Sending a message to users that floats above everything

[Richard Gaskin]

J. Landman Gay wrote:

 > On 8/23/17 9:46 AM, Bob Sneidar via use-livecode wrote:
 >> But the reason there are more attacks against Android is simple.
 >> It's orders of magnitude easier to exploit.
 >
 > Very true. But the actual percentage of Android users who contract
 > malware is less than 1% (0.01 sticks in my memory.) And almost all of
 > those users are downloading apps from non-authorized sources. If you
 > stick to Google Play and Amazon you're as safe as iOS. Those stores
 > vet their apps much as Apple does.
 >
 > If it helps, Android scans your device regularly and removes malware
 > even if the app was downloaded from an unauthorized source.
 >
 > Avoid the cheap Chinese knock-offs that ship without Google's
 > software.
 > Those are the dangerous phones.

Amen, sister.  The only part I take exception with is the "orders of 
magnitude":

There are probably orders of magnitude more malware available, roughly 
proportionate to the much larger audience size.

But an ATTEMPT is not an EXPLOIT.

Like anything else in life, simply trying to do something is no 
guarantee it'll be successful.

Once we exclude jailbroken devices, not-real-Android knockoffs, and 
anything else where either the user or the maker went out of their way 
to thwart the protections built into the OS, the rate of actual exploits 
is very low on both OSes, and not really all that different 
proportionate to market share.

Stock Android is safer than just about any desktop OS, including macOS.

Most headlines discuss lab discoveries of things that may or may not 
actually even be in the wild.  Among the subset that are in the wild, if 
exploits are found they're usually in PRC or other markets where 
not-Google-Android/merely-Android-compatible devices are sold.

Whether the messaging is coming from marketing execs or geopolitical 
active measures, it's really helpful to read past the headlines and 
discern the relevant details.

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com