Tag Archive for: harmful

US agency calls Apple, Google App Stores ‘harmful’

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Apple appears to have been given yet another set of reasons to expand its legal team as the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) calls for antitrust action to force Apple and Google to make big changes to their mobile app store business models.

What’s the problem?

NTIA is the principal advisor on telecommunications and Internet policy to the Biden administration. It argues that the way things are run at present may be “harmful,” arguing that Google’s and Apple’s “gatekeeper” positions may harm consumers by raising prices and reducing innovation.

Among a raft of criticisms, the agency argues that some restrictions favor some apps over others. “In some areas, such as in-app payments, it is unclear how the current system benefits anyone other than Apple and Google,” NTIA says.

While it does concede the existing status quo has provided a range of benefits to app developers and users, the regulators still want to force both ecosystems to open up to greater competition.

The criticism does at least pay some lip service to Apple’s strong arguments concerning security and privacy and how its stores provide both, but on the strength of 150 conversations seems to think those should become a “feature” (see below).

It’s about ‘fairness’

Following President Biden’s Wall Street Journal piece in which the president called for a bipartisan approach to reeling in the Big Tech firms and how they use personal data, this is the icing on the cake of criticism from regulators worldwide concerning both companies’ business practices.

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Samsung’s app store is home to potentially harmful apps

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Samsung's app store is home to potentially harmful apps

Samsung’s app marketplace Galaxy Store that comes pre-installed on its smartphones appears to be home to sketchy movie streaming apps, Android Police has found.
Several clones of the now-defunct Showbox movie streaming app being hosted on the Galaxy Store could be potentially dangerous. Per mobile security analyst linuxct, while these apps may not be harmful on their own, they appear to be armed with technology that may let them download and execute malware. 
The issue came to light when the outlet’s writer Max Weinbach discovered that at least five of the Showbox copycats were possibly malicious after warnings from Google’s Play Protect and this prompted the publication to conduct an investigation.

Analysis done through online virus and malware scanning service Virustotal showed that something is definitely fishy. Some of the apps also ask for excessive permissions, including access to call logs. 

The other issue is that Showbox had a reputation for being a pirate tool and there is little chance that the clones that are on the Galaxy Store are not infringing on copyrights. None of these apps can be found on Google’s Play Store. 

Since the Galaxy Store doesn’t show an install count, it’s hard to ascertain how many times the apps in question were downloaded, but for what it’s worth, they have received hundreds of reviews, with some mentioning the malware warnings.
Samsung is yet to comment on the findings. Thus, for now, it might be a better idea for Samsung phone users to only download apps from Google’s Play Store.

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FACT SHEET: Imposing Costs for Harmful Foreign Activities by the Russian Government

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The Biden administration has been clear that the United States desires a relationship with Russia that is stable and predictable. We do not think that we need to continue on a negative trajectory. However, we have also been clear—publicly and privately—that we will defend our national interests and impose costs for Russian Government actions that seek to harm us.

Today the Biden administration is taking actions to impose costs on Russia for actions by its government and intelligence services against U.S. sovereignty and interests.

Executive Order Targeting the Harmful Foreign Activities of the Russian Government
Today, President Biden signed a new sanctions executive order that provides strengthened authorities to demonstrate the Administration’s resolve in responding to and deterring the full scope of Russia’s harmful foreign activities. This E.O. sends a signal that the United States will impose costs in a strategic and economically impactful manner on Russia if it continues or escalates its destabilizing international actions. This includes, in particular, efforts to undermine the conduct of free and fair democratic elections and democratic institutions in the United States and its allies and partners; engage in and facilitate malicious cyber activities against the United States and its allies and partners; foster and use transnational corruption to influence foreign governments; pursue extraterritorial activities targeting dissidents or journalists; undermine security in countries and regions important to United States national security; and violate well-established principles of international law, including respect for the territorial integrity of states.  

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) carried out the following actions pursuant to the new E.O.:

  • Treasury issued a directive that prohibits U.S. financial institutions from participation in the primary market for ruble or non-ruble denominated bonds issued after June 14, 2021 by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation, or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation; and lending ruble or non-ruble denominated funds to the Central…

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Android security: 0.04% of downloads on Google Play in 2018 were ‘potentially harmful apps’ – TechCrunch

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Android security: 0.04% of downloads on Google Play in 2018 were ‘potentially harmful apps’  TechCrunch

Google’s Android, now 10 years old, has not been a stranger to security issues over the years. But with the mobile operating system now installed on over 2 …

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