back to article Google reveals Android Robocop AI to spot and destroy malware

In its ongoing quest to trap and kill Android malware, Google has, as usual, turned to machine learning – and is reporting some success. Speaking at the Structure Security conference in San Francisco today, Adrian Ludwig, head of Android security, said the ads giant has trained systems using telemetry data from handsets – …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hey Google...

    How about inventing great AI to just read some damn user comments...

    ~

    "It appears that Google missed warnings about the malware infection. The user comments section of at least one of the infected apps was filled with outraged users noting that it was carrying a malicious payload and it appears that the apps were being promoted on Instagram."

    ~

    https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/09/15/malware_outbreak_googles_play_store/

    1. JCitizen
      Facepalm

      Re: Hey Google...

      Isn't it funny how they could probably have greater success at a human intelligence system to catch these "anomalies'"? Just LISTEN to the whistle blowers, and - DUH! - you will learn!!

      1. hellwig

        Re: Hey Google... - Human Intelligence

        Clearly you aren't a Silicon Valley insider. The whole entire point is to replace humans with technology.

        Machines to do the labor, algorithms to do the thinking. Silicon Valley seems to think the path to utopia is technology, they seem to forget that without humans, the whole endeavor is pointless.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hey Google...

      Android doesn't have a malware problem, it has an image problem, too many brain-dead cretins unable to separate fact from fiction, news from clickbait, paid reports from fact, snake oil from products.

      With 2 billion active handsets, you should be seeing (not just reading about theoretical) malware daily, like we see on windows,. The reality is, android malware is REALLY rare, and most case are security "researchers" DELIBERATELY bypassing safeguards and intentionally getting infected as part of their reporting..

      Lastly, unlike Windows, which malware can spread itself across your computer, android is locked down to app sandboxes, no app can make changes outside of its system, it can only get access to things you grant it access to, and has no choice in getting removed when it's host app is removed.

      1. Jim Birch

        Re: Hey Google...

        It's true that you have to grant apps rights but most people do that without thinking. Fighting malware needs to be done on multiple fronts. This is a good one.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bloatware query

    How does it treat OEM bloatware such as Samsung and others...

    1. Andrew Jones 2

      Re: Bloatware query

      One would imagine that as the OEM software is either on the system partition and/or signed with OEM keys - that it will ignore it - however - even if it does flag something on a system partition, it's on a system partition - it's mounted read only, the only possible action it can take is to alert the user.

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