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Google Remotely Nukes Apps From Android Phones
itwbennett writes "Google disclosed in a blog post on Thursday that it remotely removed two applications from Android phones that ran contrary to the terms of the Android Market. From the post: 'Recently, we became aware of two free applications built by a security researcher for research purposes. These applications intentionally misrepresented their purpose in order to encourage user downloads, but they were not designed to be used maliciously, and did not have permission to access private data — or system resources beyond permission.INTERNET. As the applications were practically useless, most users uninstalled the applications shortly after downloading them. After the researcher voluntarily removed these applications from Android Market, we decided, per the Android Market Terms of Service, to exercise our remote application removal feature on the remaining installed copies to complete the cleanup.' The blog post comes a day after security vendor SMobile Systems published a report saying that 20% of Android apps provide access to sensitive information."
Update: 06/25 16:44 GMT by S : Clarified last sentence, which incorrectly suggested that 20% of Android apps were malicious. According to the report (PDF, which we discussed recently), "a majority of these applications were developed with the best of intentions and the user data will likely not be compromised.
Just an FYI, even though Apple has some of the most draconian app policies ever--they have never remotely nuked an application from someone's phone. They have taken apps off of the market, but they have never actually removed it from your device. I ran GVMobile for a long time until it stopped properly authenticating, for example.
When you install apps from the market or elsewhere, Android prompts you in advance letting you know of all of the permissions this app requires.
There is with this at all. It is no different from random app X requiring my root password and prompting for it. If I trust the app and give it up, this is not a security issue.
This is how you allow apps to have access to these low level permissions, without disallowing them totally, liek Apple in it's walled garden.
It is why there are so many more in-depth Android apps than there are iPhone ones. You can replace the dialer, replace the address book, etc.
This company is fear-mongering about nothing to such a degreee that I wonder if they are on Apple's payroll.
This is something that Apple has never done! I still have the NetShare app on my iphone and it is still working with iOS4. Even though it breaks Apple's term of service, Apple has never done anything to break the App!
You do not have to get your apps through the Android Market.
AT&T routinely removes the checkbox to enable software from "Unknown sources" from its Android phones' firmware.
This company is fear-mongering about nothing to such a degreee that I wonder if they are on Apple's payroll.
Or maybe, just maybe, the security vendor is on their own payroll and is attempting to drum up some fear and uncertainty and doubt in order to sell their own products. Kinda like all the other security vendors out there have been doing for years and years and years.