Angry Birds Is the Most-Banned Mobile App By Businesses (fortune.com)

Barb Darrow, writing for Fortune: Corporate IT pros face the unenviable task of trying to protect valuable data from threats that change all the time. One vector of attack is clearly smartphones and tablets that employees use both for work and pleasure. To that end, mobile device management firm MobileIron just came out with its latest tally of the ten most blacklisted apps, based on a survey of 7,800 companies worldwide. Angry Birds tops the list of most-banned apps at companies worldwide, as well as in Australia, the U.S., and government sectors tracked by MobileIron in its twice-yearly Mobile Security and Risk Review. The survey covers the use of Android, iOS, and Windows devices from Oct. 1, 2016 and Dec. 31, 2016.

Comments

ad delivery platform

[Maritz]

The newer one just bombards you with adverts constantly. Those adverts themselves are often malicious looking. ("battery" boosters, fake "you've won a prize" shit, etc etc.

Re:ad delivery platform

[gnick]

It in particular likes to get the user to look at advert videos in order to get extra lives, etc.

Perhaps they've cleaned up the setup since then.

That's still the case. All three of the variants I mentioned offer in-game niceties in exchange for watching ads. I was referring to the mandatory ads being relatively sparse. If you're counting discretionary ads, I guess there can be more as desired. In "Angry Birds Friends Tournament," you can watch an ad up to once a day for a spin on their power-up wheel. In "Angry Birds Seasons," you can choose to watch an ad when offered in exchange for 10 minutes with a scope for your sling. In "Angry Birds 2," you can watch ads for extra lives, extra tournament entries, and possibly more. So I guess if somebody really wants to trade their time for power-ups, the ads could be prominent.

Can't play games at work?

[burtosis]

I thought that's what vpn were for...

Re:Can't play games at work?

[gnick]

I thought that's what vpn were for...

Not all employers will be happy with you running your own VPN at work. I don't know what my current employer would say (other than "WTF are you doing that for?"), but at my last couple of positions (Department of Energy), it would have been an major no-no.

Clash of Clans / Royale

[pr0t0]

The joke at my workplace for a while was, if the phone was in landscape mode during a meeting, the user was playing CoC.

Makes no sense

[Dan East]

This article makes no sense at all. It clearly comes at this from the security angle, and says these apps that are blacklisted for that reason. That is why Dropbox is #2 on the list, for example, because it makes it too easy to move files in and out of the company. This is not about loss of productivity, but one of data security. The article gives no explanation whatsoever why Angry Birds is blacklisted for security. Does it record audio in the background? Take pictures? Report location? There is more to this than what the article discusses.

Angry Birds is the only entertainment / game app in the top 10 of any of those countries. So again, there is more to this than it being a popular game, otherwise the list would be just that - the 10 most popular games.

Re:Makes no sense

[SlickUSA]

FTFA - "Games like Angry Birds, for example, have been criticized by some for leaking information about users, as reported by The Guardian and other news outlets."

Re:Makes no sense

[bickerdyke]

I agree with you.

From a security viewpoint it's even worse. The usual popular time sinks (Angy Birds, Candy Crush...) should have been under enough scrutiny to assume that they are "clean". Banning the popular originals will drive users to the $chinese-knockoffs where no one knows what kind of payload is inside.

Spoilers

[thegarbz]

9 Programs that can be an IT security risk or a social network / communication app.

And a game.

Why is Angry Birds on the list? Is it only the original one or do they also block Angry Birds 2, 3, Space, Starwars, Rio, Rio2, etc.