Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Desperate Attempts to Discredit Android

Summary: An overview of some very recent FUD against Android -- something that has become extremely common because Android is the world's leading platform

WE HAVE NEVER been short on Android FUD. We have covered Android FUD for as long as the platform existed, including Ballmer's disgusting words that spread to the press as soon as Android was first announced (he called it just some words on paper, or something to that effect). Windows insecurity firm Symantec has played a role in some later FUD and it wasn't alone. Even this weekend we found it claiming [1] -- quite arrogantly -- that Android is at risk. And why? Because Windows is a security joke, with or without the NSA back doors it is gladly providing. Muktware used an appropriate headline: "New malware uses Windows to infect Android devices" (hence, don't use Windows, but Android is not to blame here). As the press continues to note in recent days, Android may increasingly replace Windows even on the desktop [2], so Windows insecurity firms must be worried.



What other FUD have we got? Well, a Bill Gates-funded publication continues to slam Google and Android [3], mysteriously never accusing Windows and Microsoft of much worse things (like tax evasion, security issues, high costs, lock-in, etc.) and it's probably no coincidence. We are not going to feed the FUD; instead we'll just say that this same publication often quotes and cites a Microsoft lobbyist, not noting his affiliation, in order to boost Android FUD. We gave numerous examples before and also directly challenged the authors. There is a similar flavour of FUD in another Android-hostile publication [4] and numerous other reports that make Android look bad for simply doing the right thing [5,6]. Similar FUD portrays Android as bloated [7] and not secure [8], so we find ourselves having to rely on excellent news sites like Muktware for real coverage [9] of Andorid, not bait and trolling (for hits).

Android is becoming the world's only dominant platform, replacing Windows in the process. It makes Android an attractive target for FUD, so watch out and be sceptical of Android-hostile coverage. Gather the pertinent facts and decide whether it's just sensationalism, hypocrisy (like blaming Android for what every other operating system is guilty of) or lobbying for antitrust/competition purposes (labelling Android distribution illegal, anti-competitive, expensive, incompetent and so on). A lot of very large companies really want Android to fail.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. New malware uses Windows to infect Android devices
    As it continues to gain popularity among consumers and developers alike, malware authors now seem to have shifted their target to Android in a not-so-common manner. According to security firm Symantec, a trojan, dubbed Trojan.Droidpak, tries to install mobile banking malware on Android devices via a Windows machine.


  2. Android's next target could be the desktop


  3. Why Google Android software is not as free or open-source as you may think


  4. Report: Google charges Android OEMs for Play Store licenses


  5. U.S. DOJ Files Charges Against Alleged Android App Counterfeiters


  6. A Future Version Of Android Could Potentially Break A Large Number Of Root Apps, Chainfire Explains


  7. How to Slim Down a Bloated Android Device
    Determine where best to free up space. Take a look at the Pictures and Videos space used in particular. Look for the numerical value next to the descriptive label. Video and images, unlike music, often don't need to be stored on the device and can be moved. HD video is a major memory hog. Photographs and music are other forms of media that take up a lot of space.


  8. China builds own phone OS, aims to be more secure than Android or iPhone
    US surveillance and the end of support for Windows XP played into its creation.


  9. Xperia Z Ultra now available as a Wi-Fi-only ‘tablet’
    It features the same 6.5mm-thick waterproof casing, 8-megapixel camera, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS, Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.3GHz, 2GB of RAM and a 3000mAh battery as found on the regular Xperia Z Ultra.


Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: Games and More
Links for the day
 
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
Links 01/04/2025: Apple Fined $162M for Privacy Abuses, Disinformation Online a Growing Concern
Links for the day
Why We're Reporting Brett Wilson LLP for Apparently Misusing Their Licence to Protect American Microsofters Who Attack Women
For those who have not been keeping abreast
Newer Press Reports Confirm That Microsoft Shuts Down 'Hey Hi' (AI) Labs Despite All the Hype
The "hey hi" (AI) bubble is not sustainable
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
Links for the day
Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 31, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 31, 2025
Links 31/03/2025: China Tensions, Bombs Falling in Myanmar After Earthquake
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: Falling Out of Love With Tech, Sunsetting openSNP
Links for the day
R.T.O. at IBM in Texas and Atlanta (State of Georgia) Expected as "Soft Layoffs" Catalyst This Coming Year
It also sounds like more IBM layoffs are in the making
Law Firms Can Also Lose Their Licence for Clearly Misusing It
The bottom line is, never made the false assumption that because you can pile up SLAPPs in a docket you will not suffer from bad reputation or even get disbarred
Link between institutional abuse, Swiss jurists, Debianism and FSFE
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
LLM Slop Piggybacking News About GNU/Linux and Distorting It
new examples
Links 31/03/2025: Press and Democracy Under Further Attacks in the US, Attitudes Towards Slop Sour
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: The OSI Does Not Respect Anybody's Privacy
The surveillance mafia that bans dissent or key people (even co-founders) with dissenting views
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: More X-Filesposting and Dreaming in Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 30, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 30, 2025