5 Feature to Know about Google Play Protect-Security System
It is reported that 99% of the malware designs are targeted towards android mobile phones. Although most of the people are aware of malicious software targeting their computers, many are yet to realize even their mobile devices are exposed to such cyber criminals.
The initial months were challenging for Google as various situations occurred where malware was made available to download from Google Play. Moreover, cyber criminals managed to coax millions of people into installing apps that were built to steal their social networking sites credentials, banking passwords etc.
Google has always been cautious when it comes to its security. Therefore, it introduced another security blanket, Google Play Protect.
Google play protect- bringing the best of Google security for Android device
Play protect was introduced as one of the biggest security system at the Google I/O developer conference in May 2016.
A security system, an upgraded version of ‘verify apps’ service was rolled out for Android devices. Play protect is a real-time scanner that will scan the device at once and identify any potential malicious apps. It provides detailed & apt information about Android device security and apps.
Play Protect- Keeping your Android device safe 24/7
Undoubtedly, Android proudly hosts a larger market share of the mobile market as compared to iOS. iOS has strongly hedged itself to not to allow users from downloading apps from anywhere except its own ‘Apple’ app store. Therefore, this leaves iOS free from malware.
There were several apps with pernicious code which made entry into Android Play Store, that was detected and brought to Google’s attention. After that, Google became more cautious with its security system and introduced Play Protect. Play protect will help in providing information about an app with malicious code to Google’s servers.
Upgrade your play store
Play protect is not any separate app, it is a feature by default on all Android devices. This feature is available on Google play services from version 11. To use this feature, update your Google Play services.
Steps to be Followed:
Settings-> Google -> Security -> Verify Apps -> Google Play Protect -> Turn On the security Scan Check
Google play protect can be activated by following above steps and eventually it helps in analysing apps. It also enables to see the apps which had been scanned with their last scanned time.
How Google play protect features protect against harmful apps?
1. ‘Find my Device’ securing lost or stolen phone
A part of play protect helps in remotely tracking lost device. It is a modified version of Android Device Manager redesigned to a friendlier interface. If the device is not claimed back, it gives freedom to lock or erase the data completely to the owner.
- Includes icon: Battery & Wi-Fi
- Provides apt information to track the last location of the device
2. Scanning & verifying apps
Play protect uses machine learning algorithms method to scan 50 billion apps regularly to identify any possible suspicious malware in the world of apps. This will help in detecting possible harmful signals and identify apps which possess privacy risk.
These features also help the developers to perform testing of the app at faster pace.
3. Security system that never stops
It continuously scans and monitors the apps from third-party stores. If there is any risk detected, Play Protect disables it and warns the user.
4. Helps to surf on web safely
Play protect feature ‘Safe browsing’ protection in chrome safeguards the users from perilous websites. It protects a billion devices every day by giving warnings to users when they attempt to navigate dangerous sites or download risk-prone files.
5. Verification badges
This will help in judging the reliability and evaluate the safety of each app before installing on phone.
Conclusion
Due to past experiences, Google has taken security issues seriously. It has been designed to ensure every Android device is always protected from any form of harm. Therefore, they try to provide the transparent picture of what is happening in the app as a security on devices. The app updates automatically, so sit back, relax and let Google help you out.
Originally published at https://www.techtic.com on October 16, 2018.
