Android ‘spyphone’ controversy just got worse
Dan Seitz Yesterday, we warned you that your Android phone is probably looking at everything you do. Even as carriers like Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T (i.e. pretty much all of the national ones outside of Verizon) admit that, yeah, they used it and what’s the big deal, it turns out there are even MORE problems with Android than originally thought.
At issue are how certain applications that you absolutely have to have on your phone, like stuff that can track your location (i.e. mapping software), apps that handle text messages, and things of that nature. Software, in other words, that absolutely has to be there.
The problem is, companies like HTC and Samsung broke the OS and didn’t bother to fix it. So, as information is passed between these apps, the permissions installed by users aren’t enforced. That’s a fancy way of saying that any application you’ve downloaded doesn’t need your permission to invade your privacy: it can just wait for these apps to do their job normally and grab what it wants as it sends information out.
If that sounds craptastic, that’s because it is. The good news is that Google and Motorola, who make the most popular Android phones, actually paid attention to this research, and as they were closest to the stock Android OS, only had very minor problems. But if you’ve got an HTC or Samsung phone, they’re currently trying to pretend that everything’s peachy. Apparently they believe if you plug your ears and scream “LALALALALALA CAN’T HEAR YOU!”, the problem will go away.
Will you have to worry about this on other OSes? Nope: if you run Windows or iOS, you’re perfectly safe. Android is an “open-source” system, which basically means companies can monkey with it all they want. This is what we end up with, really.
So, yeah, the next time you deal with some insufferable nerd preaching about the values and necessity of open-source software, ask him about this and why he still thinks it’s so awesome.
Researchers Find Big Leaks in Preinstalled Android Apps [Ars Technica]
follow guyism:
Other Stories You Might LIke
Your next Android phone will also be your next computer
aCar lets you track your gas, get the most out of your tank
Have Time Warner Cable? You might finally have a live-streaming app
comment on this story
blog comments powered by Disqus