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by w3rhn2j34oh5o 2493 days ago
Grabbing rootkit artifacts that could be on the device?

Its just that its not Facebooks place to do this. I wouldn't expect a app linux binary to upload the contents of /usr/lib, or a windows app to start sending system32 dll's off system.

FB can try to sell this as a 'lite-AntiVirus' type service, but that is not its place. There is no indication the app is doing this. Its FB being creepy as usual.

If Google did it, it would be less creepy, just like how Microsoft can grab malicious files detected by Defender -- but they write, support and protect the OS! FB is just an app. It shouldn't be harvesting its users operating system files!

1 comments

Google already does what people are spewing apologetics about as justification for Facebook's behaviour, but they do it the right way.

Google's SafetyNet scans the system files, but it looks for _specific_ files that should not be there and ensures that certain files that must remain unaltered actually remained unaltered to ensure that the security model is still intact, so it doesn't need to violate copyright laws by stealing copies of files off the user's phone without permission or user awareness.

...and funny that you mention Windows Defender because it repeatedly advises the user that it might upload files to Microsoft and asks for their approval for doing so at multiple points. Microsoft is being perfectly transparent about what they're doing and giving users the ability to opt-out. They're also the people who make the entire operating system so they've got an obligation to try real hard to prevent another Blaster incident. Facebook just makes a social media app.