Fake antivirus app pulled from Play Store, Google issues refund and an apology

In a bit of a surprise move by Google, users that were fooled by a fake antivirus app in the Google Play Store are not only getting their money back, but Google is giving them an additional $5 credit to play with. The app was called Virus Shield and sold for $3.99 to about 10,000 users before it was pulled from the Play Store.

Virus Shield managed to sneak its way past all the checks and make it to the top of a couple Play Store ‘Top’ categories. Android Police caught on and had much to say about it, and the app was removed from the Play Store on April 6th.

The fake antivirus app claimed to prevent harmful apps from being installed on your device, scan apps, settings and more in real time and protect your personal information. However, as it turns out, Virus Shield performed one role for users – click the emblem and the image changes. That is it. In fact, we shall re-create its entire functionality for you in non-clickable .gif format below, for free.

Within an email that is firing out to those that purchased the app, Google states that Virus Shield violates Play Store policy by making false claims, which is why they are issuing refunds of the purchase amount. Hopefully Google will not be stuck footing any of this bill, that they can still simply withhold funds, or straight out charge the developer, Deviant Solutions for the refunds. Checkout the full email here.

As for that $5 Play Store credit, Google is certainly making amends to users for allowing such an app to go unchecked for so long within the Play Store. We applaud Google’s actions and how they have taken ownership of righting any wrongs. We know that Google has tools in place to weed out bad apps, like Virus Shield, from the Play Store. We only hope that Google will incorporate all they have learned from this situation to help prevent similar from happening again.

What do you think, in addition to the well deserved returned purchase price, should Google be issuing the additional $5 Play Store credit to those that purchased Virus Shield? Or should Google take more of a ‘buyer beware’ approach to Play Store purchases?

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How to fix Moto X battery issues

Sterling Keys 2014-04-02T05:00:00Z1 day ago

Sterling Keys

After finishing his Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Alberta, Sterling made the move to Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Within a stone's throw of mountains, ocean, and complete wilderness, he mountain bikes and skis during the day and is hopelessly connected to his phone and computer at all other times. His writing "career" started as he penned about his escapades while skiing and has slowly progressed to freelance marketing and promotion throughout British Columbia. Interested in anything tech and gadget related, he has thoroughly enjoyed his transition of writing for AndroidPIT.

There have been reports of the Moto X battery draining much faster after having used the device for some time. If you’re being affected by this issue and want to try and get back to the same battery capacity you had when you first bought your Moto X, give this little tweak a try.

Is your Moto X battery struggling after a few weeks of use? Here's a quick fix. / © AndroidPIT

Redditor okfnjesse shared this sweet little fix after having browsed around for a solution to his mysterious battery drain issue.  Despite uninstalling apps, doing a factory reset, and other “fixes”, he was unable to solve his battery drain problem until he tried to clear the Cache partition of his Moto X. If you’re having issues with the battery on your Moto X draining faster than it should, particularly after you’ve installed a new software update, give this a try:

• Turn off your Moto X and then press the Volume down and Power button for 2-3 seconds.
• Use the Volume down key to scroll through the options to Recovery and Volume Up  to select.
• The device will display the Motorola logo and then the Android in distress logo will appear.
• Press and hold the Volume up key for 10-15 seconds. While still holding the Volume up key tap and release the Power key.
• The device will display additional menu options and a bunch of text will appear in blue.
• Use the Volume down to scroll to wipe cache partition and the Power Key to select this option
• The device will then perform the partition wipe
• The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence

This process will remove any temporary files that may be causing an issue with battery drain, but will not actually remove any files or settings on your device. If you’re noticing a much larger drain on your Moto X battery, definitely give this a try before you go through the hassle of a factory reset. 

Via: reddit Source: Motorola

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Google teams up with DC to offer single issues comics via Play Books

Although Google Play Books has carried digital DC comic book collections for a while now, the only way to get single issues has been to go through other DC partners like Comixology. Thankfully for DC fans, this changes today.

In addition to continuing to selling comic book collections and ‘novels’, DC will now offer comics separately, without the need to buy issues in volume. Initially this partnership means you’ll be able to pick up monthly releases, but what about DC’s traditional Wednesday weekly releases? While DC may add weekly releases eventually, DC’s vice president of Vertigo and Integrated Publishing Hank Kanalz notes that adding the weekly storefront schedule to Play Books requires “additional resources”.

The addition of single issue comics is a very welcome change for Google fans that also are avid DC followers, but it is important to note that this partnership is currently limited to the United States. On the bright side, DC pledges to bring it to additional markets but doesn’t give any timeframe for this expansion just yet.

DC fans: What do you think, glad to see single issues make their way over to Play Books or will you likely continue to buy them from other sources?

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PlayStation 4 Supply Issues Will Be Fixed This Summer

Sony is selling its PS4 as fast as it can. But the company has experienced supply constraints ever since its launch in November 2013. And don’t expect to find a PS4 on your store shelf anytime soon — Sony told the WSJ that it doesn’t expect to meet demand before this summer.

Yet, the console only recently launched in Japan, its home country. While Sony managed to sell 300,000 consoles in its first week, sales in Japan dropped to less than 30,000 during its second week.

That’s why the company is reporting global sales numbers. So far, Sony has sold 6 million PS4 units. It’s a good start, better than the Xbox One and the Wii U. But it’s still too early to declare victory.

Overall, the console market is shrinking. As our own Natasha Lomas wrote, it will be hard to sell as many PS4s and Xbox Ones as PS3s and Xbox 360s. The last generation fared quite well. The Xbox 360 and PS3 sold around 80 million apiece.

When comparing the last generation console launch with this generation, the PS3 and Xbox 360 sold faster. Part of it can be explained by supply issues. But it’s a recurring issue with console launches.