For Android users, installing applications from Google Play, and Google Play only, is the wise choice. With its strong safety rules, official app monitoring, plentiful user reviews, and security researcher scrutiny, Android’s official store tends to be a safe place for downloading apps. Even when malware does make it to Google Play, it is quickly identified and removed.
Android device owners do, however, also have the option to download and install apps from third-party sources. But does the freedom outweigh the danger?
Allowing or denying alternative installation
On the one hand, having the ability to shop outside of the Google Play store can be quite useful; not every app is available there. On the other hand, that freedom comes with an increased risk of infection, because outside of Google Play, apps lose Google’s quality and safety oversight.
Together with a program’s installer — or even instead of it — dangerous apps can get onto users’ devices and steal personal data, money, or both.
Here are just a few examples of such attacks:
The above represent a sampling of why new phones come with external software installation disabled. To avoid falling victim to schemes that rely on external installations, don’t be tempted to enable installation of unknown apps, and if you have, turn it off immediately. Here’s how.
How to turn off installation of unknown apps in Android 8 and later
In the latest versions of Android, the relevant feature is called Install unknown apps, and it is enabled separately for each app.
If you have allowed installation from unknown sources for some apps, you will need to disable it sepa ..
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