Google works on improving Play Store security to keep malware-laden apps off Android phones،
Google and its Android mobile platform have a problem. Although Google Play Protect scans apps before installing them on your phone, a recent report from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky found that malware-laden apps have been installed 600 million times on Android phones this year. If Google does all these analyses, how is this possible? Let’s take a look at a typical Android user. Let’s call him Andy.
Andy is impressed by an ad he saw for an app on the Google Play Store that will allow him to edit his videos on the device. So he installs the application on his phone. A few weeks later, the developer (a totally made-up company called Dewey, Cheetum, and Howe) releases an update to the previously harmless app that adds the permissions and code needed to steal the passwords Andy uses to open his financial applications. ; a few days later, Andy notices some unauthorized withdrawals from his bank account.
First seen by AssembleDebug in the GApps Flags & Leaks Telegram channel (via AndroidFont), Google has created a new integration UI for the Play Store. Leaked screenshots show that Android users like Andy may be asked to verify their identity and the payment method used for in-app purchases. The verified information can be used to ensure that Andy does not accidentally install an expensive app in the future, or mistakenly install a malware-laden app.
For example, Android users can choose to require verification for all purchases made through the Google Play Store using fingerprint or facial recognition. Users will have the ability to add authentication preferences using built-in Android security features, verifying apps and the user’s device using Play Protect, and securing purchases made through the Play Store by adding payment preferences.
If your Android phone is configured with the appropriate settings enabled, a download from the Play Store may be stopped immediately during the installation process if malware is detected. Last month, settings emerged for a feature called Android Safe Browsing, which would notify users of a threat in real time as they surf the Internet. This could end up being part of Google Play Protect.
Until Google makes its Play Store security improvements official, users can require all purchases made on the Play Store to be authenticated. And Google Play Protect can, as previously noted, scan your phone’s apps for malware.
