Most Android Apps Might be Free but at What Cost?

21 apps had to be pulled from the Android market yesterday because of a root expoit in the OS. It is something that sadly comes with having an ‘open’ market. The real kicker is that some weren’t affected because it was an issue that was fixed on current versions of the OS but because of the extreme fragmentation of android. Many still were open to the attack. Android Central says…

If you installed any of these applications, they should have been pulled off your phone, but that’s not enough.  You need to do a full system wipe and reset your phone completely, the data wipe and reset from settings may not be enough.  This means ODIN, RUU’s, .sbf files or a trip to your carrier store if this is beyond your capabilities.  The call to our forum moderators and advisers is out, and we’re going to try and help as much as we can.

Perhaps the worst part of the whole situation is that this exploit has been patched by Google.  Starting with 2.2.2, AOSP has been fixed to halt this exploit, and with Gingerbread it no longer works at all.  This puts the need for quick carrier updates in an entirely new perspective, as potentially 50,000 users are affected because they are still running old versions of the OS.  I’m all for an open Market, but something has to be done, and it will have to start at the top in Mountain View.