Average Rating: Rate this article:

Report: Be Wary of Free Android Apps By Barry Levine November 6, 2012 11:11AM     Nearly 7 percent of free Android apps could access user address books, the Juniper Networks study found, while slightly more than 2 percent of paid ones could, and 2.5 percent of free Android apps could silently send text messages versus 1.45 percent of paid apps. In other capabilities, such as secretly initiating calls, free apps also outnumbered paid.   Related Topics Android Apps Google Play Mobile Security Privacy Latest News Google Glass Raises Privacy Concerns Pentagon Gives iOS 6 Security OK Should Enterprises Skip Windows 8? Financial Times Latest Hacking Target IDC: Windows Phone Now in 3rd Place As many as one-quarter of free Android apps track location data . That's one of many findings in a new report that raises security concerns in free apps available in Google Play, the technology giant's online store. The report audited 1.7 million apps and was undertaken by Juniper Networks' Mobile Threat Center over 18 months in 2011 and 2012. Many of the free apps, the report said, "collect information or require permissions unnecessary for the described functionality of the apps." This is not the first report to find that mobile apps are collecting, and, in some cases, transmitting information irrelevant to their purported needs. In late 2010, for instance, The Wall Street Journal reported a large portion of sampled smartphone apps were transmitting the device 's unique ID to other companies without users' awareness or consent, and some were also sending location, age and other personal details. Collecting for Local Ads? However, that story, undertaken two years ago with a much smaller selection, determined that the Android apps it analyzed transmitted less data than iPhone apps that the paper also reviewed. The more comprehensive Juniper report said that a significant number of Android applications "contain permissions and capabilities that could expose sensitive data or access device functionality that they might not need." For instance, while some of the Android apps use location data to customize local ads, the report found that many more apps were collecting that information than were actually serving up ads. Nine percent of apps worked with the top five ad networks, but 24.1 percent tracked location. This fact that so many more free apps are using location tracking than are serving local ads, the company warned, led it "to believe that there are several apps collecting information for reasons less apparent than advertising." 'Most Concerning' Category In addition, nearly 7 percent of free apps could access user address books, while slightly more than 2 percent of paid ones could, and 2.5 percent of free apps could silently send text messages versus 1.45 percent of paid apps. In other capabilities, such as secretly initiating calls in the background or accessing the device's camera, free apps also greatly outnumbered paid apps. By category, the "most concerning" were racing games, as well as apps related to cards and casinos. The report recommends that developers correlate permissions to actual app functionality, and that there be better differentiations between kinds of permissions -- such as the difference between an app wanting to place an outgoing call, compared to a financial app that offers the benign convenience of being able to call local branches from within the app. (continued...) 1  |  2  |  Next Page >   Tell Us What You Think Comment: Name: Robert: Posted: 2012-11-07 @ 11:54am PT NOTHING is without cost.... Also Visit: iPad Info Center Billions of Bytes Mobile Device Now Apple Info Center TopTechWire.com CommVault is a data and information management software company dedicated to providing organizations worldwide with a radically better way to manage data and information. Their unique Solving Forward® philosophy allows them to deliver complete solutions with infinite scalability and unprecedented control over data and costs. Be among the first to experience Simpana® 10 software.. Click here now.  Mobile Tech 1.   Google Glass Raises Privacy Concerns 2.   IDC: Windows Phone Now in 3rd Place 3.   Intel Going Mobile with Its New CEO 4.   Google Bets Its Empty Wallet on Gmail 5.   Stand Turns iPad Into Cash Register Mandatory BYOD Is Catching On Will be required by many within 4 years. Average Rating: Thorsten Heins Predicts Tablet Demise BlackBerry PlayBook may color his view? Average Rating: Google Glass Raises Privacy Concerns House privacy panel wants answers. Average Rating:

Product Information and Resources for Technology You Can Use To Boost Your Business BYOD & MDM   Build a business case for a BYOD program. CRM Systems   Free Download: Understanding the Voice of the Customer   Unlock the potential in your people with Microsoft Dynamics   How Microsoft Dynamics helped mobilize retail businesses   2 million CRM success stories and counting...   Experience CRM and Business Success today with Salesforce.com.   Free Download: Understanding the Voice of the Customer   Optimize CRM with Data Quality Management. More from Trillium Cloud & Virtualization   Riverbed Stingray Traffic Manager on Amazon Web Services Contact Centers   Unlock the potential in your people with Microsoft Dynamics Customer Data   Free Download: Understanding the Voice of the Customer   See how you can benefit from Microsoft Dynamics   Free Download: Understanding the Voice of the Customer Customer Service   Improve your customer relationships with Microsoft Dynamics   2 million CRM success stories and counting...   Unlock the potential in your people with Microsoft Dynamics Data Security   Simpana® 10 software: an exponential leap forward Enterprise Hardware   The 2013 Toughpad™ tablets. Rugged, secure and built for business.   Rugged and reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers.   The best document scanner for you? Try KODAK's scanner selector   APC makes it easy for you to focus on business growth, not downtime. Enterprise I.T.   Brocade's mission: Making networks easier to deploy, manage, and scale.   11 Challenges Solved by Infrastructure for Small IT Environments Enterprise Software   Get critical data off paper and into SharePoint! Watch the video.   Simpana® 10 software: an exponential leap forward Hardware   The 2013 Toughpad™ tablets. Rugged, secure and built for business.   Rugged and reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers.   Rugged and reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers Innovation   The best document scanner for you? Try KODAK's scanner selector   Brocade's mission: Making networks easier to deploy, manage, and scale. Laptops & Tablets   Rugged and reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers. Mobile Apps   Build great mobile apps that drive engagement. Mobile Tech   Rugged and reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers Small Business   The best document scanner for you? Try KODAK's scanner selector Tech Trends   APC makes it easy for you to focus on business growth, not downtime.

Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

Cisco Surges After Profit Exceeds Analysts' Estimates Networking equipment giant Cisco's net income jumped 14 percent in the latest quarter as revenue at all four of its divisions rose for the first time in a year and a half, as tech spending increases.   HP and SAP Team To Advance HANA Database Technology The two tech leaders are working on a system that SAP says could fundamentally change the database market. HANA is SAP's technology that keeps data in-memory, for super fast processing.   Square Stand Turns iPad into Digital Cash Register Mobile-payments start-up Square has designs on reinventing the cash register with the Square Stand, which transforms an iPad tablet into a digital point-of-sale system to replace cash registers.

Mobile Enterprise Spotlight

Google Glass Raises Congressional Privacy Concerns The buzz around Google Glass continues, but it's not all good. Some in Congress have questions. "We are curious whether this new technology could infringe on the privacy of average Americans," their letter to Google says.   Windows Phone Now No. 3 in Market, BlackBerry No. 4 Has Microsoft Phone moved into a coveted though distant third place for smartphone platforms behind Google's Android and Apple's iOS? A new report says yes, while BlackBerry has slipped to No. 4.   Intel Going Mobile with Its New CEO In his first speech as Intel's CEO, Brian Krzanich said he plans to focus on beefing up Intel's presence in mobility. The next step: a world tour showing mobile devices based on Intel chips, from PCs to phones and tablets.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

HP and SAP Team To Advance HANA Database Technology The two tech leaders are working on a system that SAP says could fundamentally change the database market. HANA is SAP's technology that keeps data in-memory, for super fast processing.   Cloud Computing Gains Another Competitor with Google Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure now have a full-on rival in Google, with its I/O announcement that it is opening its hosted Compute Engine environment for virtual machines to all comers.   Hackers' New Tool of Choice: Smartphones Smartphones are increasingly popular not only with consumers, but with thieves who see the devices as another way to tap into bank accounts and other sensitive information, experts say.

Navigation NewsFactor Network Home/Top News | Enterprise I.T. | Cloud & Virtualization | Applications | Unified Communications | Mobile Tech | Hardware | Business Intelligence World Wide Web | Network Security | Data Storage | Small Business | Microsoft/Windows | Apple/Mac | Linux/Open Source | Personal Tech Press Releases NewsFactor Network Enterprise I.T. Sites NewsFactor Technology News | Enterprise Security Today | CRM Daily NewsFactor Business and Innovation Sites Sci-Tech Today | NewsFactor Business Report NewsFactor Services FreeNewsFeed | Free Newsletters | About NewsFactor Network | How To Contact Us | Article Reprints | Careers @ NewsFactor | Services for PR Pros | Top Tech Wire | How To Advertise Privacy Policy | Terms of Service © Copyright 2000-2013 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved. Article rating technology by Blogowogo. Member of Accuserve Ad Network.