Google strengthens mobile device security: third-party apps will be scanned for malware before installation

According to news on October 22, in order to strengthen the fight against malware, Google has The Protect feature has been upgraded to allow real-time scanning when third-party or sideloaded applications are installed.

The core goal of this update is to ensure that users’ mobile devices are protected from potential security threats. Now, when users try to install third-party apps, Google will trigger malware scanners immediately during the installation process. If Google detects a potential issue, users will be prompted to scan.

According to the editor’s understanding, in fact, Google Play Protect already has the ability to check whether sideloaded apps contain malware code, and it uses efficient detection techniques such as definition files, often silently in the background. As can be seen from the interface screenshot, Google provides two options: "Scan App" and "Cancel Install App", eliminating the "Skip Scan" option that may have existed before. While this option may be hidden in "More Details," it's not mentioned on Google's official blog.

Google announced that this enhanced Google Play The Protect function is already available in some countries and regions, with the first batch covering India, and will be expanded to Android devices in all regions in the future.

However, what is interesting is that Google has not released security data about sideloaded applications for a long time. The last time the data was made public was in the 2018 annual security report, which showed that from Google Only 0.04% of all apps downloaded from the Play Store were identified as Potentially Harmful Apps (PHA), compared with 0.92% of apps downloaded from channels other than Play are potentially risky.

The launch of this new feature demonstrates Google’s continued focus on security and its commitment to ensuring that users can Get a higher level of security.

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