Android Developer Sounds Off On Open Android App Piracy
When we speak about an open market there are lots of benefits to it but if the market is so open that anyone can upload anything, from viruses to pirated software, you probably went too far. The Guardian spoke to Android developer’s about the ease of pirating Android applications and then uploading them to the Android Market as though they’re legitimate apps. So not only do you steal an app but you then resubmit it and actually profit from it. This is pretty blatant and yet it’s also pretty prevalent as those 50 malware apps were exactly these types of apps.
Here’s what Android developer Kevin Baker had to say:
One of my customers emailed me three weeks ago, and informed me that another company was selling a version of my app – pirated and uploaded as their own. Of course I contacted Google right away. It took Google two days to take the app down. This publisher was also selling other versions of pirated games. I contacted the original developers of those games but they were still being sold a week later. You’d think [Google] might have a hotline for things like that!
"I would also note that the publisher selling the pirated games is still trading on the Android Market. They didn’t even get their account suspended. If there’s going to be malware hidden inside apps, isn’t that the exact place where it would be? Why are these accounts still allowed to be trading? It’s negligent as far as I’m concerned.
To add insult to injury, on some of the re-uploaded apps the fake app would say that it was developed by the actual developer.
Developers on all platforms have relied on apps that obfuscates their cade to make it harder to have their code stolen. Baker used a tool called Progaurd and it obviously did not work. In fact, it’s so laughably easy to do this that when Google released a tool to remove the malware from those 50 apps last month, that app was repackaged to include malware.
Anyone else think that Google needs to tighten the leash on this before it really gets out of hand?
Related Posts
About The Author
I love how people trump open source as freedom. Too much “freedom” is not necessary a good thing.
Seems the Mountain View Chocolate Factory only cares when its own profits are threatened.
Malware-infected software and an open market that ignores stealing are simply more reasons to avoid Android, as well as Google as a whole.
And I love how people don’t know how to spot anecdotal evidence and disregard it accordingly.
No wait, I hate that.
Hey Mark Jonson, you give me instructions on how to successfully infect a stock Android phone without rooting it or otherwise modifying its security that warns you shit like this could happen if you mess with it and I’ll tell David K to pay you the fifty bucks he owes me for betting that Windows Phone would be outselling Android right now.
Mountain View Chocolate Factory only caring about profits, man I wish I had your imagination (but not necessarily your distance from reality).
Google is not hte only one who needs better control.
http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/game-maker-40-percent-itunes-app-purchases-are-fraud-031011
At the end of the day it’s the user who needs to ever vigilant.
@Doug Simmons: hey I paid that money to you…I sent cash in the mail. You didn’t think that someone else randomnly sent you $50 in cash did you?:)
And thus this i the reason i stay away from Andriod and Google all together,Opeb sorce freedom,but at wat cost? mt identity stolen and my phone compromise,with virus? i don’t think so,i got nothing against google or Andriod,or any other but this is totally unexceptabile from any major company,and for Google to have their platform like tgus and do nothing to ensure their user safety and security is total bull. no thank you Google until u fix the security of your platform.
Ahh hah so that was you! I was wondering for a while who the hell owes me fifty bucks, forgot about this.
So what, does that mean we’re square and I can’t keep bringing that up?
FOXLEGEND: Unexceptabile… that’s some creative shit right there, nice.
@Doug Simmons: Well you still wonn the bet but I did pay on it so it’s a concession of a short term loss but not yet a defeat:)
All right now you’re talking, double or nothing on something?