Android phones will soon have an extensive security system against fraud and scams: the phone will monitor the installation of APK files block those you consider dangerous. It is currently being tested.
App scams are the order of the day, in all areas: from those that seek to flood the screen with advertisements to those that trick people into capturing bank passwords. Because it is very easy to fall into their networks, especially if we don’t pay close attention to every detail: Copies of genuine websites are too faithful. And we can attest to that.
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Google Play Protect extends fraud protection to installed APKs
The active protection system on Android phones certified by Google is responsible for scanning everything we have installed on the smartphone daily for threats. And this analysis is complete, It does not limit its range of use to only applications downloaded from the official store: If we download APKs to the mobile, they will remain under the umbrella of Google Play Protect.
Until now, Android’s native tool warned of potentially dangerous applications; either before installing them in APK format, or after a subsequent crawl. Not only that: Google Play Protect places a persistent notice in its Android store section to alert you of applications considered dangerous. From now on, and as Google itself reports, the tool is increasing its scope.
Closed tests are underway where Play Protect goes beyond the automatic actions it performed until now. With the extended fraud protection enabledThe security tool monitors all apps downloaded in APK format to check what permissions they use and how dangerous they are.
Since there are some very tricky permissions that malicious apps usually take advantage of, like reading SMS (to capture two-factor codes), overlaying other apps (to record PIN and other data information). identification on an access page) or accessibility tools (for extended applications). system control), Play Protect can intercept abuse of these permissions and stop the scam before it happens.
During the pilot test that Google will launch in Singapore, Play Protect will alert users who attempt to install APK apps with permissions considered unsafe. The alert will be accompanied by a blocking of the installation
Google Play Protect will block the installation of APKs with sensitive permissions without giving the option to bypass the blocking
Although it is true that permissions are very delicate and alerting the user is a great idea, Play Protect blocking the installation of applications in APK without the possibility of bypassing the restriction is not good news: There are some reliable apps that require sensitive permission to work. At the moment this is a localized test, but eventually it will reach all androids. Surely over the next few months and depending on the evolution of the test in Singapore.
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