Lineage To The Rescue!

When Google leaves your smartphone without updates, open source saves the day

- Neil Mohr

There’s a joke that circulates security circles: Android smartphones are really expensive abandoned Linux distributions. It hurts, but it’s true. Android is based on the Linux kernel, making Android (more or less) a form of Linux operating system, aka a distribution. Android smartphone manufacturers tend to bash out a device, build whatever the latest version of Android is, support it for the shortest amount of time they can get away with, then abandon the owners—vulnerable to whatever zero-day attack next raises its ugly head—running for the hills, waving their wads of cash.

Take the OnePlus Two. A fine Android phone, but OnePlus dropped support two years after release, just as the Krack vulnerability struck. Tough luck, suckers! This is standard practice in the Android world. But when people are carrying their entire lives around with them on a security hole-riddled device, perhaps it’s time to rethink the situation. So, what can you do?