With the recent spate of malware attacks against Android users, a lot of people are saying it is late for Google to be doing something about it. A few days ago up to five million Android devices were infected with “counterclank” thanks to a bevy of falsified apps in the Android market. Read on to see what Google is doing about this here in this informative article.
The “Bouncer” Is Announced To The World
A new layer of anti-malware called “bouncer” has been introduced into the Google Android marketplace. This is an effort by Google to scan all apps that are on their site for trojans, malware, and spyware.
It is a good idea that will allow normal developers to continue to upload their apps without needing to get approved. It will also hopefully show the bad guys “to the door”.
Machines Will Be Working To Detect The Bad Guys
This is going to be an automatic setup, not something done strictly by human intervention. The idea is not to make a “walled garden” as Apple has done with its iOS mobile operating system. The “ICS” ( Ice Cream Sandwich ) Android platform is the one that Google is attempting to secure with the “bouncer” scanner.
They also want to attempt to keep the mobile operating system as “open” as possible, allowing even small developers to have a chance to make apps for Android.
This Scanner Looks For Bad Behavior
The bouncer program will look not only for malware but also for guilty behavior. What is that? That is the developers who repeatedly introduce malware, trojans, or spyware into the Google Android marketplace.
The Google bouncer will remove those with “unauthorized behavior” just like the others.
Bouncer Is Not The Real Name Of The Scanner
Even though this program has been announced, the name “bouncer” is not the real name of the system. It is a code name. Google has been using it since the middle of last year, but only recently decided to release this information to the world this week. This is strange behavior in itself from a company that claims:
“If you have something that you do not want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it.”
There does not seem to be any official announcement of their own “backdoor” in every device that runs their Android mobile operating system.
A humorous side to this platform’s story is that Microsoft has been offering free smartphones to those who have been the victims of the malware in the Android marketplace. It is not known just how many took up Microsoft on the offer. Bouncer or no bouncer, the bad reputation that Android has for infected smartphones will continue to haunt them in the near future.
