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
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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
I'm pretty new to the Android world, and I have a few questions.
Whenever I "KILL" an app, it says that it's gone. However, when I launch the task manager up again, the apps are running again. How can I make it so programs like, "IM" or "MOTOPRINT" just never launch at all?
And, I rooted my Droid 4 and got another app named Superuser. What does this do?
iamandrewww said:
I'm pretty new to the Android world, and I have a few questions.
Whenever I "KILL" an app, it says that it's gone. However, when I launch the task manager up again, the apps are running again. How can I make it so programs like, "IM" or "MOTOPRINT" just never launch at all?
And, I rooted my Droid 4 and got another app named Superuser. What does this do?
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Click to collapse
The apps you are referring to are system apps. Although Android kills them, Motorola has registered them as services so that they will restart automatically. Freeze IM to make it stay killed (it will essentially uninstall it) but I recommend leaving Motoprint because it is darn useful!
The app named "superuser" is essentially a graphical frontend to the super user permission manager. As you grant or deny applications root or "administrative" access, they will show up in the superuser app so that you can either change that setting or review which apps you have granted or denied system access.
Sent from my DROID4 using XDA
omniuni said:
The apps you are referring to are system apps. Although Android kills them, Motorola has registered them as services so that they will restart automatically. Freeze IM to make it stay killed (it will essentially uninstall it) but I recommend leaving Motoprint because it is darn useful!
The app named "superuser" is essentially a graphical frontend to the super user permission manager. As you grant or deny applications root or "administrative" access, they will show up in the superuser app so that you can either change that setting or review which apps you have granted or denied system access.
Sent from my DROID4 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Relating to freezing apps, the only program I've came around to do this is Titanium Backup Pro. However, it requires you to pay, are there any free ones out there that will allow me to freeze apps? Thankyou.
AntTek App Manager works great for me. AntTek also has what appears to be a pretty decent root file explorer.
Sent from my DROID4 using XDA
After upgrading to Zeus 6.28O and timvdhoorns Dolby patch, I started getting ads. Basically a little star in the status bar and usually the ad is for a free Iphone or some ninja game.
I've never had ads before and can't imagine either of these upgrades would have caused this.
Anyone have similar issue or know how I can track it down?
Thanks
No. You have installed something that is causing it. Retrace your installs.
You can also check the apps permissions. Usually the ones that check for the phone boot up or have permission to make shortcuts are the culprit.
If you want to keep the application, you can install Lucky Patcher and modify it's permission so that it won't push ands anymore.
It must be an app you've installed. (usually a game)
then this is what you need to detect it: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brosmike.airpushdetector
This also happened on my N2A card for Nook HD too, just not as sever in the fact that it just disappeared in settings. So, I can use the root permission for apps for a while. Then, I can't tap the button "allow" to allow an app super user permission. (I use it for Avast firewall) But then it all of a sudden disappeared in settings to check any superuser stuff at all. Crazy! Also, similar to above, after a while I can't install apks, mainly after a certain amount of time. It won't let me tap the "install" button, like that part of my screen is unusable when it is. But then it usually get fixed after a while, but my Nook has to be shut down for 10 hours (I kept track because I am desperate). Is this a ROM issue since this also happened on my old N2A card (with cyanogenmod 11)? Thanks for anyone's help.
Sidenote: apparently someone had the same issue as me, concerning the can't install apks part, so maybe you should look at this other thread to understand me better: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2325626
Fixed the root permission... had to install superuser app by clockworkmod to update the superuser binary files....but I still have an issue with the apks.
Hi!
First a BIG thank-you for this indispensable application and the amount of good work that you do with and around it!!
I also have a question:
I have developed a widget-based app which checks for root access after being activated (by APPWIDGET_ENABLE or BOOT_COMPLETED).
It issues a really small su call changing the permission of a file (on the main file system, in the app data folder).
There are never any problems when placing the widget, and also on MOST boot-ups.
Sometimes however, this first su call hangs after booting (testing on a Nexus 10).
I suspect a timing problem - is there some setting up going on after boot with SuperSU as well?
Should I add a delay for the root check?