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Why I'm Reconsidering

funkylogik said:
Im guessing the op is one of the people who give us the rare compliment of thinking this site is populated by google employees, has returned his tab and wont be back :)
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Think he did a favour though, the importance of paying attention to what users might be downloading and installing, especially if it doesn't come from Google Play. :)
 
Lol i cant say anything. I dont use pirated apps but i do install or (worse) flash anything :D
Think i trust myself to fix anything bad though :beer:
 
funkylogik said:
Lol i cant say anything. I dont use pirated apps but i do install or (worse) flash anything :D
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Yeah we know funky :p

Seriously though I download from Play store, Amazon and Samsung. How many times do the vast majority just hit "Accept" and install without reading what permissions the app is actually asking for ? I have just downloaded the new SwiftKey beta .apk and manually installed that, the first time since I got my note 3 I've actually seen the .apk before installing it.

My guess is the vast majority of end users speed through to installing as fast as they tick the terms and conditions box to speed up installing anything anywhere. Slightly worrying when you consider what the permissions sometimes actually ask for.
 
Yeah thats true. I know i dont read permissions. I just place my trust in google and appbrain.
Its funny though how people get paranoid about google when they use an android phone yet as soon as they first boot the phone, they agree to googles T&Cs without reading them.
same with facebook, as soon as you tap "accept", you have no right to privacy and thats the persons own choice :)
 
mikedt said:
TBH Gameloft has their problems, but I don't think that spying on people is one of them. ;)

OT: Gameloft makes some very large and demanding games, so you do need some cutting-edge, high-end(expensive) hardware to run them properly, or at all. Asphalt 8 is almost a 2GB download. Also they severely geo-restrict where their products are available. Both of which can lead to disappointment and frustration IMO.
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The games are demanding but only because they're horribly optimized, when you upgrade your phone 1-2 times a year that becomes painfully obvious, when the performance of their games stays the same or gets worse as the hardware gets faster you know something is wrong. :D
 
It's good that the OP has shown diligence in evaluating the app's permissions but as funky pointed out, he doesn't have to worry about his phone calls being monitored on his tablet... it's a tablet.
 
Yeh. This copy of Asphalt might just log everything you type, records all your credit cards, accounts, passwords and everything else, and sends it off to a server somewhere. Don't know if anyone else noticed but there's a couple more suspicious permissions, that's not in the original Gameloft one. "low-level access and control of the system" and "access the available accounts". Which a game like this should not need AFAICT.

Even with a tablet, still be vigilant of what you install and where it comes from.
 
Here's the permissions list straight from Google Play:

This app has access to these permissions:

Network communication
view Wi-Fi connections
receive data from Internet
full network access
Google Play licence check
view network connections

Phone calls
read phone status and identity

Storage
modify or delete the contents of your USB storage

Affects battery
allow Wi-Fi Multicast reception
control vibration
prevent device from sleeping

Your accounts
find accounts on the device

System tools
test access to protected storage

Your applications information
run at startup

All of which are normal for a game of this nature. Comparing these to the posted screen grab, I'm inclined to think it's a case of (in)different wording rather than malicious intent.
 
Hello everyone. Just so you all know I tried about seven free apps and all had the same outcome and this is upsetting. I don,t remember what app store it was but it was the default one that is on the home page of the tablet. Thanks for all replies. But I returned the tablet and bought a mini. I gave it a shot.

Thanks Bob
 
puremacgyver said:
Hello everyone. Just so you all know I tried about seven free apps and all had the same outcome and this is upsetting. I don,t remember what app store it was but it was the default one that is on the home page of the tablet. Thanks for all replies. But I returned the tablet and bought a mini. I gave it a shot.

Thanks Bob
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Bob mind me asking what tablet was it? Because being honest what you had sounds fairly typical of what's generally available here(China, PRC). And given the choice I'd buy an iPad as well.

You might want to read this thread about them...
http://androidforums.com/android-lounge/631594-off-brand-phones-tablets-worth-low-cost.html

A major problem with devices like this is that they don't come with Google Play. They have whatever app store the manufacturer feels like putting on them. And often these app stores are filled with pirated apps and games that may well be malicious.
 
It was a samsung galaxy 3 bought at Costco. One of the main reasons for buying it was because of the ability of increasing memory cheaply with a high capacity memory card. But the mini is also a 16GB but has no ability to upgrade the memory. For the same price:( every take care and have good new year!

Bob
 
is this your first smartphone/android? I think it dosn't matter which brand you have just be careful what you install, always read the permissions and check the user reviews on any apps you do because some apps can be nasty.

one example and I have said this before I stay clear of apps such as a basic flashlight app that needs permission to "access the internet, access the camera, access location, access phone identity" and other odd stuff, at the most the only thing a flashlight app should need access to is camera to turn on the led.

gl and hope you enjoy android :)
 
I refuse to install any apps with ridiculous rights. Like a wallpaper which wants to get a SU priviledge or does it really need to access my calender or...

Years ago when I started to use android, I only installed free apps. Then I grew up and nowadays mostly install only paid apps and then only if they still dont ask ridiculous permissions. I hate to say, but too many apps ask too many rights and almost all free apps contains annoying ads nowadays. And if not ads, they are trying to sell something to you, like to buy their own money to buy some fancy thing for your play-character or just skip to the next level etc. Surely I know that makers want money, but I do concern about my privacy especially because Im using the same devices at work too.

off topic: And I hate people complaining problems with their devices at the same time they just click everything that is free and blinks and shines... /off topic

And for the original poster something to consider with Apple and security:
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13...e-personal-data-than-do-android-apps---report

http://www.zdnet.com/iphones-most-vulnerable-among-smartphones-7000013129/

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/111813-hp-ios-vulnerabilities-276063.html

And finally (the funniest part): http://www.nsa.gov/ia/_files/factsheets/iphonetips-image.pdf (sorry, i couldnt resist!)
 
oops must have missed it, I sometimes just skim posts nm.

I did think if it was a tablet "monitoring and recording phonecalls" wouldn't mean much anyway unless it actually had built in phone stuffs & most don't?
 
Is it tin-foil hat time already? FYI that's not from 1Mobile. when 1Mobile downloads an app, it turns it over to Android's package installer afterwards--it doesn't install on its own. i've never seen Android with those colors in package manager myself.
 
Slug said:
Here's the permissions list straight from Google Play:

This app has access to these permissions:

Network communication
view Wi-Fi connections
receive data from Internet
full network access
Google Play licence check
view network connections

Phone calls
read phone status and identity

Storage
modify or delete the contents of your USB storage

Affects battery
allow Wi-Fi Multicast reception
control vibration
prevent device from sleeping

Your accounts
find accounts on the device

System tools
test access to protected storage

Your applications information
run at startup

All of which are normal for a game of this nature. Comparing these to the posted screen grab, I'm inclined to think it's a case of (in)different wording rather than malicious intent.
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Slug, think you're right..just came across this.
View attachment Screenshot_2014-01-01-16-45-25.jpgView attachment Screenshot_2014-01-01-16-45-17.jpgView attachment Screenshot_2014-01-01-16-44-09.jpg
It's the Samsung app store with a free Gameloft football game, with "Phone calls: Monitor, record and process phone calls." permissions. The game's title is in Chinese but that's just because of where I am.

The OP's pic is almost certainly the Samsung app store. So it looks like Samsung's wording is ambiguous and inaccurate for this permission, especially for a game. However it shows the correct wording when you open that permission for more information.

This apparently has cost Samsung a sale, and the OP is now happy with his Apple. :D
 
If you're on a tablet then you need not worry about phone call permissions, because you won't be making or receiving any calls.

Downloading the same app from the iTunes store will result in exactly the same thing, you just don't get to read through the permissions first.

I guess it's up to you though OP, if you had of gone apple in the first place you wouldn't even know these things happened, it'd just go right ahead and install without asking you.
 
nickdalzell said:
Is it tin-foil hat time already? FYI that's not from 1Mobile. when 1Mobile downloads an app, it turns it over to Android's package installer afterwards--it doesn't install on its own. i've never seen Android with those colors in package manager myself.
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When I see fooky and possibly nefarious things going on, my first thoughts usually is China. But in this case it's not 1Mobile, etc, it's apparently Samsung's choice of words. As I just found out. :)

BTW I did download Gameloft's Asphalt 8: Airborne from 1Mobile earlier, permissions seemed OK, however when trying to run it, it said "Invalid license." and just exited :rolleyes: ..not surprised really. Obviously they haven't cracked Gameloft's copy protection.
 
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