In 2019, Google blocked nearly 2 billion malicious app installs
Even though malicious apps continue to be a major threat to Android, Google is making some major strides in dealing with them. The company has been rolling out several tools and policies to combat malicious apps, and according to the latest stats, its work has helped a lot, blocking billions of dangerous programs last year alone. Here's all about it.
Google Play Protect and its prolific performance
Back in 2017, Google launched Play Protect, a feature built into the Play Store of Android, to flag malware-laced apps installed on a device and suggest appropriate actions to get rid of them. The feature scans nearly 100 billion apps daily and was able to prevent users from installing as many as 1.9 billion malicious apps from unofficial, non-Google Play sources last year.
Figures have improved over the years
In 2017 and 2018, Play Protect blocked around 1.9 billion malicious app installs, which seems to indicate that the internet giant's tool has now gotten better at detecting/removing malware in apps. However, at the same time, it also implies that the number of users installing malware-packed apps, designed to steal personal/financial information or to show ads, have also increased during this period.
Google recently pushed a major upgrade for Play Protect
The improved detection of Play Protect could be the result of the upgrade Google had pushed for the service in November 2018. Basically, the company had enhanced the database size of Play Protect by allowing it to proactively scan the entire internet for malicious Android APKs and index them into the list of potentially harmful app samples.
More efforts planned along the way
Google is now planning to kick its security practices a notch up by strengthening its policies to protect users and upgrading the tools to detect/remove harmful apps. It will also improve the vetting process for apps and try to flag malicious apps and developers as soon as possible to keep them from entering the Play Store in the first place.
App Defense Alliance will drive these efforts
Google's efforts to protect Android will be driven by the App Defense Alliance the company has created with leading security firms ESET, Lookout, and Zimperium. "Adversarial bad actors will continue to devise new ways to evade our detection systems," the internet giant said in a statement, adding that "our commitment to building the world's safest and most helpful app platform will continue in 2020."
