Android is going to be more secure!

One of the dilemma attached to Android is that it is not 'secure' enough. I have heard this argument a million times from my friends who prefer to use iPhone. And when I tell them that Android is just as secure, I'm laughed at. Well that's one of the dilemmas attached to Android along with fragmentation. But I will leave that for another time.

Android security is the most underrated thing I've come across in the Android world. Something will always come up to scare you off, a rumor here or a tickle there. Its always there hiding in the shadows to attack as soon as you lower your guard.

But its all what it is, rumors! I've been using Android for over a year and not once have I faced any security issues. The silver lining is that if you stick to the guidelines and you will do just fine. 

Right now I'm happy to report that Android is going to get more secure now. Apparently Google is going to take some steps that will protect your smartphone against malware and harmful apps even after you have installed them. Google already has a system in place called 'verify apps' that if you have turned on run your apps through Google servers to check for any malware in its code and warn you when there is something wrong. The best part is, it scan even those apps that you download from sources other than the Play Store or when side-loading an app. 

JR Raphael interviewed Android Lead Security Engineer Adrian Ludwig who told him, "We're constantly updating what [threats] we're aware of, so being able to detect those things where we've improved our coverage is valuable."

"We want to make sure that if that were to happen, a user would be made aware of it after the fact," Ludwig explains.

Simply put, verify apps will now also keep an eye on the apps even after installation in case they start to act abnormal and will notify the users in case. This service will run in the background quietly without any interference. 

Now this is some great effort on Google's part.

Users will be able to take advantage of this service once Google rolls out the new update to Google Play services.

Source: JR Raphael