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But isn't it a jump from that to "remote root on every Android device that has market installed" and "If your device is online, it's a few hundred bytes over an

by css771 14y ago

But isn't it a jump from that to "remote root on every Android device that has market installed" and "If your device is online, it's a few hundred bytes over an always-on socket away from remote install/wipe" (remote install yes but wipe?)

codeka 14y ago
Of course it's a jump. The original claim seems like pure FUD to me. If you don't have a Google account on the phone, then the Play store does not work. If you have a Google account, then you trust Google. If you don't trust Google then it would seem silly to have a Google account.
- hosay123 14y ago
  It's ridiculous to call this FUD in a thread about a few million Chrome instances being accidentally DoS'd by the same company. The ultimatum you describe (which is also the present reality) isn't the only possibility here. Even a simple confirmation dialog box is enough to prevent a situation where an evil actor could silently mass-install malware on every Android device, or for that matter an authoritarian actor installing legal spyware outside the device owner's control.
hosay123 14y ago
I'm not sure I understand the disconnect. If I wire up a machine that produces rainbows and unicorns to a button that primarily initiates thermonuclear destruction, is the button somehow less dangerous? The simple fact is that there is a socket connected on the phone to my left, with exactly the features I just described. Just as it can produce apps at my leisure, similarly it can be used for less desirable actions. In the past, Google have used this legitimately to remove malware, but it's not Google I'm concerned about. One nationstate (China) has already shown Google's production environment little more than a few nasty PDFs sent to the right e-mail addresses away. As for remote wipe, that's a feature of the platform – search for 'android device administrator'.

by css771 14y ago

codeka 14y ago

Of course it's a jump. The original claim seems like pure FUD to me. If you don't have a Google account on the phone, then the Play store does not work. If you have a Google account, then you trust Google. If you don't trust Google then it would seem silly to have a Google account.

hosay123 14y ago
It's ridiculous to call this FUD in a thread about a few million Chrome instances being accidentally DoS'd by the same company. The ultimatum you describe (which is also the present reality) isn't the only possibility here. Even a simple confirmation dialog box is enough to prevent a situation where an evil actor could silently mass-install malware on every Android device, or for that matter an authoritarian actor installing legal spyware outside the device owner's control.

hosay123 14y ago

I'm not sure I understand the disconnect. If I wire up a machine that produces rainbows and unicorns to a button that primarily initiates thermonuclear destruction, is the button somehow less dangerous? The simple fact is that there is a socket connected on the phone to my left, with exactly the features I just described. Just as it can produce apps at my leisure, similarly it can be used for less desirable actions. In the past, Google have used this legitimately to remove malware, but it's not Google I'm concerned about. One nationstate (China) has already shown Google's production environment little more than a few nasty PDFs sent to the right e-mail addresses away. As for remote wipe, that's a feature of the platform – search for 'android device administrator'.