Whether or not I want to tinker with my Android device is *NONE* of Trend Micro’s business. I am frustrated that I cannot root my device because Trend Micro has decided that I shouldn’t be able to. That is simply inappropriate, and I would go so far as to say it is virus-like behavior — preventing the user from running an application that they want to run. *I* own my device, *NOT* TrendMicro, and *I* get to decide what I want to do with it, *NOT* TrendMicro.

Are you kidding me? You just guaranteed yourself that a significant chunk of the Android community will never buy your products. Have fun with that.

This is only a problem if the user of a rooted phone is an idiot who downloads “fr33 w@llpapers 4 u,” or a cracked game, or the like from a lesser-known app market. Considering the fair amount of knowledge needed to safely root a phone, I consider it to be less likely that a root user would be so foolish.

‘fearless’ web.

Hi K,

Thanks for catching up on the blog. The blog is intended as advice for everyone and our product doesn’t stop you rooting your device. At Trend Micro we are interested in securing the exchange of digital information…for everyone, for most people rooting their device is not a great idea. For advanced users like yourself who understand the risks and rewards then go for it, we won’t stand in your way.

Trend Micro Mobile Security will however warn you of malicious apps, apps that try to steal private information and websites that are malicious or risky, it will also block unwanted calls and SMS and help you find your lost device. I recommend you install it on your rooted device and give it a try.

Regards
G

Hey OmegaVesko,

Security is no joke, and for the average person a rooted device opens itself up to more security risks than a non-rooted one. This blog is security advice for the masses and for most people rooting their device is not advisable. As the blog points out there have been more instances of malware targeting rooted devices – they tend to be harder to detect and remove and can possibly gain more access to the device, putting users at more risk. There are plenty of self help guides out there telling novice users how to root their device and from a security standpoint this is not a good idea.

Our product doesn’t stop you from rooting your device, you’re free to do it if you want, but it can help stop you from installing malicious apps and visiting bad websites(even if you’re rooted).

Regards
Greg

Fearless Web Team? Hah.

Fearless is installing that app because your (root-only) privacy modules will prevent it from accessing any personal data unless you specifically green-light it.

Fearless is knowing that your metered data is safe from abuse by using your (root-only) iptables based firewall to permit bandwidth-hungry apps from connecting while off WiFi.

Fearless is hooking up to an SSL stripping Starbucks AP and knowing your data is safe because your (root-only) system-wide SSH tunnel means that all the “leet hacksor” in the corner with a copy of Cain and Abel will see through his hipster glasses will be a stream of gibberish.

That is “fearless.”

This article is not.

Hi,
You don’t need to root a device in order to install apps from outside the official Google app store.

The article gives the impression that you do need to root in order to do that.

Thanks.

Just a word so you guys know what rooting actually does. Rooting on android does not give you the ability to install extra apps. You can do this without root just by ticking the option “install from unknown sources” in settings. Second is that when you root you get a second form of security which is SuperUser. This is essentially an admin rights management app, if an app tries to use root privileges superuser asks you if it’s allowed to. Obviously if an app like Wallaperz4fr33 is asking for root you don’t allow it (if your stupid enough to download an app like that). But just like how some viruses on windows can get admin without asking I’m sure someone will eventually work out how to exploit superuser so you still need to be careful. I realise this is intended for the average less knowledgeable user who does not know what there doing. But the average user isn’t going to read an article like this. A better approach would be to create your own root privileges management app which is constantly updated from exploits. This would allow us to use the extra handy root features on legitimate apps and protect the average user. It may also entice the android tinkering community to use your product.

How exactly does rooting open up to “virus’”? It seems your team cant figure out one thing from another. Regardless if you root or not you can still side load apps and install malware that way. For some people its a way of life, due to apps being blocked by their carrier or their country. Not rooting, won’t change any of that (psst its all in the settings).

Now, regarding how rooted users are more at risk. the last big scare of rooting malware was droiddream, the original iteration worked off the rageagainstthecage exploit that many devices used to root. This exploit was bundled in apk form and would run giving the app rooted shell and thus unrestricted root access. It didnt matter if you never rooted because in the background it was rooting your phone for you. The flip side to this was if you were rooted you could take many of the droiddream patch sets and apply them to your device to protect yourself rather than waiting for an official update to fix it. Having root access is almost akin to windows UAC, if some program needs administrative rights you get prompted. why isn’t there a blog post about how some virus programs could get around that prompt? surely its 82% market share is a greater target than the ~50% android devices (even smaller if they are targeting only people who root like you claim).

My opinion this stands as typical fearmongering. rather than embrace rooted users and offer special tools like how to wipe the device remotely, you would rather spread misinformation.