How is it any more 'scary' installing an app from a website than the play store? There's plenty of malware on the play store. I'd actually be willing to bet you're more likely to install some malware from the play store than from an apk you get off a website or alternative store.
It's a tradeoff for freedom vs a false sense of security. On android at least, the walled garden approach hasn't seemed to stop malware, the majority of which, comes from the play store. All it's done is teach users to blindly trust apps just because they come from a supposedly trustworthy source. If anything it's taught people to think less about security and the kinds of apps they install. It's on the play store right? Must be ok.
Do you not remember the old days? I had a nightmare of a time lk dealing with adware and spyware infested pcs. Almost every person I knew had an infested pc. Browser hijacks, toolbars etc.
I remember. I killed my computer once with adware to the point where I needed to reformat my drive and reinstall everything. It sucked, but it taught me to always pay attention to installers and not to just randomly install anything and everything.
I've also helped other people deal with these problems before. I found that aftwr taking the time to show them how they end up inatalling that crap, the kinds of things to avoid and setting them up with some removal tools they tended not to make the same mistakes.
It's a tradeoff for freedom vs a false sense of security. On android at least, the walled garden approach hasn't seemed to stop malware, the majority of which, comes from the play store. All it's done is teach users to blindly trust apps just because they come from a supposedly trustworthy source. If anything it's taught people to think less about security and the kinds of apps they install. It's on the play store right? Must be ok.