4 ms·

Just use different OS then

danieldk 9y ago
Like? On mobile, the only realistic alternative is Android, which is a privacy and security nightmare. On general purpose computers, Linux is better from the perspective of privacy. But for large parts of the general population, Windows is the only realistic alternative. And we know how important privacy is to Microsoft these days :(.
- pawadu 9y ago
  > Android, which is a privacy and security nightmare Only if your only source of information about Android is WWDC keynotes. But did Phil Schiller tell you about the Korean "malware" that was very quietly purged from App Store last week?
  - zuppy 9y ago
    How many of the Android devices are using the latest version and what's the option for the rest of them, excluding rooting? There are many advantages of Android, but this is not one of them.
    - pawadu 9y ago
      > How many of the Android devices are using the latest version This comes up every time security discussed. But it is not as black as white as you think: 1. Security patches are separate from OS upgrades [1]. Many vendors incorporate security patches without upgrading the OS. 2. Many core Android components are upgraded via the store. 3. Google scans and remove bad apps from your device no matter Android version [3] -- [1] https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2017-06-01 https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2017-06-01 [2] https://www.howtogeek.com/179638/not-getting-android-os-updates-heres-how-google-is-updating-your-device-anyway/ https://www.howtogeek.com/179638/not-getting-android-os-upda... [3] https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/2812853?hl=en https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/2812853?hl=en
  - zepto 9y ago
    How may android botnets are there, and how many devices infected? Huw many iOS?
  - mnem 9y ago
    I suspect most privacy problems come down to the apps on the users device for both platforms, but in terms of security Android is worse overall because of the abysmal rate of updates, and lack of widespread backing store encryption. That leaves a lot of Android devices open to shady apps and data loss after theft. Both platforms can always do better of course, and should learn from each other. But to pretend device security hasn't been a genuine focus for Apple is blinkered.
    - pawadu 9y ago
      > lack of widespread backing store encryption I am not sure what you mean.
  - danieldk 9y ago
    Only if your only source of information about Android is WWDC keynotes. Don't be silly. Google's own dashboard shows that the vast majority of devices are running old versions of Android with known security vulnerabilities: https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html Besides that, most likely >99% of the users are using a device with Google Play Services and other Google applications. It is no secret that Google mines pretty much all data available for advertising purposes (as outlined in their privacy policy). Moreover, most Android devices use no or weak device encryption. The Google App Store has a rich history of applications slurping all kinds of data (though things will probably get better with fine-grained permissions). And then we haven't even talked about Asian and American vendors that 'accidentally' install third party spyware: https://www.cyberscoop.com/android-malware-china-huawei-zte-kryptowire-blu-products/ https://www.cyberscoop.com/android-malware-china-huawei-zte-...
    - ocean3 9y ago
      So no issues then otherwise there would huge cry from android users like those from Windows users
- daxorid 9y ago
  Like? You use your iPhone but disable iCloud. If photos are important to you, use a dedicated camera and upload to your home NAS.
- TheAceOfHearts 9y ago
  I recently discovered CopperheadOS [0], and I've been playing around with it on my old Nexus 5X. It's very barebones, but you can pick up good open alternatives to most closed software on F-droid. I'm still not ready to drop Google services completely, but it looks promising. If you're willing to pay the premium, they sell the Pixel and Pixel XL with CopperheadOS loaded. [0] https://copperhead.co/android/ https://copperhead.co/android/
- dagenleg 9y ago
  Yes, I was hinting towards Linux. If you worry about security then the answer is pretty clear - don't store anything valuable on mobile devices.

Like? On mobile, the only realistic alternative is Android, which is a privacy and security nightmare. On general purpose computers, Linux is better from the perspective of privacy. But for large parts of the general population, Windows is the only realistic alternative. And we know how important privacy is to Microsoft these days :(.

pawadu 9y ago
> Android, which is a privacy and security nightmare Only if your only source of information about Android is WWDC keynotes. But did Phil Schiller tell you about the Korean "malware" that was very quietly purged from App Store last week?
- zuppy 9y ago
  How many of the Android devices are using the latest version and what's the option for the rest of them, excluding rooting? There are many advantages of Android, but this is not one of them.
  - pawadu 9y ago
    > How many of the Android devices are using the latest version This comes up every time security discussed. But it is not as black as white as you think: 1. Security patches are separate from OS upgrades [1]. Many vendors incorporate security patches without upgrading the OS. 2. Many core Android components are upgraded via the store. 3. Google scans and remove bad apps from your device no matter Android version [3] -- [1] https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2017-06-01 https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2017-06-01 [2] https://www.howtogeek.com/179638/not-getting-android-os-updates-heres-how-google-is-updating-your-device-anyway/ https://www.howtogeek.com/179638/not-getting-android-os-upda... [3] https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/2812853?hl=en https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/2812853?hl=en
- zepto 9y ago
  How may android botnets are there, and how many devices infected? Huw many iOS?
- mnem 9y ago
  I suspect most privacy problems come down to the apps on the users device for both platforms, but in terms of security Android is worse overall because of the abysmal rate of updates, and lack of widespread backing store encryption. That leaves a lot of Android devices open to shady apps and data loss after theft. Both platforms can always do better of course, and should learn from each other. But to pretend device security hasn't been a genuine focus for Apple is blinkered.
  - pawadu 9y ago
    > lack of widespread backing store encryption I am not sure what you mean.
- danieldk 9y ago
  Only if your only source of information about Android is WWDC keynotes. Don't be silly. Google's own dashboard shows that the vast majority of devices are running old versions of Android with known security vulnerabilities: https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html Besides that, most likely >99% of the users are using a device with Google Play Services and other Google applications. It is no secret that Google mines pretty much all data available for advertising purposes (as outlined in their privacy policy). Moreover, most Android devices use no or weak device encryption. The Google App Store has a rich history of applications slurping all kinds of data (though things will probably get better with fine-grained permissions). And then we haven't even talked about Asian and American vendors that 'accidentally' install third party spyware: https://www.cyberscoop.com/android-malware-china-huawei-zte-kryptowire-blu-products/ https://www.cyberscoop.com/android-malware-china-huawei-zte-...
  - ocean3 9y ago
    So no issues then otherwise there would huge cry from android users like those from Windows users
daxorid 9y ago
Like? You use your iPhone but disable iCloud. If photos are important to you, use a dedicated camera and upload to your home NAS.
TheAceOfHearts 9y ago
I recently discovered CopperheadOS [0], and I've been playing around with it on my old Nexus 5X. It's very barebones, but you can pick up good open alternatives to most closed software on F-droid. I'm still not ready to drop Google services completely, but it looks promising. If you're willing to pay the premium, they sell the Pixel and Pixel XL with CopperheadOS loaded. [0] https://copperhead.co/android/ https://copperhead.co/android/
dagenleg 9y ago
Yes, I was hinting towards Linux. If you worry about security then the answer is pretty clear - don't store anything valuable on mobile devices.