in order to use apkmirror

[AndyHaf]

I went to www.apkmirror.com on my tablet. At the top of the page was a button to download APKMirror Installer, giving me the impression that installing it is a necessary first step. Then during its install I see a message ‘created by Google” and information that this is an unreleased beta program. It wants me to do three steps: create an account, verify (the account, I presume), browse for content.

Is this in fact part of the Google play store?
Do I need it to get something/anything from apkmirror?
Can I get rid of it and then go straight to downloading and installing the audio player, or other programs I might want, from what I find listed at the apkmirror site?

 

[AndyHaf]

I uninstalled this apkmirror installer thing. I uninstalled everything Google I could find (this is an Amazon Fire Table, so Google did not come on it).
At apmirror.com something is urging me to Activate my account and enter a credit card. I can't seem to get by it.

I searched for an audiobook player, found one, no cost listed, and tapped download. Then I get the 'Actvate" thing. I cannot get by it and don't get any download. Is this really part of apkmirror, do they demand a credit card when nothing is being purchased?

 

[mikedt]

I went to www.apkmirror.com on my tablet. At the top of the page was a button to download APKMirror Installer, giving me the impression that installing it is a necessary first step. Then during its install I see a message ‘created by Google” and information that this is an unreleased beta program. It wants me to do three steps: create an account, verify (the account, I presume), browse for content.

Is this in fact part of the Google play store?
Do I need it to get something/anything from apkmirror?
Can I get rid of it and then go straight to downloading and installing the audio player, or other programs I might want, from what I find listed at the apkmirror site?

You only need the APKmirror Installer if you've downloaded an app bundle, usually suffixed as .XAPK. And it's used to install them on your device, as the stock app installer on Android can't do .XAPK. It's not required for regular .APK downloads from APKmirror.

 

[mikedt]

I uninstalled this apkmirror installer thing. I uninstalled everything Google I could find (this is an Amazon Fire Table, so Google did not come on it).
At apmirror.com something is urging me to Activate my account and enter a credit card. I can't seem to get by it.

I searched for an audiobook player, found one, no cost listed, and tapped download. Then I get the 'Actvate" thing. I cannot get by it and don't get any download. Is this really part of apkmirror, do they demand a credit card when nothing is being purchased?

Which audiobook player? If something like Audible, that does require an Audible account with payment details.

APKmirror itself is free to use(with ads), no account needed. Credit card details are only needed if you wish to become a paid subscriber/patron of APKmirror.

 

[AndyHaf]

Which audiobook player? If something like Audible, that does require an Audible account with payment details.

APKmirror itself is free to use(with ads), no account needed. Credit card details are only needed if you wish to become a paid subscriber/patron of APKmirror.

I chose a general purpose audiobook player program, to see how it works. Even if it were something like Audible, Audible is a totally different organization that would not be applied to through apkmirror.com. This thing that wants credit card information is in the way of downloading anything from the apkmirror site. The Audible program is free to install, in fact it comes on the Amazon Fire; only the books costs.

I don't know if it is part of apkmirror or some malwear. I certainly never applied to purchase the premium membership, or whatever it is called. If it came with the (beta) installer offered at the head of the web page, positioned to seem to give the apparently misleading idea that it is required to install anything from the website, then why did it not go away when I uninstalled that installer program?

It is is malwear, is there a way to counter it? Are there anti-malwear programs or on-line anti malwear tools? I am only familiar with Windows computer stuff. How prevalent is really nasty stuff in Android? Would doing a factory reset of the tablet (a very big bother) be likely to clear it away?

 

[Hadron]

Nothing has changed at apkmirror that I can see: visit site, select an apk, download it. End of. Nothing asked for a login, any personal or financial information.

Can you provide more info on this "activate" thing? Maybe a screenshot?

 

[AndyHaf]

As an excuse, I have somewhat of a vision problem. This is why I use a 32" full HD TV as my computer monitor, with Windows set to output text at the maximum recommended size. Due to this vision thing, or perhaps to not enough attention, I did not see the label saying “advertisement” in very small, low contrast print on the rather small tablet screen.

Also that ad does not say what “account” it is trying to get one to open by providing financial information. It does not say what the account is for, giving the impression that it is a necessary part of the process of obtaining programs from the APKMirror site. A phishing scam by any other name.

On the Android tablet the apkmirror site is full of ad after ad. The same ads often repeat, sometimes there are several in a row with nothing else in between. They make finding anything in particular difficult. One or several ads can appear in the middle of what is probably one site screen, making it difficult to tell if sections following the ads are part of the screen I want or are something I should absolutely avoid.

I went to the site on my computer and had no difficulty with ads or with finding and downloading the two programs of interest to me. However, I don’t know of any way to use what I downloaded since they are for Android and they are not on the tablet.

On the tablet I am now somewhat able to navigate past the ads but as I stated above, sometimes I cannot tell whether some screen things are part of what I’m looking for or are something else entirely.
After finding the program of interest to me, there were download buttons, which led to an expanded list of versions of the same program with download buttons, which led to a screen of variants of the chosen version. Eventually I get to a larger display of my selection and no controls I can see to go further – except that there are several different ads, then more “other” screen with a larger unlabeled download button following the ads. What is that button for? I cannot tell.

Is anything happening? Is there any way to tell if something is happening? Should I by chance do the correct thing, will an executable be downloaded to the tablet or will the program simply be installed on the tablet? Should I expect to find evidence in the app list?

I left the tablet on the last screen I could definitely identify, one with a larger display of the program information, for 20 minutes. There was no result.
In Windows the (Android) program was being downloaded from what I think was the same screen.
In Windows, I can easily check on whether something is being downloaded or not. Is there any way to check in Android?
In Windows, neither of the downloads took very many seconds. The tablet uses the same WiFi network so, as far as I know, it should take about the same amount of time to download, certainly nowhere near 20 minutes.

I’m wondering if the Amazon Silk browser, rather than the apkmirror site, is responsible for all the ads. IF I can manage to get another browser installed, I should be able to find out.

 

[olbriar]

It sounds like your tablet browser is in dire need of an ad blocker.