Vanadium Safe/Secure Browsing Habits

DeletedUser89

Hello, I have to admit, this question may seem weird to some, but for some reason, it has touched my paranoid side quite a few times.

In essence, I understand why many have explained here that using an antivirus on Android is completely unnecessary and provides no extra security, especially since all apps are sandboxed. I also understand why when it comes to browsing, many will say that all you need is "common sense" to stay safe. This is what kind of confuses me.

No one, not even a professional in security, can possibly know for sure whether or not a site or a link is malicious in some kind of way. So, to finally point to my question, when I am browsing (I browse always with Vanadium and no extra browser), and "common sense" doesn't fully come to the rescue and I click on a potentially malicious link, then what? I understand it depends on the kind of attack the site may perform and what not, but let's do a general take on it for the sake of my lack of knowledge in some of this stuff.

Plus, if I did somehow get malware when browsing with Vanadium, how would I even ever know? It's not like it's obvious or anything (at least it probably wouldn't be to me). Now, I have Vanadium set to the bare minimum app permissions, and only browse in incognito to save no local data on the storage (so something malicious in the cookies is out of the question), but I'd assume those measures are unlikely to protect against a sophisticated malware.

Again, I apologize if the question is too general or is just common knowledge for some of the folks here, but I would really appreciate insight. Thanks.

de0u

DeletedUser89 No one, not even a professional in security, can possibly know for sure whether or not a site or a link is malicious in some kind of way. So, to finally point to my question, when I am browsing (I browse always with Vanadium and no extra browser), and "common sense" doesn't fully come to the rescue and I click on a potentially malicious link, then what? I understand it depends on the kind of attack the site may perform and what not, but let's do a general take on it for the sake of my lack of knowledge in some of this stuff.

Indeed it is not really possible to answer the question in general, because "malicious" web sites are not one category but many.

Perhaps a malicious web site would give you some JavaScript that would run a cryptocurrency miner. That could happen, and the phone might get warm, but the negative effects would probably be over once the browser tab is closed. Or maybe a malicious web site might track you in a way that you don't want.
It is believed that many malicious web sites trying to escape the browser sandbox to run code would fail, because Vanadium on GrapheneOS is hardened in many ways compared to other browsers on other Android variants.
That said, successful exploits of Vanadium are possible. But GrapheneOS spends a lot of effort (more than most other Android variants) to stop malware from becoming persistent, meaning stored somewhere where it can remain active across reboots.

It's more likely to get into trouble by downloading apps, especially from dodgy sources, than by visiting web pages. A particularly good thing to stay away from is sites hosting cracked versions of commercial software -- there is a fair likelihood those apps are infested with malware. It is also more likely that visiting a malicious web site will get you tracked than that it will get you compromised.

Rebooting your device from time to time while checking the signing-key fingerprint on the boot screen is a good way to check for persistent malware.

Finally, all of this depends on the device being up to date with all security patches. This in turn means that (according to the GrapheneOS project) end-of-life devices should not be used -- at least not on the Internet, not on a cellular network, and not on a Wi-Fi network unless you live in the woods far from neighbors and can see people coming from far away.

Devices contain bugs, so there is no way to guarantee your device won't be successfully exploited. But an up-to-date GrapheneOS device is a lot better than many alternatives. If a state actor or even a well-funded criminal gang really wants to compromise your device in particular, and is willing to pay, it might well happen. But that is not the situation most of us are in.

DeletedUser89

de0u Hello, thanks for the reply. I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one, and I really appreciate the generalized response.