One of the little known capabilities of the new Android 4.2 Jelly Bean platform is the ability to scan your phone for potential malware. The feature builds on top of the security technology Google introduced for the Play Store in February. However, now it works on your phone too, scanning the apps you install from third-party sources.
The first time you sideload an app, a popup will appear asking you if you want the application to be checked for “harmful behavior.” By tapping the “Agree” button, Android will compare the app with known threats and let you know whether you’re good to go or not — Google’s servers will analyze the info and compare it with the database of known applications. If something’s wrong, the system will prevent you from installing the application. And yes, you can enable or disable the capability from Settings.
In addition to this app scanning capability, Android 4.2 also rocks new and improved app permissions screen, showing up anytime you install an app from outside of the Play Store…
[Via: ComputerWorld]