5 ms·

Unfortunately requires root though, which means for the vast majority of Android users this is not an option.

by rsanek 7y ago

freedomben 7y ago
Yes very true. I've been rooting for years so don't usually think about that, but yes you have to be rooted. It's sad that for proper security you have to root your device. I'd love if they built that firewall into Android. Anticipating a question, the best phones IMHO for rooting are the OnePlus phones and Pixel. Motorola had been good in the past but you have to get a code to unlock the bootloader (which I don't like).
kevin_thibedeau 7y ago
NoRootFirewall is much the same. If you can install LineageOS it lets you revoke fine grained permissions without the app knowing.
monoideism 7y ago
Plus, regardless of background or technical expertise, rooting your phone dramatically decreases security. Downvoters: so what security features do you lose and gain when you root your phone? You've weighed the pros and cons, right?
- freedomben 7y ago
  Not a down voter, but I disagree with you. There's a fantastic example in my sibling post. Rooting gains you the ability to more tightly control network access. That alone is massive for privacy and security. Obviously you have to run code with lots of permissions, which means you could be highly compromised by a malicious app. The onus on the user is much higher to vet apps. At the end of the day you have to place some trust, even if you don't root. It's a game of balancing tradeoffs. It's overly simplistic to say that rooting dramatically decreases security regardless of background or technical expertise.
  - monoideism 7y ago
    Thanks for answering. I guess now that it's possible to install your own key to verify rooted images in many phones, the problem is somewhat attenuated. Losing verified boot is a major loss. So yes, that was a bit overly simplistic. I rooted my phones for a number of years before carefully looking at the pros and cons and deciding it was a poor choice for a consumer mobile phone. Obviously, we need root access for our dev machines and servers. But I try to follow the principle of least privilege, and in that case, not clear why root would be needed for a mobile phone. But I concede that for some use cases, it can be a trade-off. What other security advantage of rooting can you name besides tighter control of network access? Also, note that there are a few apps that allow some degree of firewall with unrooted phones. I also suspect there's a lot of room for improvement there.

Unfortunately requires root though, which means for the vast majority of Android users this is not an option.

by rsanek 7y ago

Unfortunately requires root though, which means for the vast majority of Android users this is not an option.

Yes very true. I've been rooting for years so don't usually think about that, but yes you have to be rooted. It's sad that for proper security you have to root your device. I'd love if they built that firewall into Android. Anticipating a question, the best phones IMHO for rooting are the OnePlus phones and Pixel. Motorola had been good in the past but you have to get a code to unlock the bootloader (which I don't like).

kevin_thibedeau 7y ago

NoRootFirewall is much the same. If you can install LineageOS it lets you revoke fine grained permissions without the app knowing.

monoideism 7y ago

Plus, regardless of background or technical expertise, rooting your phone dramatically decreases security. Downvoters: so what security features do you lose and gain when you root your phone? You've weighed the pros and cons, right?

freedomben 7y ago
Not a down voter, but I disagree with you. There's a fantastic example in my sibling post. Rooting gains you the ability to more tightly control network access. That alone is massive for privacy and security. Obviously you have to run code with lots of permissions, which means you could be highly compromised by a malicious app. The onus on the user is much higher to vet apps. At the end of the day you have to place some trust, even if you don't root. It's a game of balancing tradeoffs. It's overly simplistic to say that rooting dramatically decreases security regardless of background or technical expertise.
- monoideism 7y ago
  Thanks for answering. I guess now that it's possible to install your own key to verify rooted images in many phones, the problem is somewhat attenuated. Losing verified boot is a major loss. So yes, that was a bit overly simplistic. I rooted my phones for a number of years before carefully looking at the pros and cons and deciding it was a poor choice for a consumer mobile phone. Obviously, we need root access for our dev machines and servers. But I try to follow the principle of least privilege, and in that case, not clear why root would be needed for a mobile phone. But I concede that for some use cases, it can be a trade-off. What other security advantage of rooting can you name besides tighter control of network access? Also, note that there are a few apps that allow some degree of firewall with unrooted phones. I also suspect there's a lot of room for improvement there.