Android Security Vulnerability

[Demon_Skeith]

Palo Alto Networks has discovered a serious security vulnerability within Android which could allow malicious parties to replace normal apps with malware during installation. As noted by PC World, close to half of all Android devices are affected, as only some hardware manufacturers have released patches to address the issue.

Android installer hijacking, as it's called, exploits APKs (Android application packages) during the installation of otherwise safe apps. When you download an app, the APK can be swapped in the background without anyone knowing, and the malware will live on your device gathering passwords and other sensitive data.

Google and Amazon have already issued patches, with Amazon advising Fire owners to download the latest version of Amazon AppStore. Unfortunately, there's still millions of devices which remain vulnerable. Palo Alto has released an app which is capable of detecting if your device remains at risk.

source

be sure to update!

 

[froggyboy604]

I think rooting your device, and knowing how to install the latest custom ROM like CyanogenMod is the most secure since CyanogenMod usually uses the most updated version of Android like Android 5.1, and you can install apps to harden the security on rooted devices.

Rooting Android also makes it possible to uninstall apps like Google Play, Chrome, YouTube, etc which can't be uninstalled on most un-rooted devices.

 

[lb]

Is this even surprising? Android has always been the most vulnerable mobile operating system out there, and this is a well-known fact.

 

[froggyboy604]

I think the most vulnerable mobile operating system is Windows 8.1 installed on many  Windows tablets since a lot of older viruses made for Windows XP, Vista, 7 and other versions of Windows could still run in Windows 8.1 when the user opens a virus infected file through e-mail attachments and links. Windows 8.1 also comes with Internet Explorer which is one of the most easily hackable mainstream web browsers compared to Google Chrome  which is harder to hack because Chrome has a sandbox, and other security features which are not on IE.

Windows 8.1 is also vulnerable to unpatched security problems, and users and viruses disabling Windows Update, Firewall, and security software like antivirus, and antispyware software.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

I think rooting your device, and knowing how to install the latest custom ROM like CyanogenMod is the most secure since CyanogenMod usually uses the most updated version of Android like Android 5.1, and you can install apps to harden the security on rooted devices.

Rooting Android also makes it possible to uninstall apps like Google Play, Chrome, YouTube, etc which can't be uninstalled on most un-rooted devices.

I installed the infamous rom that seems well secured.

 

[lb]

I think the most vulnerable mobile operating system is Windows 8.1 installed on many  Windows tablets since a lot of older viruses made for Windows XP, Vista, 7 and other versions of Windows could still run in Windows 8.1 when the user opens a virus infected file through e-mail attachments and links.

Windows Phone 8.1 doesn't even allow users to open any type of email attachment unless they are assigned to a certain app (Word, Excel, Adobe Reader etc.). There is no way to open an .exe file from an email attachment on Windows Phone.

 

[froggyboy604]

Windows Phone 8.1 doesn't even allow users to open any type of email attachment unless they are assigned to a certain app (Word, Excel, Adobe Reader etc.). There is no way to open an .exe file from an email attachment on Windows Phone.

I was referring to the desktop version of Windows 8.1 installed on tablets like the Surface Pro 3 which can open .exe files.