Android Apps on Google Play will be manually checked – eGospodarka

Applications available for Android Google Play store were not always safe, which led to harsh criticism at the company. Assures Google, now all new applications before they go to the store, they are checked manually by experts. It is not known whether such a solution will protect users against possible threats, but no doubt this is a step in the right direction.

Until now, Google has been criticized for its approach to the application placed in the official store for Android. Some observers to describe the Google Play comparisons to disorderly used, contaminated thousands of fake phone application. They distort the browser settings, steal information from your phone or displayed the annoying and unwanted advertising.
In the late 2013 it was revealed that one of the games available in the store Google Play secretly gathered and tried to sell information on user interviews conducted by a WhatsApp application. Another case was the publication of fake anti-virus Bogus Anti-Virus, which not only got to the store, but he was also honored by the moderators store. During the promotion of 10 000 users have downloaded a paid application that did not do anything. Also fell victim of a scam than 100 000 people who have taken up a false overlay for Android BlackBerry BBM for Android, taken from the same store. After installing the application to display the information that the application will not start until June 27, and really our phone was beginning to make its software for developers, displaying the number of unsolicited advertising to us.

Android – Malicious applications

Google provides that for several months, all applications are manually checked for safety

> Many free app for Android allows you to collect more data than is needed for their operation, as shown by using technology Clueful study, conducted by Bitdefender.

At the time of the study analyzed 260 000 popular free applications available on Google Play and demonstrated that approximately 35.97% of applications can track the location of the user when they are running.
Approximately 13.46% of applications can retrieve a unique hardware identifier (UDID), which allows you to track the behavior under more than one application.

Applications that can read a list of contacts, are 9.14% and 9.91% may obtain a phone number then download it. The survey also showed that 6.43% of the analyzed application can retrieve e-mail, and 6.65% can read your browsing history.

Google Play declared that “a few months ago,” changed the approach aimed at improving the safety of users of Android.

A dozen or so months ago we began a review of the application before it is published on Google Play in order to strengthen the protection of our community and increase the quality of the application directory. This new process involves a group of experts, who are responsible for identifying the offending software developer distribution agreement in the earlier application life cycles. We appreciate the speed of innovation and iteration, which is unique to Google Play. We still want to put every effort to assist and support our developers so that their products appear after a few hours of application, than after a few days or weeks. In fact, developers should not feel the changes.

Google has previously worked on improving store operation. His time was used technology Bouncer (Bouncer), automatic protection system, which was designed to analyze and reject malicious applications dedicated to Android, before being published in the store.

The effectiveness Bouncer subject to discussion and criticism in the As increasing amounts of scammers and malware authors who managed to trick publish store their malicious programs. Analyses carried out by security gurus show where in there are errors that led to miss the entire sequence checking software.

Google also stated that it will change the approach to the developers explain why their programs have been rejected by the Google Play . Such changes will definitely make it easier for developers to improve the most minor offenses and conflicts associated with the principles of the store, not threatening to block the way lifelong opportunities for publishing in the store.