In the world of computing there are always going to be bad guys.  And by rule of thumb, the number of bad guys for any given platform are proportional to the number of people on said platform.  So its only natural that as Android has increased in popularity, that bad guys have come knocking.  As an end user,  you have to take steps to protect yourself in the digital world.  A large part of this is to remain informed and to exercise common sense.  In light of these two points, I’m going to discuss a newly found Android exploit (informing you) and discuss how this exploit should never have worked en mass (the common sense part).

Security experts Lookout have recently written a blog post about a new Android Trojan GGTracker. This trojan spoofs the Android market (damningly well, btw) and tricks users into manually installing their malware application.  Read Lookout’s blog post for full details on the exploit; here’s a summary of what this app is and how it works:

1. User gets directed to a malicious website, usually by clicking on an advertisement link
2. Website advertises an innocuous free application… say a wallpaper app, a ringtone changer, or a slideshow of sexy girl
3. To install this application, the app instructs the user to download and install an .apk file.
4. User installs app and gets nailed with spyware, SMS charges and all sorts of ugliness.

Android Market Trojan Spoof

Now that we’re informed, lets point out some common sense things about Android that will save you from malware every time. Google has done a pretty good job locking down the platform with reguards to security, while leaving it open and flexible enough to support a wide range of applications. Most (I daresay all) malware attacks occur from user error, a.k.a. an end user installed the malicious app on their device. Malicious apps take many forms. Remember those old ‘free smiley’ IM plugins that used to (and sometimes still do) be advertised everywhere? Most were really viruses with a nice face in front of them. In the same way, there have been apps on Android promising ‘free sexy wallpapers’, ‘free ringtones’, and in this case ‘free battery widgets’ which are really malware in disguise. Never manually download an app that you weren’t looking for first. This the same reasoning that drives the advice that you are to never give your account information to a ‘bank rep’ who calls you or otherwise initiates the contact.

In the same vein of be careful what you install, note that the Android Market and Browser Applications are two totally seperate programs. If you see a ‘market page’ with a URL at the top (like the screenshot above), STOP. You’re about to do something wrong. If your browser downloads an .apk file and instructs you to install it, Don’t do it unless you absolutely know what you’re installing. Frankly the only apps that are not going to be in at least one of the Android markets (Google, Amazon, GetJar), are going to be application betas or specialty apps that you’ll seek out (like the custom Google Voice .apk for tablets we featured a few weeks ago).

Even when going through legitamate means (a Market), still be wary about some apps, especially if you haven’t heard of it before. Usually you’ll find reviews for most legit apps on your favorite Android site(s) [including yours truly Droidweb of course!]. A quick google search will save you a lot of headache. As always, check out the permissions needed for that app. A unit conversion app shouldn’t require access to text messaging services. If something seems suspicious, don’t download that app; do some research before you proceed. One of the benefits of having such a tight knit community of fellow Android enthusiasts behind you is that you can ask around and expect to get a response about just about anything, including “has someone downloaded this app before? Is it legit?”

As always in the digital world, be sure to excercise caution. However, don’t be afraid to experiment and explore the capabilities of your device as long as you know what you’re doing and you’ve got some information on hand to help. To all our readers: Be safe and Happy Androiding!

We’re back with more advice for pimping out you Android device.  Before we move beyond apps, I’ve got two quicks apps we here at Droidweb felt should be shared with you, the reader.  Without further ado:

NoLed

One of the big features of the Android operating system is its use of LED notifications. With these notifications, one can quickly determine what type of messages or activity is on their phone through a simple glance at the device without even powering the screen on.  However, some Android phones (notably the new Samsung Galaxy) do not come equipped with LED notifications.  To make up for this, NoLED was written.  This project started out as a small project on XDA-developers (most Godsends for Android come from there) and has grown ever since.  This application displays a black screen and adds an icon in a random spot on the screen when you have notifications.  The beauty of the application lies in the fact that the Galaxy’s AMOLED screen doesn’t make use of a backlight to display a black screen, so this app uses very little power at all.  If you’re on a Samsung Galaxy or other phone sans LED notifications, give this app a try.

You've got notifications!

Get this app

Screebl

Every now and then there comes an application built around a brilliant idea.  One such application is Screebl.  This application runs in the background, and makes use of your phone’s accelerometer.  Ever been reading a long e-mail or pdf and the screen automatically shut off mid-sentence?  Well this application is meant to fix that annoyance.  When the phone is in certain orientations (usually angled between 0 and 90 degrees), this usually means that the phone is in use, and the screen shouldn’t shut off.  To further explain this program, the developer has put together an introduction video for his application.  Check that video out below.

Get this app

And the community has spoken:

While we’ve been running this series, I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from fellow Android users about what applications they use the most. I have compiled those lists into one nice list of Android applications worth checking out:

• Apps Organizer
• Astrid
• Beautiful Widgets
• Bedside Dock App
• Catch
• Crush the Castle
• Documents to Go
• Dolphin HD Browser
• Easy Money
• Evernote
• Facebook
• Folder Organizer
• Fruit Ninja
• Home Switcher
• Hungry Shark
• Jorte
• Launcher Pro
• Mint.com
• Movies
• MyBookmarks
• Noodles
• NPR News
• Our Groceries
• Pageonce Personal Assistant
• PhoneMyPC
• Power Control Plus
• PowerAmp
• Pro Zoom Camera
• Pulse
• Rom Manager (more about this later)
• Score Mobile
• Sheep Launcher
• Skype
• Solitaire
• Spades
• Spare Parts
• Sudoku Daily
• Swype
• Tapatalk
• The Weather Channel
• Tweetdeck
• Vlingo
• Weatherbug
• Winamp
• xScope
• Zeam Launcher

Are there any other Android applications you use daily?  Let us know in the comments below!

OK, so its Christmas day.  You’ve unwrapped your gifts and, Behold! You’ve got a new Android gadget! Whether it is a tablet or a new phone, you want to know what’s next? The beauty of Android lies in the fact that you’ve got a new device that you can make your own through infinite possibilities of customization.

How do you customize your device?  Well that’s where Droidweb comes in to help. In the next couple of days we’re going to be posting about how to customize your device.  We’re going to start with apps and work our way up to rooting and other hacks.  Come along for the ride and learn a lot about your Droid!

Must-Have Applications

First thing’s first: To get the most out of your ‘droid you need to download some applications. If you have an idea for something you want your phone to do, most likely there’s an app out there that will oblige and likely that solution is low cost or even free.  Here are some must-have apps we here at Droidweb wouldn’t be caught dead without:

Handcent

Handcent SMS is a free SMS application that makes the Android texting experience more complete. It includes pop-ups for when text messages come in, adds an updated (and customizable) UI, and includes several perks and features the stock SMS app just doesn’t have.

Custom UI and Text Popup via Handcent SMS

Get this app:

Ringdroid

One of the early great apps for Android was Ringdroid.  This app allows you to take the songs on your phone, chop them and turn them into ringtones for your device. Its definitely a must-have for personalizing your phone.  Now you can have that song hook that’s always stuck in your head as a ringtone!

Here’s an example of a ringtone I made using Ringdroid.  Feel free to use it on your own: I Feel Better Ringtone.mp3.

Get this app

Barcode Scanner

This is one of the most useful apps Android has to offer in my opinion.  This app turns your phone into a mobile shopping center, helping you do price comparisons and become an all around smarter shopper.  With it, you simple focus a barcode in the viewfinder of your phone and, viola!, the barcode is scanned and you will be presented with links to find out more about that product including reviews, prices at local and Internet retailers, and other valuable information.

In addition to being able to scan barcode, this application also picks up on QR-codes (those black and white squares whose function you’ve always wondered about).  This is quite useful for quick downloads of Android applications and displaying small snippets of digital information.  Seveal apps are built on top of the functionality of the Barcode Scanner, so this app is definitely a must-have.

Get this app

Angry Birds

Of course Android is for more than just work.  Have a little fun with the premiere gaming title, Angry Birds. In this entertaining game, take revenge on the green pigs who have stolen the Birds’ eggs by destroying the… erm… structures in which they live.  With almost 200 challenging levels and several expansion packs, this puzzler is sure to keep you occupied for countless hours on end.  Check out the trailer below for some sweet snippets of in-game play:

Get this app

Those are a few apps that should hold you over until we complete our next post in which we feature a few more must have applications. Stay tuned, and as always, if you have an app or suggestion you’d like to see on Droidweb.com, comment below!

Several months ago we heard cries about market fragmentation as the Android user experience was divided between those running Android 1.5, 1.6, and 2.1.  Google vowed to fix that problem in the future, and is making steps towards that with the recent release of Gingerbread (Android 2.3).  However, another fragmentation war is brewing in the near future.

Recently HTC announced its hiring for and seeking to implement its own market for mobile devices.  While many saw this coming from a mile away, it is still unwelcome news to some.  I, for one, am not looking forward to every network provider, manufacturer, and brand having their own market.  Once there are several markets available, soon everyone will be creating one, not to fulfill a niche or need, but to remain relevant in the mobile market game.  And this competition will lead to a fragmented user experience at best.

Already we have an example of this fragmentation.  In addition to the Android market, there is SlideMe, a self-touted Android community and application marketplace.  Verizon has its own marketplace that comes with Verizon-branded devices.  And remember the hubub when Angry Birds decided to premiere on GetJar?  Only more of this is to come.

This market fragmentation will only lead to headache for users, who now will have to search multiple markets to find one product.  It’s already hard enough to find what you’re looking for with one market, considering that none of the current markets provide side by side analysis of different programs that pretty much do the same thing.

In addition, the headaches of being a good developer (especially an indie developer such as myself) will multiply.  Which market(s) should one publish his apps in?  Which market(s) should updates be pushed out to first?  How do you collect and consolidate all the feedback from the different markets?  The list goes on.  We really shouldn’t be making things harder for the developers.  It should be enough to have to master the principles of UI design, programming practices, and marketing.  Development in the mobile world right now is a full-time job that doesn’t yield full-time revenues.

Never being one to raise a problem without a solution, I put forth the following suggestion: create some standard for markets.  Google’s good at making platforms, right?  How about we get a platform for mobile markets.  Everyone can skin and theme and tweak their market to their hearts content, but make the engine that runs these markets the same.  What’s the advantage of this?  Developers can create a uniform end-user experience.  We can have multiple markets being used, but as a user, I only want to go to one place to buy stuff.  In addition, make one portal for developers to submit their apps to multiple markets.

Who will design this streamlined experience has yet to be seen.  The free market dictates that whichever market that becomes the most popular (which, even with all its faults, will probably be the Google Android default market) will dictate how the other markets look and function.  However, it wouldn’t surprise me if some third party developer or company capitalizes on this fragmentation and consolidates the Android Market problem.  Let us hope that this solution comes sooner than later.

The application sits neatly on one of your homescreens  It takes up a 1×4 block of space on the screen and looks good with vibrant colors.  These colors do much more than just look good: they are functional, informing you of the volume levels in the categories of:

• Alarm
• Music
• Alerts
• Ringer
• System
• Voice

Clicking on the widget will fire the console window.  From here you can use sliders to set the volume levels for the alarm, medial player, alerts, ringer, system, and calls.

And that’s about it for the program.  Its simple, yet effective.  And in Android that usually makes for the best applications.  Get AudioManager from the Android market by searching it or scanning the QR code below:

Lets start with Chess for Android.  Simply named, this is another chess game for Android.  What sets this apart from other games is that it has a sleek interface, good chess engine (I used to play frequently so I know), and is easy to use.  The board is a little small because of screen constraints, so the best way to play is by using the trackball to make moves.  There are various skill levels you can play, ranging from random play to expert.  Acess these play levels by pressing the menu button.  Some features of the program include

• Switch sides (You can play as black or white)
• Take back moves (For when you make a mistake)
• Moves list
• Different Levels of play
• Show valid moves
• Highlight opponents last move

Screenshots

Pros: Great interface, good engine.  Great gameplay experience, especially for those who have actually played chess before.  Would pay for this game.

Cons: There are a few petty features I’d like to see, like saving the moves for a game and export the moves list.  Also would like an option to rotate the board when playing black.

Rating: 4.5 / 5 Droids

Download information:

Name: Chess for Android
Developer: Aart Black
Price: Free!

E-mail from the Insyde Market

The Insyde Market is gearing up for the age when Android is available on netbooks.  They’re making a separate market for Android apps purely for netbook platforms.  This market will provide the same apps as the Android market, but it will provide versions of these applications optimized for a netbook platform.  Insyde Market offers to work with developers to revise their applications for a netbook platform.  Revisions can include:

• adjusting to the different sizes of netbook screens
• running on vastly different hardware than that provided by Android powered cell phones.  These hardware differences can include:
• Full keyboards
• Multi-touch screens
• other IMEs

Creating an account allows you to upload applications to the Insyde Market.  Other than that the site looks pretty simple.  Expect more additions in the future, especially when more applications are submitted.  Check out the Insyde market here.

You’ve got a homework assignment that you missed the handout for because, well… you slept though the last class.  It is due tomorrow and it is 11:35.  You need sleep.  What do you do?

If you’re me, you find a friend who is in the same class, scan their copy of the page and then settle down to working on the assignment and be done by 1.  Disaster averted.

Case 2:

You just got a letter that you have to share with someone.  But they’re kinda far away…say halfway across the nation away.  What do you do?

Again… scan said document, click the e-mail button, and get back to playing Team Fortress 2 (or doing that homework assignment you should have been doing)

As you can see this program is quite useful. 

Pros: Turns your phone into a scanner… what could be better?  Application works well and is easy to use.

Cons: Sometimes crashes, could use a little more image processing to make into seamless pdfs.  Right now you can still tell that a given document is a picture of a document and not just the document.

Rating: 4/5 Droids

Screenshots

     Homescreen:  This is where it begins.  Scan pages into a document that you can later turn into a .pdf file.

Making the pdf: Here you can make the pdf file, give it a name, and decide what to do with it after creation.

QR Codes

Lite Version:  This free version watermarks all documents created.

Full Version: This version for £3.99 drops the watermarking

Google Voice

Since grabbing my preview GV account, I’ve been in love with this app.  Although I only have one phone hooked up to this number, it helps with screening calls and allows me to text from either my phone or the computer which is a nice touch.

Barcode Scanner

This app is one of the coolest things about Android.  I can scan any barcode and then access information about that product.  I’ve used it to do comparative shopping, to save Urls of Android ROMs, and all sorts of various things.  As an added bonus, other applications are built on top of this app, making it all the more functional.

Facebook for Android

If you know me, you know that Facebook is my guiltly pleasure.  So when I found out that the Facebook app had finally come out, I immediately downloaded it and posted to my profile:

 

Now I can waste even more time on everybody’s favorite social website!

Places Directory

Literally I dont step foot in a city without firing this application up.  Its a nice neat offering from Google showing you most (if not all) the Points of Interest nearby.  Selections include places to eat, club, stay, browse, sightsee, and do whatever people do when they do what they do.  Its closely linked the Google Maps, which is always a plus.

Ringdroid

Another great app for Android is Ringdroid.  With this neat applications you can take any song off of your SD card, chop it up, and make it into a ringtone.  This is a must have for when you’re personalizing your phone.  Now you can freely use the hook of New Horizon, or in my case a remix of the Futurama theme song, as your ringtone.  That’s the definition of freedom!

Earlier, I bought to you news of AndroidStats.com and Cyrket.com. Here’s another site monitoring the Android market and making it available to the general public through the web browser. Androlib.com claims to be a place where users can “find all applications and games available in the Android Market for your Android Phone, HTC Dream, HTC Magic etc…”. The site seems to be comprehensive, complete with listings for the latest Android applications and even listing the latest comments on Android apps. Other than this, the site functions very similarly to AndroidStats, except for the fact that AndroidStats links back to Cyrket.com.

Overall, Andoidstats has a cleaner interface, so I like it better, but feel free to pick and choose what site you prefer to keep an eye on the happenings in the Android Market.