The state of Android security: Great on Oreo, but most phones are missing out

Google has released its annual report on Android security and the message is clear: The devices running the latest version of Android are among the safest you can buy. Through a combination of features such as Google Play Protect and Instant Apps, the bug bounty program, and machine learning, Google says Android 8 “has achieved a strength of protection that now leads the industry.” That’s great news if you’re using a Pixel or have a Galaxy S9 on the way. But if you have one of the millions of phones that will never receive an Oreo update, the biggest issue with Android security is one that’s plagued the platform for a while: fragmentation. At last count, just 1 percent of Android users were running Oreo on their phones, compared to nearly 28 percent each on Nougat and Marshmallow. That means nearly 99 percent of Android phones aren’t as secure as they could be. But Google’s trying to change that narrative. To read this article in full, please click here source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/3263784/android/the-state-of-android-security-2017.html#tk.rss_all via #PCH3lp by: Michael Simon

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