The Dark Side of the Google Playstore: A Threat to Android Users

Well, it turns out that Mother Google has been kicking butt and cleaning house in the Google Playstore by banning apps even popular ones that have been doing some sneaky stuff. Occasionally, even very popular apps get unmasked as malware. The whole thing works like an organized crime ring, where fully functional apps that seem at least on the surface to be innocuous secretly download other apps in the scam ring artificially boosting their download numbers. Some even have the ability to leave positive reviews and ratings without the owner's knowledge. As each app is installed, the cycle begins again.

The only real solution is to install a root explorer and go fishing for any suspect files. However, even then, you have to know what you're looking for. The only surefire way to remove the threat is to reflash the manufacturer's ROM, a process that is beyond many Android users. There are plenty of guides available on the process for individual devices, but if you're at all concerned, it's probably best to contact your manufacturer for assistance.

Sadly, Motorola, who pioneered the smartphone, is no more last week. Lenovo, which owns Motorola since 2014, announced that they will be phasing out the brand name. Don't get me wrong; the Moto line smartphones will still be in production in the coming years, complete with their familiar and brand symbol. However, these devices will also have Lenovo's branding and iconography. So, why do this at all? The basic idea is that Lenovo wants to leverage the brand recognition Motorola used to enjoy. Although Motorola fell out of the spotlight as Samsung and Apple came to dominate the mobile market, they still enjoy a fairly decent fanbase. On the other hand, Lenovo is a much more obscure brand name in the mobile industry, sure they're a big deal in computers but when it comes to smartphones, Motorola is massive by comparison.

When Lenovo bought the company from Google, it was to bolster their presence in the mobile market. So, you know in those spy movies where the bad guys try and take a print of your fingerprint and then use that to get through a fingerprint scanner? Well, Qualcomm is trying to make something innovative that will make that a lot harder to do rather than existing photographic or capacitative based fingerprint scanners.

Qualcomm's Sense ID makes use of ultrasonic sound as the name implies in order to map out the details of the user's fingerprint to actually capture the details of a fingerprint. The hardware consists of both a transmitter and receiver, an ultrasonic pulse is transmitted against the finger that is placed over the scanner. Some of this pulse is absorbed and some of it is bounced back to the sensor. Scanning for longer periods of time allows for additional depth data to be captured, resulting in a highly detailed 3D production of the scanned fingerprint.

This is considerably different to even the best capacitative fingerprint scanners on the market at the moment, which you're only able to reproduce 2D images. 3D details are much more difficult to forge or fool than 2D versions of the technology, potentially making the ultrasonic system much more secure.

Thankfully, as soon as I feel better, I'll be revving up and getting back into it. Don't forget my brothers and sister and Android who are working super hard on bringing you all the latest news and updates from around the world of technology.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwell it turns out that mother Google has been kicking butt and cleaning house in the Google Playstore by banning apps even popular ones that have been doing some sneaky stuff occasionally even very popular apps get unmasked as malware the whole thing works like an organized crime ring fully functional apps that seem at least on the surface to be innocuous secretly download other apps in the scam ring artificially boosting their download numbers some even have the ability to leave positive reviews and ratings without the owner's knowledge as each app is installed the cycle begins again the only real solution is to install a root explorer and go fishing for any suspect files but even then you have to know what you're looking for the only surefire way to remove the threat is to reflash the manufacturers rom a process that is beyond many Android users there are plenty of guides on the process for individual devices but if you're at all concerned it's probably best to contact your manufacturer for assistance and sadly motorola who pioneered the smart phone is no more last week lenovo which owns motorola since 2014 announced that they will be phasing out the brand name now don't get me wrong the Moto line smartphones will still be in production in the coming years complete with their familiar and brand symbol however these devices will also have Lenovo's branding and iconography so why do this at all well the basic idea is this Lenovo one of the brand recognition Motorola used to enjoy although Motorola fell out of the spotlight as Samsung and Apple came to dominate the mobile market they still enjoy a fairly decent fanbase Lenovo on the other hand is a much more obscure brand name in the mobile industry sure they're a big deal in computers but when it comes to smartphones motorola is massive by comparison when they bought the company from Google it was to bolster their presence in the mobile market so you know in those spy movies where the bad guys try and take a print of your fingerprint and then use that to get through a fingerprint scanner well Qualcomm is trying to make something innovative that will make that a lot harder to do rather than existing photographic or capacitative based fingerprint scanners Qualcomm's sense ID makes use of ultrasonic sound as the name implies in order to map out the details of the users fingerprint to actually capture the details of a fingerprint the hardware consists of both a transmitter and receiver an ultrasonic pulse is transmitted against the finger that is placed over the scanner some of this pulse is absorbed and some of it is bounced back to the sensor scanning for longer periods of time allows for additional depth data to be captured resulting in a highly detailed 3d production of the scanned fingerprint this is considerably different to even the best capacitative fingerprint scanners on the market at the moment which you're only able to reproduce 2d images 3d details are much more difficult to forge or fool than 2d versions of the technology potentially making the ultrasonic system much more secure thanks for watching guys as you can hear I'm sick I've been really sick all week in bed almost all the time which is why it's really been difficult for me to get shows out I haven't been able to get anything out most of the week but as soon as I feel better I'm gonna rev it up and get back into it thanks for watching don't forget my brothers and sister and Android who are working super hard of your source for all thingswell it turns out that mother Google has been kicking butt and cleaning house in the Google Playstore by banning apps even popular ones that have been doing some sneaky stuff occasionally even very popular apps get unmasked as malware the whole thing works like an organized crime ring fully functional apps that seem at least on the surface to be innocuous secretly download other apps in the scam ring artificially boosting their download numbers some even have the ability to leave positive reviews and ratings without the owner's knowledge as each app is installed the cycle begins again the only real solution is to install a root explorer and go fishing for any suspect files but even then you have to know what you're looking for the only surefire way to remove the threat is to reflash the manufacturers rom a process that is beyond many Android users there are plenty of guides on the process for individual devices but if you're at all concerned it's probably best to contact your manufacturer for assistance and sadly motorola who pioneered the smart phone is no more last week lenovo which owns motorola since 2014 announced that they will be phasing out the brand name now don't get me wrong the Moto line smartphones will still be in production in the coming years complete with their familiar and brand symbol however these devices will also have Lenovo's branding and iconography so why do this at all well the basic idea is this Lenovo one of the brand recognition Motorola used to enjoy although Motorola fell out of the spotlight as Samsung and Apple came to dominate the mobile market they still enjoy a fairly decent fanbase Lenovo on the other hand is a much more obscure brand name in the mobile industry sure they're a big deal in computers but when it comes to smartphones motorola is massive by comparison when they bought the company from Google it was to bolster their presence in the mobile market so you know in those spy movies where the bad guys try and take a print of your fingerprint and then use that to get through a fingerprint scanner well Qualcomm is trying to make something innovative that will make that a lot harder to do rather than existing photographic or capacitative based fingerprint scanners Qualcomm's sense ID makes use of ultrasonic sound as the name implies in order to map out the details of the users fingerprint to actually capture the details of a fingerprint the hardware consists of both a transmitter and receiver an ultrasonic pulse is transmitted against the finger that is placed over the scanner some of this pulse is absorbed and some of it is bounced back to the sensor scanning for longer periods of time allows for additional depth data to be captured resulting in a highly detailed 3d production of the scanned fingerprint this is considerably different to even the best capacitative fingerprint scanners on the market at the moment which you're only able to reproduce 2d images 3d details are much more difficult to forge or fool than 2d versions of the technology potentially making the ultrasonic system much more secure thanks for watching guys as you can hear I'm sick I've been really sick all week in bed almost all the time which is why it's really been difficult for me to get shows out I haven't been able to get anything out most of the week but as soon as I feel better I'm gonna rev it up and get back into it thanks for watching don't forget my brothers and sister and Android who are working super hard of your source for all things\n"