27
Jul
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There are a number of security applications available for Android, such as WaveSecure and Lookout, which lock down your phone if it is lost or stolen, but few come close to being as secure and robust as Theft Aware 2.0.

We took a look at the application at the end of last year, and were thoroughly impressed by its ability to take advantage of rooted devices, installing itself into the system partition of your phone so that it isn't affected by even a full system wipe. It's also completely invisible on rooted devices, not only in the app launcher, but also in the app manager, to protect itself from being uninstalled.

29
Nov
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Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

For the last 2 weeks, I've been testing a pre-release version of Theft Aware 2.0 - an app that occupies a spot in the familiar Android Security category, alongside WaveSecure, Lookout, and others. And yet, Theft Aware stands so much taller compared to them that they become small, almost invisible, dots. I could hardly contain my excitement and fascination with Theft Aware, but first, I needed to get answers to all of my questions and pass the info to all of you.

The main reason I'm fascinated with Theft Aware is its superb integration with rooted phones. The benefits of Theft Aware's elevated security features on rooted phones are so great that, in my opinion, rooting is worth it (if you've haven't done so yet) just to get the full TA experience.

06
Oct
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Well, we didn't see this one coming. Hackers over at XDA-Developers have discovered that there is a hardware chip limiting the hackability of the G2, undermining the owner's ability to customize the Android OS. The chip acts as a rootkit and over-writes modifications to the /system partition after rebooting.

This is a very unsettling development. Heck, I thought we had a nice dynamic working in the Android manufacturer sphere: Motorola tried to lock down everything and HTC just made sweet devices. Guess that was too naive a viewpoint to take, as with this HTC have shown themselves capable of being just as stifling as Moto.

14
Jul
lockeddroidx

On the MyDroidWorld forums, site founder p3droid has recently shared some new and disheartening information about the Droid X. While we reported that the Droid X is locked down with an encrypted bootloader, it now seems Motorola has taken an extra step to ensure no one starts tinkering under the hood.

In the event that the bootloader, kernel, or ROM are noticeably compromised, your Droid X will try to brick itself.

How does it work? While p3droid’s technical explanation will be far more informative than my brief summary, the technology at work here is known as eFuse. It has a simple purpose: to check the version of the bootloader, kernel, and ROM of your phone against those which eFuse is programmed to look for.

17
Jun
crippled_droid

If you’ve been paying attention to the news releases regarding the HTC Aria, you know that AT&T will once again be locking down the apps users can install by restricting unofficial app downloading. If you’ve been paying attention for a while now, you also know that they did the same thing to the Motorola Backflip – the only other Android phone they offer.

Both phones already feature smaller, lower def screens, when compared to their Android brethren available on other networks. They both also have significantly slower processors than most Android phones. What gives?

Now granted, I’m no expert, but that just seems like bad business to me.