim is mostly FUD... What was your first clue? Perhaps this: > We analyzed more than 1,000 Android applications and found a third compromised with some form of active or dormant malware." Compared to this: > Jill further said, "Almost every device is compromised with some kind of malware, although often it's not clear if that code is active or what it is doing." "A third" does not equal "almost every" in any math course I ever took. And 1000 devices is hardly a representative sample of Android devices, unless they did a very careful sample selection. |
| flufferbeer Jul 30, 2012 12:47 PM EDT |
@jdixon, Also take a look at the last sentence > BT, just like Apple (stole from Sony, and patented) and Microsoft (which are all bogus), claims Android infringes upon its patents and sued Google in US. it seems to meet that either Apple or Macro$uck$ are somehow right behind BT's iffy security "comments". -fb |
| CFWhitman Jul 31, 2012 10:11 AM EDT |
Well, I definitely mistrust the report. However, if you look at the numbers, they say that a third of all the Android applications they analyzed have malware attached, and nearly every device had malware. If there really were malware in a third of all Android apps (regardless of other factors about the apps), then it wouldn't be surprising that nearly all devices with many more than three apps installed had one of those apps on them. However, I think too much information is missing from this report. I don't know the answers to questions like these: What constitutes malware according to BT? Is all adware malware? Is every app that tracks information about you malware? Were the apps they tested a random sampling? Did they only test free apps? Were they only apps in the Play Store, or did they include other apps? Would a trained monkey know better than to install a lot of the apps they tested? There is no indication that the, "almost every device is compromised with some kind of malware," statement is anything beyond pure conjecture. No study is mentioned, and no specific numbers are given. These remarks seem like they were pulled out of the air. |
| jdixon Jul 31, 2012 11:52 AM EDT |
> These remarks seem like they were pulled out of the air. That's one possible location, yes. |
| helios Jul 31, 2012 1:04 PM EDT |
Again, what are they defining as "malware"? Sure the Androidsphere is full of questionable apps, but only because they are ad-laden and do no worse than facebook apps on your personal computer. They do no damage per se, they just clog your system with garbage they think is an even trade-off for a free app. I've scrubbed a bunch of them off my droid after trying many of them, without lingering affect. So if they are counting some of these apps as "malware", then the article is FUD and BS. But then again, that's been alluded to already. |
| BernardSwiss Jul 31, 2012 8:10 PM EDT |
> Again, what are they defining as "malware"? Anything that leaves cookies behind, just to start with... (That's where the Windows AV/Sec suites start their definition). |
| gus3 Aug 01, 2012 6:12 PM EDT |
So LXer.com would be classified as "malware"? Yet another reason not to trust AV vendors. |
| BernardSwiss Aug 01, 2012 8:18 PM EDT |
Only if those cookies are "tracking cookies". I wouldn't know -- I dump all cookies whenever I close my browser -- which is generally several times per day. (I used to have a cool extension which let me modify the cookies' expiry times, and protect selected cookies -- but nothing like that seems to be available any more. In any case, I did that only with ID and password cookies, and only for a few, selected sites (LXer would qualify)). |
| BernardSwiss Aug 01, 2012 11:04 PM EDT |
Recent developments: BT backpedals on claims almost every Android device has malware http://www.zdnet.com/bt-backpedals-on-claims-almost-every-an... |
| gus3 Aug 02, 2012 5:33 PM EDT |
But of course that back-pedaling won't get nearly as much coverage. |
Posting in this forum is limited to members of the group: [ForumMods, SITEADMINS, MEMBERS.]
Becoming a member of LXer is easy and free. Join Us!