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Hello all, i have the need to restrict usage of some Android phones .
What i would like is the possibility to create limited accounts, like in windows for example, where you have admin, guests, normal users , power users.
Are you aware of any specifica app for that? Is it even possible in you opinion or should i give up searching?
thanks for any idea provided
No ideas?
What do you need to restrict users to?
Could you not use something like switch me
switchme is a good tool, but requires root privileges that i cannot grant on all devices since its voiding the warranty, and would require a lot of work since im going to do it on at least 50 phones
what i need to do is restricting the users from installing games, for example, or other non.company related tools
Maybe you know already, but with Google Apps you can check what apps are installed on each phone. No way to uninstall apps but you can kick the phone out.
This is good to know but i need to implement something stronger, but i suppose Android is not that much Business oriented to allow me that, isn't it?
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.
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Hello, my name is Keith and I'm interested in sharing tips with the community to protect you from losing your device to thieves or other attackers. I'm sure many on xda-developers have heard of stolen device recovery apps like Android Lost and Cerberus, this guide will involve these, but also walk you through avoiding mistakes that can result in you never getting your phone back from an attacker. While the two apps I mentioned are very powerful, it's not as easy as installing an app to insure you get your phone back the way you left it. I'll also include other methods of recovery for a plan B approach.
So lets begin!
REQUIREMENTS
A phone or tablet duh! (data plans are a plus, but not necessary to use this guide)
Root access helps quite a bit!
Knowledge involving recoveries like CWM or TWRP.
A secure launcher. By secure I mean one that can't uninstall apps outside of the settings menu (ADW Ex just fixed this!)
NO PIN ON LOCKSCREEN (explained)
Step 1:
Download Android Lost (no sms add-on for wifi-only tablets) OR Cerberus!
These two apps are for theft recovery. They allow you to do things like:
-Locate & Track GPS
-Lock Device (and unlock device if you're deadset on having a lock, not ideal for recovery)
-Sound Alarms
-Wipe Internal/External Storage
-Recover Call Logs
-Recover SMS Logs
-Popup messages on device(great for trolling thieves)
-Call Forwarding
-Device information (battery left, network status, etc)
-Capture Photos (get a mugshot for the police)
-Record Sound (Cerberus only)
Which should you choose and how are they different? Well a lot of people like Android Lost, it's free (as in beer) and can even be installed and utilized from your google account after your device is stolen. It's a little more wifi-only tablet friendly. Android Lost has a unique feature that lets it hide SMS commands sent to the phone from Android Lost so you don't alert the attacker.
That said I personally use Cerberus. It's a lot less suspicious looking, a little less known, and is easily flashed to your ROM's /system/app folder (even with the option of disguising itself as framework). Cerberus however, is not free, it has a small fee of $3-5 which protects up to 5 devices. I like that Cerberus is a little more featured with sound recording, and it can run as a device administrator (I don't think Android Lost does this).
Step 2:
After you've chosen a security application, the time comes to protect that application. You may have seen me mention above that it's recommended you don't put a lock screen on your device. Let me take a second to explain why. Google. The first page of results on google for "how to bypass lockscreen" has the potential to foil everything. It can lead to your attacker learning how to easily preform a hard reset, and for the sake of recovering your phone this is not optimal. My brother has stolen a few iphones, and not once has a lock ever stopped him (he's a mechanic not a computer guy).
I like to take an open door approach to security. Leave your door unlocked, but nail everything valuable inside to the floor. Now leaving your device open to everyone requires you to stop and think about what YOU need to protect. To start you must download an app locker. There are tons of these out there, some OEMs even ship devices with them these days. The one I am using in this guide is UAG, or Ultimate App Guard - check out UAG Helper as well to potentially protect UAG from deletion.
There are many apps and services you can lock in a variety of ways ranging from pins to patterns to passwords. Here are the basic things you should lock.
- Settings
- Root File Explorers (or even your stock explorer if you've got photos you're not keen of others seeing)
- Gmail (especially if it's the account you're registered for android lost/cerberus with)
- App Markets (so they can't install more apps like root file explorers or rack up charges to your account)
- Package Installer (so the attacker can't install third party apps like root browsers, uncheck 3rd party installs in settings when you don't need it anyway)
- ADB Toggle (uncheck adb in settings, download adb toggle to quickly toggle on and off as needed, even locked it's still quicker)
- Titanium Backup
- Rom Toolbox
- SD Maid and similar apps that can delete files
Now this isn't all you should lock, just the essentials. Try not to lock too much else or else the attacker will have motive to use google to figure out how to hard reset. Let them play angry birds, let them check facebook (don't remember passwords for important stuff), let them play with your toys basically.
If you are on a wifi only tablet, then locking settings will present an issue - they can't connect to networks for Android Lost or Cerberus. There are two things you can do about it.
- Download Wifi Manager and place it in a location the attacker will see it (I put it under the system app drawer in ADW)
- Preload as many wifi hotspots as you can think of (starbucks, mcdonalds, libraries, etc).
It is highly unlikely the attacker will not want to connect to the internet on your device, even it's only over wifi. So even if you have a data plan consider doing the above in case they decide it's not safe to use your phone service.
Step 3:
Other Security Threats to consider
Launchers
Many launchers seek to be powerful and give you quick control over every little detail. Unfortunately that means some of them allow uninstalls. Recently I reported an uninstall vulnerability in ADW Ex to it's developer, and he's patched it with a lock pin which specifically addresses this issue. So for example, in ADW Ex to uninstall anything or access important launcher settings the attacker would need to know your launcher's lock pin. I am unsure of the situation on other launchers, but always check and report it to the developer if it's vulnerable! Do not overlook this and underestimate the attackers ability to notice this stuff, it could cost you your phone.
Recovery
If you have your Anti-theft application flashed to your ROM this isn't SUPER important. But you're still vulnerable to those who flash over your ROM. Don't forget your backups either! Having an insecure backup sitting on your sd card can cost you your device. If this vulnerability bothers you, try resetting your recovery to stock, and use Mobile ODIN or NVFLASH. Very few attackers (if any?) will be connecting in APX mode over usb to flash a blob over NvFlash lol.
WARNING FOR CM10/AOKP USERS: Remove the reboot menus!! Reboot into recovery in the reboot options when the power is pushed couldn't make it more obvious to an attacker!
Terminals
It only takes a few commands in android for an attacker to delete a few important links in your security chain. You may want to consider locking your terminal if you're still paranoid.
Plan B approaches
Your Carrier
If you own a smartphone under Sprint, Verizon, or AT&T - don't ever let their sales reps tell you your carrier can't find your phone. They have no problem when it comes selling this information to law enforcement. Granted an attacker may remove the sim card, go into airplane mode, or a sales rep may not have that kind of access, it's still a possibility for them to access your phone's GPS or use tower triangulation. Unfortunately in this case, some carriers like T-Mobile don't collect this kind of data, great for privacy - not as much for security.
EXIF Data
I've talked to the developers of cerberus briefly about implementing features to enable geotagging on photos remotely, but something like this hasn't been implemented yet. However a reasonable amount of device identifying information is still stored in EXIF data of photos taken from your device. Websites like stolencamerafinder allow you to upload photos you've taken on your device and search the internet for photos with exif data containing your devices serial number. It also allows you to enter your serial number and search for that alone. This can potentially find an attacker's facebook profile with that beautiful mirror photo taken with your phone. Once you have a name, websites like spokeo or reverse whitepages lookups can help you find addresses to report to authorities.
Be sure to check your serial number beforehand so you can figure out if this method is reliable for your device.
SSH
Here's a classic recovery video I'll end this with, done largely over ssh.
Thanks for information
Sent from my WT19i using xda app-developers app
holy cow great info!!! i am one of those who just installed 'android lost' and was good to go. lots of things to consider in addition to that..the 'hard reset' being the most troublesome.
i like the trojan horse approach..just let them in but lock down anything important.
pa33vel said:
Thanks for information
Sent from my WT19i using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nyvram1 said:
holy cow great info!!! i am one of those who just installed 'android lost' and was good to go. lots of things to consider in addition to that..the 'hard reset' being the most troublesome.
i like the trojan horse approach..just let them in but lock down anything important.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you both for posting. glad this could be of use to others.
I actually wrote this just as my buddy got his brand new galaxy note 2 stolen from starbucks. Tried to walk him through recovery but his phone wasn't prepared beforehand. He had some battery apps installed that completely screwed his chances of recovery.
Nice guide but pretty much every thief will take the battery out, throw out the sim and either sell it to the local phone guy or hard reset it themselves.
This guide will only work on people who happen to find a lost phone or those really stupid thieves who have no idea what their doing.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
NIMBAH said:
Nice guide but pretty much every thief will take the battery out, throw out the sim and either sell it to the local phone guy or hard reset it themselves.
This guide will only work on people who happen to find a lost phone or those really stupid thieves who have no idea what their doing.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how will they hard reset a stolen phone without a recovery or adb? furthermore - cerberus is flashed to /system, so a reset alone won't work.
the moment the person they're selling it to tests out the wifi it's over.
How good is the avast anti theft thing.?
pa33vel said:
Thanks for information
Sent from my WT19i using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lifehacker7 said:
How good is the avast anti theft thing.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just checked it out it looks like it would get the job done. It's missing some features cerberus / android lost have, has one or two unique features I saw - the one I noticed is it sends you an email when you battery is low and as much geographic data as it can acquire. This may be annoying though because your battery gets low quite often.
Seems a litte bloated in some areas, I'm generally against virus scanners on android because as long as you're getting your apps from reputable sources and they're not requesting odd permissions you're really just vulnerable to zero day exploits that this software won't be programmed to detect. If you're a person that pirates apps, loads JavaScript in random emails sent to you, or downloads very obscure apps - this may be more useful.
Shame that we have to sacrifice battery for security apps.
ickkii said:
how will they hard reset a stolen phone without a recovery or adb? furthermore - cerberus is flashed to /system, so a reset alone won't work.
the moment the person they're selling it to tests out the wifi it's over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How would you remove the recovery? I don't know how it is where you are but over here they can simply flash everything back to normal with JTAG. Most phones get shipped over seas anyway so yeah.
Oh and Samsung phones you can just flash back to stock in download mode. Sony I'm pretty sure you flash back to stock in flash mode as well.
Sent from my Sony Tablet S using xda premium
NIMBAH said:
How would you remove the recovery? I don't know how it is where you are but over here they can simply flash everything back to normal with JTAG. Most phones get shipped over seas anyway so yeah.
Oh and Samsung phones you can just flash back to stock in download mode. Sony I'm pretty sure you flash back to stock in flash mode as well.
Sent from my Sony Tablet S using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it varies by device, most easy thing to do is flash stock. I'd love to see a day where cwm or twrp implement a recovery pin. TWRP can pull up a keyboard, and it could be done with a volume rocker, so I'm not sure why they don't implement some kind of security feature to it.
You could always break your volume rocker :laugh:
crashlen0 said:
Shame that we have to sacrifice battery for security apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not in every case, just don't set your antenna rules too strict. My friend set it to only grant access when his bluetooth headset is connected, bad results for him.
Very useful tutorial. I'd give you more stars if I could. You’ve obviously studied this carefully. I also appreciate your taking the time to provide comments on avast.. .those comments were useful.
I’m just trying to think through the pro’s and con’s of the approach recommended in the guide. (open the front door but nail everything down inside).
The big con for me
It will take time to enter a pin/pattern/password for every sensitive application (gmail, settings, playstore, file manager, many more), rather then just one when I unlock my screen. It means I have to dramatically alter the way I use my phone every single day.
So I want to understand the benefit, the “why” a little better:
If someone steals my phone which is screen-locked and USB debuggin off (*), then the only way for them to get in is to do some kind of factory reset? Doesn’t that process remove all the sensitive information from the phone? i.e. they're not going to be able to get into gmail once they break in? . I did spend awhile googling as you mentioned methods breaking into the phone, but these answers weren't clear to me.
Where I'm coming from (My uninformed opinion fwiw): I’d like to get my phone back, but protecting my sensitive data is also important. So I'd like to understand if the likely break-in method an attacker will take facing a locked phone at least protects my sensitive data:
if it does block access to sensitive data, then it's not a total loss to allow them to do it (I've lost my phone but not my identify)
if it does not block access to sensitive data, then I'm much more interested in locking down the individual apps like gmail etc.
* By the way, I did see while googling they can get past locked phone without factory reset if you have USB debugging on. That would be a big deal since they could get to gmail etc if you rely soley on lock screen and have USB debugging on. I'm definitely turning it off and only on when I need it.
Thanks
Very useful
Thanks for information
electricpete1 said:
Very useful tutorial. I'd give you more stars if I could. You’ve obviously studied this carefully. I also appreciate your taking the time to provide comments on avast.. .those comments were useful.
I’m just trying to think through the pro’s and con’s of the approach recommended in the guide. (open the front door but nail everything down inside).
The big con for me
It will take time to enter a pin/pattern/password for every sensitive application (gmail, settings, playstore, file manager, many more), rather then just one when I unlock my screen. It means I have to dramatically alter the way I use my phone every single day.
So I want to understand the benefit, the “why” a little better:
If someone steals my phone which is screen-locked and USB debuggin off (*), then the only way for them to get in is to do some kind of factory reset? Doesn’t that process remove all the sensitive information from the phone? i.e. they're not going to be able to get into gmail once they break in? . I did spend awhile googling as you mentioned methods breaking into the phone, but these answers weren't clear to me.
Where I'm coming from (My uninformed opinion fwiw): I’d like to get my phone back, but protecting my sensitive data is also important. So I'd like to understand if the likely break-in method an attacker will take facing a locked phone at least protects my sensitive data:
if it does block access to sensitive data, then it's not a total loss to allow them to do it (I've lost my phone but not my identify)
if it does not block access to sensitive data, then I'm much more interested in locking down the individual apps like gmail etc.
* By the way, I did see while googling they can get past locked phone without factory reset if you have USB debugging on. That would be a big deal since they could get to gmail etc if you rely soley on lock screen and have USB debugging on. I'm definitely turning it off and only on when I need it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I wasn't quicker to respond - But UAG has a setting that makes it to where you must only enter it once until you power the screen off and it applies it to all locked apps. UAG isn't working for the time being on my current rom, I don't know if it's the same for others but I've notifed the developer regardless.
I'm a forensics student and can tell you that a reset alone won't wipe all the slack byte data off of the device, but fortunately this is an area of security that malicious hackers haven't quite caught up too. Mainly Military and Law Enforcement possess the tools and skillsets to do this on mobile devices because a lot of the software created to image your device and recover deleted data isn't liscensed to the general public. Solid State drives have put a few penetration testers out of business because it is notoriously difficult for forensic analysis. I can assure you that from this angle your common theif will not be stealing your identity - if you're a big shot with the CIA as an enemy, no so much. Account hijackings occur far more commonly through bad recovery questions, poor network security, or coming in contact with maliscious software.
However you should be prepared to immediately change your passwords to important accounts whenever any of your computers are compromised. Diceware is actually a pretty neat app for creating passwords with lots of entropy that makes cracking them more difficult. I've heard of a few gmail accounts being stolen lately that could have been avoided with two step authentication, so hiding google authenticater can be beneficial.
If a factory reset happens your user app data will be deleted apart from what is saved to internal storage and your sd card. What will remain is the device recovery backup that was saved to /system/apps so the option remains for you to remote wipe if you can contact the device. With avast I noticed the backup I created was in my app drawer, this worries me some because it may not be saving to the system folder - but cerberus does this for sure.
First of - I'm just an everyday user of Android device, never interested in hacking or any other "advanced" use of computers and likes. My greatest achievements so far are jailbreaking Iphone, rooting an Android phone and installing stock ROM on it. You can call me a noob. However - I like to improve things I use and I also value my privacy. That's why I installed a software that locks access to certain apps on my phone. I recently found this app actually made an opposite - it made my device vulnerable to identity theft and potential financial loss. I wouldn't really bother telling my story if developers didn't delete my one-star-rating with a brief description of the problem right after I posted it in Play store.
So, to the point. I installed CM Security and app lock app (nearly 14 millions of users and 4,7 rating) and locked some of the "sensitive" apps with it. One evening I was bored enough to try and play "a hacker" who "found my phone" and see what such person could do. Considering "a hacker" somehow managed to unlock the device he'd now encounter my second line of the defense - the mighty app locker. And now, in a few short steps I'll show you how much damage you can do with it:
1. First it obviously asks you for an unlocking password/pattern, but -as you don't know it - you hit in-app menu button and choose "forgot password?" option.
2. It asks you to log in to your Google account in order to reset the password (YES, you can access Google password recovery from inside the app, so even if you lock your device's Settings, your mail client and so on, you can still access the most vulnerable option of your account from "security" app).
3. As you don't know a Google password you hit the "forgot password" link that starts Google password reset process.
4. It will ask you for the "last password you remember", but you can just say you don't know it and then it gives you an option to get a verification code by SMS - chances are it will be sent to the device you're just holding in your hands. And these chances are big.
5. After you get a verification code you're in. You can now set a new Google account password and reset app locker password/pattern.
It's that easy. You not only unlocked an app locker but also got access to Google account which gives you pretty much endless possibilities, including purchase of some apps in the Play Store as it stores your card details and you only need an account password to authenticate the purchase. You can also try to restore Ebay or Paypal passwords or even try to get directly into bank accounts via banking apps. Sky is the limit.
I already deleted CM "security" app and looked for some replacement. I wasn't really surprised it's kind of a standard that when you install them, security apps ask you to give your Google account details just in case you need to recover your password in a future. And they often make you think that giving these details is an integral part of installation process, a must-do that is necessary for an app to install and work. Some apps, like CM "security" don't even ask - they just use your Google account details and don't give you a chance to give up such option.
After all - here's some advice I can give:
1. Don't install any security software that connects to your Google account and gives "password reset" options;
2. Don't give Google your mobile number, even if it seems convinient;
3. Don't use your Google account address as your contact information in "owner info" option of your device.
If you have any other suggestions that may improve security, please share.
Cheers
Question is why you didn't lock your device in the first place.
I think you are misappling this feature 's benefit/use. It is not there, IMO, to secure your phone from an advesary that has even brief access to your phone.
That is what a combination of a lock screen pwd,short for convenience, and full encryption using a separate and longer pwd of high entropy/randomness is for. Even with that its important to understand how it works and its limitations. Such as it does not encrypt.the ext sd card data. So if you put apps or privledged data there you either should not or using other means to encrypt it. One such way would be to use truecrypt to encrypt it using a pc, being the easiest and then use one of the apks that gives suports accessing those types of partitions/files.
The function you are speaking of is ther to prevent people you have a large degree of trust in such as a family member or close.friend possibly that you may allow to use your phone but do not want them to be able to access private data. Think of a parent allowing their child to use the phone to play a game but does not want them scewing up email or going into their bank app and randoming clicking around etc...
I hope you get the idea. Its not there to prevent someone that means to do you direct intentional harm.
I also want to point out my comments are only directed at the most basic level and only deal with physical secure of data on the phone and not the phone itself nor from remote access or privacy.
Also want to point out that a screen lock pwd is nothing but a inconvenience at best to someone wanting access to your data. A quick reboot into recovery and a bkup to a sd card will get them all your data and any weakly secured credentials there in. Its only one part of physical security, of which, is only itself one part in over all data security, which itself, is only a part of data privacy. Its a large house of cards and removing one or putting one little piece in just slightly the wrong place and collapse the whole house.
Its hard to do just the small piece of each of these parts correctly and exrremely hard to.combine all the small and large parts together for a total protection scheme. It takes considerable research and learning to do these things especially if your goals are for higher levles of security and privacy.
As an example someone that really wants their phone data ue on android to be private from commerical.data collection which via proxy means all gov access to said data would never install goggle play store or any google app on their device. That is just one glaring example of many.
http://ad.cmcm.com/en/?f=home-en-top
Cheetah Mobile is spyware. watch the video on their website
I would suggest using the built-in encryption on Android. I don't use it myself, but have the Avira app installed. I like their PC software, and gave it a try.
It can be used to track a lost phone or lock it remotely. Since I have rooted my Huawei G300 it complains a bit, but still scans all apps being installed.
bigeasy911 said:
I think you are misappling this feature 's benefit/use. It is not there, IMO, to secure your phone from an advesary that has even brief access to your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fact is still that this app claims it provides certain security, yet it doesn't. Not everyone will realize this. So it's always good that people keep pointing this out.
Nearly a year gone since I posted this and now I returned to "AppLockers" during my mobile security research. This is such a bad thing I can't believe apps of this kind are accepted by PlayStore and not banned eternally as the most fake security solution that ever existed. What surprised me even more, "serious" companies, eg. Norton are also in this business... anyway
I checked this one first - Best App Lock - it's "best", right? And it's got 4.5 stars rating with 1,000,000 - 5,000,000 downloads.
I set it up, set the PIN, locked test app - everything seems fine.. as long as you don't go to Settings > Apps and don't force stop Best App Lock, because then - your protection is gone. But OK, you can also lock Settings and prevent such tricks and it works... as long as you don't use Activity Launcher to call App Lock's pin reset activity... Yes, you can reset the PIN without even opening the app itself.
Now, Best App Lock was clearly made by some amateur, so let's see what pros got for us, the big ones. I checked mentioned Norton App Lock, with 4.6 rating and surprisingly not as popular, with "only" 500,000 - 1,000,000 downloads. It's a bit better, it only contains one activity, so you can't bypass it easily, because the app itself is protected with a pattern, but here's another trick - reboot device in Safe Mode and you can disable Norton's permission to draw over other apps to make it helpless as a baby. Or you can just uninstall it in SM. I didn't check anything else, because what more you can do to prevent such workaround, than Norton already did?
If someone is aware of a way to disable power menu, or at least the ability to disable Safe Mode on unrooted Android please share. Until then I call all the App Lock apps the biggest scam in mobile security.
minimale_ldz said:
Nearly a year gone since I posted this and now I returned to "AppLockers" during my mobile security research. This is such a bad thing I can't believe apps of this kind are accepted by PlayStore and not banned eternally as the most fake security solution that ever existed. What surprised me even more, "serious" companies, eg. Norton are also in this business... anyway
I checked this one first - Best App Lock - it's "best", right? And it's got 4.5 stars rating with 1,000,000 - 5,000,000 downloads.
I set it up, set the PIN, locked test app - everything seems fine.. as long as you don't go to Settings > Apps and don't force stop Best App Lock, because then - your protection is gone. But OK, you can also lock Settings and prevent such tricks and it works... as long as you don't use Activity Launcher to call App Lock's pin reset activity... Yes, you can reset the PIN without even opening the app itself.
Now, Best App Lock was clearly made by some amateur, so let's see what pros got for us, the big ones. I checked mentioned Norton App Lock, with 4.6 rating and surprisingly not as popular, with "only" 500,000 - 1,000,000 downloads. It's a bit better, it only contains one activity, so you can't bypass it easily, because the app itself is protected with a pattern, but here's another trick - reboot device in Safe Mode and you can disable Norton's permission to draw over other apps to make it helpless as a baby. Or you can just uninstall it in SM. I didn't check anything else, because what more you can do to prevent such workaround, than Norton already did?
If someone is aware of a way to disable power menu, or at least the ability to disable Safe Mode on unrooted Android please share. Until then I call all the App Lock apps the biggest scam in mobile security.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first step to real security is removing all Googleapps and Google account. There is no other way around this. Next, don't install any app that is not open source. Also, don't use any recovery. And finally, either epoxy your entire usb port, if you have let's say a magnetic charging port or cut all usb port pins except for 2 for charging. In addition, you should open the phone and epoxy usb port and contacts from inside, so that it can't be replaced. Or even better: epoxy your entire motherboard. That would take care of UART socket or any other way of entering CPU/GPU/RAM from inside. Encrypt your phone. After that, your phone couldn't be penetrated (other than through the air/baseband, which is a whole different level of sophistication). If someone targets you over the baseband, throw your phone and run for your freedom...
Seriously, in the above scenario, no one can have access to your data: no fastboot, no adb, no recovery. They wouldn't be able to replace kernel, recovery, system or use any OEM official flashing method... . I welcome any suggestion to hack such a device...
minimale_ldz said:
Nearly a year gone since I posted this and now I returned to "AppLockers" during my mobile security research. This is such a bad thing I can't believe apps of this kind are accepted by PlayStore and not banned eternally as the most fake security solution that ever existed. What surprised me even more, "serious" companies, eg. Norton are also in this business... anyway
I checked this one first - Best App Lock - it's "best", right? And it's got 4.5 stars rating with 1,000,000 - 5,000,000 downloads.
I set it up, set the PIN, locked test app - everything seems fine.. as long as you don't go to Settings > Apps and don't force stop Best App Lock, because then - your protection is gone. But OK, you can also lock Settings and prevent such tricks and it works... as long as you don't use Activity Launcher to call App Lock's pin reset activity... Yes, you can reset the PIN without even opening the app itself.
Now, Best App Lock was clearly made by some amateur, so let's see what pros got for us, the big ones. I checked mentioned Norton App Lock, with 4.6 rating and surprisingly not as popular, with "only" 500,000 - 1,000,000 downloads. It's a bit better, it only contains one activity, so you can't bypass it easily, because the app itself is protected with a pattern, but here's another trick - reboot device in Safe Mode and you can disable Norton's permission to draw over other apps to make it helpless as a baby. Or you can just uninstall it in SM. I didn't check anything else, because what more you can do to prevent such workaround, than Norton already did?
If someone is aware of a way to disable power menu, or at least the ability to disable Safe Mode on unrooted Android please share. Until then I call all the App Lock apps the biggest scam in mobile security.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reviews or star ratings are not always very reliable, just use as a rough guide .... (In my opinion SOME of those Chinese apps seem to be amongst the worst offenders)
https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/27/f...unes-but-google-play-has-the-worst-offenders/
optimumpro said:
The first step to real security is removing all Googleapps and Google account. There is no other way around this. Next, don't install any app that is not open source. Also, don't use any recovery. And finally, either epoxy your entire usb port, if you have let's say a magnetic charging port or cut all usb port pins except for 2 for charging. In addition, you should open the phone and epoxy usb port and contacts from inside, so that it can't be replaced. Or even better: epoxy your entire motherboard. That would take care of UART socket or any other way of entering CPU/GPU/RAM from inside. Encrypt your phone. After that, your phone couldn't be penetrated (other than through the air/baseband, which is a whole different level of sophistication). If someone targets you over the baseband, throw your phone and run for your freedom...
Seriously, in the above scenario, no one can have access to your data: no fastboot, no adb, no recovery. They wouldn't be able to replace kernel, recovery, system or use any OEM official flashing method... . I welcome any suggestion to hack such a device...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you forgot SD card, unless you encrypt that as well, which for a user who uses the card for transferring files across different devices is not such a bright idea.
using epoxy could slow down the hack, and seriously give more trouble to the user than the hacker.
that being said your idea of securing the data is somewhat clear but really a secured device? cause epoxy can be penetrated as well, lock screen can also be bypassed, even without Google and a recovery.
it might take more time than hacking an average device, but still it can be done and most probably the hacker would be the same owner. cause he forgot the damn password and is looking to get back the data.
the more we try to secure, the more we make our lives tough.
billysam said:
Well you forgot SD card, unless you encrypt that as well, which for a user who uses the card for transferring files across different devices is not such a bright idea.
using epoxy could slow down the hack, and seriously give more trouble to the user than the hacker.
that being said your idea of securing the data is somewhat clear but really a secured device? cause epoxy can be penetrated as well, lock screen can also be bypassed, even without Google and a recovery.
it might take more time than hacking an average device, but still it can be done and most probably the hacker would be the same owner. cause he forgot the d
amn password and is looking to get back the data.
the more we try to secure, the more we make our lives tough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Epoxy: Knowing how small and fragile phone motherboards are, I think you will most likely damage the board while trying to penetrate epoxy... Maybe you shouldn't epoxy the usb port on the ouside, but cut the data pins and epoxy on the inside to not give a hint to an attacker. Anyway, I wish an attacker fun time trying to remove epoxy...
The point of encryption is to protect data when the phone is off. So, it makes sense that for someone without a password, the phone turns into a brick. And if you tend to forget the password, then write it down somewhere other than the phone...
Mobile security is a myth. At best it is a door knit lock. Will keep honest People honest but won't stop someone from. Really trying and doing it.
I see lots of talk from people about security and yet these same people use Facebook which has enough holes in it that anyone could hack someone else pc. I use it all the time to mess with people. The looks on their faces are priceless.
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.