[ ](http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/10/android-4-2-app-verification-service-tested-found-no-substitute/)
Google's App Verification Service is a quiet addition to [Android 4.2](http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/29/google-bumps-android-to-4-2-keeps-jelly-bean-moniker/), but potentially game-changing: it promises malware checks for any installable Android app, whether it comes from a [Bouncer](http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/02/googles-bouncer-service-scans-the-android-market-for-malware/)-verified Google Play or a website lurking in the shadows. [NC State University](http://www.engadget.com/tag/NCStateUniversity/) Associate Professior Xuxian Jiang doesn't want to simply accept the claim at face value, though. He just pitted the service against 10 anti-malware apps to gauge its effectiveness at stopping a wide range of rogue code. The short summary? Don't quit your [day job](http://www.engadget.com/tag/google,search/), Google. Among 1,260 samples, the App Verification Service caught 193 instances, or 15.32 percent -- well below the 50 percent of its closest challenger, and nowhere near the perfect scores of two apps. According to the professor, Google's shortcoming mostly comes from a relatively skin-deep routine that checks the SHA-1 value and install package name, not underlying code that's tougher to change. Android malware isn't a serious enough issue for us to be worried at present, but nor would we lean on the App Verification Service as our only safety net.
Filed under: [Mobile](http://www.engadget.com/category/mobile/), [Google](http://www.engadget.com/category/google/)
**[Comments](http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/10/android-4-2-app-verification-service-tested-found-no-substitute/#comments)**
**Source:** [NC State University](http://www.cs.ncsu.edu/faculty/jiang/appverify/)
URL: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/10/android-4-2-app-verification-service-tested-found-no-substitute/
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