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It's not just failing the non-tech savvy. What about those of us who are tech savvy enough to not want to install every random shitty untrustworthy company's s
by uhtred 3y ago
It's not just failing the non-tech savvy.
What about those of us who are tech savvy enough to not want to install every random shitty untrustworthy company's software on our pocket computer just to pay for something, rent a bike, use an event ticket etc etc.
- PrimeMcFly 3y agoThose who are tech savvy enough would use some kind of sandboxing solution for untrusted yet necessary apps.
- bell-cot 3y agoAnd just how many "escape the sandbox" security holes have been found in major smartphone OS's, in just the past year?
- PrimeMcFly 3y agoOn a secure OS like e/OS or Graphene? Not many I'd wager. And you can use something like Insular[0] for extra piece of mind. Besides, these shifty apps are not trying to root your phone, just to, in the worst case, send back data they should, or shouldn't even have access to. [0]https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.oasisfeng.island.fdroid/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.oasisfeng.island.fdroid/
- uhtred 3y agohmm so should I use Insular, or Island, or Shelter? Am I not tech savvy enough if I don't know which of those is more trustworthy/better? Is the bar for tech savvy so high now that I have to know what fdroid is, and how to install it (since I don't think it is on google play). Am I only tech savvy if I know what a custom android ROM is and how to install one? This is getting absurd!
- PrimeMcFly 3y ago[flagged]
- uhtred 3y agoYou're a prick! I have done all these things, but the hypothetical person I am using might not be able to, yet they might be a Windows power user, an Excel master, a gadget lover... but they are not tech savvy because they don't use lineageOS?
- PrimeMcFly 3y agoInsults are not allowed on HN. Please do better.
- mindslight 3y agoThis is the solution I've chosen as well. But you need to realize this is a high bar to clear, even in the tech community. Researching, buying the correct phone model, installing a user-representing distribution, and then staying on that distributions' device upgrade treadmill all take time and effort. It would be best described as a hobby, and unfortunately nobody has the time and effort to do all the hobbies they'd like. (I've also got a bunch of "smart" devices sitting around effectively unutilized because Home Assistant crapped the bed 5 years ago and I haven't had time to set up something new) Furthermore all of the secure Android distributions are community projects spearheaded by one or two developers. They could easily fall by the wayside tomorrow (eg CopperheadOS). It's nowhere near a self-sustaining off the shelf solution, despite how easy it seems once you actually do it. Also the looming threat of remote attestation could destroy using secure Android distributions for consumer apps in the blink of an eye. And it's not like the venues that went digital only will then go back to having a paper option if the secure option has disappears. In short, it's great to proselytize and grow the number of people interested in secure phone operating systems. But it's so far from being a prescriptive model to imply that people who haven't done so deserve what they get.
- PrimeMcFly 3y agoYou don't have to go as far as using a specific rom. There are plenty of much easier sandboxxing solutions available. All that's required is that a tech savvy user use one. Any one.
- mindslight 3y agoYou do realize that's a worse message, right? "Use GrapheneOS" is an easy answer, capable of being implemented in two weekends by any intermediate computer user, once they decide to take it on. Figuring out what "easier sandboxing solutions" are actually secure and aren't just snake oil is a much taller order. Especially with the way folk security (mis)advice gets repeated in forums, and the tendency for security amateurs to think more customization choices implies more security.
- 3y ago
- yomlica8 3y agoOn PCs we blame users for opening attachments from phishing emails, some of them cleverly crafted. On phones we call anyone who balks at scanning random QR codes and and installing shitty parking apps they'll use once conspiracy nut weirdos.
- jstanley 3y agoPart of the problem is that Android itself is an untrusted app. The other part of the problem is that SafetyNet means a lot of apps won't work if your system is too weird. It's not as easy as you make it sound.
- PrimeMcFly 3y agoYou don't need safteynet for these thirdparty apps people are talking about for buying a ticket or whatever.
- arp242 3y agoI have better things to do with my life than manage a zoo of shitty apps, so to hell with that. Just because I'm technically capable of spending time on doing something doesn't mean I want to.
- figassis 3y agoNot on an iPhone. Do the tech savvy not own iPhones?
- PrimeMcFly 3y agoNot if they care about privacy and security IMO. At the least the tech savvy would want decent adblocking.
- figassis 3y agoSo all iPhone owners are not tech savvy?
- PrimeMcFly 3y agoThe ones that are willing make a choice to use an iPhone despite the limitations, e.g. no ad blocking. I can't see any tech savvy user for who ad blocking is a priority using an iPhone.
- gerikson 3y agoYou are then sending the (not) signal that you are poor.