Google splats more bad Android security bugs with patches your mobe will probably never see

Re: The vast majority of Android users are screwed

Proving once again apart from perhaps Nexus devices, Android only makes sense bought cheap after the warranty is gone and loaded with custom roms that do get the fixes.

Re: The vast majority of Android users aren't going to be getting these updates soon enough

Sorry, that's bollocks.

The patches are released for 5.1 and 6.0 and most of my devices already have them, the others are (if last months updates are anything to go by), are due in a couple of weeks.

I know it's really fashionable to bash Google and Android. Remember when they got bashed for not releasing security updates often enough? Now they do, it's time to twist the argument.

How many Android users have you ever come across that have ever had any malware or nasties on their device? Me, I see loads of devices, and have NEVER come across a single issue. I also see Windows PC's and it's rare to come across one that's clean...

Lets stop pretending Android is the new Windows, when it comes to vulnerabilities, it's not.... It has LESS CVE's than iOS.... (which only today had several critical lockscreen bypass bugs... Someone want to tell the FBI???)

Who are Blackberry?

Yeah, the size of the install base means you're pretty safe anyway....

Re: Hype?

They won't stay theoretical forever.

Re: Hype?

Now they have been published, they will be reversed engineered and then millions upon millions of devices will become vulnerable.

Re: Hype?

Most are pretty unlikely since they rely on side-loading a malicious application, or receiving dodgy MMS messages (unlikely due to the expense that would be incurred by the sender). Only a couple appear to be exploitable by browser misdirection to a malware site or MITM attacks.

What is interesting is that quite a few of these are Linux Kernel issues and binary device driver issues which aren't in the strictest sense Android itself and could apply to any device running the same Linux kernel or device drivers.

Re: "Good news if you've got a Nexus..."

It's not just Nexuses. Any phone that can run cyanogen or equivalent can pick up the newest updates.

And then there's your OnePluses too.

It's not all doom and gloom.

Bad news if you have an LG

I have Life's Grotty phone, same thing, either you are on the latest version or it cannot contact the server.

Luckily its a backup phone and soon to be replaced by an iPhone.

Would never do any banking on the LG (or android for that matter)

Re: active customer exploitation

Heh, actually read post on a security forum today about an android RAT that the user had on his phone that had been used to siphon money off his bank account. Am expecting to hear more of these as time goes on as passive goes active.

Re: Friends don't let friends...

Unless you're going to take on the task of rooting it etc. to install something else, telling your non-techie friends "buy this model because you can install something better on it" is going to get you a glazed over look in return. That's like telling them to buy a particular model of car because it makes replacing the struts an easier DIY project.

And if do perform that service for them, you will become their tech support for life. Good luck with that.

...and this is exactly why I ditched my old (but just about still working) Samsung phone and got a Nexus. Samsung appear to lost all interest in their devices within 6 months of their release, which coincides with roughly how long it takes them to vomit up their updated software that's already out of date by the time they graciously release it.

In the EU it's still within the period (two years) of statutory guarantee so you are within your rights to sue Samsung. Contact you local consumer rights body for more information.

In general, most handset manufacturers have a shocking record when it comes to providing updates. We need more legal cases like that launched recently in the Netherlands.

We'll only find our rights are respected if we are prepared to assert them.

My S3 says last kernel patch was August 2015. You would think they would want to patch older systems as well, though I guess I could try putting CM on it. I have heard there can be issues with my prepaid provider if I do that though.

Re: Complaints

My parents iPad 2 seems just fine to me running iOS 9. I can't do a side by side comparison with all the intervening versions but there's no problem with its performance from my perspective.

When a new iOS version is released, you typically hear complaints "my old device xx got slower!" but a month or so later when the .1 version is released you hear "my old device xx is faster" so I think they probably don't get a lot of testing on older versions when developing a new iOS release. That's not surprising - you'd expect Apple employees, developers and the public interested enough to beta test to be likely to have newer hardware. After release when it gets installed on them Apple will investigate the specific complaints and resolve them in the updates.

So the solution is to probably hold off on updating a bit if you have older hardware, and hit the .1 release or even .2 if you want to be sure.