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Android app uproar sparks debate over open app store model
An Android Marketplace application has been accused of attacking files. Ars looks at the matter and concludes that there may be more smoke than fire in this case.
By Erica Sadun | Last updated January 28, 2009 7:30
An Android Market application has become the center of a fire storm of controversy after users accused it of wiping data from memory cards and spamming contacts. MemoryUp Personal, distributed by eMobieStudio, is meant to optimize system memory by taking control of the Java Virtual Machine to reclaim unused memory. Whether it actually achieves that goal has been a matter of discussion on the Android Community forum for a few weeks; forum members have not been convinced of its actual efficacy.
This past weekend, however, reports started appearing that MemoryUp was erasing files. According to a post at geek.com, users complained that their SD cards "were wiped totally clean." Other accusations grew, suggesting that MemoryUp was sending spam using onboard contact information, removing calendar items, corrupting memory and placing adware onto the G1.
So is MemoryUp a harmful application? Did it actually do the things that it was accused of? Ars doubts the claims. A Google spokesperson told Ars that it has investigated MemoryUp and determined that it is not malware, stating, "In the versions we tested, MemoryUp cannot perform any of the malicious things it is reported to have done."
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An Android Marketplace application has been accused of attacking files. Ars looks at the matter and concludes that there may be more smoke than fire in this case.
By Erica Sadun | Last updated January 28, 2009 7:30
An Android Market application has become the center of a fire storm of controversy after users accused it of wiping data from memory cards and spamming contacts. MemoryUp Personal, distributed by eMobieStudio, is meant to optimize system memory by taking control of the Java Virtual Machine to reclaim unused memory. Whether it actually achieves that goal has been a matter of discussion on the Android Community forum for a few weeks; forum members have not been convinced of its actual efficacy.
This past weekend, however, reports started appearing that MemoryUp was erasing files. According to a post at geek.com, users complained that their SD cards "were wiped totally clean." Other accusations grew, suggesting that MemoryUp was sending spam using onboard contact information, removing calendar items, corrupting memory and placing adware onto the G1.
So is MemoryUp a harmful application? Did it actually do the things that it was accused of? Ars doubts the claims. A Google spokesperson told Ars that it has investigated MemoryUp and determined that it is not malware, stating, "In the versions we tested, MemoryUp cannot perform any of the malicious things it is reported to have done."
MORE >>>...