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Question to the Android phone geeks- security

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  1. #1

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    Question to the Android phone geeks- security

    I've been curious about this one for a while and would like to hear from anyone interested in Android phones and spends time thinking about purchases.

    What's your take on security and the lifecycle of the phone- how much weight do you give to the long term availability of regular security updates?

    I ask because I read tech news. The Android world seems to be riddled with security flaws and phone vendors are notorious for lagging on OS updates, or simply never providing updates at all. Or providing updates for flagships, then forgetting about them a year later.

    Personally I stick with the Nexus series phones because they receive updates promptly. Blackberry would be a contender as their reputation rides on security. Any other vendor I've never been able to take too seriously because of update lags.

    So, to all you Android enthusiasts, what's your take on phone security?


  2. #2

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    Same as web / online security - use known apps, browse known sites, no games, banking apps etc on the phone. I am more concerned with physical loss than malware.

    I doubt I'd buy any phone other than a nexus branded device - no addons (Samsung that DeletedUser mentioned has a number of proprietary apps as to all other manufacturers).


  3. #3

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    - yeah, I also try to avoid anything sensitive on my phone. Gmail is exposed, that's about it. Risk of physical loss is a given

    edit: What I suspect is that most people, even phone enthusiasts, just don't care that much about this issue and priortise things like camera quality, battery life, or something else. I'd be curious to know what others think.

    Last edited by jgl; 17-05-2016 at 12:01 PM.
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  4. #4

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    Same. With a bit of common sense you can avoid them. Don't get any cracked software, don't open any email attachments that you don't expect. Get some sort of virus protection, keep your OS updated.
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  5. #5

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    as long you get a flagship android phone from a long established brand who has been making phones for 5 years or even a decade, whether Samsung, LG, motorola, sony, asus, htc, then it's fine, most of these companies provide updates for security for at least 2.5 or even 3 years, some of these companies will even provide the new versions of OS for 2 years

    i find that a manufacturer of a phone should at least have a service centre ( with a physical address) in HK, if they don't if you have issues, then it's hard to get sorted/repaired or any form of assistance

    best not to sideload an app from an unverified source, use google play and you should be fine


  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by flameproof:
    Same. With a bit of common sense you can avoid them. Don't get any cracked software, don't open any email attachments that you don't expect. Get some sort of virus protection, keep your OS updated.
    Which is kind of my point... on most Android phones, you can't keep the OS updated.

    . Oh, I've come across a fair number of virus hits over the years. Several in company settings, some with individuals. Though with individuals, it's usually more along the lines of a compromised online account rather than an infected device.

    Worst I've come across was someone who was targeted after his email account had been compromised. Whoever got in managed to find enough info to transfer several tens of thousand USD out of one of his accounts.*

    What I'm concluding from this thread so far is that it's only a subset of people who are in IT who are particularly concerned about this.


    * He got this back from the bank eventually, but it took months of grief and effort. And he ran around in a panic when he first found out about it.
    Last edited by jgl; 17-05-2016 at 03:41 PM.
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  7. #7

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    My two year old oneplus one is on ANDROID SECURITY PATCH LEVEL = 1 MAY 2016. This is a new feature google implemented recently for android manufacturers to keep the security of their phones up to date. What is the patch level of your Samsung? You can see it in the settings, about phone screen.
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  8. #8

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    Hm, I didn't know about that.

    It's curiously non-granular though. I'd assumed Android patching to be similar to general computer patching where there's a slew of different patches that can be applied rather than one giant monthly patch.


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    Blackberry are pretty on the ball with their patches. Samsung and HTC are not too bad. Sony is OK. However, apart from probably Blackberry, it seems the OEMs are generally a bit out of sync with Google on this, even though Google provides them in advance. It seems though that One Plus is keeping up.

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  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgl:
    Hm, I didn't know about that.

    It's curiously non-granular though. I'd assumed Android patching to be similar to general computer patching where there's a slew of different patches that can be applied rather than one giant monthly patch.
    it's noted that lower mid range and entry level phones will have minimal or no updates, the giant update only happens around once a year, mostly flagships, the security updates is around a few months each time

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