Database Info

Apps that can make your Android System really safe + alot more privacy!

Hey all the Android-Users out there
Do you want your private data to be secure on your Android Smarthphone? CHECK THIS OUT!
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Many of us wouldn't run naked trough the city, would you ?
So if your privacy concerns you and you don't like to expose some of your dirty little secrets, just stay tuned.
Not only Google, Microsoft and Apple etc. like to get all your data, but everyone else likes your data too, especially some sneaky programmers..
Here are some Apps that can help you to optimize your system and to get some privacy and control.
Apps:
Root:
Superuser(ROOT) (no need to say how, use forumsearch)
App-Permission-Manager:
LBE Security Masterhttp://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=20914000
PermissionDog (free) (Market)
Firewall:
Droidwall (free) (Market) (+)
Adblocker:
Adfree (free) (Market)
System Apps Manager:
Titanium Backup Pro (Market) (+)
Root Explorer:
Rootexplorer (Market) or
Supermanager (free) (Market)
SQLite Editor:
SQLite Editor (Market)
Autorun Manager:
Autostarts (Market)
Taskmanager:
Autokiller (Market)
Multi App Management:
Android Assistent (free) (Market)
Ok, there are many apps out there, i just listed the best!
So just get the Apps above and now you need to use them properly.
The main app that will enhance your privacy the most is LBE Security Guard.
You'll wonder how many apps want your ID/IMEI or GPS or something, that the apps actually don't really need!
The others are also great apps with many function!
Now just learn how to use them.
For every app there are some tutorials and howtos out there, just enter the apps name and what you wanna do and you'll find it.
Just use the search function on the forum:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php
or search on google or if you like use http://scroogle.org
So thats all for now, hope you will be a little saver with your private data.
ps: don't be shy to push the thanks button from time to time!
peace and have a great day!

If you want to get to this thread, just go to:
www.tinyurl.com/androidprivacy

Please post suggestions, what could be done to improve the Security of your android phone!

Mieow
Oh check out the Android Security Warning if you did'nt allready have.
And here is a new chance to see this thread! (threat!)

Changelog:
0.4
-added attachments
0.3
-added market links
0.2
-added some more apps
0.1
-initial thread

Some great information and apps.. thanks a lot or sharing. Found a number of apps that were a little too nosey for my liking.
Installed LBE Security and AdFree.
Thankyou!

What on earth could Angry Birds want my IMEI/IMSI for??

Just some statistics from my own experience:
85~% of the apps you will ask you for permission to use your IMEI/IMSI!
40~% wants your position / GPS
30% ask to read your call logs / contacts etc.
...... but see it yourself!
Btw: If you find a good app, that I could add to this list, don't hesitate to post here.

I agree wholeheartedly. Privacy, and hence liberty, is being eroded at every turn. People just don't seem to realize how much information they're giving away, and don't care. What's the big deal about wearing a little yellow star someone once said. That is the evil insidious problem of Facebook. A generation ago people kept diaries under lock and key. Now people publish their every banal moment to Facebook. And, to be fair, most of these people are safe doing this. Most people are not criminals or terrorists and have nothing, or what they consider very little, to hide. But this is the thin edge of the wedge. I read 1984 in 1970. I also read Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World. Although the authoritarianism of our present system is less overt and more insidious than that shown in these books, you really can see distinct similarities between these fictional times, and the way we live now. It is easy to find copies of these books, everyone should download them and read or re-read them. Yes, it might interfere with watching professional sport or dancing with quasi celebrities...but that which does not kill you makes you stronger. If you live in a free country it is your duty as a citizen to be informed, or else we wind up like we are now....rioting in the streets while our leaders ignore us, while they kowtow to the global financial elites.
And the above post is the saddest thing of all. If we want to use any app we have to give them blanket permissions. I'm sorry, I don't want them knowing who/where I am. Who my contacts are, what I'm doing. I miss the ownership of my data that the old Palm OS gave me. And I rue the day I was forced into the cloud. I don't want to see their ads. I don't want to help them in any way. That may seem unreasonable considering most of the programs are free, and you can call me selfish, but to me free is free period. If you want to charge for your app, and it is good, I'll pay for it, but if you're going to call an app free it should be just that, free. The "business is business argument" doesn't cut it with me, there is only one "thing" and that's the right" thing". Integrity is the only thing that sets regular people apart from the wealthy.
Thanks to the OP

Thank you very much.

I'd recommend Privacy Inspector to check what your apps can do. Full version Privacy Blocker can actually change applications so they would not be able to gather personal information about you.

thx for this help post, very much needed

You should really remove the Taskmanager (here for why) since they do more harm then good.. Now an app like Watchdog alerts you when apps are misbehaving and lets you kill them but other than that you should just leave them alone.. at least on 2.2+

ffcloud2000 said:
You should really remove the Taskmanager (here for why) since they do more harm then good.. Now an app like Watchdog alerts you when apps are misbehaving and lets you kill them but other than that you should just leave them alone.. at least on 2.2+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a good one, didn't know that about taskmanagers.
But still, to kill some unwanted apps you need a taskmanager.
I will recommend watchdog now of course too.
btw. there is an update for lbe privacy guard.
I will add that soon in the 1st post.
stay tuned!

Hy, thanks for the post. The lbe guard seems nice, I was using "Permission denied" until now, but the interface was not that good xD
What's your opinion to virus scanner like lookout mobile security?
^^
Sent from my Soulcarrier using Tapatalk

CM7 builds have added permission management- in manage applications > app name, touching on a permission will revoke it. This feature has to be enabled in Cyanogenmod settings...
Swyped from my HTC HD2 running CM7 (Gingerbread 2.3.5)

Tagged for future upload of image - kittens playing w/yarn.

thanks!!
i just want to say thanks for posting this information !!!! i clicked the thanks button for you also haha anyway i downloaded the lbe guard...its amazing it shows me everything!!!! and see some sketchy apps so i deleted them!!!! anyway thanks from thew newbie !!!

hey...
did the app u attach is the latest version???

Some good ones for you guys.
PDroid – The Better Privacy Protection is a program you can use to block acces to personal data. Read the link. Super! It doesnt do anything without paching the ROM youre using. But patching is fairly easy using pacher found at aplication thread. No ICS support yet . I suggest asking your ROM devs to implement PDroid patch. If we demand...
Edit: You find all instructions in the PDroid thread.
And then the other: Bloatfreezer. App that can freeze any other app in system. Freezing doesnt make system misbehave and it works on system apps too. You can freeze anything. Alot better than task killers. Author is Trey Holland who find the Carrier IQ in android systems. He has been sued by google from reveiling Carrier IQ which is app that sends all your data to somewhere. Even your key presses.
Carrier IQ is a spying app in millions of phones. Nokia, blackberry, android etc.
You can scan your system using logging test app by xda user Trey Holland; TrevE
Edit: Some thanks would be nice because these are gems here.

[APP][2.2+] App Quarantine (ROOT) --- new beta version!!!

APP QUARANTINE is a tool to freeze unwanted apps. It does not only allow you to disable any
pre-installed bloatware, but is also able to have your apps only available when you need them.
Therefore you can also use home screen widgets to quickly toggle without even launching the app.
App Quarantine works on all Android devices with Android 2.2 and later (up to version 1.28).
The new version (1.29 and later) will only work on Android 4.0 and later.
The app is 100% free, no ads, no malicious advertising scams
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Get it on Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ramdroid.appquarantine
Join as beta tester:
If you want to get the newest beta version, join my community on Google Play:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/100180624966322712646
When you are a member you can register as beta tester using this URL:
https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.ramdroid.appquarantine

Features of App Quarantine PRO:
- toggle multiple apps at once, from the app or from home screen widgets
- toggle apps from notifications (Android 4.1+ only)
- Quarantine drawer
- Password protection
App Quarantine PRO works on all Android devices with Android 2.2 and later (up to version 2.8).
The new version (2.9 and later) will only work on Android 4.0 and later.
Newest feature in beta version:
The brand new Quarantine drawer is like the app drawer of your launcher but allows to launch disabled apps instantly. The Quarantine drawer only shows quarantined apps, but you can hide apps which you never need at all. Furthermore there's a "Favorites" screen which shows the apps you need more frequently, no matter if they are currently in Quarantine or not.
The Quarantine drawer can be launched in different ways:
- By an icon from your home screen
- By using activities from a 3rd party launcher (e.g. Nova or Apex)
- By using the Google Now gesture (*)
(*) Works fine on Nexus phones. If you have a Samsung, HTC etc. with hard keys it might work different, or not at all.
Join as beta tester:
If you want to get the newest beta version, join my community on Google Play (only works when you have purchased the PRO version)
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/100180624966322712646
When you are a member you can register as beta tester using this URL:
https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.ramdroid.appquarantinepro

nice app
just downloaded and froze wifi calling. so far so good!! very nice app, def one i will download on every rom since im a rom addict. thanks!! ill let u know if any bugs or anything pops up.
im running a tmobile lg g2x with EB gingerbread jun 22 with faux kernel 0.2.4

New version is available: now it's possible to quarantine regular apps as well, in case that system apps got updated.

Update: apps are re-quarantined after being updated. Possible with either automatic or interactive mode.

How does it work?
I downloaded the app but it's not clear what I'm doing.
I can place a check mark next to the application but what next?

mr_skot said:
How does it work?
I downloaded the app but it's not clear what I'm doing.
I can place a check mark next to the application but what next?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Press MENU button and then "Lock".
Accordingly in the Quarantine list press MENU button and "Restore" to make apps available again.

For anyone interested: App Quarantine - Report #1

Added a widget so you can quarantine/restore apps directly from your homescreen

For few more lines to read please check out App Quarantine - Report #2 http://ramdroid.wordpress.com/

Looks extremely nice! I'll try it, thanks.

Does it need Root or will it work with un-rooted devices?
Roland

Rolandh said:
Does it need Root or will it work with un-rooted devices?
Roland
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It needs root
This looks awesome! Thanks

not compatible with my hd2 :/
can you share the apk file? that we can also try and enjoy your app?

great app!
i have a few suggestion:
- smaller widgets
- system apps rows with red color

Great thanks. I got the LG O2X, and it's running a bunch of crap as standard. Will give it a try.

Great app but still blur on it's actual functionality... how or which app do I know that are running on the background?

JeremyGuan said:
Great app but still blur on it's actual functionality... how or which app do I know that are running on the background?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i don't think this is the idea of the app

Hi
i am trying your app and looks really good, but the icon on the drawer only appears/dissappears with a reboot.
I'm using go launcher ex.

good app.
thanks.

Android Malware..

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http://pocketnow.com/android/android-malware-now-capable-of-recording-your-phone-calls
"The information comes from CA Security Advisor Research Blog who claims that software on Android is now capable of recording your conversations. After asking for permission, making it look like a legit, harmless app..."
How bad is this problem going to get before Google takes sterner measures to filter these nasties from the Market?

DirkGently1 said:
http://pocketnow.com/android/android-malware-now-capable-of-recording-your-phone-calls
"The information comes from CA Security Advisor Research Blog who claims that software on Android is now capable of recording your conversations. After asking for permission, making it look like a legit, harmless app..."
How bad is this problem going to get before Google takes sterner measures to filter these nasties from the Market?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um then dont give it permission. Dont download apps that request all sorts of stupid permissions. Dont download apps that exist on microtransactions.

Permissions
I always check what permissions an app wants when I am downloading it, dont see why a game needs full access to my calls and messages. Having said that I have had a few games try and get root permissions, very dodgey.

LBE Privacy FTW.
I never understood why a live wallpaper would need access to my call log and be able to send SMS, so I never downloaded them. Now, I just block permissions on an individual basis when the app is installed.
Again.... LBE Privacy FTW.

This information is trustworthy and very helpful.
Thanks for sharing it here. It is very important that everybody knows what really is going on.
At least everyone will know how to adjust.

johncmolyneux said:
LBE Privacy FTW.
I never understood why a live wallpaper would need access to my call log and be able to send SMS, so I never downloaded them. Now, I just block permissions on an individual basis when the app is installed.
Again.... LBE Privacy FTW.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome app! Read about it on either androidpolice.com or goodandevo.net. I can now download apps I would not normally and just block the permissions I don't like. (Ebuddy messenger asking for gps location)

Thanks for useful info

Why doesn't Google just monitor the market at the first place?

Good post!
Regarding permissions - note that sometimes a free applications requires "strange" permissions that seems irrelevant to the actual app, for it's monetization solutions (in app ads, registration etc.) Usually the dev explains it in the description, so always good to read

agreed. The permissions apps are asking for lately are getting out of hand. I'm always really careful when updating or installing a new app.

thank for info

OMG this is harmful. Does any Android-form Anti virus scan this ?

I don't think anything ever came of that particular issue, or at least wasn't common in the wild. But it's almost on a weekly basis now that you do hear about malware in the wild. It's not that widespread yet, but it has the potential to be.
As always the best defence is common sense. Don't install apps from untrusted sources, read the comments and ratings, and always check the permissions before installing. If you install warez that borks yours device, you have it coming!

johncmolyneux said:
LBE Privacy FTW.
I never understood why a live wallpaper would need access to my call log and be able to send SMS, so I never downloaded them. Now, I just block permissions on an individual basis when the app is installed.
Again.... LBE Privacy FTW.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But some of them change when messages/calls have been received and as such need to access them in order to work.

I shall certainly be more careful in the future.
Thanks for the heads-up.

DirkGently1 said:
As always the best defence is common sense. Don't install apps from untrusted sources, read the comments and ratings, and always check the permissions before installing. If you install warez that borks yours device, you have it coming!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen!! Thanks for the info!

yes but
good advice but...generally you just download and bang.
better install anti-virus like LOOKOUT.

Unwanted SPAM messages in drop down

I must have installed something that included an 'advertise to you' clause. How do I find out what it is so I can get rid of it. Pisses me OFF!
I get a message every day along with a star in the top bar till I clear it, telling me I have won an iPad. AAARRRGGGGG!
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Wow, that would be annoying, did you try adfree?

You've installed something that's doing that. I had something similar myself but was lucky enough to identify the culprit (it was an MP3 downloader).
You can either post your complete app list here and hope someone recognises the app that's causing it, or you can factory reset and rebuild your phone app-by-app.
Another idea would be to round up any suspect apps (one's not installed from the market or ones that do "naughty things") and freeze them with Titanium Backup. If the problem goes away then you know you've narrowed it down.

Got rid of it.
Read another similar post that suggested it was Air Push. Downloaded Air Push Detector and it identified Mechanical gear live wall paper. Uninstalled it so its gone now. Shame cos I liked the wall paper.
I thought though that it would allow me to keep it but disable the spam.
Speaking of, I'm really concerned about some of the permissions that may invade my privacy. For example, I wonder if an app that requires access to my contact list is just accessing it to provide the service it is designed for or if it is sending that info back to the designer or marketing companies for the purposes of information gathering or further advertising.
Is there any way I can block these permissions on a grand scale without individually setting them with 'Permissions' app, which of course only works on a rooted unit. My TAB is rooted but my SGS2 is not and won't be till its out of warranty.

As an example:
An app called Wi-Fi Finder has a permission to 'directly call phone numbers'. I mean WTF. Firstly why does it need this permission and secondly WTF?
What possible reason could this app have to do this and who would it call and whats the privacy repurcussions for me?

techno-update said:
Wow, that would be annoying, did you try adfree?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems that requies the phone to be rooted

Addons Detector should find the culprit.

You're not going to be able to handle permissions at all if you're not rooted. The only apps I've seen for handling permissions do it on an app-by-app basis. I've not heard of anything that do it at a system-wide level. Obviously doing it at the system level would cause problems for the times when apps do legitimately need permissions you've blocked, but you're the user - that's your choice.
Maybe it's time to learn to dev

There are a few apps in the market that you can get to block these. I've still noticed the odd spam msg will get through though.

I downloaded a zombie game (cant remember which one) and i started getting the same spam messages frequently.. Just look back to any games you previously downloaded right before this started happening and delete it
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Ad detector bu lookout will tell you what app is causing that
Sent from my AT100 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-4

glacierguy said:
Ad detector bu lookout will tell you what app is causing that
Sent from my AT100 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked fine on Nexus s 4.0.3!
Ad Detector (TrustGo)
great detection and has direct uninstall from it's UI.
It detected that Phone locator was the cause of those ads + SWTOR Status

Takerz said:
Worked fine on Nexus s 4.0.3!
Ad Detector (TrustGo)
great detection and has direct uninstall from it's UI.
It detected that Phone locator was the cause of those ads + SWTOR Status
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I used Air Push detector to detectit was a Gear Live wall paper I had insalled over the weekend. I just didn't put 2 and 2 together. Couldn't just disable the spam. Had to remove the app :/ Pity. I liked it.

Go Keyboard
I found out who is using the Green Smiley Face ad notification on the progress bar. Its from Go Dev Team. They have an app for keyboards. Go Keyboards. If you have it, then that's the ass app.
Sucks cause I like their work but hates ads enough to delete it. I sent them a long message about killing it for me and will warn who is pushing ads.
Blahhh blahhh blahhhh

[APP][4.1+] Otaku Hub - an app for anime and manga lovers

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Otaku Hub provides all anime and manga lovers an easy way to access all their favorite manga, anime and forums through it's embedded bookmarks and well optimized immersive views.
Highlights:
>get the latest anime news.
>Read manga.
>Watch anime (fullscreen HD playback support).
>Explore forums.
>Bookmark your favorites
>Save images to storage
the websites linked in the app were carefully chosen on the basis of their popularity, content and mobile view optimizations.
(stick around coz it's gonna get much better)
Download:
https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/technarcs.otakuhub
Change log
version 2.5
Added option to view, share and edit URL.
Added forward option for page navigation.
Reduced ads.
version 2.4
Added option to save images to storage(long press on it).
Various ui improvements.
version 2.2
Removed ad popups on app minimize(damn that was irritating).
version 2.0
Added bookmarks support(tap the heart icon to bookmark page)
Minor ui changes
Version 1.5
Added zoom support
Minor bug fixes
Disclaimer: All the websites and their content shown in the app belong to their rightful owners and my app simply accesses them like any other normal browser would. I am not responsible for any content hosted on those websites.

It uses Leadbolt ads, that pop up when the app isn't open. Dislike.

paed808 said:
It uses Leadbolt ads, that pop up when the app isn't open. Dislike.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah the ads were getting quite irritating. I made some changes, now there's one ad at the start while using the navigation drawer and and one when the user closes the app or a video playback. The ads don't pop up while the app isn't open, there's just one ad that's triggered exactly when the user closes it so that there's no intrusion in user experience. Would love suggestions on improvement though.
XD To think i was planning on adding ad banners too(not anymore!).

arjunmehta said:
yeah the ads were getting quite irritating. I made some changes, now there's one ad at the start while using the navigation drawer and and one when the user closes the app or a video playback. The ads don't pop up while the app isn't open, there's just one ad that's triggered exactly when the user closes the app so that there's no intrusion in user experience. would love suggestions on improvement though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... I'll try it again. I thought it was malware but I guess I was wrong. It was detected as "Trojan" by one antivirus on VirusTotal but maybe that's a false positive.... Developers gotta develop.

paed808 said:
Hmm... I'll try it again. I thought it was malware but I guess I was wrong. It was detected as "Trojan" by one antivirus on VirusTotal but maybe that's a false positive.... Developers gotta develop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whaaaat! definitely a false positive XD. That's interesting though, maybe because it uses google/firebase analytics (just to keep a track of how many active users there are, not a fan of breaching privacy like traditional gapps), or maybe leadbolt just doesn't have a good reputation.

Can you add bookmark support for manga pages and anime episodes?

paed808 said:
Can you add bookmark support for manga pages and anime episodes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's what I'm working on for the next update, should be out in a few days, keep an eye out for updates(there's a button linking to the updates page, the page should have an expected release date).

paed808 said:
Can you add bookmark support for manga pages and anime episodes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Added support for bookmarks in the new update(v2.0)

Awesome app, thank you.
Sent from my HTC One (M8) using XDA Labs

Very nice app I would like to inform that links to go go anime is broken

Hello everyone!
This is one of my favorite apps. I really love it, but since few time it doesn't work for me anymore, can't load any site for anime's. Just blank page. Any ideas ?

This is my favourite anime app...but Please make an update of this app... It is old now and most of the website are not working...