{"id":13797,"date":"2017-08-30T08:00:16","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T13:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/?p=13797"},"modified":"2018-06-28T16:43:34","modified_gmt":"2018-06-28T20:43:34","slug":"careful-when-turning-on-unknown-sources-on-android","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/careful-when-turning-on-unknown-sources-on-android\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Careful When Turning on \u201cUnknown Sources\u201d on Your Android"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, when you want an app that isn\u2019t on the Google Play store, you might turn to the Amazon App Store. The Amazon App Store allows users unlimited access to many apps that aren\u2019t approved by Google Play\u2019s strict guidelines. When you have the \u201cUnknown Sources\u201d option turned off, you can\u2019t download any apps or software from stores other than the Play Store. But be aware that downloading apps from the Amazon app store and other third-party sites can open up your phone to malicious apps. Add an extra layer of protection like the security scan feature to check for any hidden viruses:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><center><a href=\"https:\/\/app.appsflyer.com\/com.psafe.msuite?pid=MKT_BLOG_US&amp;c=unknown_sources_android\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9829 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/run-security-scan-1.jpg\" alt=\"run-security-scan\" width=\"353\" height=\"79\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/run-security-scan-1.jpg 353w, https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/run-security-scan-1-300x67.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 353px) 100vw, 353px\" \/><\/a><center><\/center><\/center><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\nYou may want a certain app that isn\u2019t available in the Play store, but whenever you switch \u201cUnknown Sources\u201d on, you are opening up your phone to a multitude of unwanted viruses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Read More: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/vulnerability-found-alexa-app\/\"><b>Vulnerability Found in Alexa App, What Should You Do?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Google Play is very tough on which apps it allows into the Play store. Still, malicious apps can sometimes make it into the Play store, so you should always be wary of any app that you download, and run a Security Scan after downloading new apps.<\/p>\n<p><b>Amazon\u2019s App Store<br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amazon\u2019s new app store will offer great deals and cheaper apps to Android users, but it will come at a risk of reduced security. The only way to put the Amazon App Store app on your Android phone is by allowing installations of apps from \u201cUnknown Sources.\u201d Phone security experts say that the Play store is safer because they can immediately see any viruses and use a \u201ckill switch\u201d to remove any infected apps from Android phones. Sadly, the Amazon App Store doesn\u2019t come with any such protections in the event that their apps have viruses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although these problems seem very risky and dangerous, Amazon does claim that it is very careful in choosing which apps appear in their App Store and that they work hard to ensure that the chances of downloading malware are low. Overall, no matter where you get your apps from, there is always a small risk of getting a virus. So, it\u2019s better to be safe than sorry.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Installing software from unknown sources is risky. Find out why you should think twice before downloading from unknown sources or the Amazon App Store.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[30,1203,218,358,545,249,67,223],"class_list":["post-13797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-security","tag-android","tag-android-phone","tag-privacy","tag-protection","tag-safety","tag-security","tag-smartphone","tag-tips"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Be Careful When Turning on \u201cUnknown Sources\u201d on Your Android - PSafe Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Installing software from unknown sources is risky. 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