14 DAY TRIAL // Google’s Android operating system is not as safe as the Internet giant would have us believe, at least this is what the latest reports around the web suggest. The story is simple: more applications that contain malware have been discovered in the Android Market, and Google was forced to remove them, so that no new users would be affected.
This, of course, demonstrates two things. One is that the Android platform has security issues that one can exploit to attack users. The second is that the certification process for the Android Market is flawed, since such applications have passed through it.
Apparently, there have been nearly two dozen malware-infected apps in the official application storefront that Google had to remove during the past few days, adding to a larger number that has been discovered over the course of the ongoing year.
Determined to hit rival platforms with any means necessary, Microsoft is seizing the moment, and says that it will offer free Windows Phone handsets to those who have been affected by the malware.
In a recent post on Twitter, Microsoft’s Ben Rudolph, aka BenThePCGuy, announced that Android users could receive a Windows Phone device if they have been affected by one or more of these applications, and they are willing to share their experience.
“Share your android malware story (there's lots going around) and you could win a #windowsphone upgrade,” he notes.
Clearly, he also suggests that Windows Phone is a safer platform than Android would be, which is actually true at the moment. This is not the first time that Microsoft is offering free devices to owners of handsets running under rival operating system.
Only a few months ago, when RIM was hit with a major outage, the company made a similar move, promising free phones to those willing to switch.
Windows Phone does benefit from a large market share in the smartphone segment at the moment, but Microsoft is doing all that it can to make sure that this changes.