They were easily overlooked, and you basically had to be a dedicated tech enthusiast to know they existed.
Desmume apk blocked by play protect android#
But the plain and simple fact is that these same forms of protection have been in place on Android for years-yet most folks had no idea they were present. My point is actually just the opposite: that all the things Play Protect does are incredibly important. That's not at all what I'm getting at here. Now, hang on a second: If you think the point of this column is to pooh-pooh Play Protect and suggest it somehow isn't important, let me stop you right there. Pulling back the curtain on Android security It warns you about websites that might serve up malware or try to trick you into providing personal information.Īlso known as Chrome's Safe Browsing for Android-a feature that's been around since 2015. It allows you to remotely locate, lock and optionally wipe your device.Ī handy and highly useful function that-yup, you guessed it-has been natively available in Android since 2013.Ĥ. It expanded the system in 2014 to include continuous monitoring of all apps on all devices.ģ. Google also introduced this in 2012 (and then launched it more broadly in 2013) with the initial goal of addressing apps installed from unofficial, non-Play Store sources. It monitors apps on your device for any signs of shady behavior. It scans Play Store apps for any signs of malware.Īn essential measure, to be sure-and one Google's been doing in this same basic manner since 2012.Ģ.
Not convinced? Let's break down Play Protect's primary features:ġ. It's true: All those impressive-sounding security measures aren't actually new they're just rebranded to be more memorable and repositioned to be more visible. Pretty much everything Play Protect accomplishes has been a part of Android for ages.
(Surely you're familiar with the Android malware monster by now, right?)īut in all the discussion of Google Play Protect and all the coverage of every Big, Bad Virus™ that comes along, there's one significant detail that almost always gets omitted.
Security on Android has been an area of perpetual concern for many people, and all it takes is a skimming of the latest Big, Bad Virus™ scare campaign to see why. Make no mistake about it: This is a good thing. (Well, except for the kind of harm you yourself inflict when you drop your own phone in the commode. It's a "doubled-down" effort around Android security, as Google explains it, and it's designed to ensure every Android device is always protected from any form of harm. Play Protect, as you may recall, was one of the biggest bullet points to come out of this year's Google I/O keynote address. Have you heard the news? Your Android device is in the midst of being updated to include Google's comprehensive new security suite, Google Play Protect.