Security: Software Piracy, Android Phones, and SMS Spam

[Courtesy: Android Authority]

 Security: Software Piracy, Android Phones, and SMS Spam
Abstract:
Ever since the creation of computers, people have been distributing software to avoid paying money or paying to distribute something that people don't want. Pirated Applications and Spam are two primary means to distribute viruses, malware, and worms. Baby steps against these on-line monsters are occasionally made.

In Review: 2013

From January to November last year, nearly 2 viruses, trojans, or generic malware was discovered each month in the Android mobile application market. December had a couple more discovered. For the malware discovered, there are countless numbers of mobile applications which have not yet been discovered... to steal credit card information, identities, or even "command and control" applications to turn your mobile device into a robot against unsuspecting targets (while you pay for the data traffic that is produced!)

Starting: 2014

While consolidating a list of mobile malware in the Android market was not completed, it is clear that there is some progress in this space... no matter how small.

2014-03-25 U.S. Government First Convictions Over Pirated Mobile Android Applications

The US has enforced its first convictions for illegally distributing counterfeit mobile apps, after two Florida men pleaded guilty for their part in a scheme that sold pirated apps with a total retail value of more than $700,000. Thomas Allen Dye, 21, and 26-year-old Nicholas Anthony Narbone both pleaded guilty to the same charge - conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement - earlier this month and are due to be sentenced in June and July respectively. Both men were in the Appbucket group, of which Narbone was the leader, which made and sold more than a million copyrighted Android mobile apps through the group's alternative online market.

2014-03-26 Chinese Arrest 1,500 in Fake Cellular Tower Text Message Spam Raid

China’s police have arrested over 1,500 people on suspicion of using fake base stations to send out mobile SMS spam. The current crackdown, began in February, according to Reuters. Citing a Ministry of Public Security missive, the newswire says a group operating in north-east Liaoning province, bordering North Korea, is suspected of pinging out more than 200 million spam texts.

In Conclusion:
Be diligent! Remember to purchase your applications from reputable places, don't be seduced into stealing applications on-line or purchasing them under list price. Being a thief could make you a victim!

Mobile Update: Android and Windows

Mobile Update: Android and Windows

Abstract:

Developers in an ecosystem will often foretell adoption by creating content to drive demand for a product. The mobile market has been gauged by this same phenomenon.

Developers and Android:

While the chart is not linear (a mistake, not to create this as a time-series graph), it seems to show some very interesting trends. Developer interest in Android has appeared to have peaked and declining under both phones and tablets; interest in iPhone development is showing an ever so slight decline; iPad holding steady; interest in Windows mobile is inclining; BlackBerry dropping like a proverbial stone.


People have been commenting that the wrong statistics are getting followed, it is not happening, marketshare is not accurate, etc. - but there seems to be a slight discontent with the Android market from a developer's standpoint.

This is not the entire story - Android has a terrific price point, marketshare grows for Android at an astounding rate (as we will see shortly.) There is still some level of comfort that developers and consumers have with iOS, but one can never know how long that will last for - the marketplace is fickle.

Windows Clunky & Crashy:

While Windows for mobile devices seems to be catching more developers market share, it still looks very clunky, during various demonstrations. Note the multiple [thick] cabling hanging off of the tablet on the left, one with what seems to be an ugly adapter... one would not be surprised if all those cables place a great deal of strain on the tablet connectors and reduce longevity. They certainly reduce the ability to use the tablet in a free-flowing way. If I was presenting at Convergence 2012, I would not want to use that device.


The worst possible thing happened (again) when Microsoft was presenting at Convergence 2012 - a crash and burn of their new tablet.

You've got to hand it to Kirill Tatarinov, the head of Microsoft's ERP division. The Russian Rocket was cool as a cucumber on Monday when a demo of the Windows 8 Metro UI running on a touch-screen tablet crashed and burned during the opening keynote of Convergence 2012.

Sometimes, one has to feel bad for these presenters. having done multiple demos in the past, it is not very fun to have something like this happen, but it is not uncommon for Microsoft. It does not get any better, once you have a conference facility filled with people, networking at it's capacity peak, and power being drawn on a massive scale.


Windows Sinking, Android Skyrocketing:

Last year, this time, Microsoft mobile handset users experienced crashing on a massive scale, with a patch. Under 1 year later, mobile Windows handset sales collapsed while Android skyrocketed with what appears to be brand-new marketshare. Apple continued to make measured, but modest gains.

Network Management Connection:

Wired infrastructure is critical, but it seems to quickly becoming relegated to back-office. Front-office work moved towards laptops (which started outselling PC's in 2003, 2005, 2008), which often had wireless built-in for mobility. The trend continues to move mobile with smart phones and tablets. The previous Gartner marketshare chart (not the percentages) tells all: increase in overall units from 81 million units sold to 115 million units sold in 1 year in the 3rd quarter!

Wireless is THE PLACE to be, in the network management world. If you do not have a grasp on your wireless network, you need to figure out how to do so. People are clearly becoming unteathered, regardless of what the Microsoft Mobile presenters are doing, with their tethered and crashing tablets.

Mobile Computing: 2011 Summary

Mobile Computing: 2011 Summary

A Surprising Trend:

NetMarketShare published some interesting data, summarizing mobile OS usage in 2011 - Apple IOS and Google Android peaked while Oracle JavaME bottomed out in October 2011... but JavaME but reversed the trend, pushing Android into 3rd place in November and December 2011.

Between the Lines:
Android from Google uses Java Code stolen [improperly licensed] from now acquired Sun Microsystems, where Oracle is fighting to get their royalties restored. Android is little more than Linux combined with JavaSE. The combined Java mindshare in the mobile arena [combining Oracle's stolen JavaSE and JavaME] is almost equal to the Apple MacOSX UNIX based iOS.


Java is Competitive
The conclusion we can draw from this market share analysis is that Java on mobile clients is competitive. The uncertainty experienced by Android manufacturers continually being sued by operating system manufacturers and Google being sued by Oracle for Java license violations, however, continues to make Apple a secure ecosystem for developers.


The Future
With products used under Apple's iOS diversifying (i.e. iPad, iPhone, iPodTouch, AppleTV, etc.) - Apple iOS will remain competitive.

While JavaME manufacturers receive some indemnity (protection from lawsuits) - Android manufacturers have been giving more and more of their profit share to companies like Microsoft, whose patents were stepped on.

Once the Oracle lawsuit against Google has been settled, Java may be in a position to become more competitive, since the people who created the technology [JavaSE and JavaME], has cross-technology licensing agreements with Microsoft, and will be properly compensated, rather than a third-party [who is competing with their own Windows phone] sucks the profit well dry from Android.