Check your phones! http://www.appleinsider.com/article...id_users_hit_by_malicious_data_theft_app.html
Original VentureBeat article here: http://mobile.venturebeat.com/2010/...-steals-your-data-was-downloaded-by-millions/
I won't lie, before I saw it was you who posted this, I thought it was spam. Aaaaaaand obviously they had to compare it to Apple
Well, I did find it on an Apple-centric site - hence the link to the source report. But smartphone jingoism aside, check your phone. I wouldn't want to see fellow forum-ites fall foul of this.
Mine is brand new, in a box somewhere. It also doesn't know I am going to own it soon. I think it's safe
This is a classic example of security starting behind the keyboard. An app that changes wallpaper? Seriously.....
^this. i havent really bothered with apps for mine, the core set that came with the phone are pretty much all i need day to day.
This is disappointing. I have a work issued Android phone, and while I'm not dumb enough to download novelty apps like the 'wallpaper changer', I still have a few on there (but mainly just very popular or commercially created apps - so they're mostly safe). If I understand Google's Market review process, don't they run every app in sandbox mode for about 24hours? Surely they should have picked up on it uploading huge amounts of personal data?
It wouldn't surprise me if all the Apple fan boys use this as a stick to beat Android with but things like this are always gonna happen on an open platform. Hopefully people will learn from it and be more careful.
Like it or not, this sort of thing has a significantly lower chance of succeeding in the apple ecosystem. It's not impossible, but a lot tougher. Android has fragmented to far and the marketplace is a mess. Let's hope Google takes this as a warning and cleans house. Fwiw, this was written on an Android phone, without a wallpaper app.
Meh the app would have said that it requires network access. I'm also intrigued as to what personal data it would have retrieved. My understanding of Android is that it's not possible to access data from another app, or part of the OS unless their is a specified intent that allows any app to do so. In which case this personal data probably doesn't amount to much. And no as soon as you upload an app it is instantly available to download, Google do monitor the apps though. Fragmentation isn't really an issue in my mind. 50%+ users are using 2.1 and the rest mostly on 1.5 and 1.6. 1.5 is a bit of a pain, because it is missing quite a few things, but the difference between 1.6 and 2.1 isn't really that great. Pretty much most of the APIs are there in 1.6 so making something backwards compatible is a doddle.
Any official press release from Google yet? Preferably one explaining exactly how the app made it through their review process? Google Apps for Business (their corporate engine - not to be confused with software apps) is used by well over 2 million businesses, many of which have or are considering switching to Android phones because the integration is sweet (not as integrated as a normal Google account, but getting there). Do they really expect to pull people away from BB and WinMo with stuff like this in the news? At least when Apple's store was invaded it only took your money - not your life.
The said app has been restored to the market place after google checked it over. http://mobile.venturebeat.com/2010/08/04/google-android-wallpaper-apps-safe/
Android's system clearly shows exactly what the app wants access to. If a wallpaper app asks for your data on calls, texts, browser usage, and other information, and you still hit Accept & Install, then joke's on you for being a dumbas* tbh.
