Google Bouncer Promises Secure Apps At Android Market
Surprisingly, mobile operating system Android is progressing at very high rate. When mobile world was being dominated by iOS, the only other OS could stay was Android. Previous reports also shows that only Android and iOS are gaining the mobile market share and all other mobile OSs are stepping down. Well, we still have to see what Microsoft’s Mango does. The one example of popularity of Android OS is at least 11 billion apps have been downloaded from Android Market.
Different mobile security vendors were reporting that malware creation and infection on Android ans surpass the Symbian. Infected apps were being created and spread for Android OS. On number of times, such bad apps could also be found on Android Market. To have more security for Android OS and to keep people safe from scams, Google had to step forward. Google is introducing a new security system Bouncer for its Android Market. This security system will keep Android Market clean from Malware infected apps.
Google Bouncer security system will be used to scan new apps as well as old apps in Android Market to find out if there is any malware, spyware and trojan hidden. It will also scans developers accounts for the same reason. “once an application is uploaded, the service immediately starts analyzing it for known malware, spyware and trojans. It also looks for behaviors that indicate an application might be misbehaving, and compares it against previously analyzed apps to detect possible red flags. We actually run every application on Google’s cloud infrastructure and simulate how it will run on an Android device to look for hidden, malicious behavior. We also analyze new developer accounts to help prevent malicious and repeat-offending developers from coming back.” [Source].
Google has claimed 40% decrease in malicious app download from Android Market. Hopefully, they will also kill the remaining 60%.
Sandboxing: The Android platform uses a technique called “sandboxing” to put virtual walls between applications and other software on the device. So, if you download a malicious application, it can’t access data on other parts of your phone and its potential harm is drastically limited.
Permissions: Android provides a permission system to help you understand the capabilities of the apps you install, and manage your own preferences. That way, if you see a game unnecessarily requests permission to send SMS, for example, you don’t need to install it.
Malware removal: Android is designed to prevent malware from modifying the platform or hiding from you, so it can be easily removed if your device is affected. Android Market also has the capability of remotely removing malware from your phone or tablet, if required. [Source]
