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Google’s Bouncer Security System Making Android Market Safer Against Malwares

Earlier this week, we’ve heard and saw the report from Symantec where they exposed 13 Android applications in the Android Market lurking with malicious contents. However, the report is still in question and it looks like Symantec have retracted their previous report.  For whatever reasons, I will post and update you why Symantec retracted their initial statement and how they are now perceived by many.  Let’s go back to the main topic, in accordance to this malware issues (I am not really sure if this is coincidental or not) Google introduced their security system that has been already running for quite some time and it is codenamed “Bouncer“.  Bouncer is the background application Google has developed mainly to maintain a secured and virus-free central repository of Android applications from which we call Android Market.

Norton-free-anti-virus-android

The application codenamed Bouncer was introduced by Hiroshi Lockheimer, VP of Engineering, Android on their official blog site.  Admittedly, they said that the Android devices such as smartphones and tablets (also the phablets) users are rapidly growing statistically and along with that increase of Android consumers is also the influx of visitors on Android Market from where they get or download their free or paid Android applications. What we don’t realize and know is that there’s one layer in the Android Market that scans automatically all the software without disrupting the services while we’re on shopping.

According to Google, Bouncer, was already doing its excellent job since the first and second halves of last year 2011.  Moreover, Google reports that there was a decrease of potentially malicious Android application downloads during that period.  Another contributing factor in helping Google to spot these malwares, viruses and trojan Android applications are the 3rd-party companies who creates antivirus Android apps.

I agree on what Hiroshi Lockheimer said “no security approach is foolproof” –  since Android system is an open-source code and nobody can really hold or stop bad people or developers from creating harmful application and distributing it. And we, as the end-users, can’t really depend on the antivirus itself (believe me in my 11 years of experience having an antivirus on my devices or computers). There’s always this never-ending race and clash between the people who creates these viruses, trojans and malwares against the people who creates the application to counterattack these malicious applications. So the best thing recommendation I could give you, although having an antivirus is good for your device, be responsible enough and keen before you download anything from the Android Market.  Always check the reviews and if there’s none do not download it if you feel uncomfortable with it.

[Source: Google Mobile Blog]

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