Why is Android Vulnerable?

The ability for users to load software ‘off market’ opens the door for malicious applications to be distributed without the need for a vulnerability:’ says Wisniewski, meaning anyone can write an app and anyone can install anything on their Android phone. granting it permission to go wild with their personal data. Symantec reports that a maximum of 49 devices were infected with the Android.Nickispy trojan .

Google’s main defence is the Android Permissions notifier, which tells you exactly which phone features an app will be able to access once installed. The problem is, no one reads these permissions. It’s a boring list of things most of us don’t understand. How is the everyday man expected to know whether it’s right or wrong for a particular app to require access to his contacts details?

There is also the problem of software updates, which has been the bane of Android over the last year or two, as Google relentlessly releases new OS versions and the networks struggle to keep up.

“The other factor that increases the risk for Android users is the lack of patches that fix the vulnerabilities that are discovered:’ explains Wisniewski. “Even if Google fixes the flaws in the core version of Android, most carriers and phone makers lag far behind integrating the fixes, if they bother at all.”

Which all sounds very worrying, but then again it’s common practice, and advice throughout the tech world is to always update to the latest version of any software. If you have been stranded with an unsupported Android model that’s sitting on version 1.6 of the operating system, you may well be more vulnerable because the hackers have had longer to work on exploits.

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Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini firmware now available online

Most of us probably aren’t waiting at the edge of our seats for the arrival of the relatively low spec’d Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini. That being said, if you are a developer you might be interested to know that the firmware for the S3 Mini is now available for download. As expected, the firmware indicates the presence of Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean.

Is the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini really that bad? Yes and no. The biggest disappointment is that the phone has the S3 branding and yet is nowhere near as capable as the larger-screened Samsung Galaxy S3.

The bottom-line is that if you simply want a low-to-midrange smartphone that has attractive styling and reasonable hardware, the S3 Mini could be alright as long as the contract pricing isn’t very high. For those that need a refresher on the hardware specs, the Galaxy S3 Mini has a 4-inch display with a 800 x 400 resolution and a dual-core 1GHz NovaThor processor. Other specs include 8 or 16GB of storage, microSD, a VGA front cam, 1500 mAh battery, NFC and a 5MP front cam.

What do you think of the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini? Interested or not?

 

Source: AndroidAuthority.com

7 sizzling new Android apps of the week (November 2 issue)

The Google Play Store is bubbling and oozing with apps. Apps for games, productivity, videos, music, and all you can think of can be found on the Google Play Store. As we speak, hundreds of new apps appear in Google’s toy box, waiting to be used on your Android device. Thanks to the continuous support of app developers, we can enjoy a lot of apps on our Android handsets.

To make your search easier, we scouted the vast ocean of apps and manually picked the hottest new apps from the Google Play Store. In this post, we focus the spotlights on the new Android apps freshly released this week, with the hope that you will find them as interesting and/or useful as much as we do.

Enter Google’s playground and enjoy these new apps for the week.

MANGA FU CAMERA (FREE)

Do you like reading manga comics? How do you like making your own comics by taking pictures of your surroundings and instantly turning them into manga? With SODA, Inc.’s MANGA FU CAMERA you can instantly turn your surroundings into manga. Just point and shoot at your friends, toys, and anything around and watch as the app instantly turns it into manga. When you have compiled enough photos, you can use those to make your own manga comics. Get the ads-supported MANGA FU CAMERA for free from the Google Play Store.

Wake N Shake Alarm Clock ($1)

Do you sleep like a log and have a hard time waking up every morning? You should probably use the Wake N Shake Alarm Clock by Andres Canella to wake you up. This is just like your ordinary alarm clock, but instead of pressing the Stop button to kill the alarm, you will need to shake your phone until the bar gauge fills up in order to stop the alarm. For more challenge, you can set the shaking intensity and shake your phone like there’s no tomorrow. Wake up and do your daily phone shaking exercise with Wake N Shake Alarm Clock for a dollar from the Google Play Store.

Long Exposure Camera (FREE)

Using A&A’s Dream’s Long Exposure Camera, you can take gorgeous long exposure shots with your Android device. Tap to focus on your object, set the desired number of seconds, and hit the Shutter button. Once time is up, you can apply some color, brightness, and contrast tweaks before you finally hit Save. The app’s free version allows you to save only 400×300 images, but the paid version allows you 960×720 images. Start taking long exposure shots with Long Exposure Camera. For best results, don’t forget to mount your Android device on a tripod.

Deadlines Reminder (FREE)

With how hectic our lives can get, the best reminder apps are the simplest ones. Deadlines Reminder, developed by Tatkov Lab, is as simple as it can get. Tap the + button to add a task, set the date it’s due, and watch as your tasks, from most urgent to least urgent are color-coded for you: red for urgent tasks needing completion in 3 days, orange for 7 days, and green for non-urgent. You can set the app to remind you of your tasks once or twice a day. Deadlines Reminder runs as a background service and relaunches with every device reboot. Never forget those deadlines. Download Deadlines Reminder for free from the Google Play Store.

TonePush Beta (FREE)

Let your friends know that it’s you calling them by assigning yourself a ringtone on their devices. Sounds impossible? Not for Richard Green and his TonePush Beta app. It sends your friend the ringtone of your choice, so you can best represent yourself on her or his device. You can choose default ringtones in the app or one that you recorded. That’ll definitely alert your friend that you’re ringing her/him up. To share personalized ringtones this way, the other device also needs TonePush. Download TonePush Beta now for free from the Google Play Store.

DealPly (FREE)

Thinking of shopping this weekend while remaining within budget? Developed by PriceRhythm, the DealPly app can help you with budget shopping. You can search for products you through the app. If you are already in the store and need to get more details about an item, scan its barcode through DealPly and the app will provide you with the product details. You’ll also have access to a forum where you can discuss products you shopped for, plus a Deal & Coupons feature that lets you find great deals and discount sales. You can even keep a wishlist. In my testing, though, I noticed that the app sometimes takes a bit of time to launch; I often needed to relaunch it. Once it’s running, the app goes smoothly. Try DealPly today — free from the Google Play Store.

Battery Saver PRO (FREE)

If you frequently travel without bringing your wall charger, Battery Saver PRO can be your lifesaver. It does only one thing — save battery. It is light and easy to use — as easy as flicking a light switch — no complicated settings and options. Just tap the button and leave the app to work on its own. The app also shows you your battery statistics and battery usage. It promises to lessen battery consumption by about 20 to 35 percent, and, although we haven’t exhaustively tested its claims, it seems to deliver on its promise. Try Battery Saver PRO free and see whether it gets the job done for you.

Source: AndroidAuthority.com

Google brings new security features to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

The advent of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean brings new security features to the platform, features that have been required for a while to protect users from the many dangers associated with malicious apps.

The new security features are built natively into Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and the most vital of them, is in essence similar to the Bouncer feature rolled out for the Google Play store in February this year. While the Google Play store is now supposedly cleaner because this feature, Android users are still at risk when sideloading apps from other sources.

Completely opt-in, the ‘verify app’ feature can be toggled from the ‘Security’ section of Android 4.2 settings. Each time users download and sideload an app, it is sandboxed, with virtual walls put up between the app and other software on the device. A pop-up box will then ask user if they want to check the app for potentially ‘harmful behaviour.’ The device will then send information about the device to Google’s servers, and compare it with a database of known applications.

Even if the app is not also listed on the Google Play store, Google is confident it can detect if it is safe or not, as the company says it is constantly scanning the web for newly appearing APKs, and has a good understanding of how the ecosystem works. If the app under scrutiny is detected as safe, the installation will continue, if it is detected as dangerous, it will prevent you installing it. If however, the app is questionably secure, but not strictly harmful, the user will have the option to continue with the installation.

According to Google, the app installation process will not be greatly slowed down by the new security process, as most of the processing happens on the company’s servers, and the user device only has to send an APK signature onward.

As for the other new security features, Google has also introduced an improved app permissions screen, for sideloaded apps, which is apparently much simpler to read than before. Android 4.2 also brings a scanning feature, that detects any attempt by an app to send a text message to a known fee-collecting short code (premium number), and will alert the user. The user will have the option to then allow, or deny the app from continuing with sending.

Source: thinkdigit.com

Best Nexus 7 Apps: Top 10 Apps Built For The Android Tablet

The Nexus 7 is one of the most popular tablets on the market, and it's our favorite 7-inch tablet on the market. In our comparison, it bested the Amazon Kindle Fire HD and Apple iPad Mini by offering incredible processing power, a high-resolution screen and a gigantic app market.

The Nexus 7 can't live up to its full potential without downloading at least some of the apps specifically designed for 7-inch tablets. Our list of the best Nexus 7 apps does not include some of the most obvious apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Netflix. With that in mind, here are the best Android tablet apps that look great on the Nexus 7:

1) SwiftKey Tablet ($3.99): If you purchase can only purchase one app, do yourself a favor and purchase this one. This custom keyboard treats users to predictive and auto-correcting while typing. SwiftKey Tablet automatically increases the accuracy and speed of typing. We're huge fans of it, and there's really no other way to put it. This app is essential for any serious Nexus 7 user.

2) Mint.com (FREE): Mint is one of the most beautifully designed apps on the Nexus 7. This personal finance tool makes it easier than ever to track expenses and plan for or future investments. The user interface is gorgeous, and if you're interested in managing your money using the Nexus 7, this is one of the best ways to do it.

3) Instapaper ($2.99): If you're a fan of magazine journalism or have any reason to bookmark website articles for later, this app is essential. Instapaper saves articles and clears the screen of any clutter or advertisements. You can save entire articles on the fly and Instapaper will sync the article across multiple devices. If you use this app on the Nexus 7, stories will automatically be sent to your device when they're saved, and they can be read without an Internet connection—crucial for travelers.

4) MX Player (FREE): It's not the best interface, but MX Player does one very important thing. It plays all popular file types including .avi and .mp4 files. If you want to store videos on your Nexus 7, this app will let you watch those videos.

5) 100 Floors (FREE) : This is one of the most innovative games on the market. Users must solve 100 riddles to reach the top floor. There's an incredible variety of riddles that require a variety of steps including mathematical, mechanical, auditory and many more. If you've ever enjoyed a good puzzle game, you should try this best-of-class mobile game.

6) Triple Town (FREE): This is another puzzle game that's beautifully designed and is extremely addicting. The purpose of the game is to build the largest city you possibly can. By building items of the same kind next to each other, you'll ultimately grow your town. Triple Town is unlike any game available, and it's adorable characters and excellent gameplay will easily draw you in for hours.

7) Death Dome (FREE): This fighting game has intuitive controls and awesome animations. Build up your character with new weapons, shields and armor by destroying enemies. Fight head-to-head with dozens of mutants and freaks using a creative variety of weapons. This is a no-nonsense fighting game, and it's a must-have.

8) Dead Trigger (FREE): This game had such a high rate of piracy that it was eventually made free to the public. It's a classic zombie shooter with amazing character animations and very intuititve controls. If you're looking for gory, high-intensity shooting game, Dead Trigger is a game you'll want to download.

9) ShadowGun ($4.99): IGN called this game of of the best-looking mobile games ever created, and that claim still holds throughout this day. This third-person shooter has been optimized for the Tegra 3 processor used in the Nexus 7. If you're looking for a console-style experience from a mobile game, this is the one to have.

10) Tablified Market HD (FREE) : It's hard to keep track of the best Android tablet apps available, but Tablified Market HD tries its best to sort through the never-ending stream of apps uploaded every day. Apps will still be downloaded through the Google Play store. Tablified simply helps users find the latest and greatest apps that are optimized for the Nexus 7.

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Microsoft Releases Xbox SmartGlass app for Android Smartphones

Finally, Microsoft announced that it has released the Xbox SmartGlass app for Android Smartphones via Google Play App Store. This Android app allows Android users to experience using their touchscreen devices to interact with the Xbox 360.

Reported by from Cnet, application developers can use the Xbox SmartGlass App to interact with TV shows, movies, sports and games. The app works with the recently launched Internet Explorer browser for Xbox 360, as well as Xbox Video and Xbox Music apps. Games that will work with SmartGlass in the coming months include Dance Central 3, Forza Horizon and Ascend: New Gods. Halo Waypoint, NBA Game Time, HBO GO, ESPN and other Xbox 360 apps will also work with SmartGlass.

In addition, there is also the social aspect of the trying to embedded into it, that is user can interact with friends on Xbox Live service, comparing the acquisition of rank in the game and dressed their avatars.

Xbox SmartGlass app requires Android operating system Ice Cream Sandwich and Xbox Live membership in order to be used. IOS version is also planned to be present, but is not currently available. For additional information, SmartGlass app is not currently compatible with Android tablets. You can get an This app for free from the Google Play App Store.

How To Form Customized Dashboards Using Android Tablet Widgets

Broadly speaking, there are three ways for users of google android tablet to could get a widget. The first one, you could get the widget when you install a particular application, this way you can get at most of the apps available. But sometimes some apps require you to install a secondary widget separately as a complementary. And this is a second way to get widgets from the android tablet. Evernote app is an example of a good case. Although you get an in-built widgets when you install the app, there is also an improved, free Evernote Widget That Gives you even more configuration options. The latter, is that you could get an independent widget without needing an app works. In general, this widget has only one function such as a clock or the battery level indicator.

Oh ya, besides there are some widgets that can be resized, In order the make the resizing tool to show up, just tap and hold the title bar at the top of the widget.

Setting up widgets

Setting up widgets comes with some problems. Biggest problem is screen space- you can have only so many widgets in a single screen. Blame Google’s designs for this-

Relatively large borders on each home screen where you cannot place widgets

Padding within the widget

These lead to a large section of each home screen to go to waste. But since it is Google’s design, there is almost nothing you can do about it.

Another thing to be kept in mind is service hogs. You may happen to notice very slow or even failed widget information refreshes on a 3G connection.

Widgets have a common tendency of draining out your battery for all its juice. The biggest culprits are usually the weather widgets since they activate and utilize the GPS location services to provide you with local conditions. If you notice far too much drain on your battery or bandwidth, look into your widgets- you might find the culprit there.

Finally, far too many widgets can render the OS unstable. Roughly, every widget that you add to a home screen tends to hog system resources and makes apps, widgets, and other Android components like the window manager to crash.

However, take your time to experiment and play around with the widgets available on your Android tablet. Although they come with some issues, they are incredibly convenient and also increase your overall productivity. But do not depend too much on them. Strike a balance between your needs and available resources and it’s a win-win situation!


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