Content deleted Content added
→History: Rubin Sidekick |
|||
Line 392:
Since February 2012, Google has used its [[Google Bouncer]] malware scanner to watch over and scan apps available in the Google Play store.<ref>{{cite web |first=Hiroshi |last=Lockheimer |title=Android and Security |url=http://googlemobile.blogspot.no/2012/02/android-and-security.html |website=Google Mobile Blog |date=February 2, 2012 |access-date=March 22, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227062701/http://googlemobile.blogspot.no/2012/02/android-and-security.html |archive-date=February 27, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Chloe |last=Albanesius |title=Google 'Bouncer' Now Scanning Android Market for Malware |url=http://uk.pcmag.com/apps/66697/news/google-bouncer-now-scanning-android-market-for-malware |website=PC Magazine |publisher=Ziff Davis |date=February 2, 2012 |access-date=March 22, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227160213/http://uk.pcmag.com/apps/66697/news/google-bouncer-now-scanning-android-market-for-malware |archive-date=February 27, 2017 }}</ref> A "Verify Apps" feature was introduced in November 2012, as part of the [[Android Jelly Bean|Android 4.2 "Jelly Bean"]] operating system version, to scan all apps, both from Google Play and from third-party sources, for malicious behaviour.<ref>{{cite web |first=JR |last=Raphael |title=Exclusive: Inside Android 4.2's powerful new security system |url=http://www.computerworld.com/article/2473570/android/exclusive--inside-android-4-2-s-powerful-new-security-system.html |website=Computerworld |publisher=International Data Group |date=November 1, 2012 |access-date=March 22, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317162810/http://www.computerworld.com/article/2473570/android/exclusive--inside-android-4-2-s-powerful-new-security-system.html |archive-date=March 17, 2017 }}</ref> Originally only doing so during installation, Verify Apps received an update in 2014 to "constantly" scan apps, and in 2017 the feature was made visible to users through a menu in Settings.<ref>{{cite web |first=Ryan |last=Whitwam |title=Google's Verify Apps now shows apps that it has recently scanned |url=http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/02/13/googles-verify-apps-now-shows-apps-recently-scanned/ |website=Android Police |date=February 13, 2017 |access-date=March 15, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316025715/http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/02/13/googles-verify-apps-now-shows-apps-recently-scanned/ |archive-date=March 16, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Kyle |last=Wiggers |title=Google's virus-scanning Verify Apps feature for Android now reveals its secrets |url=http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/verify-apps-list-update/ |website=Digital Trends |date=February 15, 2017 |access-date=March 15, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316025235/http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/verify-apps-list-update/ |archive-date=March 16, 2017 }}</ref>
In former Android versions, before installing an application, the [[Google Play]] store displayed a list of the requirements an app needs to function. After reviewing these permissions, the user could choose to accept or refuse them, installing the application only if they accepted.<ref>{{cite web |title=Review app permissions thru Android 5.9 |url=https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/6014972 |website=Google Play Help |access-date=March 15, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316025438/https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/6014972 |archive-date=March 16, 2017 }}</ref> In [[Android Marshmallow|Android 6.0 "Marshmallow"]], the permissions system was changed; apps are no longer automatically granted all of their specified permissions at installation time. An opt-in system is used instead, in which users are prompted to grant or deny individual permissions to an app when they are needed for the first time. Applications remember the grants, which can be revoked by the user at any time. Pre-installed apps, however, are not always part of this approach. In some cases it may not be possible to deny certain permissions to pre-installed apps, nor be possible to disable them. The [[Google Play Services]] app cannot be uninstalled, nor disabled. Any force stop attempt
In September 2014, Jason Nova of ''Android Authority'' reported on a study by the German security company Fraunhofer AISEC in [[antivirus software]] and malware threats on Android. Nova wrote that "The Android operating system deals with software packages by sandboxing them; this does not allow applications to list the directory contents of other apps to keep the system safe. By not allowing the antivirus to list the directories of other apps after installation, applications that show no inherent suspicious behavior when downloaded are cleared as safe. If then later on parts of the app are activated that turn out to be malicious, the antivirus will have no way to know since it is inside the app and out of the antivirus' jurisdiction". The study by Fraunhofer AISEC, examining antivirus software from [[Avast]], [[AVG AntiVirus|AVG]], [[Bitdefender]], [[ESET]], [[F-Secure]], [[Kaspersky Lab|Kaspersky]], [[Lookout (company)|Lookout]], [[McAfee]] (formerly Intel Security), [[Norton (software)|Norton]], [[Sophos]], and [[Trend Micro]], revealed that "the tested antivirus apps do not provide protection against customized malware or targeted attacks", and that "the tested antivirus apps were also not able to detect malware which is completely unknown to date but does not make any efforts to hide its malignity".<ref>{{cite web |first=Jason |last=Nova |title=The State of Antivirus for Android |url=http://www.androidauthority.com/state-antivirus-android-523684/ |website=Android Authority |date=September 14, 2014 |access-date=March 22, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621003547/http://www.androidauthority.com/state-antivirus-android-523684/ |archive-date=June 21, 2017 }}</ref>
| |||