Smut-slingers' malvertising allowed into Android apps, moan devs Android apps that should be innocuous are pimping smut by way of slack supervision of their advertising networks, with two app authors complaining to The Register that the root of the problem lies with The Chocolate Factory. The authors of two popular Sydney public transport apps told us Google's app monetisation service AdMob …
"The authors of two popular Sydney public transport apps told us Google's app monetisation service AdMob is failing to catch disallowed advertisements"
Perhaps my software vetting is more stringent than some, if you pass those apps through VirusTotal, you get hits for obtrusive ad-slinging that puts the ad bars ON TOP of any other active apps showing. That means they're happy to show ads whenever the app is runnning, even if it isn't primary.
If you put that much effort into your ads, to me that means you put correspondingly less effort into anything else.
Piss poor effort that. And that's not even counting what Google does.
Block all ads in your browser on Android,with Firefox,and the many blockers available in add-ons, or use a new stand alone browser by Ghostery (kitkat and above,because of webview vuln) and Adblock Plus new browser based on Firefox.. All in playstore. Now,to block those banner ads inside other apps,I recommend Lostnet no-root firewall pro ($.99 ) but others exist too. These use the native vpn to filter ip address' without using someone else's server you have no control over. But conventional VPNs by Disconnect ( US company) and Adgaurd ( Russian ) will block all ads on Android for a small subscription fee. So, Lostnet is very easy to use, and some others give you the ability to use custom rules to block ip address' . Good luck.
OK, so that "easy" solution helps a bit. But you're still exposed through a range of other routes, and given the completely failed model of software updates that Android has, we are stuck with billions of vulnerable phones. Those sufficiently keen might be able to root their phone, stick on Cyanogenmod and consider themselves protected, but that's not an option for the masses.
As far as I can see we're getting to the stage where either (a) Google pull a rabbit out of the hat on security, privacy, and advertising control, or (b) the day of "free" software is over. The probability of (a) is about the same as that of hell freezing over, third party phone OS like Ubuntu, Firefox and Sailfish all appear to have faded away, living on only for tinkerers and phone devs, which really only leaves Redmond's unloved spawn, or Apple.
Personally, I hate Apple. I hate their unjustified margins paid by the technically illiterate. I hate their cludgy "welcome to 2007" interface. I hate the lack of user control. I hate their non-standard everything. I hate them taking a big cut of app and media sales. I hate their smugness. I particularly hate Jonny Ive. But Google seem to be doing everything in their power to force me into Apple's arms. Not that Apple are faultless - but as with computer software, Apple are considerably less blase about security than their main competitor, and when you balance Google's increasingly intrusive spying and ad-forcing, it starts to look like Apple is (sadly for me) the way forward.
Why Google allows phone manufacturers / networks to control OTA phone updates. Nobody else does this.
Ive not seen an update for my GN3 sonce Lollipop came out. Im on O2 and they seem shabby when it comes to pushing updates.
Its not necessarily the fault of Google when it comes to updates.
They should separate out the components of the OS so that the OS itself can be updated by google and drivers are the only thing that can be managed by manufacturers.
Remove the restriction on updating to new versions as well.
My GN3 wont be getting Marshmallow...not because it wont run it, but because they want me to upgrade my phone.
Id install Cyanogenmod but ive no idea which ROM to install as I cant tell what state the drivers are in, the site isnt very clear. Im technically very experienced but Android ROMs are a bit of a minefield to me.
Make it easy Cyanogenmod! PLEASE!
Phone Make/Model (sometimes version of current rom) & Carrier (Sometimes not needed as you can use the country rom)
If you want to see the status of drivers/installation guides etc have a look in the forums on cyanogenmod for your device.
Once updated install google play and away you go.
I recommend taking a backup first should you want to revert back to your stock rom, it's also useful to root the phone and take a backup using something like titanium backup then you lose nothing if you don't like it or it doesn't work as expected.
Also have a look around at the various bootloaders before you settle on the one you want and also examples of how other people loaded them to your device.
Can it really be defeated by different spacing/fonts? I think they don't care because money is money, and porno sites will pay good money to advertise to Android users. They'll fix it when it is pointed out, but it'll keep happening because they obviously have a disincentive to truly fix the problem.
The ad blockers charge a "white listing" fee, so you'll still be served ads by the ones who can pay the fee. How else are they going to monetize their service? Oh, wait, I have an idea: they can collect user information and sell it to others like other so-called free tools do.
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