Could CyanogenMod be looking to Remove the Need for Root Access?

CyanogenMod, for all intents and purposes, is the oldest and most trusted ROM around for Android devices. It is compatible with hundreds of different devices and supports devices for years after the carriers and manufacturers stopped caring. Many of us, even on Nexus devices, use CyanogenMod because we simply love it. Although for a while I was using it on my Nexus 4 to get LTE working easier. But that’s changed with Android 4.3.

Most of the time when we want to root our device, it’s to flash a new ROM. But in some cases we just want to use an app that needs root access like Greenify. Today, Cyanogen (well Steve Kondik) himself went to Google+ and made a post titled “The Death of Root”. Could it be? Here’s what he had to say:

The Death of Root

Android 4.3 introduces some new and much needed security features which not only restrict setuid binaries on the system partition (su), but also limit the capabilities of processes. In the current architecture, even if you could get elevated privileges, you can’t do anything out of the ordinary. Root in the shell via ADB is all I use, and it still works just fine.

This isn’t a problem for me, since I use CM. When there is a situation that I’d need root, I just modify the system to accomodate what I’m trying to accomplish in a secure way. I can understand the desire to have full root on stock ROMs, since you’re severely limited in what you can do and there is no provision for making any sort of real changes or improving the architecture.

+Koushik Dutta and +Chainfire are working hard to permit root in some way on 4.3, but I feel that anything done at this point might severely compromise the security of the system and we should start considering better options.  Going forward, I’m interested in building framework extensions and APIs into CM to continue to abolish the root requirement.

A few good use cases for root are:

* Firewalls and network software, potentially requiring raw sockets.
* Managing the DNS resolver
* Tweaking various sysfs nodes to control the kernel

All of these can be done without exposing root, and they can be done in a very secure way.

If you’re using CM or another custom ROM, what do you actually use root for?

Aside from custom ROMs, root is often used for full system backups, and installing Google Wallet on a device that does not have it. Like the Galaxy S4 on Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile. One of the first things I do to a new phone or tablet is root it, so I can use apps like Greenify for battery life and Helium for full backups. So could root be dead? Let us know what you think in the comments down below. We’d be very interested to see what you think.

On another note, the CM team is hard at work with the next version of CyanogenMod, CM 10.2 which is based off of Android 4.3. They began working on it last week and posted on Google+ a “general order (not a steadfast rule)” timeline which shows us which devices they work on first. To no surprise it’s Nexus, Qualcomm-based devices, then OMAP-based devices, Tegra 3-based devices and Exynos-based devices are last.

Read More

[NEW APP]Google's New Zagat Android App DOWNLOAD

Google Launches New Zagat Android App and Website, Makes Trusted Ratings Available Without Registration

by: Kellex | posted 07.29.13 | Apps, News

Zagat, Google’s semi-recently purchased restaurant and nightlife review service, received a brand spankin’ new website and Android app today (iOS too). The new design matches that of almost all of the recently updated Google apps, featuring a slideout navigation panel, card-style UI, integration with the new Google Maps v7.0, and buttery smooth transitions. But beyond the app overhaul, Google has made “trusted” Zagat ratings and reviews now available for free without registration. You’ll also find the latest news and video content from “expert local editors” and curated top 10-type lists. 

The new app and website are available now. Unfortunately, the new Zagat only covers nine cities (Austin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.), but Google is planning to expand to 50 U.S. and international destinations over the coming months, with coverage also expanding to shopping, hotels, and other places of interest.

The app really is beautiful and smooth, so if you are in one of the select cities, or plan to travel to one soon, I highly recommend you check it out. With services like Yelp becoming less trustworthy or watered down over the last few years, I’ve found myself leaning on Zagat scores much more often than ever when looking for spots to dine in new cities.

Read More

Scam Android Apps Plague Google Play

More than 1,200 apps published to the official Google Play app store in the past seven months have been designed by "one-click fraud" scammers. But a new variation on that scam now involves many more clicks than just one.

"The new type not only requires clicks, but it also requires users to send an email in order to register to become a member of a service, call a given phone number to acquire a password, and enter the password to log into the fraudulent site," said Joji Hamada, a Japan-based researcher with Symantec, in a blog post. "That's quite a bit of work to get through just to be scammed."

Scammers also help lure people to their apps by "abusing the search function on Google Play," which helps keep these apps at the top of search results, said Hamada. "A test search carried out by Symantec resulted in 21 out of 24 top hits being malicious apps," he said.Users who successfully jump through those hoops, however, get hit with a bill of over $3,000 -- and given just three days to pay -- for what's labeled as an annual subscription fee to an online adult video site.

To be clear, one-click fraud -- also known as one-click billing fraud -- is an attempt by criminals to trick people into parting with their money. "In this scam, a person browsing the Internet is suddenly informed they have just agreed to pay a registration fee after simply clicking on a link," according to a 2010 research report published by a team at Carnegie Mellon University's Information Networking Institute. "They do not owe any money legally, but they pay the scammer out of feelings of shame for clicking on the link -- typically for pornographic material -- and to avoid further embarrassment if others were to mistakenly assume they subscribed to such material."

According to Carnegie Mellon, each successful one-click billing scam nets, on average, about $1,000. But the practice is largely confined to Japan, where about 10 criminal gangs dominate the market.

Stamping out these types of malicious apps remains difficult, at least via purely automated means, such as the Google Play anti-malware scanning engine Bouncer, because many of the apps use browser links as part of the scam. "Because these apps only launch the browser to open certain sites, which request users to take additional steps to reach the final destination, it can almost be impossible for any system to confirm anything malicious about these apps," said Symantec's Hamada. "The manual steps required in this scam is another strategy used to keep the apps on the market as long as possible."

What might be done to stamp out these apps sooner? "Human analysis may be the only way to discover these sorts of apps," said Hamada, noting that Symantec has spotted over 100 "not just one-click" scam apps on Google Play since the beginning of July. As of Friday, 30 such apps -- published by three different developers -- were still available, although he said Symantec informed Google about the apps, and that Google typically excises malicious apps within 24 hours of being notified.

Google's approach to stamping out malicious apps differs from that of Apple, which uses a walled-garden model that only allows vetted apps to be installed on Apple's mobile devices. So far, that approach has managed to virtually eliminate malware from Apple's app store and iOS devices.

With the Android operating system, by contrast, Google has taken a more hands-off approach, largely relying on users to navigate the permissions requested by any app before they agree to install it, although Google does excise apps from Google Play if reports surface that they're malicious.

Still, Google has been making related information security improvements, such as adding Bouncer in 2011 to help spot and remove malicious apps from Google Play. In addition, with Android 4.2, released in November 2012, Google included a Verify Apps feature to warn users against installing apps that appeared to contain malicious code.

Coinciding with the release of Android 4.3 last week, furthermore, Verify Apps has now been rolled out via the Google Play Service app, which gets automatically installed on every device running Android version 2.3 or newer -- meaning, about 95% of all Android devices – that is configured to use Google Play.

Another security feature introduced in Android 4.3 is Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux), which is a Linux feature designed to separate security policies from enforcement. The project grew out of similar efforts at the National Security Agency, and could help further crack down on malicious apps.

Finally, Android Police has detailed a hidden feature included in version 4.3 -- dubbed "App Ops" -- which allows users to selectively disable some permissions demanded by apps. The feature isn't yet ready for primetime, but it could be a powerful tool for helping users prevent not just malware but scamware from being successful.

Read More

Android 4.3: How to Get the Update Now on Any Nexus Devices

So, Android 4.3 is out now, and it’s rolling out to Nexus users slowly but surely. I have it on my Nexus 4, and here’s what’s new about it: virtually nothing that I use on a daily basis! The camera interface is different, some people might use the autocomplete and emoji features, sure, but if this is had been Android 4.2.3 instead of 4.3, it would have made sense. Even things like the much-ballyhooed battery life improvements may be hit or miss for some users. Over a 12-hour period, an unused Nexus 4 went from 98% to 85% on background processes alone, though background streaming with Falcon Pro may have been the culprit there. Though, it did feel like the drain was at least slower, but still, it isn’t a dramatic improvement.

For those Nexus users who don’t want to wait for the update to roll out despite the relative inconsequentiality of it, or to call me bad names for my opinion, then here’s a guide to installing it without losing data, if you are on a stock and unrooted device. If you’ve unlocked a bootloader or rooted or installed a custom ROM, turn away. There be monsters here. This is for the unadventurous who suddenly have some bravery (or impatience) and aren’t afraid of a little exploration in the command line.

Step 1: Get the Android SDK

You need the programs adb and possibly fastboot to do this if something goes wrong. The best guaranteed way to get them is to install the Android SDK. This is available on multiple platforms and contains the files we’ll need. If you have Windows, this file from the XDA-Developers forum contains all you need.

Step 2: Get the zip file that you need

There are special zip files for the OTA updates available form Google’s servers. The XDA-Developers forum has compiled the links. Go there to get them, check to make sure you’re getting the right OTA update file, download it, and come back here.

Nexus 4
Nexus 7
Nexus 10
Galaxy Nexus (be very careful about which one you get here)

Step 3: Copy the update zip to the folder with adb and rename it to update.zip

Go into the SDK and find where the adb executable is, most likely in the /tools subdirectory. Copy the update zip you had into this folder. Rename it to something simple like update.zip – that long file name might be hard to type out!

Step 4: Charge your device to at least 80% and plug it in to your computer

We don’t want it dying on you while flashing an update, do we? For best results, plug your device directly to your computer’s USB port, not through a USB hub, if possible.

Step 5: Navigate to the folder with adb and the update.zip in a command line terminal

That would be running cmd on Windows, or in Terminal on Mac. Linux users – y’all ought to know, you use Linux. If you don’t know about command line, turn away and wait for the update.

Now, type in adb devices and hit enter. You should see your device. If not, you may need to install drivers. If you’re ready, type and enter adb reboot recovery. This will reboot your device to the bootloader. You should see Andru, the Android mascot, laying down. Hold down power and hit volume up. Use the volume keys to navigate, and select apply update from adb. First, on your computer, do adb devices again to make sure it’s connected. Then type and enter adb sideload update.zip and the update will transfer to your Nexus. Let the process continue untouched until your device reboots, and congrats, you have Android 4.3!

If you do manage to mess up your device, Google your device’s name and how to unbrick it. Android Police has a good guide for the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7. Recovery mode is there for a reason! If the thought of this scares you, don’t worry – you’ll get the update soon!

Read More

DOWNLOAD Blastron Apk Full Cracked

[New Game] iOS Multiplayer Favorite Blastron Jumps To Android, Brings Worms-Style 2D Combat With It

Your robots are armed and ready for battle. It's time to Blast or be Blasted!

Launch yourself into the awesome world of Blastron, home of the universe's most extreme Robotic Sport - Blastbots! Explore thousands of ways to blow up your fellow robots, while collecting awesome loot, upgrading and customizing your robots...and did we mention, blasting the crap out of other robots!?!?

Collect an arsenal of insane weapons designed for maximum annihilation while upgrading an array of unique robot parts to level up your skills. It's a blast or be blasted kind of world out there, SO GET BLASTING!

Game Features:

• Shoot your way to the top of the Blastron Hall of Fame leaderboard in fast paced turn based online battles
• Collect and unlock a huge variety of weapons and boosts in order to crush your opponents and score maximum points.
• Upgrade your robot's parts to create thousands of unique robot blasting combinations
• Utilize your platforming skills to strategically grab loads of epic loot - scoring you tons of weapons and items and racking up points to help your shoot to the top of the leaderboard
• Play in campaign mode to battle your way to the Blastron championship title and unlock new weapons and robots for use in multiplayer modes

So what are you waiting for? Join the world of Blastron and Get Blasting!

PRO-APK.BLOGSPOT.COM

Version: 1.0

Size:  53 MB

Required android: 2.3 and up

Source Link: https://play.google.com/com.kabam.blastbots

Instruction: 

Download all files below

Install apk 

Put data on Sdcard\android\obb\here

Play the game

APK ONLY

download
LINK 1

Read More

Download MOTO X Camera App APK for free

Earlier this week, which has so far been completely insane, we showed you the Moto X's upcoming camera UI. Minimalist and clean, Motorola's new camera isn't the most powerful one among its competitors by far, but it is quite nice nonetheless. Moto is shipping the same camera with the new DROIDs (Ultra, MAXX, and Mini) as well.

The draggable UI doesn't get in the way, and one-tap photo snaps make it very simple to use. A quick capture double-flick wrist gesture is the cherry on top, but, unfortunately and unsurprisingly, it only works with Motorola's hardware.

A lot of you have been asking us to release the MotCamera APK, and today we're going to grant this wish. There are a few drawbacks, so I don't know if you're going to start using it as a daily driver just yet - it's more so you can play around with the interface and get a good feel for it. Maybe it'll even convince you to buy the Moto X when it comes out?

What works

• The camera runs fine.
• Tutorial.
• Single shots.
• Burst shots.
• Video recording.
• Front-facing camera toggle.
• Swipe to open settings.
• Swipe to open gallery, which asks which gallery app you want to launch.
• Touch to focus toggle.
• Flash mode toggle.
• Shutter sound toggle.
• Geo-tag toggle.

What doesn't work

• Double-flick wrist gesture to launch the camera anytime.
• Panorama mode currently crashes. It seems to be missing a required class, and I'm not sure whether we'd be able to fix it or not. If we can, I'll post an updated APK. For the interested, the error log is here.
• HDR mode is disabled and cannot be enabled.
• Slow-motion mode is disabled and cannot be enabled.

The APK was tested on a Nexus 4 running android 4.3 and a Note II running Android 4.1.2. The results were identical.

Screenshots and sample photos

Screenshots:

   

  

Some photo samples:

 

Left: flash on; Right: flash off

 

Left: touch-to-focus disabled; Right: touch-to-focus enabled

Download

Download and flash like a regular APK.

Note: The APK installs separately from your stock camera unless you're using a Motorola device where the camera's package name is also com.motorola.camera. In that case, it probably won't install due to mismatched signatures. If you're rooted, you can freeze the existing camera with something like Titanium Backup, flash this one, play around with it, then revert.

• Mirror#1
• Mirror #2
• Mirror #3
• Multi-mirror

Read More

Easy Root for Nexus 7

TWRP Recovery Released For The 2013 Nexus 7, Easy Root Via SuperSU Just One Zip File Away

Well, that didn't take long. TeamWin has just dropped a new version of its TWRP custom recovery designed specifically for the Flo – the new Nexus 7. As usual, it's a fairly simple procedure with a Nexus device to get a custom recovery running, which allows you to flash root. The Android 4.3 SuperSU file is already out there, so we're ready to go.

 

Disclaimer: Androworld isn't responsible for any harm to your device - proceed at your own risk.

First, grab the TWRP image from the TeamWin site. Then get the SuperSU zip file right over here. Put the SuperSU file on the Nexus 7's internal storage, and move the TWRP image to the folder where you have ADB and fastboot. Before you get started, make sure your bootlaoder is unlocked (fastboot oem unlock). Then do the following:

1. Flash TWRP from the bootloader (fastboot flash recovery FILENAME.img). You can try using boot instead of flash, but it didn't work for me. Reasons unclear.
2. Reboot into recovery (adb reboot recovery or hold Power+VolDn, then select Recovery).
3. Flash SuperSU from Install > Download.
4. You should be rooted.

 

I've tested the process, and it appears to be working. SuperSU is on the device, and root applications are running as expected.

Read More

Apps That Every Android Phone Must Have

06 Apps That Will Make You Wish You Had An Android Phone

Facebook Home app for Android.

In most cases, developers prefer to make new smartphone apps for iPhone first, only moving to Android and other platforms once they get some traction.

(Android owners who had to wait months for Twitter's video app Vine know what we're talking about.)

But there are some outliers. There are a bunch of great apps that happen to be Android exclusives. Check them out.

#1:Ingress is a unique real-world scavenger hunt game.

Google

Ingress is a sci-fi game that sends you on a scavenger hunt through the real world to find "hidden" virtual goodies. 

Google developed the game. Here's the plot:

"A mysterious energy has been unearthed by a team of scientists in Europe. The origin and purpose of this force is unknown, but some researchers believe it is influencing the way we think. We must control it or it will control us."

So, basically, you run around your town trying to find this illusive "energy" before the bad guys do.

Price: Free

#2: Facebook Home turns your home screen into a Facebook photo gallery

William Wei, Business Insider

Facebook Home adds a Facebook-powered wrapper to your Android phone. Instead of seeing your normal lock screen, you get a beautiful slide show of your friends' Facebook photos and status updates. You can comment and like those updates directly from the lock screen without opening the regular Facebook app.

Price: Free (Only works on select Android phones.)

#3: Google Skymap lets you know exactly which star you're staring up at.

Google Play

Google Skymap is an open sourced app that lets you point your smartphone up at the night sky to decipher constellations, planets, and stars.

Price: Free

#4: APP Lock password protects specific apps.

The premise behind APP Lock is simple: password protect installed applications with a password or pattern. Now you don't have to be nervous when someone else is playing around with your smartphone.

Price: Free

#5: SwiftKey 3 will change how you type on your Android smartphone.

Business Insider / Matthew Lynley

SwiftKey improves your productivity by helping you to type better.

Swiftkey gives much more accurate corrections and predictions than other keyboards. Very sloppy typing will make sense, even if you miss spaces, and SwiftKey 3 also predicts your next words.

Price: $3.99

#6: Robin is a great alternative to Apple's Siri

Before Google Now, Robin was the first true Siri challenger.

We love the expanded capabilities of the newer virtual assistant. You can ask Robin for directions, local places, real-time parking, traffic info, gas prices, weather, your Twitter news, and much more. 

Robin is disrupting the personal assistant arena, and we only hope that her existence pushes developers to make personal assistant apps feel more like true personal assistants. 

Price: Free 

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/exclusive-android-apps-2013-7?op=1#ixzz2aBVpoHeR

Read More

Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie Will Be Released With Nexus 10 2

Nexus 10 2 in the works may release with Android 5.0

Date: July 26th, 2013

It has been a couple of days now since the Google press event that saw a new version of Android and the launch of the new Nexus 7 tablet PC, and there is already talk of what the company has lined up next. We now have news that the Nexus 10 2 is in the works and the device may release with Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.

While Google officially announced the Nexus 7 2 a year after the original model came to the market with pre-orders already getting underway, news of a refresh for the larger Nexus model has reached us.
A new Nexus 10 device is apparently in the works and is again being made by Samsung and will be launched in the “near future”. This news comes from a tweet from Wall Street reporter Amir Efrati after talking to Google’s Sundar Pichai, and while no other details were revealed such as a release date the company’s history does give us some pointers to what may happen later this year.
Last time around the original Nexus 7 tablet arrived after the annual Google I/O event in the middle of the year, and then in the fall we saw the Samsung made Nexus 10 make its debut. The Nexus 7 came with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean while both the Nexus 10 and Nexus 4 launched with Android 4.2.
So if the company sticks to a similar schedule which it has done so far with the Nexus 7 2 and the Android 4.3 OS, we can expect to see the Nexus 10 2 in the fall with the next major update that is expected to be Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.
There is a good chance that we will also see the Nexus 5 as well so the next few months are looking good in terms of new hardware becoming available for consumers to choose from. Away from any new Nexus devices we can look forward to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and atleast one new iPhone model.
Which new device are you most looking forward to later this year?

Read More

BBM Coming To Android By September End

Read More

Download Prince Of Persia: The Shadow And Flame APK free

Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame launched on Android and iOS devices

Brøderbund’s 1993 Prince of Persia 2 game is back in a new avatar. Twenty years on the game is called Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame and is available on Android and iOS smartphones.

The gaming part remains the same wherein gamers run, fight and solve puzzles in the quest to rescue the princess. The game though looks very different with 14 beautifully crafted levels spanning across five different environments. The controls have been optimized for touch displays and the game also promises a new combat system.

Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame is available on the Play Store and the App Store for $2.99 (Rs 199.99).

LINK : Click Here to Download via Mediafire

Read More

Asphalt 8: Airborne Apk download

Gameloft's upcoming Asphalt 8: Airborne game gets shown off at Google's event

We've already covered a lot of the details regarding Gameloft's upcoming addition to their Asphalt franchise called Asphalt 8: Airborne in a previous article when the game was first announced as heading to Android soon. Well during today's press event that Google held, Gameloft apparently had Asphalt 8: Airborne demonstrated, showing the game optimized for the new Nexus 7 tablets.

According to Gameloft the company has been working closely with Google to optimize this upcoming racing game, mostly in the area of the game's visuals and overall graphical quality using OpenGL ES 3.0. Asphalt 8: Airborne will also be the first title from Gameloft with Google Play Games services integrated into it.

If you happened to have missed our previous article detailing Asphalt 8's features, here is the quick and dirty run down. This game will feature around 180 event to participate in with a total of 47 licensed cars to collect and race with. Gameloft is using a whole new physics engine for this game and there will be online simultaneous multiplayer action and asynchronous challenges. This includes challenging friends and global leaderboards to compete in.

The multiplayer modes are pretty interesting, which there are a total of three different multiplayer game styles to participate in: Takedown, Infected and Gate. In Gate mode you are tasked with drifting through multiple gates. The more you pass through, the higher you score. Infected mode has one player who is "Infected" and must hit another car to pass along the infection and regain health. If you fail to pass on the infection within 20 secs you are eliminated.

Asphalt 8: Airborne is still slated for release onto Android sometime this Summer but no specific date has been given yet. When it does launch it will apparently only cost $0.99 to purchase which leads us to believe there will more than likely be some optional IAPs involved. Until then, Gameloft has sent out some new screenshots for people to check out.

BEST Download Link Is here
or

Download From Google Play

OR

To download for free, click on the links below

Download Part1

Download Part2

Installation Instructions

1. Install APK
2. Copy “com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftA8H” folder to “sdcard/Android/Obb/“
3. Launch the game (Run online@ 1st run)

Read More