Database Info

Lost Phone Locators -- Privacy?

Currently looking for a suitable Phone Tracker/Locators in case phone gets misplaced.
For those interested in your options, this sums it up well: http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/11/28/mobile-security-app-shootout-final-roundup-out-of-a-sea-of-apps-just-one-emerges-as-a-clear-winner-in-keeping-your-device-safe/
My questions is, how safe in terms of privacy are the trackers that also provide a centralized web interfaces?
Think about it, you are essentially installing an agent that allows the developer (if they so choose) to track where ever it is you are at and control your phone at anytime.
Sure YOU require a password to access your account, but surely the developer could have full access to all accounts using this software.
I used to use Tasker for remote SMS tracking, but the added features of these web integrated trackers are appealing since they also have remote picture taking, remote erase, locking, etc.
How would you weight on privacy vs feature trade off?

klau1 said:
Currently looking for a suitable Phone Tracker/Locators in case phone gets misplaced.
My questions is, how safe in terms of privacy are the trackers that also provide a centralized web interfaces?
Think about it, you are essentially installing an agent that allows the developer (if they so choose) to track where ever it is you are at and control your phone at anytime.
Sure YOU require a password to access your account, but surely the developer could have full access to all accounts using this software.
How would you weight on privacy vs feature trade off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my opinion it's really a matter of trust. First and foremost, do some research on the developer and app you're considering, look at the feedback, reputation, etc. then make a decision on how safe you feel about the service. It's similar to deciding if you feel safe signing up with a company like LIfeLock. In order for them to protect your sensitive data, you must freely give them all of your sensitive data. How safe would you feel about that? Would you trust them enough not to be malicious?
But then again, aren't you putting the same amount of trust and taking the same risks with the developer of ANY app you install on your phone?
As far as the apps themselves, I have used Find My Droid, the one Best Buy offers, and I can't remember the name of the third one and I found that all three are not as useful as I originally thought.
1. The gps feature was nice but did not pinpoint an exact address, just a general area. How useful is that?
2. I did a "stolen phone" test with the apps and it took them all between 5 and 15 minutes to lockdown the phone and one just plain failed.
3. The remote picture taking feature didn't work and if you plan on using an ICS rom, since the front facing camera doesn't work, the picture taking feature doesn't do much good.
4. The apps are useless if a perp pulls the battery which renders the gps completely useless.
So in summary, I personally wouldn't use one of those phone tracker apps. If you misplace your phone, just call it from someone else's and if you accidently left your phone at a bar or someplace public, call your provider for a replacement because you probably won't see that old one ever again.

Security from physical theft/abuse of the WiFi Only Transformer Pad Infinity TF700

(Prospective TF700 buyer here.)
So since the device is WiFi only for most of us, no apps that provide post-theft security via receiving an SMS message are applicable.
I can't think of any way to get the tablet back or find its location post-theft. It would be nice if there was a security app that could act of receiving a specific e-mail instead of SMS.
Aside from post-theft action, before theft I know we can use a password to secure the contents of the tablet. But is the built in screen lock via password the best means to secure it?
I just wanted to foster some discussion and ideas around this topic. Since it's much harder than with a phone. Feel free to chime in with whatever is on your mind related to this subject.

Darnell_Chat_TN said:
(Prospective TF700 buyer here.)
So since the device is WiFi only for most of us, no apps that provide post-theft security via receiving an SMS message are applicable.
I can't think of any way to get the tablet back or find its location post-theft. It would be nice if there was a security app that could act of receiving a specific e-mail instead of SMS.
Aside from post-theft action, before theft I know we can use a password to secure the contents of the tablet. But is the built in screen lock via password the best means to secure it?
I just wanted to foster some discussion and ideas around this topic. Since it's much harder than with a phone. Feel free to chime in with whatever is on your mind related to this subject.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a valuable way for this kind of thinks and imo it's better than any app.But also keep in mind that even so if you lost your device it will not be easy to get it back,but atleast you could destroy your personal data.Oh,and even if it was a 3G model,the first thing a thief will do is shutting down the device and throw out the SIM.

Pretoriano80 said:
This is a valuable way for this kind of thinks and imo it's better than any app.But also keep in mind that even so if you lost your device it will not be easy to get it back,but atleast you could destroy your personal data.Oh,and even if it was a 3G model,the first thing a thief will do is shutting down the device and throw out the SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
Far as what the thief will do depends on their intelligence . The one who took my wife's phone kept the SIM in to use our plan as their own.

There are several antivirus apps available that provide remote wiping (abd/or locking) functionality and such, although I do not know if they can turn on WiFi and report the device's location in the process.

I guess Asus Device Tracker will have to do for me.
I do share some of the concerns of the OP in that other thread, but for me it beats nothing.

Device encryption. Takes awhile to do but the device will be useless without the pin. I have been meaning to turn it on, I just never have my charger handy when I think of doing it. Maybe tonight...

Unfortunately Android device encryption slows down the device (which isn't the fastest anyway in our case) and drains battery faster. It cannot be undone without the full wipe, too. It is nothing like TrueCrypt in these respects.
Edit: It seems it can give you some problems with rooting, ROMs and others, too, which makes it a wildcard, although I'd love to use it. Apart from that, it's far from perfect security, as enabling debugging mode will still allow adb access without PIN verification if the device is powered and after the pre-boot PIN verification (which it probably will be when stolen).
WhisperCore looks interesting, but it says Temporarily Unavailable where the download link should be present.

MartyHulskemper said:
There are several antivirus apps available that provide remote wiping (abd/or locking) functionality and such, although I do not know if they can turn on WiFi and report the device's location in the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most work via SMS.

You might be interested in another aspect of Device Tracker: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30305551&postcount=21

d14b0ll0s said:
You might be interested in another aspect of Device Tracker: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30305551&postcount=21
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So nevermind using Asus Device Tracker given that news .
And device encryption just has too many negative side effects for me personally.
So there's no decent 3rd party app and we can't trust Asus any further than we can throw one of their techs.
It seems the only security for me at this time is encrypting the most sensitive data via an app just for those pieces of data and general physical security.

d14b0ll0s said:
Unfortunately Android device encryption slows down the device (which isn't the fastest anyway in our case) and drains battery faster. It cannot be undone without the full wipe, too. It is nothing like TrueCrypt in these respects.
Edit: It seems it can give you some problems with rooting, ROMs and others, too, which makes it a wildcard, although I'd love to use it. Apart from that, it's far from perfect security, as enabling debugging mode will still allow adb access without PIN verification if the device is powered and after the pre-boot PIN verification (which it probably will be when stolen).
WhisperCore looks interesting, but it says Temporarily Unavailable where the download link should be present.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd be weary of device encryption if you plan on doing anything to the tablet other than keeping it fully stock. I'm not even sure how OTA updates are handled. Granted the situation is a bit different (and totally my fault) but I encrypted my HD on my laptop (TrueCrypt) which was awesome at first. I didn't see a noticeable depreciation in speed and felt a lot more comfortable . I decided to try a dev build of Win8 one day, so I partitioned my drive and installed through the Win8 setup process. Short version is that my encrypted partition fot trashed and I lost all of my data that wasn't backed up yet.
So yea, be careful when you encrypt.

[OT] Actually, according to TrueCrypt, Windows installer should only change your bootloader and rescue boot from a removable memory should do the trick with recovering TrueCrypt MBA. Did it wipe your data or just the boot record?
---------- Post added at 09:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:38 PM ----------
Darnell_Chat_TN said:
So nevermind using Asus Device Tracker given that news .
And device encryption just has too many negative side effects for me personally.
So there's no decent 3rd party app and we can't trust Asus any further than we can throw one of their techs.
It seems the only security for me at this time is encrypting the most sensitive data via an app just for those pieces of data and general physical security.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think partial encryption is fine, but of course can be compromised easier when not everything is encrypted.
As to third-party apps, I believe there's a lot of these, but after this ASUS example I'm not sure I want to use any of them.
In case you still want sth like that, just have a look at Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=anti+theft&c=apps

I'm not sure what it actually did at the end of the day (can't remember). I THINK it would only boot to the Win8 partition and while the other partition was there I couldn't access it from anything (I vaguely recall the partition showing up saying that it was 0% full). I tried to restore the MBR and I ran a few different analysis tools to see if I could recover files.
After a few days I decided that it wasn't worth it. It as almost a year ago and most of my stuff was backed up, I really only lost some music and some pictures. I decided to cut my losses, reformat everything, and reinstall Windows7.

d14b0ll0s said:
...
As to third-party apps, I believe there's a lot of these, but after this ASUS example I'm not sure I want to use any of them.
In case you still want sth like that, just have a look at Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=anti+theft&c=apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some of these actually look pretty good to me . It would be nice if they made them to work with your own personal machine and not their servers, but they obviously need to use a model that makes them money :laugh: .
Unlike Asus, 3rd party app makers don't hold the device warranty in their hands. They survive off me willing to use and trust their services.

When you're rooted then I recommend Cerberus I use on both my phone and the tablet. I had luckily never the chance to use it in a real situation but from my testing I can tell that it works really good.
It has a trial version so you can test it before buying.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

avast! is the answer
Seems as if avast! Mobile Security can do everything the Asus Device Tracker can do. And even more, since it also has a virus scanner, firewall, network meter, SMS/call blocker and more other features than I care to remember. And it's FREE. All that and no worries of losing warranty.
avast! can lock the device tight via a web site, wipe it and more. And it can be configured to not be easily removed. So it's the answer to me.

The future of Flash

I know there is a lot of gripe about the White list of what websites are allowed to use flash. I don't have a lot of knowledge on the topic so I wanted to fish around a bit for some information and pose some questions.
-Is it always going to be like this? Is it likely that they will release someway for users to control their own flash preferences?
-Is it likely that a 3rd party will release something that will allow a setting like this?
- [Edit] If more support for Flash is to be forthcoming, what would one expect the timeline to be? How long would it take? [I know this will mostly be speculation ]
- [EDIT] if firefox or chrome were developed for it, would they have to run off of the whitelist as well?
-As someone who hasn't touched windows 8 full, does the full OS have a similar flash limitation?
Also if this is the wrong place for this I am terribly sorry and will move the thread where ever it goes.

adashofrainbow said:
I know there is a lot of gripe about the White list of what websites are allowed to use flash. I don't have a lot of knowledge on the topic so I wanted to fish around a bit for some information and pose some questions.
-Is it always going to be like this? Is it likely that they will release someway for users to control their own flash preferences?
-Is it likely that a 3rd party will release something that will allow a setting like this?
-As someone who hasn't touched windows 8 full, does the full OS have a similar flash limitation?
Also if this is the wrong place for this I am terribly sorry and will move the thread where ever it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello
I don't think it will always be like this. I think someone may create a tool that automatically adds websites or simplify the process for us. Or we may even have a list that the community creates and we could possibly set our browser to auto download the list via options or script or 3rd party software. That being said, I do not think full windows will have the same flash limitation..at least not in desktop mode, because they can install whatever windows app they choose. It's an awesome device nonetheless.

equisbox said:
Hello
I don't think it will always be like this. I think someone may create a tool that automatically adds websites or simplify the process for us. Or we may even have a list that the community creates and we could possibly set our browser to auto download the list via options or script or 3rd party software. That being said, I do not think full windows will have the same flash limitation..at least not in desktop mode, because they can install whatever windows app they choose. It's an awesome device nonetheless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no doubt that I am enjoying my new toy. However I really enjoy certain facebook games, like Marvel Avenger's and Draw something, but unfortunately the flash support of Facebook doesn't extend to these. I got this to replace my laptop, it's unfortunate that I can't play these on the go any more. I suppose a time line for flash support would be another question I have.

laptop replacement...I think the surface pro is probably a better option for laptop replacement than the RT. Unless of course you only do light amount of things on your laptop, and do not care about not being able to install 'regular' windows applications such as Photoshop. Even then you could remote desktop into your PC and use those applications, Some people have reported very good results using remote desktop on the surface, but I have yet to try it or myself. Don't get me wrong though, the surface RT is a very powerful device and a lot better then android and ipad as far as productivity IMO. We are just little behind on the number of applications, and even then you could argue that most android and apple apps are useless. Nonetheless, the do have us beat by the numbers. We get a real high quality app right out the box - Office.
I was at a crossroads before I purchased my Surface. I love androids and I couldn't decide between RT or android tablet. I played with the Surface and I feel in love, Whereas the android tablet would have been just like having a bigger phone. There's not much I could do in an Android tablet that I couldn't do on my Samsung Galaxy S3.
I also though I wanted the Surface PRO at first, but upon further research, I came to the conclusion that RT was the right choice. I wanted a Tablet that can do light PC related tasks, not a full mini laptop - I have a DELL XPS 15 and multiple desktops for any 'serious' work I may need to do. The pro will probably get HOT and windy and noisy due to the fans as well. I think a lot of people who purchase the pro may end up returning it and getting a RT because I do not think the PRO will functions completely like a tablet. I may be wrong but I guess only time will tell.
I love this thing.

To answer some questions:
Win8 (x86/x64) includes the whitelist in its iecompatdata.xml file, but doesn't "respect" it (i.e. all Flash sites work).
While an official tool to control Flash usage is quite possible, don't hold your breath. A few unofficial tools already exist, but tend to be a bit limited and/or cumbersome to use (I'm working on an improved one myself).
A Windows Store app, even if it could get approved, probably wouldn't work for most people; the relevant file is outside the app sandbox, so the user would have to manually grant permission to access it.
For Facebook games (or other places where an external video is embedded manually), try adding the domain of the Flash file itself (usually found in an OBJECT tag, with an extension like ".flv"). For example, if the Flash file comes from "http://flash.facebook-games.com/IMaedAGaem/flashgame.flv", you should try adding "facebook-games.com" to the whitelist. You can try using my old scripts (working on updates for them) for this, although I can't promise they'll work in that case (haven't ever tried). The link is in my signature.

GoodDayToDie said:
To answer some questions:
Win8 (x86/x64) includes the whitelist in its iecompatdata.xml file, but doesn't "respect" it (i.e. all Flash sites work).
While an official tool to control Flash usage is quite possible, don't hold your breath. A few unofficial tools already exist, but tend to be a bit limited and/or cumbersome to use (I'm working on an improved one myself).
A Windows Store app, even if it could get approved, probably wouldn't work for most people; the relevant file is outside the app sandbox, so the user would have to manually grant permission to access it.
For Facebook games (or other places where an external video is embedded manually), try adding the domain of the Flash file itself (usually found in an OBJECT tag, with an extension like ".flv"). For example, if the Flash file comes from "http://flash.facebook-games.com/IMaedAGaem/flashgame.flv", you should try adding "facebook-games.com" to the whitelist. You can try using my old scripts (working on updates for them) for this, although I can't promise they'll work in that case (haven't ever tried). The link is in my signature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what's the real hope? That more websites get whitelisted?

adashofrainbow said:
So what's the real hope? That more websites get whitelisted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That, or that Microsoft discontinue the whitelist

you do understand that you can easily add to the whitelist yourself right?

mmian said:
you do understand that you can easily add to the whitelist yourself right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but it would be nice to not have to. And I'm not always 100% successful

Ok....i give...need some solid information.

I have googled and searched my fingertips to the bone. Whenever i ask a technical question, i get answers from the clueless and the blind. I am beginning to hate this game.
So here we go. Stock android 4.4.2 ....rooted. How do you control which apps autostart and load in the background? Right now I have been trying to kill the Music app. Nothing works. It always restarts. So that means there is a sticky setting in some file somewhere in the system that needs to be edited that more than likely can not properrly be controlled from the childish controls android offers. In windows this is controlled in the registry and the startup process. Where is this in android? Why does no one share this information?
Yes i know it's dangerous. Yes i know not to putts around in the operating system. But if youre rooted, give us the data to control things.
So i await a learned response that probaly only one of the "developers" can answer. Because it sure as s€£%t ain't out there to be found.
Signed, royally frustrated

I'm reminded of that saying "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Not sure why your posts are so charged but many seasoned developers and posters aren't going to engage in conversation with someone who uses condesending and self righteous tones.
I've never seen detailed posting of how it works, nor do I care to know, but by installing Greenify you can effectively control what you wish to control. Greenify allows you to hibernate applications keeping them asleep until manually called.
Some applications have associated services that are used by other parts of the system or other applications and therefore stay loaded to provide that service. If you also install Xposed Framework it will allow Greenify to inject itself further to keep applications that you choose to hibernate from being called upon by other applications (facebook for example has services that often get called upon by other applications for various reasons and so it can be hard to keep hibernated).
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

muzzy996 said:
I'm reminded of that saying "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Not sure why your posts are so charged but many seasoned developers and posters aren't going to engage in conversation with someone who uses condesending and self righteous tones.
I've never seen detailed posting of how it works, nor do I care to know, but by installing Greenify you can effectively control what you wish to control. Greenify allows you to hibernate applications keeping them asleep until manually called.
Some applications have associated services that are used by other parts of the system or other applications and therefore stay loaded to provide that service. If you also install Xposed Framework it will allow Greenify to inject itself further to keep applications that you choose to hibernate from being called upon by other applications (facebook for example has services that often get called upon by other applications for various reasons and so it can be hard to keep hibernated).
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sorry. I did not intentionally want to come off as charged or spraying vinegar. Quite the opposite. But I have found, after reading tons of post, that we are living in the land of the blind and hardly anyone with sight is actually participating or for that matter even providing a modicum of usefull data. Beginning to think that I don't blame them.
It seems, after deep searching and research that children are actually in charge. What other explanation can you give for an operating system that is struggling with "basic" features found in DOS or windows 3.1 from 20 years ago. Similar to the slow evolution of linux, itself which only now, barely, is win xp like in its features after decades as a skeletal nightmare to load and setup.
You may not have caught the news a few months ago, but Samsung was floating the idea of abandoning android for a flavored and skinned version of linux for future devices, both phones and tablets.p, starting with the China market.
Tell me that Microsoft did not head that off by providing reciprocal licensing to Samsung for windows 10 to abandoning linux. Would not be suprised if we start seeing win10 handsets in the near future here.
Once android looses support from major manufacturers, then it is DEAD.
Read every other post and you will see the lament about the quality of google store apps.
So when I ask a specific, technical question requiring a precise answer.....which requires actual proframming skill.....which has yet to appear...you can see how the lack of response to that colors the situation.
If I offended anyone, I apologize. I get excited sometimes. Repeatedly slamming ones head against the wall, figuratively tends to make you anxious.
At this rate, my raw participation on these boards may be curtailed if I continue with this sense of useless effort.
Sorry to make anyone upset. You can let the kids back in the room. I think there is ice cream.

Have you considered freezing the processes you want to prevent from running with Titanium Backup?

ShadowLea said:
Have you considered freezing the processes you want to prevent from running with Titanium Backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium backup would work. The other option since you are rooted is to just remove the offending music app. I don't mind the samsung music app, but I don't find it absolutely necessary either. You could also uninstall the updates and force stop the app. That should also keep it from starting.
Another option that I haven't looked at completely but might work is the app "tasker" that lets you assign certain apps to start only when you want them too. So you could have the music app start only when you tap on media files. But I haven't tried this myself.
The problem currently with asking technical questions about the note pro is that it's a low selling device from 2014 so it just doesn't get much action on the forums anymore. It's a bummer for such a great device but that's how it is.

mjkurke said:
Titanium backup would work. The other option since you are rooted is to just remove the offending music app. I don't mind the samsung music app, but I don't find it absolutely necessary either. You could also uninstall the updates and force stop the app. That should also keep it from starting.
Another option that I haven't looked at completely but might work is the app "tasker" that lets you assign certain apps to start only when you want them too. So you could have the music app start only when you tap on media files. But I haven't tried this myself.
The problem currently with asking technical questions about the note pro is that it's a low selling device from 2014 so it just doesn't get much action on the forums anymore. It's a bummer for such a great device but that's how it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?

Options like freezing in Titanium or using Greenify have already been addressed. Tasker is good for starting things but not so good at keeping things killed, not the proper tool to use for the job of keeping apps from loading.
My strategy:
1) Freeze anything that's safe to freeze that I know I'll never use in Titanium first. That way they never pre-cache into memory.
2) Greenify applications that I rarely use so that they don't pre-cache, taking care not to greenify applications that need to stay loaded to operate properly (like email clients, weather apps or messaging apps).
In the end on a clean boot my application/precache list is full of my commonly used apps. I worry not about how much free RAM I have, as long as the list of apps in RAM/cache is populated with the stuff that I commonly use.
NOW, all of that said if you're looking for something that works like windows startup manager then installing Xposed Framework and then BootManager is the way to go. I've done this in the past but find that employing freezing and greenify is good enough for my own needs so I've stopped.

globalsearch said:
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am starting to suspect you have greatly misunderstood the meaning of root access. From what it sounds like, you seem to think it miraculously gives you access to settings and functions that non-rooted users can't see. Which is why you can't seem to get the answers you seek.
There is no such thing as a root-menu. Android does not have that functionality build into its GUI.
Root access simply means administrator access to the system's root directories. Hence the word Root.
You will always need additional apps and software to root access to change functionality. Titanium Backup, Xposed, SuperUser/SuperSU, etcetera.
If you want those options in the system, you'll need a customROM.

ShadowLea said:
Root access simply means administrator access to the system's root directories. Hence the word Root.
You will always need additional apps and software to root access to change functionality. Titanium Backup, Xposed, SuperUser/SuperSU, etcetera.
If you want those options in the system, you'll need a customROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right and even with a custom ROM you can't run away from using 3rd party utilities to make the tweaks. Custom is usually a good start though as they are typically debloated. Civato's is good for lightly modified stock with xposed baked in.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk

Now we are getting somewhere. So what you have all told me is that stock android, even when rooted, is still a sandbox with all kinds of limitations to customization. Even with apps to tweak some of it.
This is the nail in the coffin for me and android then. Im not in the least interested in all those custom roms where there is always some shortcoming or lack of support for a feature that does not work properly.
Thanks all. I am done.

globalsearch said:
Now we are getting somewhere. So what you have all told me is that stock android, even when rooted, is still a sandbox with all kinds of limitations to customization. Even with apps to tweak some of it.
This is the nail in the coffin for me and android then. Im not in the least interested in all those custom roms where there is always some shortcoming or lack of support for a feature that does not work properly.
Thanks all. I am done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for what its worth I do have your answer, better late than never right?
anyways android is built on a linux kernal and normally access to the linux command line does not come pre-installed to keep normal people from messing up their system.
so you will need to download a terminal emulator app if you don't already have one if you plan to do this from android. (Alternatively you can do it from the android debug bridge while connected to a computer if preferred)
First you will want to get the package name for the app you want to disable.
you can do this with a root file browser app by going to system / Data / App and then finding the package you want to disable.
however since it sounds like you want to do this manually we will go over the terminal process:
open a terminal window.
type: su
Hit: enter
the terminal will ask you for root access, go ahead and grant it.
to list the android packages type: pm list packages
hit: enter
This will show a list of the installed packages (Apps)
find the ones you want to disable.
now type: pm disable insertpackagename
hit: enter
for example to disable youtube type: pm disable com.google.android.youtube
Hit: Enter
that's it.
you will likely want to restart your launcher or even just restart the tablet afterwards as most launchers don't constantly poll for disabled apps so it will need a refresh.
also you probably already realise this so I apologise if its redundant but make sure you know what you are disabling
as with any linux environment disabling system packages and packages that another application is dependant on can cause trouble.

firefly6240 said:
for what its worth I do have your answer, better late than never right?
anyways android is built on a linux kernal and normally access to the linux command line does not come pre-installed to keep normal people from messing up their system.
so you will need to download a terminal emulator app if you don't already have one if you plan to do this from android. (Alternatively you can do it from the android debug bridge while connected to a computer if preferred)
First you will want to get the package name for the app you want to disable.
you can do this with a root file browser app by going to system / Data / App and then finding the package you want to disable.
however since it sounds like you want to do this manually we will go over the terminal process:
open a terminal window.
type: su
Hit: enter
the terminal will ask you for root access, go ahead and grant it.
to list the android packages type: pm list packages
hit: enter
This will show a list of the installed packages (Apps)
find the ones you want to disable.
now type: pm disable insertpackagename
hit: enter
for example to disable youtube type: pm disable com.google.android.youtube
Hit: Enter
that's it.
you will likely want to restart your launcher or even just restart the tablet afterwards as most launchers don't constantly poll for disabled apps so it will need a refresh.
also you probably already realise this so I apologise if its redundant but make sure you know what you are disabling
as with any linux environment disabling system packages and packages that another application is dependant on can cause trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

globalsearch said:
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just thought I would clarify a bit here, I know how confusing it can be coming from windows, I made the switch myself not so many years ago and had a lot of the same questions.
to explain root, the closest comparison I have imperfect as it may be is that root access is similar to windows admin access.
the noticeable difference in a lot of cases is what comes pre-installed.
for example in windows if you have an admin account it automatically unlocks access to the command prompt which was already pre-installed.
in android root access gives you the option to use a terminal but often one is not pre-installed, in fact even a file manager is often not included.
this is actually not a limitation of android so much as a limitation put in place by the specific device manufacturer as to what comes pre-installed.
for example a lot of cheap android tablets running google AOSP (Android open source Project) code actually do come with terminal apps and in some cases even come pre-loaded with root access.
in comparison a lot of more well known devices do not come with this pre-loaded to prevent people from breaking things. (For a windows comparison, its hard to delete the system32 folder without admin access, a file browser and command prompt right?)
As far as samsung abandonment, its a bit trickier there.
Basically what you would normally be used to is the Microsoft scenario.
1. Microsoft - Microsoft makes the OS but it runs on hardware made by others.
a. hardware issues go to the hardware manufacturer for as long as they support it.
b. OS updates are handled by Microsoft, they have more or less full control of the OS as it is closed source.
2. the Samsung Scenario - The hardware is made by the manufacturer, the bootloaders are locked, the OS is made by Google and then tweaked by the manufacturer.
a. all official updates come through the manufacturer (In this case Samsung) after google releases the open source code, samsung then alters it as they like and then they release an update.
b. Samsung is the sole support for the hardware and software as google no longer supports the software for the most part after its been altered.
c. it takes a lot of time and work for samsung to develop an update and push it out and then deal with all of the issues that come with updating the OS.
d. its often easier to leave a device that comparatively very few people bought on an OS that they knew was usable rather than spend all the time and money updating it and dealing with all of the related issues.
With that in mind this tablet has been out for about 2 years now which is a huge amount of time for this type of hardware.
All that being said Samsung very recently released the update to android 5.1.1 for this tablet
so it is definitely not abandoned yet, in fact its had more attention than even other devices by the same manufacturer but I suspect 5.1.1 will be the last official update we see.
if you have one of the note variants with an unlockable bootloader as well as a bit of time on your hands I would very much recommend trying a custom rom if you are worried about samsung abandonment.
you may have to try several different ones though, as you'll find a mix of roms that may seem almost half baked, more alpha release style but are cutting edge (I like those ones myself) to roms that are even more stable than the original.
My apologies if some of this is redundant information, I just thought I would throw in my two cents in case it helps

Two points . . for what its worth . . 1) the use of package manager's disable command effectively does the same thing that freezing in Titanium does, the main difference being that you're using a GUI to do it (there can be differences in how the apps are flagged though and using the pm command means not having to rely on yet another app); 2) disabling/freezing means you'll be unable to ever launch said application unless you enable the app again manually (using the package manager PM commands or Titanium).
Main reason in my initial response I didn't go straight to freezing/disabling apps is because that approach isn't exactly the same thing as managing startup in the context of the example given about managing what apps start up on boot in Windows (i.e. msconfig command and unchecking startup options). When someone takes an app out of startup in Windows the software isn't permanently disabled (unavailable) it is merely prevented from preloading when the system is started. So . . in reference to the music app referred to in the original post, if the goal is to be able to use the stock music app but just not have it load itself into memory on its own then the solution isnt disabling it or freezing it, its to hibernate it with something like Greenify or prevent it from starting using something like Boot Manager and Xposed Framework.

Firefly6240 got exactly what I was asking for. Freezing and hybernating, et al, is not total control. When i kill an app and i want it gone. I want it gone. Example, the google music, google books and google films. I gave stopped, killed even "uninstalled" in Purify and in Kingroot. On random reboot, the buggers are back. Fireflys solution is ceasars thumbs down. Wonderful. He understood the TOTAL control I was looking for.
Also, i loaded android terminal to run the commands.
By the way, Knox and EML are next on my list.
Thanks again firefly6420

globalsearch said:
Firefly6240 got exactly what I was asking for. Freezing and hybernating, et al, is not total control. When i kill an app and i want it gone. I want it gone. Example, the google music, google books and google films. I gave stopped, killed even "uninstalled" in Purify and in Kingroot. On random reboot, the buggers are back. Fireflys solution is ceasars thumbs down. Wonderful. He understood the TOTAL control I was looking for.
Also, i loaded android terminal to run the commands.
By the way, Knox and EML are next on my list.
Thanks again firefly6420
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK good, then I misunderstood the question. Hibernation has its place, it's just not what you wanted, you wanted complete uninstallation basically.
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

like it or not, OEMs, even Google cannot just give the public ready-made controls to such things because the way a lot of (non-essential but) pre-installed apps are designed they depends on other apps being present and/or running.
AppOps was a classic example cuz once ppl found it and made public how to take advantage, a lot of dependant apps and services were affected and people called in to their OEMs complaining of broken phones when it was simply tinkered permissions.
there is no mobile OS more robust than android. all have their forms of depth, appeal, features and restrictions but none embrace admin access & leaving open the ability to do it more than android (just need the carrier and sometimes OEM to leave the bootloader the hell alone lol)
if you want a smartphone with admin privileges out-of-the-box and full control of all system services etc, I would recommend an Ubuntu phone. they're about a year into commercial availability which is still kinda fringe but stable and will lack certain major perks of owning either iOS (yuck!) or Android. there is a couple Ubuntu/android dual boot phones out there too, and that comes with the issue of storage space after holding 2 OS's
in another year or 2 Ubuntu phones should be more plentiful and bring over some popular apps and active development but I don't anticipate seeing it take off quite like other mobile OS's cuz when it comes to feeding the masses, more options and less restrictions can have the same effect as asking an 80 year old to put in an address on your navigation in the car while you're on the highway. it's a learning curve simple to some that seems too simple not to understand but can be bad for business.
I think android and iOS beat this problem initially because when they started, there weren't any other well-established alternatives. BlackBerry and some fringe PDAs were about it...

Note pro 12.2
I was/am dealing with the Note Pro 12.2 specifically. Not other handsets. This device is coming up on two years and support has been waning. When I bought it all was well. Less than a few months later the damned KitKat update came and suddenly I found myself without proper access to the external sd card, that had worked perfectly when i purchased the unit. I was furious. Especially when we where being told that it was for our own good and google was pushing internal memory over external. Damn them. I bought samsung BECAUSE it had the sd slot. And when Samsung did not provide the fix to the platform.xml file I was livid. 5.01 came out and Samsung destoyed support for most external blue tooth keyboards. And so it goes, one stupid blunder after another. Their updates destroyed my workflow.
So yes, damned right I want full control of my device, because they have shown they have NO regard for our needs and DO NOT ADDRESS our concerns. Just buy our stuff and shut up. Well in this case, i was sold a product that they later incapacitated.
I can not abide with that. I tried so hard not to root, for a year and a half. I shut off automatic updates on EVERYTHING because even updates from google play would sometimes destroy a goid priducy. I started saving apks from versions of apps that worked. I stayed stock 4.4.2 because everything worked but the sd write. How many threads do we have here where people upgraded to marshmellow and then begged to get back to kitkat? Last week after reading thread after thread of problems and convoluted fixes and a gazillion rom versions each of which has its own imperfections and then reading that the new samsung tablet was released windows 10. I knew it was over.
At that moment the decision was inevitable. I rooted and IMMEDIATELY fixed the sd write issue. And i unrooted. Two days of random reboots and i roited again, this time to take the bull by the hirns and control this thing. I became increasingly frustrated with the lack of displayed technical knowledge here at xda and the tons pf advice from also clueless posters. I tried everything. Even got scolded by an admin who has been here less time than me. (Follow the rules, follow the rules...don't you dare to ask the important questions)
Not till the reply from firefly6240. Now he knows something. And he shared a little with me. Which i greatly appreciated. I have a direction now. And the tweaks I have done have increased my battery tije, the screen reojse time and overall improvement of the environment. All on 4.4.2.
I still have some minor issues, but google and android code monkeys WILL NO LONGER CONTROL MY DEVICE, MY PROPERTY.
It is time people take control of the ELECTRONIC items which we purchase with OUR hard earned money and stop letting manufacturers turn those devices into nothing more than sales portals to make more money and deny us control or the ability to JUST SAY NO.

Options for a secure reserve phone?

Hello. Since I use my phone for many important activities such as banking, 2FA, etc. I don't want to wind up without any alternative should I lose it or take it in for repair. One option appears to be LineageOS however, by design, it does not tamper with Google's SafetyNet API and the options for working around this seem unstable. It's likely many of the apps I use would make use of SafetyNet so that is a significant issue. Option 2 is keep an old phone around however I'm uncomfortable with using an old and unsupported version of Android to keep important information on. Are there any options beyond continuously buying new (or second hand) supported phones?
Thanks.

I don't understand the arguments. People own multiple houses, cars, bicycles, shoes, clothes, and you would want one phone for everything?

I don't really see how my mobile phone relates to houses, cars, shoes and clothes, etc. I use my phone for many tasks, particularly calls, texts, etc. I also use it for the occasional bit of web browsing when I'm not at a PC and checking email, etc. Most importantly it is my primary tool for 2FA and like most people I know I have only one smartphone. I have to send it in for repair so I was wondering what the best option would be for a reserve phone to use when my main phone is unavailable. I'd prefer one that is currently supported because I am uncomfortable using an old and unsupported OS. LineageOS appeared to be an option however many of the apps I use likely make use of Google's SafetyNet and LineageOS by design does interfere with this. What I would like to know is what kind of options are available.