Category: Apps

Google Play Developer Program gets a policy and rules overhaul

| March 4, 2016

The tech giant has now rolled out a brand new appearance and feel for its program, which is meant to simplify it.

A new look and feel for the Google Play Developer Program Policy Center has now been rolled out in order to make it easier for app developers to be able to locate, view and understand its guidelines.

This was done as a part of an overhaul of the service in order to make the experience more appealing.

It included everything from the navigation to a makeover of the visual side of the Google Play Developer Program to include its “Material Design” for the organization of the program’s policies and guidelines by way of various large themes, such as “Privacy and Security” and “Restricted Content.” In that way, they are hoping to reduce or eliminate any potential confusion with regards to what is and is not permissible or recommended within the program.

That said, the rules have also been updated for Google Play developers, and more information is provided about them.

Google Play StoreThe information about all the rules has been expanded, as has data with regards to the way the policies for mobile app developers are enforced. This is meant to make violation resolution faster and easier. The information not only provides detailed guidelines of the most common violations, but it also includes visual examples that will clarify things even further.

While Google’s mobile app restrictions aren’t as limiting as Apple’s in terms of the types of applications that are permitted on the digital marketplace, its oversight has been increasing over the last few years. Last year, an internal mobile app review team was introduced quite subtly by the company. The members of that team are responsible for scanning through apps in order to be able to spot violations of the program’s policies.

There are also automatic scans run through Google Play apps in order to help to spot malware and other forms of more obvious content violates, such as applications that include sexual content, or that use copyrighted material without adequate documentation that grants the necessary permission to use it.

Smartphone users may be more trusting in mobile security than it deserves

| March 3, 2016

According to a recent study, Android device users are taking quite a casual attitude toward their vulnerabilities.

Proofpoint, a cyber and mobile security firm, has now released a report that has shown that users of Android devices had willingly downloaded more than two billion apps containing malicious code in 2015.

Those findings with regards to the downloading of malicious mobile apps were published in the Human Factor Report.

That report provides a closer view of the most recent cyber and mobile security trends throughout social media, mobile apps and email. Among the top findings of this report, one that is drawing a considerable amount of attention is the fact that malicious mobile applications are affecting the United States the most, with China in second place. The findings also pointed out that many of the problems with malicious apps come from downloads that are occurring in marketplaces outside of official channels.

These marketplaces are posing a considerable mobile security threat that device users seem to be ignoring.

mobile security trustThe researchers from Proofpoint discovered rogue app stores that were giving mobile device users the opportunity to download “free” clones of popular apps for both Android and iOS devices but that contained malicious code. In many circumstances, the games were clones of premium apps that were being offered for free, or included those that had been banned from the official Apple iTunes Store, luring people to these rogue marketplaces with their offer of something that was certainly too good to be true.

In order to be able to download those mobile apps, the users would have had to bypass a number of cyber security warnings along the way. Despite that fact, and the fact that downloading from those marketplaces increases the risk of downloading a malicious app by four times, many people are continuing with this activity.

The mobile security issues presented by these malicious apps can include anything from the sharing of personal information and data to revealing passwords to third parties. Downloads from those marketplaces surged during the fourth quarter of last year. Among the malicious apps that were indeed downloaded, data was communicated to 57 different countries. Of the data that was transmitted, 19 percent went to China.