5 ms·

Ancient android might not get security updates, but is actually still very usable. The vast majority of apps will still at least run and talk to their servers

Ancient android might not get security updates, but is actually still very usable. The vast majority of apps will still at least run and talk to their servers on a 10 year old phone.

squokko 3y ago
Using a non-updated device on the Internet is not smart if you have any personal information on the phone.
- londons_explore 3y ago
  Plenty of people do it... And it doesn't actually backfire often - the worst that seems to happen is your phone will self-install unremovable adware if you visit the wrong website. A complete reset solves it tho.
- la_oveja 3y ago
  system might not be updated, but apps are. its not the end of the world in a realistic setting
- mikeweiss 3y ago
  I'd actually like to see a list of real world security incidents that occured on EOL android devices. Not out of date browsers. (Chrome can still be updated) but devices no longer getting OS security updates.. something tells me it's very very rarely if ever an actual issue in real life.
  - taway32r41 3y ago
    I'm not going to do a lot of research here but one thing I remember reading about was an uptick in Android Ransomware. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2020/10/08/sophisticated-new-android-malware-marks-the-latest-evolution-of-mobile-ransomware/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2020/10/08/sop... In the article it explains how Google and the ransomers are doing a cat and mouse thing. If your phone is not keeping up, that could definitely be an issue.
- The_Colonel 3y ago
  An anecdote, but I've never heard anybody from my social circles to have their phone hacked. I keep reading about all these holes, but somehow they don't seem to be widely exploited in the real world.
FredPret 3y ago
How is it usable if it is insecure? People bank on these things.
- londons_explore 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - frumper 3y ago
    I've had multiple family members wait months to sort things out like that. Visa fraud experience is usually immediate, checking/savings accounts not so much.
  - taway32r41 3y ago
    The U.S. Senate begs to differ. Consumers defrauded on Zelle are left high and dry by the banks that created it [pdf] (senate.gov) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37438934 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37438934
    - SamReidHughes 3y ago
      Transactions where you got scammed aren't the same thing as unauthorized transactions.
      - taway32r41 3y ago
        "Banks are not repaying customers who contest “unauthorized” Zelle payments – potentially violating federal law and CFPB rules." I suppose you and Senator Warren have different definitions for unauthorized.
        SamReidHughes 3y ago
        So, actually, 47% of them by dollar amount, according to the report you quoted. Selectively quoted. Why do you behave this way? Here's a question for you to think about: Why do they reverse some claims but not others?
baq 3y ago
I have a nexus 5x which I wanted to repurpose for… anything at all. It can’t even update itself anymore. Play services update just locks up or whatever. Play store is broken and can’t install anything. The thing is useless as a smartphone. My iPad 5 got an iOS update last month-ish? And a security patch last week. All of my kids run iPhone 8.
- londons_explore 3y ago
  you need to install the f-droid store. most google apps still work, but you can't use recent versions of them.
semiquaver 3y ago
Who is updating the trust store? With root certs from 10 years ago a lot of TLS connections will not work.
mqus 3y ago
Kitkat(Android 4.4) is 10 years old and I have experience with it. You can't update Signal since last year and you can't use it anymore since soon after that. Whatsapp didn't work anymore after May. And most(all?) of the phones bought 10 years ago didn't have kitkat yet. Those two are the apps that survived the longest (Try getting any matrix client to work on it). Others broke sooner, most of them because the app developer has to enable TLS1.2 to be able to use it for HTTP APIs and many web servers disabled responding to older versions a while ago. Firefox (the one which allowed all extensions) still works. Great! But I can't message anyone anymore. On a phone. TBH I put most of the blame here on app developers (supporting older stuff is not that hard) and some of it on the device manufacturers.

Ancient android might not get security updates, but is actually still very usable. The vast majority of apps will still at least run and talk to their servers on a 10 year old phone.

squokko 3y ago

Using a non-updated device on the Internet is not smart if you have any personal information on the phone.

londons_explore 3y ago
Plenty of people do it... And it doesn't actually backfire often - the worst that seems to happen is your phone will self-install unremovable adware if you visit the wrong website. A complete reset solves it tho.
la_oveja 3y ago
system might not be updated, but apps are. its not the end of the world in a realistic setting
mikeweiss 3y ago
I'd actually like to see a list of real world security incidents that occured on EOL android devices. Not out of date browsers. (Chrome can still be updated) but devices no longer getting OS security updates.. something tells me it's very very rarely if ever an actual issue in real life.
- taway32r41 3y ago
  I'm not going to do a lot of research here but one thing I remember reading about was an uptick in Android Ransomware. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2020/10/08/sophisticated-new-android-malware-marks-the-latest-evolution-of-mobile-ransomware/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2020/10/08/sop... In the article it explains how Google and the ransomers are doing a cat and mouse thing. If your phone is not keeping up, that could definitely be an issue.
The_Colonel 3y ago
An anecdote, but I've never heard anybody from my social circles to have their phone hacked. I keep reading about all these holes, but somehow they don't seem to be widely exploited in the real world.

FredPret 3y ago

How is it usable if it is insecure? People bank on these things.

londons_explore 3y ago
[flagged]
- frumper 3y ago
  I've had multiple family members wait months to sort things out like that. Visa fraud experience is usually immediate, checking/savings accounts not so much.
- taway32r41 3y ago
  The U.S. Senate begs to differ. Consumers defrauded on Zelle are left high and dry by the banks that created it [pdf] (senate.gov) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37438934 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37438934
  - SamReidHughes 3y ago
    Transactions where you got scammed aren't the same thing as unauthorized transactions.
    - taway32r41 3y ago
      "Banks are not repaying customers who contest “unauthorized” Zelle payments – potentially violating federal law and CFPB rules." I suppose you and Senator Warren have different definitions for unauthorized.
      - SamReidHughes 3y ago
        So, actually, 47% of them by dollar amount, according to the report you quoted. Selectively quoted. Why do you behave this way? Here's a question for you to think about: Why do they reverse some claims but not others?

baq 3y ago

I have a nexus 5x which I wanted to repurpose for… anything at all. It can’t even update itself anymore. Play services update just locks up or whatever. Play store is broken and can’t install anything. The thing is useless as a smartphone. My iPad 5 got an iOS update last month-ish? And a security patch last week. All of my kids run iPhone 8.

londons_explore 3y ago
you need to install the f-droid store. most google apps still work, but you can't use recent versions of them.

semiquaver 3y ago

Who is updating the trust store? With root certs from 10 years ago a lot of TLS connections will not work.

mqus 3y ago

Kitkat(Android 4.4) is 10 years old and I have experience with it. You can't update Signal since last year and you can't use it anymore since soon after that. Whatsapp didn't work anymore after May. And most(all?) of the phones bought 10 years ago didn't have kitkat yet. Those two are the apps that survived the longest (Try getting any matrix client to work on it). Others broke sooner, most of them because the app developer has to enable TLS1.2 to be able to use it for HTTP APIs and many web servers disabled responding to older versions a while ago. Firefox (the one which allowed all extensions) still works. Great! But I can't message anyone anymore. On a phone. TBH I put most of the blame here on app developers (supporting older stuff is not that hard) and some of it on the device manufacturers.