Google Believes Android is as Secure as iOS

DooKey

DooKey

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Google has released their fourth annual Android security report and they believe their OS is as secure as iOS. According to the report, one of the things that makes Android secure is their use of machine learning to find malware within the Play store. Additionally, every year they have been publishing the report the chances of a person downloading a harmful app from the Play store has decreased and is a low .02 percent now. If Google is right about their security they deserve all the credit in the world. You can read the entire 56-page report here.

There are two billion Android devices actively being used, and ensuring that they all have the most recent software with updated security features is a challenge. "In 2017, we increased the number of Android devices that received security patches by more than 30%," the report states. It's still a problem, but clearly Google is making inroads into it.
 
Vanilla form and Play store, I can believe it. The main disadvantage are the changes from mfg to mfg not only HW wise but OS and installed app wise, not even getting close to the mfgs and carriers holding back updates and patches. So to me, this without a doubt only applies to direct Google supported phones.
 
Pure Google controlled Android? Yes, there's no doubt that it can be just as secure as Apple iOS is. That is because they, Google, control the software development and deployment process. However, we can't say the same thing about Samsung or the other Android OEMs (along with the US-based carriers) because they positively suck in the security patch and update release department. Because you know, they want you to buy that shiny new device that's over there because they want you to be forever on the upgrade treadmill.

Proof positive that if you control the platform then it can be secure, when you don't control it is when things go to shit.
 
trparky said:
Pure Google controlled Android? Yes, there's no doubt that it can be just as secure as Apple iOS is. That is because they, Google, control the software development and deployment process. However, we can't say the same thing about Samsung or the other Android OEMs (along with the US-based carriers) because they positively suck in the security patch and update release department. Because you know, they want you to buy that shiny new device that's over there because they want you to be forever on the upgrade treadmill.

Proof positive that if you control the platform then it can be secure, when you don't control it is when things go to shit.
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Moto X4 has guaranteed updates for 3 years based on Google's latest builds. I would say it's about 95% stock.
 
Yes but wasn't Motorola owned by Google at one point or another? They, from being owned by Google, learned how to do software deployment the right way. The question is, will they go to the Samsung school of software deployment and learn how to suck just as much as they do.
 
arnemetis said:
Until Google takes back control and can offer up OS updates completely independent of manufacturer AND ISP, this is pointless. 99% of android users will always be out of date.
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And people wonder why I went with the iPhone.

Yes, I could have gone with a Pixel device but hardware-wise is sucks when compared to that of a flagship Samsung device. The Galaxy S9 looks positively sexy as all hell but the lack of a proper software update schedule is what really kills it for me.
 
trparky said:
Yes but wasn't Motorola owned by Google at one point or another? They, from being owned by Google, learned how to do software deployment the right way. The question is, will they go to the Samsung school of software deployment and learn how to suck just as much as they do.
Click to expand...

They are now owned by Lenovo.
 
trparky said:
The Galaxy S9 looks positively sexy as all hell but the lack of a proper software update schedule is what really kills it for me.
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The S8 STILL doesn't have Oreo. What's that tell ya? Tell's me my phone is a nice slab of outdated software.
 
Mut1ny said:
The S8 STILL doesn't have Oreo. What's that tell ya? Tell's me my phone is a nice slab of outdated software.
Click to expand...
And they will never upgrade it. Why? Because they want you to be forever on the upgrade treadmill, it makes them money by the semi-truck full. There's no technical reason why the S8 isn't and won't be upgraded to Oreo other than pure greed.
 
Mut1ny said:
The S8 STILL doesn't have Oreo. What's that tell ya? Tell's me my phone is a nice slab of outdated software.
Click to expand...

While I agree with the sentiment of your post, the article was about security. Hasn't your S8 received monthly security updates? My wife's S7 is still getting them.

Android security updates are very heavily influenced by manufacturer. The Pixel phones are as good as Apple. The rest are on a scale ranging from decent to awful with, unfortunately, a large group of manufacturers hanging out at the bottom. Samsung is actually decent.

As far new Android version updates, they all suck besides Google and its Pixels. Project Treble is supposed to help with the update process. The problem is that, for the most part, only phones that originally shipped with Oreo or later support Project Treble. The S9 is Samsung's first phone that supports Project Treble. Only time will tell if Project Treble lowers update lag time.
 
It's possible...

...if you have one of those unicorn devices that actually receives biweekly security updates.
 
If by "as secure as iOS" they mean the security is as holey as swiss cheese, then I agree. They both suck in this regard.
 
Yeah,nevermind that many Android phones don't get the Google security patches. Not necessarily Google's fault,but still.
 
Security updates are only part of the issue with the other one being that check box that officially allows a user to install any apk from the internet.
 
If Android was as secure as an iPhone, it would be as restrictive as an iPhone. End of story.

Walled gardens have many advantages when you want to keep shitheads out of your roses.
 
Google Believes Android is as Secure as iOS

Google believes a lot of things, doesn't mean I believe Google.

Not a fan of Apple and don't own a single Apple device but I don't believe this for a moment. However, the more pertinent detail is probably the comparison of the OS's and ignoring the ecosystems of the stores. In that case maybe, maybe, it's true but I still doubt it.
 
So if security is top priority for keeping your accounts, information, data etc. -> Sorry -> Apple iOS Tablet and Phones. So Google saying at it's best, pure Google software and updates it meets Apple security, all the others that don't keep up with Google? Sounds like you take a compromise. Company I work for just found iPhones just more easy to work with overall and thousands of phones were all switched to iPhones.
 
Android and iOS are OK for phones and tablets.
But I still prefer full desktop OS, keyboard, mouse and a big screen.
 
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