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Samsung embeds IronSource spyware app on phones across WANA

(smex.org)
845 points the-anarchist | 1 comments | 21 Jun 25 03:06 UTC | HN request time: 0.254s | source
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userbinator ◴[21 Jun 25 04:22 UTC] No.44334486[source]▶
making it nearly impossible for regular users to uninstall it without root access, which voids warranties and poses security risks

Stop parroting the corporate propaganda that put us into this stupid situation in the first place. Having root access on devices you own should be a fundamental right, as otherwise it's not ownership.

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bongodongobob[dead post] ◴[21 Jun 25 04:51 UTC] No.44334616[source]▶
[flagged]
potamic ◴[21 Jun 25 05:01 UTC] No.44334656[source]▶
You can default to a hardened, secure setup but provide an option to override to those who want to. I don't think anyone is against secure defaults, but many people have a problem with designs that say you must not even have an option to override.
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burnt-resistor ◴[21 Jun 25 05:50 UTC] No.44334887[source]▶
It creates a Hobson's choice of no tinkering and less malware, or tinkering and greater risks from malware. There should be a "maintenance mode", but the onus of responsibility for breakage should be on the user for system update compatibility without the user being held hostage. This is a false choice and ostensible customizability. If the manufacturer wants to add an "OS warranty void sticker" flag because things maybe broken from tweaking, that's cool, but leaving the user less secure as punishment is wrong.
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JumpCrisscross ◴[21 Jun 25 08:10 UTC] No.44335665[source]▶
> There should be a "maintenance mode", but the onus of responsibility for breakage should be on the user for system update compatibility without the user being held hostage

Isn’t this just a second device? How can you hold a manufacturer liable if the user was given unsupervised time as root?

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hilbert42 ◴[21 Jun 25 08:46 UTC] No.44335841[source]▶
"How can you hold a manufacturer liable if the user was given unsupervised time as root?"

PCs had root access by default, so why wasn't it a significant problem for them? Banking is possible on a PC without a banking app.

As Noam Chomsky has said, as in politics, manufacturers and OS vendors such as Google and Microsoft have been deliberately "manufacturing concent" — a widespread belief in the population of users that benefits them to the disadvantage of many of said users.

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JumpCrisscross ◴[21 Jun 25 09:11 UTC] No.44335960[source]▶
> PCs had root access by default, so why wasn't it a significant problem for them?

They weren't networked. They were notoriously buggy. And most importantly, they weren't warrantied [1].

Root should always be an option. But once you root, it's fair for the warranty to be voided.

> OS vendors such as Google and Microsoft have been deliberately "manufacturing concent"

Nitpick, the propaganda model [2] attempts to describe traditional mass media. Two of its five pillars (ownership and sourcing) fall apart in a world with smartphones and social media.

[1] https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/university-of-rizal-syst...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_model#Criticism

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1. burnt-resistor ◴[21 Jun 25 12:25 UTC] No.44337044[source]▶
My PCs were homebuilt and networked in 1994. All warranties void, except the hardware. Windows 3.1 and Netscape over 28.8 sucked, but it worked.