Do you think regular desktop computer should be locked down like this too? Scammers can also tell people to run Windows programs. Should that be banned too?

I'm fine with an opt-in lock-down feature so people can do it for their parents/grandparents/children.

Also, just let people get used to it. People will get burned, then tell their friends and they will then know not to simply follow what a stranger guides them to do over the phone. Maybe they will actually have second thoughts about what personal data they enter on their phone and when and where and who it may be sent to.

Same as with emails telling you to buy gift cards at the gas station. Should the clerk tell people to come back tomorrow if they want to buy a gift card, just in case they are being "guided" by a Nigerian prince scammer?

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flomo 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Keep in mind that Android has like a billion users who have never touched a Windows computer. (And unmanaged Windows was/is also a disaster zone.) Coming at this from a internet forum perspective is missing the scope of the problem.

> I'm fine with an opt-in lock-down feature

Me too, but it's really just some UI semantics whether this is 'opt-in' or 'opt-out'. Essentially it would be an option to set up the phone in "developer mode".

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Dylan16807 an hour ago | parent [-]

There is a big difference between opt-in and opt-out that isn't semantics. You can't slowly discourage, deprecate and delete the default the way you can an opt-in, because too many people keep using it.

	▲	flomo 18 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Yeah, I predict that "developer mode" will eventually be a setup option in the trust store, so you'd have reset the phone to get to it. With billions of Android users, there's only millions of people who need or really want this. So like 1%. My point is stop thinking about your mom's windows box and consider the scale.

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pas 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Maybe? Let people form CAs, and if a CA gives out certs for malicious apps remove them. (Old apps continue to work, to publish new one get new cert.)

Yes, sad, but works.

People will learn about scams, but scammers are unfortunately a few steps ahead. (Lots of scammers, good techniques spread faster among them than among the general public.)