Fortnite players are told they’ll have to disable a security setting on Android, the FCC finally admits that it wasn’t hit by a DDoS attack, and Verizon’s VPN smallprint raises privacy concerns.
All this and much much more is discussed in the latest edition of the award-winning “Smashing Security” podcast hosted by cybersecurity veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault, joined this week by David Bisson.
Smashing Security #090: 'Fortnite for Android, and the FCC's DDoS BS'
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pocket Casts | Other... | RSS
More episodes...
Hosts:
Graham Cluley – @gcluley
Carole Theriault – @caroletheriault
Guest:
David Bisson – @DMBisson
Show notes:
- You'll have to disable a recommended Android security setting to install Fortnite
- Fortnite is putting users at risk, to prove a point about Google's Android monopoly
- Introducing Android 9 Pie
- Safe-WiFi Wireless Private Network – Verizon Wireless
- Verizon Didn’t Bother to Write a Privacy Policy for its ‘Privacy Protecting’ VPN
- Terms of Service for the Verizon Safe Wi Fi App
- McAfee Privacy Notice
- Verizon customers can sue ad company over “zombie” cookies, judges rule
- Ajit Pai blames Obama administration over FCC DDoS attack that didn't happen
- Inside the FCC's risky IT overhaul
- The Triceratops Who Loved Me: A Primal Urges Extreme Fantasy – Amazon
- A Good Movie To Watch
- Overcooked! 2 for Nintendo Switch
- Christopher Robin: Winnie the Pooh film denied release in China
- Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff)
- Support us on Patreon!
LastPass Enterprise makes password security effortless for your organization.
LastPass Enterprise simplifies password management for companies of every size, with the right tools to secure your business with centralized control of employee passwords and apps.
But, LastPass isn’t just for enterprises, it’s an equally great solution for business teams, families and single users.
Go to lastpass.com/smashing to see why LastPass is the trusted enterprise password manager of over 33 thousand businesses
Follow the show:
Follow the show on Twitter at @SmashinSecurity, or visit our website for more episodes.
Remember: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or your favourite podcast app, to catch all of the episodes as they go live. Thanks for listening!
Warning: This podcast may contain nuts, adult themes, and rude language.
Found this article interesting? Follow Graham Cluley on Twitter, Mastodon, or Threads to read more of the exclusive content we post.
The approach to distributing Fortnite is not unique – the free trial of generative music app Wotja X can be downloaded from Google Play, but the full version must be purchased from Amazon's app store (probably as a result the free version has just 100+ installs, while the paid version is ranked #21,478 on Amazon and has no reviews – though I doubt Fortnite's approach will similarly kill their app for the reasons you mentioned).
It's understandable that developers wouldn't want to pay Google's substantial cut – but for the convenience, app updates, security (not perfect obviously, but at least comfortable to users), promotion opportunities, and visibility to the user base, they at least get a certain value for their money. Again, Fortnite will likely succeed regardless – but more niche apps/developers would probably be wise not to treat this as some kind of precedent.