Paranoid: How can I monitor app web access on my phone? - G1 General

Some applications store sensitive information and have internet access. For example, there are apps that ask for your Google account to back up SMS messages or access Google Reader.
I'd like to know that my password is only going to Google and not to some third party server database as well. Paranoid, yeah. But if someone gets your Google account they could practically have free reign on your life with password resets and the like.
Is there a way to monitor this traffic, or maybe even a sort of firewall app that notifies you when a secure data string is being sent over the net?
(On a related note, I can't believe Google hasn't provided a secure way to authenticate without forcing developers to ask for login information yet)

Related

Automatic wifi login?

Anyone know of an app, that automatically login into wifi network?
For example, my school have public wifi, however it requires me to open a browser then enter my user Id/password. Is there a way to automated this? I am already using Y5 and this is the last piece of the puzzle.
PS: obviously, I don't want to share my student id/password with the whole wide world as well. So thing like WeFi doesn't seem like the best thing on earth. I just want to store the login info locally on my phone.
NexusX said:
Anyone know of an app, that automatically login into wifi network?
For example, my school have public wifi, however it requires me to open a browser then enter my user Id/password. Is there a way to automated this? I am already using Y5 and this is the last piece of the puzzle.
PS: obviously, I don't want to share my student id/password with the whole wide world as well. So thing like WeFi doesn't seem like the best thing on earth. I just want to store the login info locally on my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue with my employer's WiFi.
The weird thing is it often works for many days, allowing me to connect/disconnect freely. Then one day randomly, it'll ask for my password again.
I'm pretty sure there's no way to automate entering your password if you have to do it via a browser (mine is via a browser as well).
The only thing I can suggest is adding your username to the dictionary so you can easily type something and get it auto-corrected for the full username. Also, using KeePass to copy/paste the password.
deleted

[Q] Firesheep and our login info

Hi There,
when surfing the web through our smartphones we frequently use WiFi free networks, the problem is that there is an add on for firefox, 'FireSheep',
that reviels our login info for our facbook, gmail and even bank accounts
is there any firewall or anything else that can avoid such info theaft?
k9nadav said:
Hi There,
when surfing the web through our smartphones we frequently use WiFi free networks, the problem is that there is an add on for firefox, 'FireSheep',
that reviels our login info for our facbook, gmail and even bank accounts
is there any firewall or anything else that can avoid such info theaft?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, install the plugin "blacksheep" which can alert you if someone is using it, by spoofing cookies for it to "steal".
Use a VPN though if you are concerned. Wifi without encryption isn't secure, and you can expect any cookies to be sniffed when using it.
Not for Android nor WP7 nor iOS AFAIK.
Just try to avoid using any app that doesn't encrypt communications. How would you know that? I don't know of any studies or papers about this... so test at home using wifi!
For browsing the web just avoid to login in any web through http, do it all over https.
Regards

[IDEA/POLL] Use C2DM app for remote phone access

These apps allow you to remotely access your phone from a web browser. However, they all run a web server on the phone, and I cannot connect to any of the over 3g (Verizon).
LazyDroid Web Desktop
Remote Desktop
Remote Web Desktop
I want to move the web server off phone, and (hopefully) onto private sites.google.com site. App Engine might be necessary, but I'm hoping this could be done solely in JS.
The hosting site would provide the UI, and interact with the phone using C2DM (the magic that powers Chrome2Phone, GMail, and installing apps from the web Market).
The UI is pretty obvious. It just needs a whiz to create HTML, Javascript, etc.
The C2DM backend is a still a bit mystifying to me... and searching for c2dm and javascript does not yield any obvious working implementations. But it seems plausible. Push a command to the phone, phone returns/uploads data to website, and UI updates.
Then there is the Android end. Well, there are the 3 projects above, Tasker for a quasi-hackish approach, and RPC (promising, but it seems like a WIP).
Thoughts? Volunteers? Geniuses?
Ooo... 2 birds with one stone!
This would also kill 2 birds with one stone.
No more typing in dynamic IP addresses! You get to use DNS to handle the connections. Bookmark your site in your desktop browser (it is always the same!). And set a preference in the Android app.
On lazydroid i've in planning some kind of trick that will let you connect behind firewall ... similar to a vpn...
CloudsITA said:
On lazydroid i've in planning some kind of trick that will let you connect behind firewall ... similar to a vpn...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it again last week, and it is still unsuccessful. Webkey is currently the only application that I can successfully use to reach my phone.
Now, I could be wrong, but I believe all of these apps run a web server on the phone. I get a lovely, private 10.x.x.x IP address, which I can't reverse the route to. I have tried and failed to get DynDNS to work.
I have been looking into a solution since my original post. I have not had any time to do code squat, but I have loosely figured out all of the parts.
The big architectural difference I have been seeking is removing the server from the phone. I am not an Android expert, but I don't believe it even requires a running service. (Thank you, C2DM.)
With the app-webservice separation, you can work a "protocol" that reduces the overall bandwidth used... and thus improve battery life. Put all the "hard work" on a webserver, and (things get fuzzy here) possibly push it off onto the client browser (JS).
C2DM Browser Links
I could probably make something like WebKey but with C2DM and some more features. If you want you can give suggestions and I'll start making on saturday (after my exams). It would probably be possible in javascript for the actual sending from server and php just for logging in to your google account. The phone would just be registered on the server and no services (just as you wanted )
nebkat said:
I could probably make something like WebKey but with C2DM and some more features. If you want you can give suggestions and I'll start making on saturday (after my exams). It would probably be possible in javascript for the actual sending from server and php just for logging in to your google account. The phone would just be registered on the server and no services (just as you wanted )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure "more features" is necessarily the direction I'm headed. I am focused on making a "seamless" experience (i.e. less separation of phone and computer).
I was headed to App Engine (Python bias + easy Google integration). I have a project created. I haven't pulled together the various examples to make the core, but it seems <naive>simple</naive>. Stir in some templates, CSS, a sprinkling of JS, and voila!
The big "tricky" part that I can't convert from f***ing magic to a clear approach is the data link in the server. I want to avoid any storage to a Google disk, or otherwise, even temporarily. No stored data = easy privacy policy.
nebkat, if you're really chomping at the bit to code, here's my Android client concept.
- C2DM is a wake-up call. (cheat an borrow ChromeToPhone's ID to begin with)
- Connect to web server, send "I'm here," and wait for further instructions (Channels API/Comet/AJAX/.........)
- make the command set extensible
- each command is blockable in the client. (Permission control is set on the phone, not remotely.)
- After N minutes of no activity, send a "good bye," disconnect from the server, and fade into the background.
Don't worry, I'm very experienced with the server side stuff and I know exactly what you want. The only information stored on the sever side would be google account, the device c2dm registration id and some logging features just for statistics. A password could be set on the phone that would be sha512 hashed on the ajax request and would be sent to the phone. Even if a hacker found the hash, it would be useless without being logged in to the persons google account or knowing the server side auth token.
For now i'll just make the reciever, processor and command output and later on the extra security and ui stuff. It will work exactly the same way as Chrome2Phone except it will have server side php and the different commands. The connection from pc to phone will be something like this.
user command -> ajax request -> php c2dm request -> phone
phone -> php server http request -> controller page status
BTW I'm saving up for a Nexus S, how much would people pay for this type of app? There would definitely be a free version, but I just need to get the Nexus S because I have a Galaxy Spica now and it isn't the best for app development. I'm new to how stuff at xda works, would a donate version get me enoguh for the Nexus?
nebkat said:
Don't worry, ... <snip> ... auth token.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alrighty then. I'm feeling like I can stop contemplating implementing this.
BTW I'm saving up for a Nexus S, how much would people pay for this type of app? There would definitely be a free version, but I just need to get the Nexus S because I have a Galaxy Spica now and it isn't the best for app development. I'm new to how stuff at xda works, would a donate version get me enoguh for the Nexus?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since I was learning the ins and outs of App Engine, I read their quota rules and realized if this were popular it would require funding. I don't know where you are going to your web server, but I assume you'll have to pay someone to keep it running. But I had thought about $$$ already.
"Give away the razor, and sell them the blades."
Make the app free, no feature restrictions.
You get your money through various "membership" levels on the server. (See the account levels at fastmail.fm for an example.) So, you can use the app for free, but you only get, say, 2-3 MB of traffic per day, and only X sessions per day. Need more? See the pricing chart.
user command -> ajax request -> php c2dm request -> phone
phone -> php server http request -> controller page status
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
user command -> php server http request -> phone
phone -> php server http request -> controller page status
user command -> php server http request -> phone
lather, rinse, repeat.
C2DM is not deterministic, and acts up in low signal conditions. So, I made a decision to only use C2DM to initiate a session. Once both ends are connected to the server, everything goes over HTTP.
Oh.... and not that we need another Lookout/Phone Finder, but a shared-secret SMS code for the case where "they" have shut down the data connection.
I have my own server nebkat.com and there is nothing on it anyway.
The only other way to make "push" requests to the phone is with WebSockets. It would probably be better than c2dm because we have full control over what gets sent (google limits some requests). The advantage of WebSockets is that they send no header information which means that we could send our messages in 20 to 30 bytes.
I'll look into more detail on friday.
With web sockets won't you need to ensure the phone has a routable, external IP address? I know, for one, t-mobile does not expose an external IP address for their phones. Unless, of course, if the phone is connected over WiFi. C2DM works great for me (I have used a couple of apps with it and it is really useful).
MrGibbage said:
With web sockets won't you need to ensure the phone has a routable, external IP address? I know, for one, t-mobile does not expose an external IP address for their phones. Unless, of course, if the phone is connected over WiFi. C2DM works great for me (I have used a couple of apps with it and it is really useful).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, WS is server initiated and the ip address' shouldn't make a difference.
MrGibbage said:
With web sockets won't you need to ensure the phone has a routable, external IP address? I know, for one, t-mobile does not expose an external IP address for their phones. Unless, of course, if the phone is connected over WiFi. C2DM works great for me (I have used a couple of apps with it and it is really useful).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need an valid external IP address if you are attempting to initiate contact with your phone, which is why the 4-5 apps I've mentioned do not work on carriers like t-mo and verizon.
But the phone can establish a connection, and the carrier NATs (or whatever) will handle the routing for outgoing and incoming data.
I think the right questions are: Will Verizon/T-Mo allow the ports and protocol for WebSockets? Do Android and desktop browsers implement the draft API correctly and consistently?
I like C2DM. I works well when you have a good connection. But there are 3 issues with it.
1) The message size limit is 1024 bytes. Not ideal for file transfers.
2) In a poor signal areas, since the service retries sending messages, you will get delayed and/or duplicate messages. I work in a large "concrete" building, so I get this behavior often enough that I don't want to rely on it.
3) I believe there is a limit on the number of messages you can send. So, hunting around the filesystem could hit this limit (but unlikely in reality... I hope.)
It would be interesting to see exactly how those apps handle all of the data. Do they only use C2DM, or do they hand over to another protocol?
Ok my exams are over and I am starting with it. I'll give updates on this thread

Network Issue

I am staying in a hotel for a few days. The hotel has a wifi network that can be accessed with a userid and password through a page that opens with a browser. Entered that and can browse anywhere I want. Wifi icon in lower right corner of my Acer is at about 50% strength and blue. My Gmail app will not download email, however, and when I check My Apps in the market app it says there is a network error. Clearly, while I can access the web I can not access my Google account through the native android Google apps. I don't think it is authenticating my Google account. Any ideas or suggestions?
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
Although I don't know for sure as I have never tried, it might be something similar to some people who were able to tether to their cellphones with an app called "pdanet". Basically they were only able to use the browser. I'm not 100% on this as it is just a hunch, but it would seem that the browser and all other network services communicate in different ways. For example, the browser communicates in http which requires authentication (user name and password to browse) but since the market and possibly the gmail app do not communicate via HTTP (Gmail is likely IMAP) they cannot authenticate and therefore cannot communicate with your network. You can likely still use the market and gmail through your browser though.
Without knowing the specifics, maybe the hotel wifi only allows port 80, the default for web sites.
The network is weird at best. They had issues this morning that shut everything down. When it came back up the Gmail (but not Market) app worked but this evening neither works. I can access gmail through the browser. It is irritating but not a huge problem. Thanks for the input.
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk

Architecture for paid app & limited access to backend server services

Hi,
How would you architecture your app to allow access to your backend server services to just the users that paid for your app? I understand there's the Google Play Billing Library, but how do you get from there to identify the user on the server?
Tks,
OK, it seems this thread has some good ideas:
How to verify purchase for android app in server side (google play in app billing v3)
I have a simple app (needs user login with account). I provide some premium features for paid users, like more news content. I need to record if the user has bought this item in my server database...
stackoverflow.com

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