Is all of SlideME's Applications Safe?

Submitted by vamred on Sun, 06/05/2011 - 09:31

I had recently browsed around here, And some things don't sound right for me. How do I know if I download a virus or something? I downloaded a gamed called Magic Ball 8 by MBDSoftwares. What made me worry was.... Terms of Service for one. Saying it wasn't responsible for the applications we download. Another thing...... Application Permissions: Internet - Allows application to create network sockets. What does that mean? (My screen keeps switching btw) Another suspicious.... Access Network State - Allows an application to view the state of all networks. What does that mean? Different settings for different games. Sorry if i posted in the wrong section. I am nervous. The othergame was Angry Frogs Beta by epadula. Access coarse location. Basically IF MALICIOUS can find approximately where I am. How do I know what is safe and what isn't? ANGRY FROGS to forever to download and I just cancelled it. Sighs. Pleasehelps Me! !!!! Very worried. Btw the oneapp said do I agree to the permissions..... while the other didn't itjust downloaded it u know instead ofasking if I aggreed bfore installing....... USING A CRAIG TOUCH SCREEN TABLET.

‹ Error 903, payment failed? Carryover from Android Market to SlideME ›
Submitted by Chryssa.SlideME on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 04:54.

Re: Is all of SlideME's Applications Safe?

We consider that this is a positive feature of Android that shows to end-users that permissions required by the application, unlike other OS platforms. At SlideME we have taken this further, by presenting the application permissions prior to download instead of providing an option for user to review permissions from some tab menu that may not be visited.

If you are concerned about downloading a malicious application, there are some Android security applications from reputable antivirus companies that will scan the applications for malicious code.

Many 3rd party Ad providers require extra permissions for developers to enable for their applications even though the application itself may not require such.

Regarding the permissions, please see this explanation.
There is a part that explains each permission and what it does, along with other useful information.
You can always contact the developer of each application (or post a comment under the app profile) if you believe that the permissions are not justified by what the application is supposed to do. We also contact developers before approving the applications if we see that they require an extensive amount of permissions that are not justified.

Unlike other App-Stores,(even the official Android Market) that do not review application submissions, part of SlideME's approval process consists of reviewing if the application description is justified by the permissions enabled by developer. We have 000's of applications that we have not approved for this exact reason. We consider SlideME to be a safer store and more proactive with such security issues.

We are launching a new feature soon that will further improve any security concerns users such as yourself would have. We should be announcing this in the next few weeks.