Google Slaps Malware Apps, RIP Motorola, New Fingerprint Sensor Tech - Android Weekly
Google Slaps Malware Apps, RIP Motorola, New Fingerprint Sensor Tech - Android Weekly
2016-01-11
well it turns out that mother Google has
been kicking butt and cleaning house in
the Google Playstore by banning apps
even popular ones that have been doing
some sneaky stuff occasionally even very
popular apps get unmasked as malware the
whole thing works like an organized
crime ring fully functional apps that
seem at least on the surface to be
innocuous secretly download other apps
in the scam ring artificially boosting
their download numbers some even have
the ability to leave positive reviews
and ratings without the owner's
knowledge as each app is installed the
cycle begins again the only real
solution is to install a root explorer
and go fishing for any suspect files but
even then you have to know what you're
looking for the only surefire way to
remove the threat is to reflash the
manufacturers rom a process that is
beyond many Android users there are
plenty of guides on the process for
individual devices but if you're at all
concerned it's probably best to contact
your manufacturer for assistance and
sadly motorola who pioneered the smart
phone is no more last week lenovo which
owns motorola since 2014 announced that
they will be phasing out the brand name
now don't get me wrong the Moto line
smartphones will still be in production
in the coming years complete with their
familiar and brand symbol however these
devices will also have Lenovo's branding
and iconography so why do this at all
well the basic idea is this Lenovo one
of the brand recognition Motorola used
to enjoy although Motorola fell out of
the spotlight as Samsung and Apple came
to dominate the mobile market they still
enjoy a fairly decent fanbase Lenovo on
the other hand is a much more obscure
brand name in the mobile industry sure
they're a big deal in computers but when
it comes to smartphones motorola is
massive by comparison when they bought
the company from Google it was to
bolster their presence in the mobile
market so you know in those spy movies
where the bad guys try and take a print
of your fingerprint and then use that to
get through a fingerprint scanner well
Qualcomm is trying to make something
innovative that will make that a lot
harder to do rather than existing
photographic or capacitative based
fingerprint scanners Qualcomm's sense ID
makes use of ultrasonic sound as the
name implies in order to map out the
details of the users
fingerprint to actually capture the
details of a fingerprint the hardware
consists of both a transmitter and
receiver an ultrasonic pulse is
transmitted against the finger that is
placed over the scanner some of this
pulse is absorbed and some of it is
bounced back to the sensor scanning for
longer periods of time allows for
additional depth data to be captured
resulting in a highly detailed 3d
production of the scanned fingerprint
this is considerably different to even
the best capacitative fingerprint
scanners on the market at the moment
which you're only able to reproduce 2d
images 3d details are much more
difficult to forge or fool than 2d
versions of the technology potentially
making the ultrasonic system much more
secure thanks for watching guys as you
can hear I'm sick I've been really sick
all week in bed almost all the time
which is why it's really been difficult
for me to get shows out I haven't been
able to get anything out most of the
week but as soon as I feel better I'm
gonna rev it up and get back into it
thanks for watching don't forget my
brothers and sister and Android who are
working super hard of your source for
all things
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.