UPDATED 06:57 EDT / JULY 06 2012

Google Denies Android Botnet Claims

Today’s mobile news roundup features security experts’ retractions to the Android botnet, Amazon’s preparations to release an iPhone and Android competitor, and Apple getting sued over Siri.

No Android botnet

Earlier this week, security experts from Microsoft and Sophos posted on their blogs that infected Android devices are spreading spam e-mails, but yesterday retracted their findings stating that they may have been mistaken and that there was no actual proof of an infected Android device sending the spam e-mails.  Spammers could have been using an infected computer and just stamping it to make it look like it came from an Android device.

Google addressed the issue stating that “the evidence we’ve examined does not support the Android botnet claim. Our analysis so far suggests that spammers are using infected computers and a fake mobile signature to try to bypass anti-spam mechanisms in the email platform they’re using. We’re continuing to investigate the details.”

Alex Stamos, chief technology officer of Web-security firm Artemis Internet, also stated that it’s highly unlikely for spammers to use mobile to spread spam since they frequently change the IP address so as not to be tracked.  Changing IP address on mobile devices is not as easy as changing them on computers.

Amazon’s iPhone and Android competitor

Amazon is said to be working on a smartphone that would compete with Apple’s iPhone and the horde of Android smartphones available in the market.

Foxconn International Holdings Ltd. (2038), the Chinese mobile-phone maker that makes parts for iDevices, is working with Amazon on the rumored smartphone.  Amazon is busy with acquiring patents that cover wireless technology so as not to face any legal setbacks when they do launch their very own smartphone.

Apple sued over Siri

Another Chinese company takes a stab at Apple, suing the iPhone maker over Siri.  Shanghai Zhi Zhen Internet Technology, the developer of a software called “Xiao i Robot” that communicates by talking, able to answer users’ questions as well as hold simple conversations, accuses Apple of infringing their personal assistant software.

“We have a 100 million users in China, and many companies are using our product,” said the company head Yuan Hui, in an interview on Friday.

The company contacted Apple back in May and filed a lawsuit last month which a Shanghai court already accepted.

The company’s only message for Apple?

“Our only demand is that Apple stop infringing on our patent,” Yuan said.

Sounds just like the line Apple keeps using in their legal battles.

In other Apple news, the company announced that they’ve already fixed the bug that caused downloaded apps to crash.  The incident was first reported by Marco Arment, developer of Instapaper.  He was greeted with a lot of e-mails from disgruntled consumers who experienced problems when they downloaded his app.  The incident also affected other apps and users.

“We had a temporary issue that began yesterday with a server that generated DRM code for some apps being downloaded,” Apple said in a statement to AllThingsD. Apple said it affected only a small number of users.

“The issue has been rectified and we don’t expect it to occur again,” Apple said. Those who have an affected app can re-download it from the App Store.


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