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New Attack Uses Attackers' Own Ad Network To Deliver Android Malware

Posted by samzenpus on from the protect-ya-neck dept.

Trailrunner7 writes "The concept of malware riding shotgun with legitimate mobile apps is not a new one. There have been a slew of cases in which attackers have compromised apps in the Google Play store and inserted malware into the file. But a new attack uncovered by Palo Alto Networks is using a new technique that starts with the user installing an app on her Android phone. The app could be a legitimate one or a malicious one, but it will include some code that, once the app is installed, will reach out to an ad network. Many apps include such code for legitimate ad revenue purposes, but these apps are connecting to a malicious ad network. Once the connection is made, the app will then wait until the user is trying to install another app and will pop up an extra dialog box asking for permission to install some extra code. That code is where the bad things lie. The malicious code immediately gains control of the phone's SMS app for both command and control and in order to sign the victim up for some premium-rate SMS services. The attack is interesting, said Wade Williamson, a senior security analyst at Palo Alto, because the attackers can use a legitimate ad network that's already connected to a group of apps and then at any given time flip the switch and begin using it for malicious purposes."

59 comments

  1. Then it is malicious... by RobertM1968 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The app could be a legitimate one or a malicious one, but it will include some code that, once the app is installed, will reach out to an ad network. Many apps include such code for legitimate ad revenue purposes, but these apps are connecting to a malicious ad network.

    Inotherwords "but it has malware in it for the ad portion that goes to a malicious ad network" - or the app IS malicious and not legitimate. An app isn't magically legitimate if only some portions of it are malware.

    --
    StarTrekPhase2 - The Five Year Mission Continues!
    1. Re:Then it is malicious... by ackthpt · · Score: 4, Funny

      The app could be a legitimate one or a malicious one, but it will include some code that, once the app is installed, will reach out to an ad network. Many apps include such code for legitimate ad revenue purposes, but these apps are connecting to a malicious ad network.

      Inotherwords "but it has malware in it for the ad portion that goes to a malicious ad network" - or the app IS malicious and not legitimate. An app isn't magically legitimate if only some portions of it are malware.

      "Sometimes is difficult differentiate between Stupidware and Malware - Stupidware being sloppily written, which allows attacks and Malware which was purposefully written to allow attacks. Both date back at least a decade. That it's happening on a mobile device is simply a logical iteration of a predictable progression, Captain."

      "That ... still ... does not fix the ... communicator, Spock."

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:Then it is malicious... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Inotherwords "but it has malware in it for the ad portion that goes to a malicious ad network" - or the app IS malicious and not legitimate. An app isn't magically legitimate if only some portions of it are malware.

      I guess ... I mean, if you want to use words and definitions and stuff, then yes, you're right.

      BTW, this story has some kind of clustersummary. Monkeys and keyboards don't mix.

    3. Re:Then it is malicious... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is badly understood comment buddy..

      THe statement is correct as written.. the app itself is not relevant as the ad network is what is delivering the malware.. IE the adnetwork can just as easily dupe greedy slimeball developers who just want cash for obnoxious adverts on a phone.. as it can create its own shitty apps.. to deliver the payload..

      IE since its the ad network that is the attack vector, it could just as easily come in Angry Birds Ads Gone Wild, as it is to come in "If you install this your a moron who does not deserve a regular phone much less a smartphone hehehehe" app...

      Shame that this is modded insightful when its more like first grade reading level failure to misunderstand the original post..

    4. Re: Then it is malicious... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you code as you write comments... I feel sad for your users.

    5. Re:Then it is malicious... by JakartaDean · · Score: 2

      I guess ... I mean, if you want to use words and definitions and stuff, then yes, you're right.

      BTW, this story has some kind of clustersummary. Monkeys and keyboards don't mix.

      I read the summary thinking "citation needed... citation needed" and "What does that mean?" Turns out the words were just lifted from the article at threatpost.com which was just as poorly written, and also only includes one link -- to another page on the same site. That original article simply describes a method of carrying out a DDOS attack by paying for some ads then using javascript (could even be html) on those ads to contribute to the DDOS. Cheap, not fancy, put would work if someone is stupid enough to pay ransom for getting their web site back up.

      The other article, linked to in the summary, piles a shitload of hyperbole, unsubstantiated claims and bullshit on top of that, and then gets someone to link to it here. Nothing substantiated about Android, SMS, or anything else. There is no link to Palo Alto Networks, but I googled them. There is nothing about this on their web site that I could find quickly. Nothing.

      What we have here is a completely fabricated story posted on Slashdot because someone wanted to post a story, I guess, and the editors didn't even get suspicious about the obviously wrong article and click on the one link there. Slashdot, you are sometimes great, but you would be more consistently great if the editors just spent a few more minutes with the content. Like reading the articles. This was just fucking awful.

      --
      The subject who is truly loyal to the Chief Magistrate will neither advise nor submit to arbitrary measures (Junius)
    6. Re:Then it is malicious... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "That ... still ... does not fix the ... communicator, Spock."

      Look then Captain, who is responsible for the attack? Or perhaps there is really no attack, just another attempt by the Borg to sow Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt...

  2. Android by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    The only unix-based platform riddled with security issues, viruses and trojans problems.

    1. Re:Android by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 1

      oh the unix like part is fine it is the Java vm that like in many other software stacks is the root of the problem.

      --
      ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
    2. Re: Android by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      Popularity != Vulnerability.

      Stop spreading FUD.

      --
      Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
    3. Re:Android by Nerdfest · · Score: 1

      Out of curiosity, has anyone here actually run into any Android malware? Most of the people I know have been using Android for quite some time and nobody has encountered any (but they do tend to tick to the Play or Amazon stores).

    4. Re:Android by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really? Please read this paper.
      http://www.internetsociety.org/sites/default/files/02_4.pdf
      And then post.

    5. Re: Android by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 2

      Popularity maps to number of attackers in an exponential curve.

      Obscurity =/= hardening against hacking, and one does not properly derive confidence for the security of one's system when it is attacked at 1/1000th another system's attack load.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  3. FAIL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    PBKAC, as usual...

    1. Re:FAIL by peragrin · · Score: 2

      um android is generally found on tablets. Keyboards generally don't apply.

      this is either an ID10T or MUE(Moronic User Error) depending on your point of view.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    2. Re:FAIL by Dancindan84 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Problem
      Between
      Kindle
      And
      Chair?

      --
      "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
    3. Re:FAIL by technix4beos · · Score: 1

      There are virtual keyboards on tablets.

      --
      user@host$ diff /dev/urandom /dev/uspto
  4. Advertising has ran amok... by rts008 · · Score: 1

    Yet another good reason to avoid ads, and ignore those you can't avoid.

    --
    Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
  5. cross-site attacks by girlintraining · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Advertising on the internet is the most common route for malware by far. That's why I install ad blocking software everywhere. Marketers whine and complain about lost revenue and try to guilt you by saying they need that revenue to run the sites "for free"... but the truth is the way most advertising networks operate allow for "dancing, singing" ads -- that is, injectable javascript. Everything in the marketer's world these days is about using java to track, probe, manipulate, etc., web pages, with pop-overs, pop-unders, drive-bys, side to side scrollers, sound, motion, and anything else to get your attention.

    None of this would be a problem if they stuck to fixed-size IMG tags and graphics. In other words... marketing is a virus. It's the plague. It's not the browser's fault... it's these asshole profiteers who try to be endlessly creative in force-feeding people crap they don't want.

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    1. Re:cross-site attacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If people paid for content, then the ads wouldn't be necessary...

    2. Re:cross-site attacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is what pay walls are for.

    3. Re:cross-site attacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if adds weren't made so annoying and potentially dangerous less would block them

    4. Re:cross-site attacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If people paid for content, then the ads wouldn't be necessary...

      It wouldn't? Explain cable/satellite TV then. We pay quite a bit of money for cable TV and still have advertisements

      The whole purpose of "subscription based TV", when it came out, was to have content that was not ad supported, nor had ads. It changed over the years. Your logic is galse

      Paid Content != No Ads

    5. Re:cross-site attacks by TheDarkMaster · · Score: 2

      Read before comment... The problem is not the idea of ads itself, is how is implemented.

      --
      Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
    6. Re:cross-site attacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's true. Adblock+ is security software. Much better than any firewall or AV package I might ad.

      Ad vendors are scum and often lack diligence. Why? Because money that's why.

      Ad networks are vulnerable and are frequently hijacked because one ad network reaches out to a huge attack surface. (You get to touch every single user on every web page that that ad network uses)

    7. Re:cross-site attacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      galse.... Which is like false, only with 100% more typos.

    8. Re:cross-site attacks by dpidcoe · · Score: 1

      Since only 1 out of 5 letters has been mangled, wouldn't "galse" be like "false" except with 20% more typos?

    9. Re:cross-site attacks by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

      Advertising on the internet is the most common route for malware by far. That's why I install ad blocking software everywhere. Marketers whine and complain about lost revenue and try to guilt you by saying they need that revenue to run the sites "for free"... but the truth is the way most advertising networks operate allow for "dancing, singing" ads -- that is, injectable javascript. Everything in the marketer's world these days is about using java to track, probe, manipulate, etc., web pages, with pop-overs, pop-unders, drive-bys, side to side scrollers, sound, motion, and anything else to get your attention.

      Except well, how do you expect developers to eat?

      Remember, the ad is loaded by the app, and given Android's fairly limited ways of monetization, developers would like to make some money back. If not through a 4rd party ad network, then through siphoning your user data off the phone to their servers.

      At least on iOS, there's a decent chance to make money without ads, but on Android, it's a lot more iffy. Ads pretty much the only way to beat iOS at the revenue game.

    10. Re:cross-site attacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course, one can say that people who block ads, circumventing any way for a site to get revenue can be considered leeches as well. That's why a growing number of sites just deny content to people running adblockers these days. See the ads, or be shown the door.

    11. Re:cross-site attacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've got both android and iOS devices. I've got to say that the Google play store is sketchy as hell. I know the apple app store isn't perfect, but I've never downloaded an app store app that's bombed my ipad with ads.. On the home screen.

      I also know that app store apps do have access to a lot of your stuff, but it's nothing like the free-for-all that android apps can have access too. Yes, I know permissions are up-front when you install but they're mostly meaningless to non-technical users. At least I can hand an ipad to my mother knowing that whatever brain-damaged free app she downloads will stay contained in it's own little sandbox.

    12. Re:cross-site attacks by girlintraining · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Except well, how do you expect developers to eat?

      I suppose the same way everyone else does: By providing a good or service in exchange for monentary compensation. I know, it's an outmodded concept in the Web 2.0 way of thinking... but There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Advertising is not required for the survival of the species nor is its absence detrimental to long-term economic growth and stability.

      Remember, the ad is loaded by the app, and given Android's fairly limited ways of monetization, developers would like to make some money back. If not through a 4rd party ad network, then through siphoning your user data off the phone to their servers.

      I would ask you whether Linux requires monetization of its applications in order to be useful, or that developers are not compensated in other ways. Short answer: Yes.

      Ads pretty much the only way to beat iOS at the revenue game.

      Call me old fashioned, but the way to beat someone at a game is to play it better than they do. It's called competition, and if you provide a better product or service, then in a fair and open market, you should win. If this isn't true, then the problem is with the market, your perception of it, or with external forces.

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    13. Re:cross-site attacks by O-Deka-K · · Score: 1

      No. It's the word "more", which is confusing when used with percentages.

      A word with 6 typos would have "20% more typos" than a word with 5 typos. However, this is in itself disputable, because even if a word has more than one error in it, we often just say "it's a typo" instead of "it has 5 typos in it". For instance, if you transpose two letters by mistake (e.g. "flase"), do you say it has 2 typos in it? I know I don't.

      Even if we accept the premise that each incorrect letter counts as one "typo", then you would say that "galse" has "20% typos", not "20% MORE typos".

      The poster's logic is this:
      "false" has 0 typos in it.
      "galse" has 1 typo in it.
      Since 1 is 100% more than 0, it has "100% more typos".

      However, this is incorrect. 1 is NOT 100% more than 0. (1 - 0) divided by 0 is infinite. For it to be true, "false" would have to have 1 typo in it. Since "galse" differs by only 1 letter, this means that it has 2 typos in it, and therefore "100% more typos". Unfortunately, it makes no sense to say that.

      Therefore, the poster's logic is galse.

    14. Re:cross-site attacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All I want to do is use mob money to keep my business rolling. So what if they break my customers' legs. How do you expect unscrupulous businessmen who expose their customers to unnecessary risk to eat?

    15. Re:cross-site attacks by syockit · · Score: 1

      *sigh* okay. Galse, like false, except with infinitely more typos!

      --
      Democracy is for the people; you only vote once per season and we'll do the rest of the work for you don't have to.
    16. Re:cross-site attacks by TheDarkMaster · · Score: 1

      Value my friend, value. If the app is paid but is useful, does the job properly, are reasonably priced and easy to pay, people buy . Basic Economics 101, lesson that most CEOs and "I want easy money NOW" do not go.

      --
      Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
    17. Re:cross-site attacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Liar.

    18. Re:cross-site attacks by sjames · · Score: 1

      Find a way to display tasteful ads responsibly?

    19. Re:cross-site attacks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good comment, with one nit to pick: " There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch." There's a fruit tree in my front yard. I didn't buy the tree and I didn't buy the fruit. It's still delicious.

      That old canard is simply a warning about salesmen. If a salesman offers you a "free" lunch it can be rather costly. That's the only place it applies. Well, that and the laws of thermodynamics. But not literally, there are indeed free lunches.

  6. The Matrix by ArcadeMan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Marketing is a disease, a cancer of the Web, it is a plague, and blocking software is the cure.

    --
    Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
    1. Re:The Matrix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure, and whitelisting of some 'good ads' in popular ad blocking software is the flu?

    2. Re:The Matrix by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 1

      No, that's a bug. But luckily, you can fix that bug.

      --
      Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
    3. Re:The Matrix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The vast majority of the web wouldn't even exist without marketing. Go troll somewhere else. You only got modded up because most of the neckbeards around here think that money is evil unless you're talking about their own money... if it's their money it's rightfully gained and a prestine fruit of their hard work.

  7. I described this two weeks ago, /.rs said impossib by raymorris · · Score: 2

    > the app will then wait until the user is trying to install another app and will pop up an extra dialog box asking for permission

    A couple of weeks ago when I described this attack, some commenters said it was impossible - an app can't wait until the user was expecting a permission prompt from a different app, then request more permissions itself, they said.

    I wonder if they still think it's impossible now that it's publicly reported to be in the wild.

  8. Her Android phone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Shouldn't the article be more gender neutral. "...with the user installing an app on the Android phone". Please correct me if I'm wrong. English is not my native language.

    1. Re:Her Android phone? by immaterial · · Score: 1

      The correct gender neutral word is "their" instead of "his" or "her," and "they" instead of "he" or "she." Historically I think the male form was the standard generic term, but of late the obvious sexism inherent with that has led people to say things like "his or her" and "s/he" -- or just randomly using both "his" and "her" in the course of their writing. All those are silly, IMO, since we have the neutral words their and they (some people don't like these because they think those words must be plural, but that is not correct).

  9. riding in on an ad network?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    spam on spam, or malware inside malware.

  10. Re:I described this two weeks ago, /.rs said impos by mattack2 · · Score: 1

    So Android apps aren't in a sandbox? Why does an app get a notification that another app is being installed AT ALL?

  11. "It's working! Neville - It's working..." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I avoid ads totally (especially malscripted ones) via hosts files:

    ---

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ 32/64-bit:

    http://start64.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5851:apk-hosts-file-engine-64bit-version&catid=26:64bit-security-software&Itemid=74

    ---

    Yes, even on an android smartphone

    (Via ADB/Android Debugging Bridge & its PULL command, but use smaller optimized hosts there folks - not much room, shitty caching (sorry google, it's true)).

    As long as attacks = host-domain name based (most are, like 99%, especially via "immortal" fastflux + dynDNS malware the majority/prevalent type out there vs. IP addressed ones).

    Hosts files do more with less in a single file & at a faster privelege level (ring 0/rpl0/kernelmode) than redundant crippled by default browser addons (that slow up already slower ring 3/rpl 3/usermode browsers & are advertiser owned (Ghostery/Adblock "foxes guarding your henhouse")).

    "Less is more" = GOOD engineering via less complexity, room for breakdown, & less "moving parts"/variables in the equation.

    "The premise is, quite simple: Take something designed by nature & reprogram it to work FOR the body, rather than against it..." - Dr. Alice Krippen "I AM LEGEND"

    Since "They're not gonna stop..." - Dr. Robert Neville "I AM LEGEND" @ that film's near termination...

    APK

    P.S.=> Hosts work by acting as a filter for the IP stack itself (written in C language & starts with the OS + 1st request to the internet it is the 1st resolver queried as well, with over 45++ yrs.of optimization refinement put into it).

    Hosts also aid reliability vs. downed DNS & protect vs redirected DNS servers also securing you vs. known bad hosts-domains online http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3985079&cid=44310431 & . Hosts files give users of them good benefits in added speed, security, reliability & even added anonymity (to an extent), all enumerated in the link to my program above, in detail...apk

    1. Re:"It's working! Neville - It's working..." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My god, what idiot modded an APK troll UP??? Slashdot, you're giving morons and trolls mod points.

  12. Re:I described this two weeks ago, /.rs said impos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So your anti-virus knows to scan it?

  13. SMS charges are the target? Why not reverse them? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That should take away the incentive for some of the attacks: no money, so less resources to spend on developing attacks!

  14. Hosts do FAR more for less... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hosts != crippled by default advertiser bribed (Adblock) http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4081759&cid=44546757 or advertiser owned tracking by default (Ghostery).

    Per my subject-line: Hosts do more for less - Far more listed in the link inside the one above in detail.

    (Via less moving parts & complexity + are completely easily end user controlled too!)

    Hosts supplement redundant crippled browser-level slower ring 3/rpl 3/usermode tools (since hosts operate in ring 0/rpl 0/kernelmode @ OS startup + 1st webbound request).

    Hosts "shore up" dns servers too (overcoming their weakness vs. fastflux + dynDNS botnets abusing dns' very nature & they are by far the more prevalent type out there) & resolve host-domains to IP addresses FASTER, locally (bonus).

    APK

    P.S.=> Been building my custom hosts file since 1997, & it "clocks in" @ 2,083,016++ & growing entries: If you use my app, yours WON'T be that big (you will have absolutely CURRENT blocks though - the good part on this note @ least...): Far from it if you avoid hostsfilemine.nu (updates yearly only & HUGE, but not absolutely current, my other 11 sources are daily).

    Yes - why? It takes TIME to build one that big (took me 16++ yrs. & it's NOT the biggest out there either, airelle's is but TOO full of 'false positives' imo)!

    However, I do so unlike others, for good reasons as to the SIZE of mine that I noted above: I don't pull ones others do since they test by 'ping' quite often, & that's EASY to make a system NOT respond reply to, and of course, due to fastflux + dynDNS using botnets/malware... ICANN, or DNS level or firewall outbound/inbound rules can do the rest & it's EASY for them to do so, vs. the far lesser used IP address attacks (I do it via a powershell script here though, that one day? I may build a companion to THIS app for that auto-adds them to firewall rules tables though should IP addressed ones EVER take precedence instead of host-domain based threats)

    ... apk

  15. How does this happen? by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 1

    ... in order to sign the victim up for some premium-rate SMS services.

    The fuck?

    Why the hell doesn't the FTC shut these companies down? Why doesn't the FCC kick the carrier's behind into policing these companies better? Why doesn't the US attorney's office rain hellfire and brimstone down on these companies to the extent it did to Aaron Schwartz?

    Premium SMS is billed through the carriers, so they have a relationship with the SMS company. There is a clear money trail. The recipient is most likely incorporated. This should be easy.

    With all the US mistrust of government right now, this would be an easy way to gain some respectability.

  16. Why I Love my Palm Pre Plus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As I decided to purchase my first smartphone, I considered a lot of little things. I considered the network, and Verizon had consistently worked for me. I considered the camera, and decided at the time, only Nokia cared about super quality and didn't run on Verizon. I considered tethering and learned that most phones required to either jailbreak or pay for the privilege. But then I saw a phone that wasn't very popular. One which they had to offer tethering to just get the inventory moving. A phone with a real keyboard. And a slick interface. One which let me talk to my gtalk friends out of the box, and put all my email in 1 place. One with an OS about to be gone. A phone with no real applications. And no real reason for malware.

    Life is full of choices. It pays to be unpopular.

  17. Who steals from whom?... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I pay for a connection: Ads rob speed & bandwidth I paid for out of pocket from said online connection!

    Ads ALSO infest systems with maliciously scripted attacks quite a lot - the premise of this article in fact.

    This article's example?? No first, by ANY means!

    (I literally KNOW of roughly 30 other occurences of it happening BEYOND this single instance example the past, oh 5++ yrs. or so (only, there have been more earlier), & have the likes of CISCO + those like them, showing even more - Want those evidences?? Ask, & "ye shall receive"...).

    Additionally - I'll allow what I FEEL I wish to see in my system, as I see fit... advertisers & their "1/2 truths" + "fine print" b.s. be damned.

    Sites that can't survive without them? They're WEAK then, & were never in it for anything more than a paycheck (instead of passion for that which their site's premise was founded on initially).

    * Without users you're calling leeches, you are HISTORY/done, period... we as customers, however, have options - they're called YOUR COMPETITORS (who'd LOVE to see you fall).

    Guess what? You LOSE! Twice in fact - Why? See all of the above. It's THAT simple.

    APK

    P.S.=> Remember rule #1: "The Customer is ALWAYS right" - why? See above (especially the part about customers always having alternatives/options). You, as a business, CANNOT profitably exist without them/us - fact (not for long @ least since the "raison d'etre" OF business, is profitability)

    ... apk

  18. Good thing I have sprint by IwantToKeepAnon · · Score: 1

    Good thing I have sprint, I never get any signal for the virus to send SMS messages, and forget about signing up for any services (useful or not). :/

    --
    "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." -- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  19. "Light up the darkness"... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Someone asked him, 'why'. He said: 'The people who're trying to make this world WORSE, are not taking a day off - how can I?' Light up the darkness..." - Dr. Robert Neville from "I AM LEGEND" quoting Bob Marley

    That "all said & aside": IF I'm able to help the situation? I do. Do you? NO.

    ---

    "My god" - by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 13, 2013 @11:17AM (#44553111)

    Quote Dr. Robert Neville again (my theme) keeping w/ the fact there're idiots making malwares online:

    "God didn't do this Anna - We DID..." - Dr. Robert Neville from "I AM LEGEND"

    Been modded up 4 this post ~ 50x by the way.

    ---

    Above all: VALIDLY disprove my points on hosts' benefits to end-users of them in better added speed, security, reliability, & even anonymity to an extent vs. online threats enumerated here:

    http://start64.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5851:apk-hosts-file-engine-64bit-version&catid=26:64bit-security-software&Itemid=74

    * It's ALL I've ever asked of "naysayer trolls"/detractors!

    ---

    However - No troll here or elsewhere, ever has validly.. Not a 1 & I keep getting stronger for it too (bonus).

    (Especially since its output produces 1 file that's tightly integrated as part of the IP stack itself & yet does MORE by far, vs. competing "souled-out" solutions (Ghostery/AdBlock)).

    APK

    P.S.=> Trolls don't *try* anymore - "Gee, wonder why?" (not - I've floored the "best & brightest" of you 10 below plantlife IQ trolls too many times, you've given up!). I take heart in that fact, & it makes me laugh @ you.

    Quoting Dr. Robert Neville again from "I AM LEGEND" regarding the troll, & others like him:

    "Behavioral note: An infected male (the troll I am replying to) exposed himself to sunlight today: Now, it's possible decreased brain function (definitely) or growing scarcity of food is causing them to ignore their basic survival instincts. Social De-Evolution is complete: Typical human behavior is now entirely absent..."

    ... apk

  20. Re:I described this two weeks ago, /.rs said impos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because the article is bunk?

    Applications like GloveBox that overlay on top of the screen are automatically disabled / cease to work during application installs. At worst case (assuming the person unchecked the "Install from Unknown sources" already), they'd have two different application installation screens.

    At best case, it just says "APPLICATION BLOCKED" "INSTALL AT YOUR OWN RISK"