A sneak peek at security features in the upcoming Android L release
Fix It

Google says the upcoming Android L release will be far more secure than its predecessors.
Despite the immense popularity of the Android mobile operating system, one significant damper on the euphoria is the lingering sense that Android devices lack security. Although virtually any business laptop today comes with convenient features for encrypting the hard disk, comparable features in Android smartphones are rare. Smartphone security in general, and security of Android phones in particular, is not good if you believe the media reports.
Kaspersky Lab had already discovered the 10-millionth Android malware app by the end of January 2014, despite the fact that Google Play lists hardly more than a million apps. Of the 350,000 unique mobile threats and more than 840 threat families, 98-99 percent now target Android.
The full gamut of Windows malware also exists in the Android universe: worms, adware, backdoors, monitors, risk tools, malicious remote admin tools, SMS flooders, and a full set of trojans: downloaders, droppers, fake AV, PSW, SMS, spyware, clickers, bankers, and ransom tools.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
LibreOffice Tested as Possible Office 365 Alternative
Another major organization has decided to test the possibility of migrating from Microsoft's Office 365 to LibreOffice.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.