Day: May 13, 2017

Netflix has now confirmed that they have begun blocking Android phones that have been rooted and/or even have unlocked bootloaders from downloading the Netflix app from the Google Play Store. While the app can still be sideloaded and still runs, we can reasonably assume that this is a temporary reprieve in those respects.

Let’s be crystal clear about what’s happening here. Google is moving their Android security framework in directions that will encourage popular app creators to broadly refuse installation on rooted/bootloader-unlocked phones.

This will inevitably put all users at greater risk by making it impossible in a practical sense for most concerned users to modify their phones for protection against malware, spyware, and government intrusions.

Despite the valiant efforts of Google toward making the Android environment a safe one, we are living in a time where a sociopathic fascist controls the federal government. We cannot tolerate total control of our phones being in the hands of any individual firms, even benign ones like Google.

I’ll have more to say about this. Much more.

–Lauren–

It has been reported that a researcher discovered that spread of the current worldwide ransomware attack can be halted after he registered the domain:

iuqerfsodp9ifjaposdfjhgosurijfaewrwergwea.com

and built a sinkhole website that the malware could check. Reportedly the malware does not continue spreading if it can reach this site. HOWEVER, various antivirus websites/services are now reportedly adding that domain to their “bad domain” lists! If sites infected with this malware are unable to reach that domain due to their firewalls incorporating rules from antivirus sites that include a block for that domain, the malware will likely continue spreading across their vulnerable computers (which must also still be patched to avoid infection by similar exploits). Your systems MUST be able to access the domain above if this malware blocking trigger is to be effective, according to the current reports that I’m receiving!

–Lauren–