Virus for android phones?

[guncrasher]

Hmm my iPhone has nothing useless on it and I would never even consider spending one second trying to mess with my mobile phone. A phone for me is a tool and I do not want to do any maintenance on it whatsoever if I can avoid it. So far the iPhone has worked perfectly starting from the initial installation.

I had to help my uncle to set up his Nokia N900 - talk about night and day difference. The Nokia setup was cumbersome, buggy and time consuming where the iPhone sets up in no time and basically doing nothing. Same was with Android, when I bought my kid a cheap android phone I regreted the decision the next night when I spent literally hours trying to get it to work. Everything was so clumsy and badly made it wasn't even funny. Like plugging it with usb - the iPhone starts the necessary apps on my mac automatically when I plug it in. Android did nothing, literally, when I plugged it in. Tried plugging it to windows - same thing. Tried plugging it to linux - again nothing. Tried looking for settings which were hidden under horrible mess of menus. Found several usb modes, including developer mode which did nothing to get the phone connected.

Finally I had to give up and read the manual   which I never have had to do with an iPhone! Turns out when you plug the usb in, you need to pull a hidden drop-down menu from the top of the screen to activate the connection. Not to mention that even after plugging it, there was no automation whatsoever. No automatic sync of anything, all manual labour. Then there was problems with the wifi setup, poor GPS reception etc. My first and last android purchased phone for sure!

and here's apple in their wisdom releasing a very powerful app.  and by that I mean I love the way they truly research the apps sold.  then again if you are willing to spend over 1k on a laptop that you could get for 500 bucks, you sure as hell can afford this one.

http://voices.yahoo.com/i-am-rich-useless-iphone-app-sells-99999-1784455.html

and one funny comment concerning you.  I know you are very experienced in the computer field.  but you didnt think that android phone needs drivers installed first to hook up to your computer?  I know almost next to nothing but at least I know that drivers are needed.  and my droidx took me about 5 minutes to make it look like I wanted with the apps I wanted without all the extra junk that you dont need.  and I dont have to have the android market installed on my computer just to look at the pictures I took on my phone.

oh and I almost forgot the link in that app. very interesting reading.

http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/baba_wine.html

semp

[MrRiplEy[H]]

and here's apple in their wisdom releasing a very powerful app.  and by that I mean I love the way they truly research the apps sold.  then again if you are willing to spend over 1k on a laptop that you could get for 500 bucks, you sure as hell can afford this one.

http://voices.yahoo.com/i-am-rich-useless-iphone-app-sells-99999-1784455.html

and one funny comment concerning you.  I know you are very experienced in the computer field.  but you didnt think that android phone needs drivers installed first to hook up to your computer?  I know almost next to nothing but at least I know that drivers are needed.  and my droidx took me about 5 minutes to make it look like I wanted with the apps I wanted without all the extra junk that you dont need.  and I dont have to have the android market installed on my computer just to look at the pictures I took on my phone.

oh and I almost forgot the link in that app. very interesting reading.

http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/baba_wine.html

semp

Drivers? What drivers?

My iPhone never needed one driver installed. And the Android on Ubuntu needed no driver to be installed (just the annoying slide + touch combo). You're talking about the clumsy windows way there! At least the phone that I purchased didn't come with any software for it. It all counts for a set of legos. I want something ready, I don't want to spend time putting it together.

That app by the way is not installed on the iPhone by default and afaik is already removed from the app store too. I'm still wondering what 'unnecessary stuff' my iPhone has that I would have to remove to get it working properly. Apparently there are loads of such stuff on Android? Which is why you need to root it, void warranty and risk bricking the phone?

[guncrasher]

Drivers? What drivers?

My iPhone never needed one driver installed. And the Android on Ubuntu needed no driver to be installed (just the annoying slide + touch combo). You're talking about the clumsy windows way there! At least the phone that I purchased didn't come with any software for it. It all counts for a set of legos. I want something ready, I don't want to spend time putting it together.

That app by the way is not installed on the iPhone by default and afaik is already removed from the app store too. I'm still wondering what 'unnecessary stuff' my iPhone has that I would have to remove to get it working properly. Apparently there are loads of such stuff on Android? Which is why you need to root it, void warranty and risk bricking the phone?

yeah but it lets you wonder how that app got past their so called standards .   which there goes your theory of anybody can have an app on the droid marker but not in itunes. as for the iphone do you use every single app that comes with it?  really you do? on my phone every single app that i have either i use it or it's gone.  try deleting an app that comes preloaded on the iphone.  actually try changing it.   and why must you have to have an itunes account to download free stuff?  on the droidx that I have I only created an account after  I wanted to buy an app.  before then I could download all the free apps I wanted without having an account.

obviously the iphone works for you.  it didnt work for me truly out of the box.  I still have my droidx from 2 1/2 years ago.  i have it with a custom rom to make it look different and also have it overclocked.  doesnt even have a scratch on it.  my friend had an iphone and it fell from the table  as he pushed it by accident, he got a cracked screen.  we all laughed at him.  i dropped mine from the same hight 3 times and nothing happened to it.  that tells you how well made the iphone is.  and yes i dropped it so it would hit a corner and other that dirt nothing happened to it.



semp

[MrRiplEy[H]]

yeah but it lets you wonder how that app got past their so called standards .   which there goes your theory of anybody can have an app on the droid marker but not in itunes. as for the iphone do you use every single app that comes with it?  really you do? on my phone every single app that i have either i use it or it's gone.  try deleting an app that comes preloaded on the iphone.  actually try changing it.   and why must you have to have an itunes account to download free stuff?  on the droidx that I have I only created an account after  I wanted to buy an app.  before then I could download all the free apps I wanted without having an account.

obviously the iphone works for you.  it didnt work for me truly out of the box.  I still have my droidx from 2 1/2 years ago.  i have it with a custom rom to make it look different and also have it overclocked.  doesnt even have a scratch on it.  my friend had an iphone and it fell from the table  as he pushed it by accident, he got a cracked screen.  we all laughed at him.  i dropped mine from the same hight 3 times and nothing happened to it.  that tells you how well made the iphone is.  and yes i dropped it so it would hit a corner and other that dirt nothing happened to it.



semp

Why wouldn't that app make through the screening by the way? It wasn't malicious in any way, just vanity.

Why would I want to delete an app that comes with the iPhone? They don't interfere in any way and it has 64 megs of storage space. The only app that I never used is the 'stocks' app, all other default apps I have used in some way. If you're constantly worried about deleting stuff and maintaining your phone it tells me just one thing: your phone does not work satisfactory as it is now. That's why you need to delete stuff, update roms etc. hunting after a configuration that would work. My iPhone works out of the box, there's absolutely no need to mess with it.

The mandatory Apple id / iTunes account is just one way how Apple has thought the process over. Once you answer a couple of questions, you have everything set up. Mobile storage, different services, sync, locating your lost or stolen phone etc. etc. If iTunes wouldn't have come 'built in' I would never have bothered installing it and would have missed all the great stuff there. Currently I have 120 hours of free music via iTunes loaded to my phone for example.

With Nokia I had to google for solutions and register through online forms which were _not_ optimized for mobile devices.. Horrible. With Android, well, there was nothing offered or available. Only DIY :/

As for dropping the phone if the best thing you can think of about a phone is the ability to abuse it without breaking it ... well let's say that's not on the top of my priorities

[coombz]

  mrripley

[Skilless]

So what you're saying is that your mac came with the required iphone drivers pre-installed? Riveting.

[icepac]

You will need drivers and possibly an application on the computer to access much more than it showing up as a simple removable drive.

You surely won't be tethering the iphone to a computer to use the iphone as your internet connection without adding drivers.

[olds442]

just for lol'z windows is better than mac...

[guncrasher]

no, I change my rom for the same reasons I rotate game sounds in ah, it makes it feel and look like a new phone.

as for why would you want to delete preloaded apps, same reason why you tell everybody to remove unnecessary processes in your computer.  most I dont need or want.

I run a very lean phone and it is fast.  I do all my banking and heck also my time card from work.

but I am still curious as to why you recommend to run a lean puter but not on your phone.

the only advantage we found out that the iphone has over droidx or many other android phones, and this includes several guys who were hardcore iphone fanbois was that angry birds gets released to the itunes market first.


semp

[MrRiplEy[H]]

So what you're saying is that your mac came with the required iphone drivers pre-installed? Riveting.

Yep, that's a part of being a Mac owner. Same thing if you run linux and plug in an android. With windows... you're not so lucky.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

You will need drivers and possibly an application on the computer to access much more than it showing up as a simple removable drive.

You surely won't be tethering the iphone to a computer to use the iphone as your internet connection without adding drivers.

I surely have and will. Everything needed is built in my Macbook pro. And I love it.

With Android all you do get is pluggable drive at max, then if you want some additional functions it's time to start hunting software and drivers. Who wants that? Not me.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

no, I change my rom for the same reasons I rotate game sounds in ah, it makes it feel and look like a new phone.

as for why would you want to delete preloaded apps, same reason why you tell everybody to remove unnecessary processes in your computer.  most I dont need or want.

This shows the level of your knowledge (or lack of). Preloaded applications are just files sitting in the mass storage - they're not processes that run constantly in the background.

I run a very lean phone and it is fast.  I do all my banking and heck also my time card from work.

Wow, talk about living dangerously! You do understand that Android (especially rooted one) is probably THE most vulnerable and most attacked mobile platform to date? Did you skip everything I wrote about carrier backdoors and they enabling anyone to take full control of your phone at any given time?

but I am still curious as to why you recommend to run a lean puter but not on your phone.

Your phone is already 'lean' when you boot it up. It will run the necessary processes for functionality and nothing more. It's not windows. Well, unless you 'tweak' the system to become like windows i.e. do your own mods and wreac havoc.

the only advantage we found out that the iphone has over droidx or many other android phones, and this includes several guys who were hardcore iphone fanbois was that angry birds gets released to the itunes market first.

Well, there it goes again. Lack of technical understanding. IMHO the release of angry birds was one of the most shameful events in the history of the iPhone. How THAT got past content filtering I'll never know. It's mind boggling how a 20 year old game re-skinned makes you billions. They ripped off castle attack and switched humans to birds and pigs. Really one of the dumbest stories on the internet.

[guncrasher]

This shows the level of your knowledge (or lack of). Preloaded applications are just files sitting in the mass storage - they're not processes that run constantly in the background.

Wow, talk about living dangerously! You do understand that Android (especially rooted one) is probably THE most vulnerable and most attacked mobile platform to date? Did you skip everything I wrote about carrier backdoors and they enabling anyone to take full control of your phone at any given time?  really name one virus that has infected the android phones and that is such a threat that it will affect my banking i do on it.  and please show me how to get rid of it as it really scares the crap out of me.  oh wait,  I havent gotten a virus after 2 1/2 years of having my droid x.  actually if I suspect there something fishy about an email that was sent to me I open it with my droidx and i have yet to get a virus.  and also i dont have an av installed on my phone either for the only thing it does is slow my phone down.  as for the iphone having an app that will locate it, guess what the droidx has several apps i can choose from that have the same functionality.  then again i dont have them as I treat my phone as if it was cash.

Your phone is already 'lean' when you boot it up. It will run the necessary processes for functionality and nothing more. It's not windows. Well, unless you 'tweak' the system to become like windows i.e. do your own mods and wreac havoc.  really what exactly is "wreac havoc"?  and how is it lean when there's apps that boot because apple  thinks I need them.  and how exactly does apple know what apps I need?  do they come to my house and ask me?  i must've missed them.  as I dont have any problems at all with my 2 1/2 year droid.. my phone is faster than any of your iphones that was released at the same time.

Well, there it goes again. Lack of technical understanding. IMHO the release of angry birds was one of the most shameful events in the history of the iPhone. How THAT got past content filtering I'll never know. It's mind boggling how a 20 year old game re-skinned makes you billions. They ripped off castle attack and switched humans to birds and pigs. Really one of the dumbest stories on the internet.  and that a shame that it is the only thing that iphone has over android.

what i find really amusing is for you to say that you had problems figuring out a phone for a family member .  while me who dont even have 1/2 the technical knowledge that you do can figure how to to change the interface on my phone with about 10 minutes worth of research.  hell i just changed the rom again because i wanted it to look different.  not because i needed it but because I just got tired of the one I had.  try doing that with the iphone.  and all my apps were backed up and took me very little time to reinstall them.

semp

[MrRiplEy[H]]

what i find really amusing is for you to say that you had problems figuring out a phone for a family member .  while me who dont even have 1/2 the technical knowledge that you do can figure how to to change the interface on my phone with about 10 minutes worth of research.  hell i just changed the rom again because i wanted it to look different.  not because i needed it but because I just got tired of the one I had.  try doing that with the iphone.  and all my apps were backed up and took me very little time to reinstall them.

semp

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/11/juniper-reports-skyrocketing-android-malware-infections/
http://www.itworld.com/security/264672/android-rootkit-poisons-apps-give-users-root-control

Last Friday, North Carolina State University professor Xuxian Jiang wrote on his blog that his team had discovered a new Android malware variant that pulls off a nasty trick. When it’s first installed on a user’s device, it contains no malicious code, evading any scans or requests for permissions that might catch its intentions on installation. Instead, the app is capable of downloading new code from a remote server after it’s already been on the phone for hours or days, hiding the data transfer in the phone’s communications.

The code it downloads includes an exploit known as “GingerBreak” that gains complete access to the device, allowing the cybercriminals to use any of the phone’s functions at will: calling paid numbers, reading data, listening through the microphone or installing whatever other apps they want on the device silently. One app that Jiang’s team saw the sleeper app secretly install, for instance, was DroidLive, another malware specimen that profits by sending text messages to paid numbers.

The malware’s trick–what researchers call “privilege escalation”–would be far more difficult on Apple’s more restrictive platform for the iPhone and iPad, which only allows approved code to run on the devices.

The infection is based on an SMS text message allegedly sent by the user's service provider. The message contains the request to download an important update and provides a link to this alleged update. One click on the link is enough to infect the smartphone – which means that drive-by infections have now reached the smartphone world. The link downloads the malware and executes the loader; this crashes the device and installs the actual malware components while rebooting.

Lookout Security reports that the firm has identified several sites that are serving up malware specifically targeting the Android platform. This means anyone with an unprotected Android device will begin to download the NotCompatible malware when they visit an infected site. The drive-by download is automatic via the system's web browser.

Oh yeah, looks like you have nothing to worry about! Drive by SMS infections, drive by web infections..

1) There are no unnecessary apps loaded on the phone as default on boot time. I don't know where you get that idea! Which apps do you think are started automatically on bootup and why they shouldn't be there? The phone works super responsive without any modifications right from the box!
2) I had problems figuring out the android because I was used to iPhone, I couldn't even imagine how complicated Android is to use i.e. have to read instructions to use it

[Shuffler]

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/11/juniper-reports-skyrocketing-android-malware-infections/
http://www.itworld.com/security/264672/android-rootkit-poisons-apps-give-users-root-control
Oh yeah, looks like you have nothing to worry about! Drive by SMS infections, drive by web infections..

1) There are no unnecessary apps loaded on the phone as default on boot time. I don't know where you get that idea! Which apps do you think are started automatically on bootup and why they shouldn't be there? The phone works super responsive without any modifications right from the box!
2) I had problems figuring out the android because I was used to iPhone, I couldn't even imagine how complicated Android is to use i.e. have to read instructions to use it

HMM

The first link it to an artical that ends with "take it with a grain of salt"

The second link is to an advertisement.