Database Develop

[Q] Harmful .apk file

Say I download an *.apk file from some site or I get one from a friend, could it potentially harm my phone, cost me money etc.? Basically what I'm wondering is, when I install an app it generally says what the app has/wants access to, is this "warning" coded by the programmer to tell the user what it's accessing or is it determined automatically by built in functions? I don't want to install and app that has access to stuff that I'm not aware of.
Regards,
B
Edit: On a second note. Say I do download some harmful application, would uninstalling it solve the problem or could there be remaining harmful files still at work? The whole Android OS is sorta worrying me...bad experiences with Windows is making me cautious.

if you can think of it
there can always be a chance of happening
yes, a malicious hacker could do something like that
yes, a pissed programmer might including something like that into their apps to stop people from sharing their apps without buying it
yes, the apk might be legit but might have been corrupted some how
yes, you might be able to uninstall if lucky
but worse case scenario if i were a malicious hacker i wouldn't code a way to uninstall the app, instead i'll probably code a way to lock the user out of all access forcing you to Flash the phone from scratch

You didn't really answer my one major question, or maybe you did but I didn't understand. Are the services that the app is able to access programmed or are they determined by a function?

Well when installing I've resorted to checking a few things:
1) Make sure the app that I've downloaded is the same size as the one in the market (for equivalent versions...obviously)
2) Compare the system permissions when installing with those found at www.androlib.com
This way seems pretty safe to me. If the size is the same and the permissions are the same...you can be quite (not 100%) certain that they are legit/the same.

Ok heres the deal. Apps have 2 types of access.
1. Standard permissions
So if u don't do adb-install (where u dont see an app's permissions), then market / copy to sdcard and install from there u'll see the permission screen. An app cannot do something w/o permissions. If an uninstaller is askin for email permissions u know somethings wrong.
2. Root
Most dangerous. An app will ask u for 0 standard android api permissions. But when u run it, u will be asked for a superuser allow/deny request. From their its up to you. An app could do anything behind the scenes from tht point.
So read reviews/ user comments before trying root apps. Standard apps, just look over the permissions thts all.
FYI : The permissions are read by android, they're not user defined. Any permissions will always show up when installing it using the native package manager.

To be honest I wouldn't advise downloading an .apk from a non-trusted source. If its on the market, you're near certainly ok, and if its from a trusted developer (say from these boards, or some other similar dev portal) then again, you are likely to be ok. In the second case, you are unlikely to be getting a finished app if you get a straight apk from boards, because when they are finished or at least solid, they go to the app store anyway, so harm in that case is more likely to be of the force close variety rather than bricked variety.
Outside of that, I can't see why you would get an apk from a friend rather than downloading it yourself, simply because that way it makes certain you get a clean, non-corrupted version. If apps don't show up in the market for you, its mostly because your device can't run them, in which case, again, force close.

Uninstalling it is possibly too late. All smartphones suffer this issue though.
As mentioned, if you get the files from market though, you are likely to be safe..
Also, not all melicious programs are obvious..

Daneshm90 said:
Ok heres the deal. Apps have 2 types of access.
1. Standard permissions
So if u don't do adb-install (where u dont see an app's permissions), then market / copy to sdcard and install from there u'll see the permission screen. An app cannot do something w/o permissions. If an uninstaller is askin for email permissions u know somethings wrong.
2. Root
Most dangerous. An app will ask u for 0 standard android api permissions. But when u run it, u will be asked for a superuser allow/deny request. From their its up to you. An app could do anything behind the scenes from tht point.
So read reviews/ user comments before trying root apps. Standard apps, just look over the permissions thts all.
FYI : The permissions are read by android, they're not user defined. Any permissions will always show up when installing it using the native package manager.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thank you.

Btw, just because security on App store says an app can do stuff like make phone calls etc, doesn't mean it's malicious.
A few people were misled by an article that stated that apps with such extreme permissions were malicious, but it's untrue. It isn't always the case, but if an app uses functionality you don't believe it should, it's possible it is dodgy

andrewluecke said:
Btw, just because security on App store says an app can do stuff like make phone calls etc, doesn't mean it's malicious.
A few people were misled by an article that stated that apps with such extreme permissions were malicious, but it's untrue. It isn't always the case, but if an app uses functionality you don't believe it should, it's possible it is dodgy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aye, I know. Thanks for the advice. I've actually been comparing any app I download off the internet to the actual ones on the market (size and permissions).

Hi everyone im a noob member to the site but have read some interesting threads before membership but as usual joining when i have a problem that needs some of your help
I have had a .apk file download to my htc desire running 2.2.2. I was browsing pics of the fake kind when it started downloading. i did see some letters and numbers before the file ext. It is not an official .apk that im sure off. I have searched for it on my phone but cannot find it to delete .
can anyone help please

After hooking up htc to my pc by usb lead, I have managed to locate the file by searching. It was in the download folder, I deleted it via the pc and then did a factory reset on htc.
Would this get rid of it safely

So what would happen if I just started deleting BN apps ...

... from /system/app
Which of them would save me some resources (assuming I don't care about the built-in nook functionality), and which of them would make things go kablooey?

Wordsmith9091 said:
... from /system/app
Which of them would save me some resources (assuming I don't care about the built-in nook functionality), and which of them would make things go kablooey?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you think they would save you resources?
Plus I think you might want to avoid doing that until there is a full ROM and Recovery, if you screw up /system I think you're hosed.

Without recovery it is possible to brick the NC by deleting stuff as previously stated.
I did try some cautious renaming of B&N stuff with the end result that while the NC worked, it showed as not registered and this made it a bit difficult to de-register and reset...
And not only did the B&N stuff not work (since it wasn't registered!) there were a few other glitches as well.
As a note from my earlier Android experiments: if you do want to try getting rid of something, don't delete it! Renaming it is just as effective and has the added plus of being easily restored AS LONG AS THE THING STILL WORKS AT ALL.
I usually append .bak to things like text messaging, facebook and twitter since I don't use or want them.

/system can be recovered regardless of changes to the file-system as long as you don't play around with the factory fallback stuff which is on a different partition completely. The minute you start messing with that all bets are off.
The /system partition will be restored if the device doesn't boot 8 consecutive times.

Well, so far I've deleted the library, the shop, the built-in app launcher and a few other items with no ill effects (other than, you know, not having the library and the shop). I got rid of one that looked a little borderline scary -- but I'm being a little reckless here and didn't note the name. Maybe a BN specific applicationservice apk?I think that's why selecting settings from the B&N bottom notification bar doesn't work anymore (but selecting settings from within Zeam gets me there). Got rid of the home apk.
I know, I could play it a lot safer just renaming these things. But I'm living on the edge (besides, I could always get back to a stock system setup if I screw things up badly enough to force the 8 reboots).
I'll soon look at this a little more methodically and see if there are any B&N-related services running that I don't think I'd really need ... then go for them too. After all, just deleting things that may or may not be running from boot ... it's a fun reckless experiment, but it doesn't necessarily save any resources (other than space in system).

If you manage it I would be interested in knowing about it- especially if the Nook for Android app can be installed and actually work, afterwards!
That had been my goal when messing with it.
Methinks I found one too many packages that had "bn" in the name for my own good. lol

[Q] [i9000 problem]Q about shared preference

I9000 moves the shared preferences to /dbdata/databases/[PACKAGE_NAME]/shared_prefs/[PACKAGE_NAME]_preferences.xml
For other mainstream devices, shared preferences are in /data/data/[ PACKAGE_NAME]/shared_prefs/[PACKAGE_NAME]_ preferences.xml
Everytime, when I uninstalled the application (my own or some other 3rd party's) in i9000, I found that the shared preferences won't be removed. It still exists in /dbdata/databases/...
this will lead to some serious problem: for example, I'm developing some app, and changing the shared perferences structure. when I debuged it (reinstalling, reinstalling the apps, finally I found my shared preference cannot save my configuration. everytime rebooting i9000, the configuration will be reset to the default value. When I change the configuration in UI and then look into the shard_pref xml, it never changes. The root cause is the existing xml is the old one. maybe UID even mismatched.
Is there any patch from Samsung to uninstall the apps completely?
we need remove not only the ones in /data/data but also the ones in /dbdata/databases/.
... Samsung, why do those vendors customize the phone so much?

no comments?

Interesting.
I have never heard of that (or a patch for that) before. But if I think about it... I am no unix expert but shouldn't you be able to mount /dbdata/databases/ into /data/data/ ? As long as the deinstallation routine has not been changed this could work^^
Edit:
Oh dear, I took a look, you're right thats really strange. I thought everything was relocated by samsung. It's not. My statement above is useless

feny_lf said:
I9000 moves the shared preferences to /dbdata/databases/[PACKAGE_NAME]/shared_prefs/[PACKAGE_NAME]_preferences.xml
For other mainstream devices, shared preferences are in /data/data/[ PACKAGE_NAME]/shared_prefs/[PACKAGE_NAME]_ preferences.xml
Everytime, when I uninstalled the application (my own or some other 3rd party's) in i9000, I found that the shared preferences won't be removed. It still exists in /dbdata/databases/...
this will lead to some serious problem: for example, I'm developing some app, and changing the shared perferences structure. when I debuged it (reinstalling, reinstalling the apps, finally I found my shared preference cannot save my configuration. everytime rebooting i9000, the configuration will be reset to the default value. When I change the configuration in UI and then look into the shard_pref xml, it never changes. The root cause is the existing xml is the old one. maybe UID even mismatched.
Is there any patch from Samsung to uninstall the apps completely?
we need remove not only the ones in /data/data but also the ones in /dbdata/databases/.
... Samsung, why do those vendors customize the phone so much?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it's the sammy's "lagfix" since 2.2.1.
Uninstall apps with Titanium, it clears everything ! That's the only way i find (apart manual method...)

Can you give a symbolic link?

, why do those vendors customize the phone so much?
Same reason as users customize their phones .
jje

WiwiPouPou said:
Yes it's the sammy's "lagfix" since 2.2.1.
Uninstall apps with Titanium, it clears everything ! That's the only way i find (apart manual method...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sammy's lagfix? Do you mean there's no problem prior to 2.2.1?
My i9000 is 2.2.1 now, I don't have chance to check the previous versions....

This is a serious bug.
I have encountered this too and it makes the SharedPreferences completely useless.
Uninstalling and the re-installing an app will cause the app to never be able to change preferences again!
Is there a workaround for this that we can code in our apps?

I also experience this problem. Is there really no fix to this. Its damn irritating when I'm developing my app.

I have recently found out about this too.
I started an app to deal with this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=12483276

paid market apps and my apps

ok stupid question..but im thinking of buying tibu and beweather from the market.. when i purchase them..and updates continue to come out..can i update them always..or do i always to pay again when an update comes out..and if there are free updates..how does it work if i reflash a rom or something using cm7.. thanks
and while im here..one more question..im my rom experience will be complete.. lol i went to flash cm7 and when i did all the restore and stuff it should that i had 50 updates but then that went away in my market..and now my complaint is i know i have more than 100 apps and it doesnt show on my apps in my market..ive rebooted reflash all that..im using tibu 4.0.0 but when i browse for that app..it does say its installed..its just that if i got my apps some of them are not there..basically if i wanna see if theres an update i have to browse for it to see if it says update or just installed..but if recall..i think when i did an update it finally was seen in my apps in market correctly after the update..what gives please help..thanks..sorry for the two questions in one and the long ramble

I am sure you pay once and all the updates after are free. I haven't bought applications on android, but am just assuming it's like digital distribution in general.
... I can't really understand your second question/ ramble. If it's about your downloaded applications list disappearing when flashing a new rom, yeah, that happens. You could just use titanium backup to restore applications once you are done flashing the new rom. Sorry if I missed the meaning of your second question.

i have tibu pro and i get the updates on the same licence. it's one of few apps i've bought. you need to go to manage applications to the market , clear data and you will see your apps.

fractaline said:
i have tibu pro and i get the updates on the same licence. it's one of few apps i've bought. you need to go to manage applications to the market , clear data and you will see your apps.
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Click to collapse
what you mean you get updates on the same license? i mean i get my updates like i said..but thats if i browse through the market catalog manually without going to my apps since i cant see half of my apps in my apps section..and i did do that btw..even the cache i cleared nothing..still 50 apps instead of like 104 or something.. wahhh! thats all i need is my apps showing and im all good!!! im pretty sure that if you do buy an app your good to go you can update as often it is needed for free..just need my apps to show..and i already reflashed too.. hay!

did you try to reinstall the market? after the flash... also were the apps all d/l'ed from the same market account originally? not trying to be a smartass just throwing a few more ideas out there...... back to stock???

bluerogue85 said:
what you mean you get updates on the same license? i mean i get my updates like i said..but thats if i browse through the market catalog manually without going to my apps since i cant see half of my apps in my apps section..and i did do that btw..even the cache i cleared nothing..still 50 apps instead of like 104 or something.. wahhh! thats all i need is my apps showing and im all good!!! im pretty sure that if you do buy an app your good to go you can update as often it is needed for free..just need my apps to show..and i already reflashed too.. hay!
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I think that's a common problem when restoring from TiBu...the market gets confused. Happened to me...it's an easy fix:
First, reboot the phone to make sure everything is closed. Go to Settings > Applications > Manage Applications. Tap the All tab. Scroll down until you find Market. Tap Market to open it's application settings. Tap the "Clear Data" button. Reboot the phone. Your market should now show everything.
If you purchase an app from the market, updates are included in the original price (i.e., you won't have to pay again). Purchases are tied to your Google account, so even if you buy a new phone, when you log in with your Google ID, the apps you purchased will show up in the "My Apps" section of the Market. You'll have to reinstall them, but you won't have to pay again.

^ this.
Although you don't have to reboot first to clear market data just clearing it will do the trick.

ok so heres the story..i did what everyone ask me to do..somehow still didnt work..then i did the market doctor thats suppose to fix the market links didnt work..i uninstalled tibu..rebooted and now i shows all my apps with like half of them needing updates..i know theres some that need updates and some that dont..but i did it ne ways just to be sure..so basically i got all my apps back! yay..thanks guys..so wait one of you said that i dont have to pay again and as long as i have my google id i can still dl it even if i flash ANY rom on here..thanks again!

Paid apps are linked to the google account that purchased them.You could sign in to your account on a completely different device and download them. So yes flashing then away will not cause you to have to repurchase them.

Question for devs!

So, I wonder?
I've been digging through the system files in my unlocked, rooted UA v40, and except for the apps that came installed with the phone, there's also some in the root that didn't come alive, just taking up space? I know, there's no need to clear space, but I still wonder!? And it also seam to exist some dalvik even for the apps that never came alive in the first place?
Following today's Android rules, is it still possible to clear Dalvik?
Say, if I delete the apps in root/system/product that aren't even installed, will it scr.. something up?
I guess there's some kind of script executed while flashing the rom. If I delete apps (in the right place), and factory reset my phone, will that corrupt something? Is there a file (command/script) I can edit in root, that decides what app to install, to make this work?
Back in the days I deleted unvanted apps before flashing the rom, but I understand it's different today...
Not very important, but would be nice to know

Not a dev but thought I'd throw in some thoughts. We don't have any "stock based" dev to bug regarding stock fw really.
From my own digging through newer fw releases, it seems that LG hired some really lazy mofos as coders. Looks like they create new fw from old ones, then updated it to new versions plus some tweaks to suit the target model.
For a programmer that'd make sense since you already have the base code, you just change modules and libs as needed. However, in LG's case, their guys didn't bother to remove anything that was already there. They just kept adding on stuff. That's where you see the unused apps (and also explain why stock fw sizes keep getting bigger). Hell, I even found G8 specific settings in the service menu earlier today. Best I can tell, there aren't any symlinks that tie back to these unused apps, so, technically, removing them won't break anything. But given how sloppy the existing structure is, it wouldn't be surprising if it does either.
Now dalvik on the other hand, that' and interesting point. Since dalvik was dropped when google implemented ART, it theoretically, shouldn't even be on the phone. Where did you find those?

That's just stupid of LG
I mean, what does "Airmotion" do in v40? Hahaha!
Oh, I still say Dalvik, aware of art.
Thanks

This is what I mean
This is one of the apps that wasn't really installed to be used in v40. Is it normal that one of those apps still got art files? So if I was to delete this app, can I delete the linked art files too?

Can anyone port the v40 camera app for lg v30 pie?

This was my main question:
I guess there's some kind of script executed while flashing the rom. If I delete apps (in the right place), and factory reset my phone, will that corrupt something? Is there a file (command/script) I can edit in root, that decides what app to install, to make this work by factory reset?

neocyke said:
Not a dev but thought I'd throw in some thoughts. We don't have any "stock based" dev to bug regarding stock fw really.
From my own digging through newer fw releases, it seems that LG hired some really lazy mofos as coders. Looks like they create new fw from old ones, then updated it to new versions plus some tweaks to suit the target model.
For a programmer that'd make sense since you already have the base code, you just change modules and libs as needed. However, in LG's case, their guys didn't bother to remove anything that was already there. They just kept adding on stuff. That's where you see the unused apps (and also explain why stock fw sizes keep getting bigger). Hell, I even found G8 specific settings in the service menu earlier today. Best I can tell, there aren't any symlinks that tie back to these unused apps, so, technically, removing them won't break anything. But given how sloppy the existing structure is, it wouldn't be surprising if it does either.
Now dalvik on the other hand, that' and interesting point. Since dalvik was dropped when google implemented ART, it theoretically, shouldn't even be on the phone. Where did you find those?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed that on the V30 already too.
Settings are enabled/disabled depending on the props set, and which device its running on, some you should even be able to activate/deactivate during runtime...
Makes things way easier to develop that way, yes... but also unneccessarily bloats the whole UI... should have set flags during compilation to fully exclude the code (e.g. how the HALs do that lol)