Patent attributes
An action may be performed in response to a determination of a source of side-loaded software. In one case, the handling of an application on a mobile device may be based on whether the source of the application is trusted or untrusted. If a software application being newly-installed on a mobile device of a user is determined to be untrusted, installation or execution is blocked. In one approach, the determination of the source includes: receiving, from the mobile device, a first application identifier and a first source identifier, each for a first application; sending the first application identifier and the first source identifier over a network to an administrator server; receiving, from the administrator server, a first state designation for the first application; setting a second state designation based on the first state designation; and sending the second state designation to the mobile device.