Related
What kind of security is recommended to set up on phone? I.e virus scan, firewall etc.
Thanks.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
I am currently testing Lookout Pro but I am new to smartphones so I would be interested in more experienced users responses.
Android is a modified Linux image. Linux needs antivirus like a fish needs a bicycle.
This is really a controversial issue, with most people seeing phone antivirus as not necessary. Personally I don't see the harm, Lookout is a good app that scans apps as well as locates your phone if it gets stolen. It's what I use.
Other than that just always use a secure wifi connection and only download apps you trust and you should be good to go!
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
I've been using lookout for almost a 2 months it drains my battery fast, but I still use it battery's not a problem though.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
It is *impossible* for an anti-virus to work on Android. If it did, then BY VERY DEFINITION, the anti-virus would actually be ***A VIRUS***. No installed application can access any data related to any other application unless either signed with the same private key (i.e., was produced by the same developer), or it is accessing information SPECIFICALLY SHARED by that other application.
Don't waste your limited brain capacity messing with antivirus nonsense. This concept only applies to MS WINDONKEYS, which has world renowned smoke and mirrors in place of ANY form of security.
A strong kernel is better than any kind of nonsense scanner.
dhkr123 said:
It is *impossible* for an anti-virus to work on Android. If it did, then BY VERY DEFINITION, the anti-virus would actually be ***A VIRUS***. No installed application can access any data related to any other application unless either signed with the same private key (i.e., was produced by the same developer), or it is accessing information SPECIFICALLY SHARED by that other application.
Don't waste your limited brain capacity messing with antivirus nonsense. This concept only applies to MS WINDONKEYS, which has world renowned smoke and mirrors in place of ANY form of security.
A strong kernel is better than any kind of nonsense scanner.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I LOL'd.
10 characters
Been using cell phones for over 20 years, I have used just about every platform, I have yet to come across a virus on a cell phone, right now waste of money, memory phone resources etc.
Took you guys advice and removed the trial Lookout app from my phone, tks!
Quick question I only have been using lookout cause of the GPS tracking incase my phone got stolen anyone know any other apps that do just that without taking up a ton of resources and battery?
Ditto. Android's modified Linux. If anything, Antivirus is just gonna slow it down. Beside, it's awful hard for anything to gain root access (needed to actually infect the system) without ADB. Without this element, a factory reset would destroy any remnants of a virus if any such beast even exists for Android. I seriously doubt anyone has anything to worry about as far as this is concerned.
Most would-be thieves are stopped simply by potential consequences. They know there's a GPS chip in those phones. Theft of service? In a lot of states, automatic felony. If not, the value of the phone alone could push a felony. Who knows if you have GPS tracking software installed? The IMEI blacklist which is activated when you report your phone stolen, essentially rendering it useless? The fact that it's a federal crime simply to change the IMEI to get around the blacklisted number. So many things to think about. Cell phone theft just isn't that common anymore.
So the likelihood of your phone catching a virus? Slim/none. The likelihood of it getting stolen? Also slim. Unless some idiot really wants that phone, which'll shut off as soon as you report it stolen anyway.
I've been using Android since it came out on the G1. I say just enjoy it. Save your space for more useful (or fun) apps.
Hi, everyone.
I am fairly new on the forum. I keep reading about "rooting" your phone. I have a Samsung Galaxy SII T989 and my questions are:
1. What is "phone rooting" ?
2. What are the advantages of having your phone "rooted" ?
Thank you.
I'm *hoping* this is a joke, but if it isn't, here's a good place to start:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=why+root+your+phone
unclespoon said:
I'm *hoping* this is a job, but if it isn't, here's a good place to start:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow that's pretty awesome, would have never thought about that ha ha ha
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Yes... It is a job to think: Why would you risk to unstable your phone by "root" it?
I see that:
- people are removing the wrong apps that negatively affect their phones (e.q. a ccounts and sync).
- people's phone are missing other thinks they used to like (bars, the small flashing blue light when you scroll to the top and to the bottom of the screen).
- the pletoria of apps for rooted phone are not that great...
- the advantage you get is that you only free up some internal space?
I have no issues with my phone rooted. I am on a stock T-Mobile ROM and froze all the bloatware. You can get rids of ads in apps when rooted which is pretty damn convenient for me. Do research on what is safe to freeze and you wont have any problems. Freezing is more safe than uninstalling...
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
The reason is you then have 100% control over your system. If you know what you're doing, having root can be a very powerful tool. You can greatly speed up the phone, free up ram, theme things, it gives you total control.
Now this is a double edged sword too. All the horror stories you're hearing about root are by people who don't have the faintest idea what they're doing and are breaking things.
Think of it in terms of computers. On linux, having root is, well, having root. You have full access to the system. On windows, (vista and above mainly) it's like having an administrator account with UAC turned off. In the right hands, this is very very nice. In the wrong hands, it can cause problems.
If you don't see the benefit of rooting, then I'd highly suggest you do not do so. These devices are not windows boxes where you screw up and "oh well, guess it's time to bust out the windows cd and do a re-install. I'd also suggest perhaps looking through the market at things that require root, and the benefits they give you. (Titanium backup, for instance. Or tethering when your provider doesn't want you to.)
Sui Generis said:
Yes... It is a job to think: Why would you risk to unstable your phone by "root" it?
I see that:
- people are removing the wrong apps that negatively affect their phones (e.q. a ccounts and sync).
- people's phone are missing other thinks they used to like (bars, the small flashing blue light when you scroll to the top and to the bottom of the screen).
- the pletoria of apps for rooted phone are not that great...
- the advantage you get is that you only free up some internal space?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly if you don't want to root your phone do not root it. A lot of the problems you mention stem from people attempting to root and don't know what they are really doing. I am one of those people who are strictly against one click root methods. Because you literally don't need to read anything to understand what exactly are you doing.
If you know what you can do with a rooted phone things like
-Better battery life by manipulating the cpu cycles and governors.
-Change the entire look of the phone to look as if it a totally different os.
-Better performance overall of your phone
-Overall better experience than what the carrier give you.
I could name endless things about why rooting is better than what the stock gives you.
A lot of people I hear just say go to xda and root your phone. Which is very ignorant. Not everyone should root. If your phone is doing what it needs to do then leave it alone. My friends who have android phones ask me to root for them i tell them no root it themselves. With one click methods people make an xda account and blame the developer saying their rom sucks and is bad battery life where as the problems stem most of the time the user side.
I agree. I haven't rooted my SGS2 yet because the stock ROM, for me, seems to be serving its purpose very well. All my benchmark scores are within standard deviation of the OC kernels and now we've got wifi calling. I use ADW for a new UI and that suits me just fine. Yes, ICS will come from CM long before it does from the carriers, but I'm ok with that - even though I'll probably end up rooting and installing ICS once it's stable. My previous Android phones were rooted within days of purchase, and yes I would like to remove bloat, but with all the internal storage and my 32gb sd card I think I'll be a happy camper. It would be nice to know carrier IQ was gone, though...
rooting = control
no root = no control over settings
they don't let you root by default to prevent noobs from damaging their phone by changing some settings they should have not touched
when i rooted my phone and got beastmod 4.0 with flaux kernal my battery life increased like 50x than stock x.x
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
I personally don't think I'll be rooting (at least not while the phone's still new). I'm happy with the level of customization on the stock.
One question though. So basically, when rooted, you are "logged in" to your phone as root user? Are there any security risks with this?
Killbynature said:
Honestly if you don't want to root your phone do not root it. A lot of the problems you mention stem from people attempting to root and don't know what they are really doing. I am one of those people who are strictly against one click root methods. Because you literally don't need to read anything to understand what exactly are you doing.
If you know what you can do with a rooted phone things like
-Better battery life by manipulating the cpu cycles and governors.
-Change the entire look of the phone to look as if it a totally different os.
-Better performance overall of your phone
-Overall better experience than what the carrier give you.
I could name endless things about why rooting is better than what the stock gives you.
A lot of people I hear just say go to xda and root your phone. Which is very ignorant. Not everyone should root. If your phone is doing what it needs to do then leave it alone. My friends who have android phones ask me to root for them i tell them no root it themselves. With one click methods people make an xda account and blame the developer saying their rom sucks and is bad battery life where as the problems stem most of the time the user side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree entirely, back on the ns forums I was constantly advising people against one click.
Sent from my Hercules with xda Premium.
eMace said:
I personally don't think I'll be rooting (at least not while the phone's still new). I'm happy with the level of customization on the stock.
One question though. So basically, when rooted, you are "logged in" to your phone as root user? Are there any security risks with this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only if you use bad apps. Its just like on any other os: if you're the administrator you have to be twice as careful wity what you install
Sent from my Hercules with xda Premium.
Rooting your phone is like getting under the hood of your car.
If you have never worked on a car, it would not be wise to just start pulling out plugs/wires, moving things around and installing enhancements as you would probably ruin your car and end up paying a mechanic to fix it.
However, if you take the time to read up on any changes before you make them, then you could end up with a turbo-boosted hot rod with a custom Chrome setup that not only looks better but performs like a champ.
www.youtube.com/themrroxtar noob tutorials and rom reviews. Check it out. Plus everyone can find how to win a free Hercules at the end of this month!
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
for me, rooting is mainly removing bloatware.
just like when you buy a new laptop, they install a lot of crap and it slow your computer down.
rooting can remove bloatware and also give you more speed, but you might lose the upgrading from the OTA(official t mobile update) and need to check update in here.
but if you are ok with the performance that you can on your phone now, stay with it.
It's all about the flash (yeah, bahby!) The custom ROM's can't be flashed without root: Forget about deleting/freezing unwanted applications and find a developers ROM you like - experiment a bit and have some fun with the phone.
As well, applications that require root - quick boot and appinstaller, are a must for me, making root mandatory for my phoning pleasure.
I had an HD2 before, and while there's greater variety in the ROM's, set-up to root is a biach on the HTC devices, so we can thank our lucky stars Samsung makes this easier (prolly not on purpose, though )
TheMrRoxtar said:
www.youtube.com/themrroxtar noob tutorials and rom reviews. Check it out. Plus everyone can find how to win a free Hercules at the end of this month!
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's up man...wheelerhomes from YouTube.
Enjoying my rooted sg2! Have to agree with some comments ...understand what you're doing or don't do it. I learned just enough to be dangerous! But am picking up more and more as I read. I do wish the tutorials went a little more into WHY you're doing this or that vs just saying do this. It confusing to grasp what rooting is but when start downloading Odin, loading superuser, clockwork mod recovery, titanium, etc its REALLY overwhelming not knowing what each step does.
I certainly did not need to root. But like all these phones, it started out nice and snappy and within a week it was glitching like my old vibrant ...all kinds of stupid crap running in the background. Rooting was stressful because I didn't know exactly why I was doing these different steps!! Once I did it I was stoked at how fast my phone was. Just flashed wifi stock rom today that whitehawkx put up and I'm already missing my Juggernaut! But wifi calling/texting is slick for my location!
OK,
- better battery life can serve me better...
- being able to install other apps (such call recorder) can also be beneficial...
The problem is that I come from the Windows side rather than the Linux or Apple so I do not excel into this so I am afraid not to brick the phone.
Having said that, it would be VERY, VERY, VERY nice of you (or everyone else with a very rooted stable phone) to post clear and "for dummies" instructions on how to:
1. root your phone
2. install customed rom (beastmod, juggernaut or odin, etc - upon your recommendation).
Many thanks in advance !
eMace said:
I personally don't think I'll be rooting (at least not while the phone's still new).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Installed clockwork mod recovery on the first boot while the phone was still in the plastic wrap. Rooted via superoneclick on the 2nd boot ONLY because you have to reboot after flashing clockwork mod.
The process is easy if you read the instructions.
Sent from my Hercules using XDA App
I've had my E4GT for about 2 or 3 weeks now, I received the OTA update to FI27 last week, and overall I'm pretty happy with it (I was happy before the update though, but to be honest because I only had the phone a few days I haven't noticed a difference ).
I rooted my last phone, which was a Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V, but that was because Virgin loaded it with a bunch of bloatware and there was a very good ROM that removed all of it, improved battery life, etc etc.
But with this phone, I don't find I have any issues with battery life, I have plenty of space on my phone with way more apps installed than I had on the Optimus, it runs smoothly, and the only complaint I have is that my LED notification light isn't working correctly, which I know can be fixed with an app.
So, to all the people that have rooted and know what else this phone can do, is there a good reason other than "you can install lots of different custom roms" that I should root my phone? What else will I be able to do with it? What benefits will I see? Installing different ROMs doesn't mean much to me. Even though I did that on my old phone, there was a real reason to do it: I could install more than 4 apps on it (and I kept that same ROM on it the entire time). I don't have that issue with this phone, so why should I?
Thanks
I personally consider customization, removing bloatware, and tweaking to your own liking genuine and legitimate reasons. You also have Ad blocking & WiFi tether though.
You shouldn't if you are happy with it.
I rooted for those reasons..
-Tired of stock look. Install new roms.
-Use apps needing root like titaniun backup.
-Get rid of stock apps.
I didnt root for almost 2 months. I was eager to try ics leaks before ota so I eventually rooted.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
someguyatx said:
I personally consider customization, removing bloatware, and tweaking to your own liking genuine and legitimate reasons. You also have Ad blocking & WiFi tether though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this is what I don't really understand. What sort of customization and tweaking can be done to the phone? What are the effects of it?
BluesRulez said:
You shouldn't if you are happy with it.
I rooted for those reasons..
-Tired of stock look. Install new roms.
-Use apps needing root like titaniun backup.
-Get rid of stock apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't you really only need Titanium Backup if you are gonna be rooting though? The bloatware I can deal with as the phone hasn't (yet) told me that I don't have enough space to stop me from installing new apps.
mewikime said:
I've had my E4GT for about 2 or 3 weeks now, I received the OTA update to FI27 last week, and overall I'm pretty happy with it (I was happy before the update though, but to be honest because I only had the phone a few days I haven't noticed a difference ).
I rooted my last phone, which was a Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V, but that was because Virgin loaded it with a bunch of bloatware and there was a very good ROM that removed all of it, improved battery life, etc etc.
But with this phone, I don't find I have any issues with battery life, I have plenty of space on my phone with way more apps installed than I had on the Optimus, it runs smoothly, and the only complaint I have is that my LED notification light isn't working correctly, which I know can be fixed with an app.
So, to all the people that have rooted and know what else this phone can do, is there a good reason other than "you can install lots of different custom roms" that I should root my phone? What else will I be able to do with it? What benefits will I see? Installing different ROMs doesn't mean much to me. Even though I did that on my old phone, there was a real reason to do it: I could install more than 4 apps on it (and I kept that same ROM on it the entire time). I don't have that issue with this phone, so why should I?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no reason for you to root. You are happy that's good.
XDA's 4,697,117+ Members are just nuts. We're unhappy with our stuff and insist on making it less useful to us.
Nothing to see here....
Seriously if you need to ask and don't want to investigate for yourself then rooting and certainly these forums are not for you.
I root because
- Hate Touchwiz look
- Customization
- Themes
- Battery Saving options
- AOSP (AOKP)
- JELLYBEAN
- Better reception and data
You may be happy with bloat. I do not want battery resources going to apps I will never open. I like battery life. I like optimization. I like customization. If you don't see a need then don't do it. But if your phone ever drowns don't complain that you lost all your game data or texts and stuff. With titanium backup I can even set a schedule to back up those items for me at whatever time to my sd card. So if my phone drowns I pop my as card into my new phone and its all there. Also make nandroids when I receive my replacement its like my phone never died. Its all exactly how I had it.
sent from my BAD A$$ Epic touch
I run stock 90% of the time.
My main reason to root at least after FF18
-Tethering
-Tethering nothing more
I said after FF18 because on Gingerbread there's no need to root for tethering thanks to FoxFi but since ICS, Sprint block it and they are working on a new version for ICS when they found a way again I'm back to Stock.
Do what you want!
That is what is most important.
If there was any legitimate reason, it would be because you want to.
Otherwise you are just following what someone else says. Of course, there are very good reasons for both. The one thing I am told a lot by people on the other end of the phone conversation consistently, is that there seems to be feedback and they hear themselves a lot(- since I started Modding). What do I care, I hear everyone just fine. But I do care. I use my phone for work a lot. NOW, someone else is going to post after this that you can play with modems and what not to clear this up... which is true. And also you can reflash and do this & do that. What if the person using the phone just wants simplicity.... stay stock! Do not pass go. It takes tweeking, fine adjustments, research and ROM updates(The almighty Search box on XDA is awesome) and time to figure some of this stuff out. And ALSO it doesn't hurt to have an interest in android, Apps, ROMs and so on and so on.
Sometimes either the manufacturer or the carrier sends out updates that just don't work well. I like having the ability to keep it working properly, not working the way Sprint thinks is best for me.
You have only had your phone for a month. I have had mine for about a year, and others here have had it longer. If you are trying to convince us not to root, you should spend your time on the Sprint message boards instead of here.
Your happy that's what matters. Your choice
Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Xparent SkyBlue Tapatalk 2
It comes down to personal choice. Android is customizable right out of the box. It is even more so once you root and get under the hood.
Agreed with all that say it's your choice. Also your habits are very important. One of the reasons why I love Android is that I can literally change my software whenever I want. I was running AOKP 2 days ago, M'ICS the day after. Now today I'm on stock rooted FI27.
Honestly though, this phone is really good out of the box. I had the LG Optimus V for over a year as well, and the only way to get that phone to perform was to root it and put a custom ROM on it. It was actually a great phone for being low end. I had said that when I upgraded to this phone that I wouldn't root it, but that didn't last long. Really though, you can easily get the performance you're looking for on this phone without rooting it.
I rooted for UV/OC ability.
And I really didn't like touchwiz, but I accidentally found that it comes stock with both the ICS launcher and TW launchers, so that was a plus.
I'm on a stock rom running agat's source 6.5 kernel. Runs great. Only thing better would be if I could find an optimized stock rom (much like Sprint Lovers on the OG Evo 4G.)
I'm rooted because I like to tell my devices what to do.
I guess rooting might make more sense if you've ever been an administrator or if you've ever ran any Linux machine.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Tethering and titanium backup. There is no way to truly backup data without root and on something as accident prone as a smartphone that's a necessity.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
mewikime said:
Don't you really only need Titanium Backup if you are gonna be rooting though? The bloatware I can deal with as the phone hasn't (yet) told me that I don't have enough space to stop me from installing new apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't reliably backup say your angry bird progress without TiBu or the like and being rooted. Sure for this specific series of apps there have been applications made to back up the save progress but they have proven often at times to be unreliable.
Maybe your favorite app gets pulled from the market, lets say flash. Too bad you didn't back up the APK. Of course for flash you can download the apk from adobe still so not a great example but you get the idea.
But overall something like Titanium Backup comes in handy if you ever need to format the phone. Like say the OTA to ICS, problems for unrooted users were easily solved by a factory reset (except for that brick bug triggered by factory reset...). Nice to be able to restore all your user apps with all their settings and save data.
I rooted so I could use a PS3 controller back on gingerbread. As time goes on many things that required root like taking screenshots have become officially available in Android or OEM firmware. Question is you want to be able to do completely normal and reasonable things up to a couple years ahead of Google catching up? Surely if someone locked down your windows PC so you couldn't do things you take for granted you would wish for root access.
I waited about 5 months before I finally rooted my phone. My old phone was rooted and I liked CM7 and MIUI but with stock ICS on this phone I was getting amazing battery life and I was using GO Launcher and it looked great. The only thing I hated was the black status bar and it could only be changed if it was rooted.
There are a lot of roms for our phone but I really missed the CM7 rom I had on the old optimus S. It supported status bar transparency and I could change the color of the status bar and status bar text. It looks like no rom for our phone has that feature. Right now I'm on MIUI which has a great looking UI but battery life isn't nearly as good as the unrooted FH13. I get the best battery life with CM9 which is still a lot less than before when it wasn't rooted. My phone used to last around 60 hours with very light use and now I could only get around 48 hours with CM9 and maybe 30 hours with MIUI. But I'm still happy with it since I get tons of beautiful themes and new features and I like to try new roms and it keeps me busy lol.
Rooting allows you to have full control of the device whether its software or hardware. I agree that this phone is just fine stock. It just works and its fast.
Reasons why I'm rooted
Titanium backup, roam control, extended toggles, root explorer to push custom themed apps to /system/app. When rooted you can do almost anything with your phone that comes to your mind. There's a pic of the super super handy extended toggles that I can't live with out.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
leaderbuilder said:
There is no reason for you to root. You are happy that's good.
XDA's 4,697,117+ Members are just nuts. We're unhappy with our stuff and insist on making it less useful to us.
Nothing to see here....
Seriously if you need to ask and don't want to investigate for yourself then rooting and certainly these forums are not for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
byrdcfmma said:
You have only had your phone for a month. I have had mine for about a year, and others here have had it longer. If you are trying to convince us not to root, you should spend your time on the Sprint message boards instead of here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't trying to imply that anyone who has rooted this phone is nuts, you shouldn't have done it, and that it's less useful. I was asking what are some specific advantages to rooting, how does rooting make it more useful, as at the moment I have had no issues with the operation of the phone, but I don't know the full extent of what it can do when rooted, and I thought that these forums would be the place to get such answers from experienced rooted users who have had their phones for a year and know more than I do. I should have worded my initial question differently to explain that better.
hrffd said:
I root because
- Better reception and data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is interesting to know. At home I get 1 bar of reception if I'm lucky, dropped calls, and no 3G data. I had to ask Sprint for an Airave. When I leave my street but am still in the general neighbourhood I get no service again. Is reception improved by root-only apps or certain ROMs?
patrao_n said:
You may be happy with bloat. I do not want battery resources going to apps I will never open. ... But if your phone ever drowns don't complain that you lost all your game data or texts and stuff. With titanium backup I can even set a schedule to back up those items for me at whatever time to my sd card. So if my phone drowns I pop my as card into my new phone and its all there. Also make nandroids when I receive my replacement its like my phone never died. Its all exactly how I had it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for telling me that. It's not that I'm happy with them, I just haven't yet had my phone tell me I can't install a new app. When that happens no doubt I wouldn't be pleased. I assumed that because I hadn't opened the bloatware apps that they weren't using battery resources so it's good to know that they do, and that this is a good reason for rooting and removing them. Your reasons for using Titanium backup were something I hadn't thought of as well.
Omar04 said:
I run stock 90% of the time.
My main reason to root at least after FF18
-Tethering
-Tethering nothing more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, good to know. As I said, I've had the phone a couple of weeks and only now with a lower workload have I really had time to sit and contemplate what to do with my phone, and look into what it does and what it can do. I have the paid EasyTether app but I haven't used it on this phone yet. I also saw that it comes preloaded with Sprint Hotspot app.. I take it then that EasyTether won't work on this phone with current stock setup?
mjs2011 said:
Agreed with all that say it's your choice. Also your habits are very important. One of the reasons why I love Android is that I can literally change my software whenever I want. I was running AOKP 2 days ago, M'ICS the day after. Now today I'm on stock rooted FI27.
Honestly though, this phone is really good out of the box. I had the LG Optimus V for over a year as well, and the only way to get that phone to perform was to root it and put a custom ROM on it. It was actually a great phone for being low end. I had said that when I upgraded to this phone that I wouldn't root it, but that didn't last long. Really though, you can easily get the performance you're looking for on this phone without rooting it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think if I did root, I'd do what I did with the OV and stick with the same ROM for a good time. Again, not to insult those that do (see above reply), but I don't think I'd have the balls to run different roms on a daily basis in fear of bricking it and also because once I've found something I'm happy with I'm usually okay not to look any further!
Mattix724 said:
I'm rooted because I like to tell my devices what to do.
I guess rooting might make more sense if you've ever been an administrator or if you've ever ran any Linux machine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, no. No Linux experience here except for a tiny bit of stuff on my seedbox, installing 7zip and using Putty to unzip iso's and stuff.
I'm going to spend the next couple of days reading the various forums, looking at what ROMs are available, what they do, etc etc, checking out what apps that require root access I'm missing out on.. one has piqued my interest already: Root Call Blocker. But I use my phone to make calls, make texts, check emails, surf the web a bit, and let the kids play a few games on it. So this is why I was wondering if there were any other benefits for me to do this.
Proud new owner of HOX was using GS3 before and HATED every moment of using that piece of crap! So far im in love with my HOX but since im running stock ICS i do suffer some performance issues time to time, So therefor i need your opinion should i root my one x and install custom JB rom or should i wait for the official OTA from htc, My main reason for rooting is like a said to flash JB other than that i can live without rooting my one x so should i root or wait for the OTA.
Use your phone for a while first, there have been a couple of issues that have turned up a little while into ownership so best ensure you don't have them first.
Then, once your happy you won't have issues, it's up to you whether to root or not, personally I always root for better control and backup ability.
Could you elaborate more into what kind of issues?
jb ota is right around the corner if your phone is not branded...
just wait till you get it and decide after if you still feel the need to root.
Will the gaming performance improve with jb cuz rite now when i play gta 3 it lags like crazy! i cant even imagine playing gta vice city which should be coming out in few weeks.
Astonrynlds said:
Will the gaming performance improve with jb cuz rite now when i play gta 3 it lags like crazy! i cant even imagine playing gta vice city which should be coming out in few weeks.
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if it comes better optimized its smoother, but yeah rooting it will give a better performance and battery savings
Don't root your phone it will void warranty with htc ,wait at least a couple of months to see if any of the hox issues that may or may not shows up ( WiFi ,screen issues.hotness) on your phone
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Agree with #2, #4 and #7
Not just yet, wait to see if another root method comes that won't void warranty or at least until your phone settles in n you know it has no problems, mine after 2 months speaker gave up and headphone jack stopped working so had to send it off was so pleased I hadn't voided my warranty
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
If you like gaming you must root as there is a gaming boost app made by hamdir and mwilky that improve the gaming a lot and there are kernel with oc GPU that help but sadly these are just for a ICS.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
atrako1973 said:
Don't root your phone it will void warranty with htc ,wait at least a couple of months to see if any of the hox issues that may or may not shows up ( WiFi ,screen issues.hotness) on your phone
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
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^^^ Not necessarily true, a lot of the time HTC repair center's will turn a blind eye to the phone if it's rooted as a lot of users have verified now, read the threads.
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@ OP- I'd stay stock for a while mate, as said here before, OTA's are just around the corner, if, after that you still feel curious just root it and install ARHD, that way you'll still have the stock experience and it won't be too much of a culture shock for you.
AND Then if you still feel curious flash customer kernels and mods etc...
Baby steps bro...
You can use my thread (check my sig) to root the phone, then stop there once rooted and then use this JB Flasher Tool to make getting onto JB easier for you.
Thanks alot guys! Since OTA is just around the corner figure i'd wait for that. But as far as issues goes so none whatsoever infact the battery is been surprisingly been on par with s3 or iphone 4s.
Do non-sense roms have the same aggressive memory management that the stock rom has? I'm going to wait for the JB update, but if it still kills apps quickly like stock ICS does, I might go with a custom ROM.
It's REALLY annoying when I open a 3rd (gasp!) app, and when I pop back to the first, it has to completely reload. Mostly annoying when that app is a browser page.
tush said:
Do non-sense roms have the same aggressive memory management that the stock rom has? I'm going to wait for the JB update, but if it still kills apps quickly like stock ICS does, I might go with a custom ROM.
It's REALLY annoying when I open a 3rd (gasp!) app, and when I pop back to the first, it has to completely reload. Mostly annoying when that app is a browser page.
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That'll always happen with multitasking, HTC muffed up the multitasking so it isn't what I'd call 'true' multitasking. It'll mostly need to reload the app.
I think Hamdir wrote a good thread on how to counter that with some script changes, try asking him?
I don't think the aggressive memory management is down to HTC Sense per se I think it's an Android thing? Again that'd need verification.
Root can be handy to have. The most obvious use is backup, if you want to make sure your app data (for those apps that still insist on using phone storage for data/savegames) and settings are covered. But I've personally had a few "needs root" things pop up now.
It's worth at least unlocking the bootloader sooner rather than later in case you ever do decide you want root, because when you do the unlock it wipes your phone. Better to go through re-setting it up early rather than having to wipe it later when you have loads of stuff on it.
On the other hand it voids warranty, and they can tell even if you re-lock the device as it will permanently say "re-locked". If you have a hardware fault you can probably pull some sort of consumer protection law thing on them, but you need to be aware that they'll probably fight it tooth and nail and claim that your warranty is "Void. Period." People's experiences are well documented in the warranty thread.
My approach was to wait a month and not get too settled-in with my data/apps/etc during that month. A really high percentage of hardware faults with any device or machine show up within the first month* so after that I felt comfortable enough to take the plunge.
* (The month thing is known as the breaking-in period... I work for an electronics manufacturer and one thing they offer is doing the break-in testing in-house before even shipping to the customer. At a fairly high price of course)
Noup. If u ask about it, u shouldnt root hox.
Stay away from rooting things.
Yes bro... Why not?
SkyDragon Sense Rom V1
Well,
if you agree that you may loose warranty, let me tell you why I always root my phones..
- to delete all crappy applications (stock, soundhound, carriers app...)
- to be able to install some cleaning app which needs root (game cheats, ad cleaners ...)
- to change Roms and find the one I need (in fact I change every week )
- many, many others usefull things...
By the way, i already return old phones to sellers, they were repaired, even with unlocked bootloaders & root. Maybe I was lucky
Mihmoh said:
Well,
if you agree that you may loose warranty, let me tell you why I always root my phones..
- to delete all crappy applications (stock, soundhound, carriers app...)
- to be able to install some cleaning app which needs root (game cheats, ad cleaners ...)
- to change Roms and find the one I need (in fact I change every week )
- many, many others usefull things...
By the way, i already return old phones to sellers, they were repaired, even with unlocked bootloaders & root. Maybe I was lucky
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I totally agree with you. I just hate those crappy apps. It's like buying a notebook full of bloatware and not being able to remove it! I'm sure that is not cool LOL. Besides that, I think Titanium Backup Pro is a must, and it only works on rooted phones.
To ROOT or not to ROOT, that's the question.... :laugh:
davidflam said:
I totally agree with you. I just hate those crappy apps. It's like buying a notebook full of bloatware and not being able to remove it! I'm sure that is not cool LOL. Besides that, I think Titanium Backup Pro is a must, and it only works on rooted phones.
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davidflam said:
I totally agree with you. I just hate those crappy apps. It's like buying a notebook full of bloatware and not being able to remove it! I'm sure that is not cool LOL. Besides that, I think Titanium Backup Pro is a must, and it only works on rooted phones.
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Yes, Titanium Backup is The Must.
My Favorites are, as said below, Titanium (pro) , Nova Launcher (with root), Lucky Patcher, and of course Adfree.
Usually, as soon as I get a new phone (having 3 now : DHD, Sensation, One X... Nexus 4 coming) or Tablet (Xoom wifi MZ604, Nexus 7) , I root it after having unlocked it.
I can't stand having some lags & freez screens on devices.
So should you root ?
Maybe you should see with some friends of yours or some relatives that owns some rooted HOX. Of course, before unlocking and footing your device, make sure your device is working good, have no problems.
Assuming it even hits our device in an official capacity at some point, I will not be taking the Lollipop update. Why not? Because Google has decided to add a kill switch...
http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/15/...includes-kill-switch-factory-reset-protection
Sure, it sounds like a smart idea and a nice feature on the surface, but having spent more than my fair share of time mucking about with various means of remotely (and stealthily) accessing Android devices, the potential for abuse is too great....Not to mention the fact that the NSA and other alphabets must be absolutely thrilled about such a 'feature'. No thanks....
I see your point. There are ups and downs to.. Pretty much everything. I, myself, would be more than thrilled for a 5.0 update. Not like any of my bank info or other personal info has been stolen or used without my consent, nor have I done any really big illegal activities through my device which would give the NSA a reason to look my way.
Interesting. I think it's worth noting, the article claims that Google implemented the ability to remotely lock phones "last year." So that should automatically dispel any notion of anonymity. Besides that, i think the NSA and other "outfits" have had access to personal devices long before the announcement of lollipop. If you really desire to stay off the grid, he prepared to make substantial efforts.
Not that the NSA needs such a feature. They're already capable of going through your phone it's nothing new.
A big issue would be someone maliciously taking over the kill switch and locking you out with no way in.
Yeah that would definitely suck.
The thing that concerns me most isn't privacy or nefarious doings by the NSA. Everyone knows by now (or should) that privacy and anonymity don't exist in the digital world, and the NSA already has their grubby mitts into everything. I'm more concerned about the possibility of other random people being able to lock me out of my phone.
I'm not going to go into detail, as XDA is not the place for such things and the information can easily be gleaned elsewhere, but as I mentioned, there are already fairly simple ways to get full, remote access of somebody's phone. All it takes is 20 seconds or so of physical access to a device, or a little bit of social engineering to get somebody to install a seemingly benign apk (infected Play Store updates were my favorite), and you can do whatever you want, undetected.
Now imagine you install something, and unbeknownst to you it gives someone complete remote access to your device, starts sniffing passwords, and running keyloggers. Before long, they've got your complete Google account (for example). Next, they change your password, associated phone number, and recovery email addresses to their own, and activate your device's 'kill switch'. You would be left holding a paper weight, without ever knowing what happened, and there would be nothing you could do about it...
I tend to be very careful about what I install, but even I have installed the odd apk I've gotten here at XDA, or compiled and installed something from Github without checking through the source. It's almost impossible to be 100% certain everything you install is clean.
Fortunately, such malicious 'attacks' (for lack of a better word) aren't all that common, relatively speaking. The odds of you randomly becoming a victim of such a thing are marginal. Also, I'm sure once Lollipop is out in the wild, people will start finding flaws with the 'kill switch' implementation, and ultimately, ways of circumventing it. Maybe then I'll consider updating. Until then, however, knowing what nefarious things are possible with it, however unlikely, far outweighs any potential reasons to want to update.
Maybe I'm a little over-paranoid, but that's my take on it, for what it's worth....
Morningstar said:
The thing that concerns me most isn't privacy or nefarious doings by the NSA. Everyone knows by now (or should) that privacy and anonymity don't exist in the digital world, and the NSA already has their grubby mitts into everything. I'm more concerned about the possibility of other random people being able to lock me out of my phone.
I'm not going to go into detail, as XDA is not the place for such things and the information can easily be gleaned elsewhere, but as I mentioned, there are already fairly simple ways to get full, remote access of somebody's phone. All it takes is 20 seconds or so of physical access to a device, or a little bit of social engineering to get somebody to install a seemingly benign apk (infected Play Store updates were my favorite), and you can do whatever you want, undetected.
Now imagine you install something, and unbeknownst to you it gives someone complete remote access to your device, starts sniffing passwords, and running keyloggers. Before long, they've got your complete Google account (for example). Next, they change your password, associated phone number, and recovery email addresses to their own, and activate your device's 'kill switch'. You would be left holding a paper weight, without ever knowing what happened, and there would be nothing you could do about it...
I tend to be very careful about what I install, but even I have installed the odd apk I've gotten here at XDA, or compiled and installed something from Github without checking through the source. It's almost impossible to be 100% certain everything you install is clean.
Fortunately, such malicious 'attacks' (for lack of a better word) aren't all that common, relatively speaking. The odds of you randomly becoming a victim of such a thing are marginal. Also, I'm sure once Lollipop is out in the wild, people will start finding flaws with the 'kill switch' implementation, and ultimately, ways of circumventing it. Maybe then I'll consider updating. Until then, however, knowing what nefarious things are possible with it, however unlikely, far outweighs any potential reasons to want to update.
Maybe I'm a little over-paranoid, but that's my take on it, for what it's worth....
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I wouldn't doubt it if people are already considering to do that to a greater extent.
First of all the name itself "kill switch" is totally misleading. "Killing" something or somebody in full meaning of the word means ending it's life permanently. The way I read the article, this thing simply disables the phone remotely until proper password is entered? How is this different from SIM card lock password protection, or log on password most phones have for ages, that now it will be mandated by another useless law? Or maybe that this new method can not be bypassed? It's still not a kill switch, if it can be reversed and it should be called disable switch or something, but it doesn't have the same ring to it.
There has to be way to unlock the phone without password, otherwise there will be a lot of angry people who forgot/lost password especially if set once and forgotten until let's say 6 months later the switch is activated.
For example couple years ago I think I set password for program purchases on my cable box, so kids can't purchase something by accident, I have no idea what that password is. At least I have no intentions of buying anything.
Also what stops the thief from breaking phone apart and selling parts? My wife broke the screen on her GS3, replacement screen is more expensive than brand new GS3.
And who activates the switch? if user, a lot of people won't have a clue, if company, imagine some prankster breaks into Apple servers, steals the codes and kills 3,000,000 iphones, actually come to think of it, that wouldn't be such a bad thing.
I may not update to L either, but for more practical reasons, like are there any benefits for me, is there root method without tripping knox, or will it kill my battery, like update to KK did.
pete4k said:
First of all the name itself "kill switch" is totally misleading. "Killing" something or somebody in full meaning of the word means ending it's life permanently. The way I read the article, this thing simply disables the phone remotely until proper password is entered? How is this different from SIM card lock password protection, or log on password most phones have for ages, that now it will be mandated by another useless law? Or maybe that this new method can not be bypassed?
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I agree that 'kill switch' probably isn't the best term for it. My understanding, from the few articles I've read about it, is that it will lock the phone down until the Google account is verified. I'm not sure if that verification will be done via password entry, email verification, two-factor authentication, or some other means.
For an attacker using the methods I've previously mentioned, a SIM lock would pose a problem, but lockscreen passwords, patterns and pins are trivial to get around.
Like I said, it's not clear yet (from what I've found) how verification will be done to deactivate the 'kill switch', but if it does in fact require verifying the associated Google account in some way, a phone's legitimate owner would be out of luck, as somebody with the means and desire to activate the 'kill switch' in the first place would have no problem in also gaining complete and total control of the associated Google account.
I want to be clear that this is speculation based on my current understanding of a 'feature' that has not yet been released to the public. There may well be safeguards in place to prevent such things, and Google may still make changes before Lollipop is available to the public. I am not suggesting that people refrain from updating to Lollipop when and if an update becomes available. I also want to emphasize that even if the 'feature' is released with such inherent vulnerabilities, that it is not something the average user should every worry about. The odds of anyone randomly being a victim of such an attack are practically non-existant.
That being said, this is XDA. Most members here are fairly technical-minded (at least compared to the general public), and are interested in knowing and realizing the full potential of their devices. As such, I think it should at least be known that such vulnerabilities as I've mentioned do exist, and attacks may be made that much worse, depending on how Google implements the 'kill switch' feature. However remote it may be, it's a possibility, and something that people may or may not want to take into consideration.
Now you know, and knowing is half the battle. G.I. Joe....
Not really a sound reason to avoid lollipop in my opinion. If you're concerned about the remote tracking (that already exists) and the upcoming kill switch; after root, find the associated files and freeze or delete them. The mobile tracker came off my phone right after Knox, not for any reason other than the fact it eats battery like crazy. There's always work arounds to their technology, but as far as the nsa, or any other group or morons listening to you; the chances of you as an individual being targeted are 1 in 136,149,000 (in the US). I don't care if you have 50,000 stolen mp3's on your device and like to try and steal old ladies bank account numbers with your tablet, it's chump change to them and having the mindset that they're listening is as bad as these people who prepare for dooms day, zombie apocalypse, and everything else... it's just crazy. If your concerns are a kill switch, then you might as well stay in your house because there's cameras everywhere out there, your ps3 and Xbox cameras can be accessed if you're on the Web, there's hundreds of satellites circling the globe gathering information, and every thought, search or anything you've done on the Web is accessible whether you delete your history or not. If your computer has been there, there's a footprint, if you used a vpn or tried playing shadow games to hide your identity, it can be traced if they want to. Life is too short top worry about such silly things. Live it up and have fun!
Just my 2 cents for the night.
Do you wear a tin foil hat too?? Whether you like it or not, you're on the grid already. There is no getting off. The NSA wants you, they're gonna get you. Good luck running
That is very true. But as more people protest, the companies are actually fighting back against the government. Like Yahoo against the NSA and Facebook against the DEA, people just need to keep letting know that we won't tolerate getting stripped buttass naked of our personal privacy.
Sent from my hlte using XDA Free mobile app
nighthawk626 said:
That is very true. But as more people protest, the companies are actually fighting back against the government. Like Yahoo against the NSA and Facebook against the DEA, people just need to keep letting know that we won't tolerate getting stripped buttass naked of our personal privacy.
Sent from my hlte using XDA Free mobile app
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Just look at Apple. They're getting a lot of heat for the filevault encryption software.
Apple has had their legs spread open and panties dropped for the government since day one.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Free mobile app
nighthawk626 said:
Apple has had their legs spread open and panties dropped for the government since day one.
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The same and to a greater extent can be said about facebook.
here, http://www.xda-developers.com/android/android-l-lockdown/, right on topic of this thread.
nighthawk626 said:
That is very true. But as more people protest, the companies are actually fighting back against the government. Like Yahoo against the NSA and Facebook against the DEA, people just need to keep letting know that we won't tolerate getting stripped buttass naked of our personal privacy.
Sent from my hlte using XDA Free mobile app
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Dog and pony show to give a false sense of privacy from these companies to their customers... See the yahoo gag order and the by-the-day increasing fines that the government was imposing to them unless they allowed them to access their data. If the government wants it, they will get it, no matter how 'safe' these clowns make you believe otherwise
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I think a lot of you are missing my point. I'm not worried about the NSA, big brother, or anonymity (or rather the lack thereof). Those are concerns, of course, but I think everyone here knows that if you have any sort of cell phone, they can track and monitor you, and probably are.
What I'm worried about is the potential for random people gaining access to your phone and its' associated accounts and activating this 'kill switch', essentially leaving you with a paper weight. As I've already stated, I am not entirely sure that such a thing will be possible, as I have not seen the source code or all the minute details about how Google is implementing this. However, if it is implemented as described in the articles I've found about it, without any further security measures, there could be a problem.
If it is as described, I would have no problem remotely accessing a device, seizing control of the associated Google account, and activating the 'kill switch', without the device's owner ever having a clue it was happening. Of course I wouldn't do such a thing, especially to random people just for the 'lulz', but we all know there are people that would.
Hopefully that made some sense....I've been awake for too long lol
Not like hackers can't do that already...
Come on man.
Welcome to the 21st century.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app
I don't know about you guys but I did have an LG L9 that I completely bricked. Now the thing would not turn on, no lights, nothing. But with some research, .exe file on my computer, and directions from some very savvy people I was able to plug in my phone to the computer while pressing three buttons that got me onto fast boot mode. This is where I was able to delete the system and install each partition bit by bit. Took helluva long time with multiple tries to finally get it working but it did. My two cents.
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