Related
ummmmmmmmmmm,
I found some cracked or hacked or prepaid "what ever u wanna call it " apps in the internet. So my question is: Is it okay to download it? or i might have some problems with android or google?
Thx
Meshal-USA said:
ummmmmmmmmmm,
I found some cracked or hacked or prepaid "what ever u wanna call it " apps in the internet. So my question is: Is it okay to download it? or i might have some problems with android or google?
Thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's piracy.
And moreover, android people are introducing a new licensing mechanism where the app can lookup whether it's actually bought and paid for, or not - http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/07/licensing-service-technology-highlights.html
Meshal-USA said:
ummmmmmmmmmm,
I found some cracked or hacked or prepaid "what ever u wanna call it " apps in the internet. So my question is: Is it okay to download it? or i might have some problems with android or google?
Thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. post here, not bad
You think Android devs are rich people, havin houses in Hollywood Hills, right ?!
Support devs and you get good apps!
to answer your question, no it will not break your phone...as a former notorious "cracked" app downloader (since paid for the ones I support and uninstalled the ones I do not use due to my commitment to the community as a user) I can't wait for this licensing to be widespread...I see too many people handing out links to piracy sites and also linking the damn things in app comments...but yea.
it won't break ur phone...
Mokurex said:
It's piracy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reallyyyyy
rohandhruva said:
And moreover, android people are introducing a new licensing mechanism where the app can lookup whether it's actually bought and paid for, or not -
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh thx for the info
rori~ said:
1. post here, not bad
You think Android devs are rich people, havin houses in Hollywood Hills, right ?!
Support devs and you get good apps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lool ,, i am supporting the developers . that's y i'm askin. i c a lot of comments in the app when i want to download it who refer to paid apps.
AbsoluteDesignz said:
to answer your question, no it will not break your phone...as a former notorious "cracked" app downloader (since paid for the ones I support and uninstalled the ones I do not use due to my commitment to the community as a user) I can't wait for this licensing to be widespread...I see too many people handing out links to piracy sites and also linking the damn things in app comments...but yea.
it won't break ur phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's what i'm exactly asking about
thx for ur reply man. For the misunderstanding, I love android, in fact i wish it would be the best mobile software in the future "if it's not now " but android should at least do something to those people who handing out links because it's really tempting
Common Sense
Android is probably one of the platform where application are priced the cheapest I have seen, so no, downloading an pirated application will not break your phone but it will not make the android platform any better either.
If developer can't make money why would they keep trying, as an example, A symbian chess prg cost 14$, on android it's 3.99 if I remember correctly so yes I pay for my apps.
The platform is still new, it has great potential, site like the one that are advertised can hurt development badly, there's a difference into giving your sister one copy of an application you have and making it available to everybody.
both are piracy but at a much different scale!
I will be really happy when I heard that the maker of an application I use everyday has made 1 millions knowing I contributed 1$ to it...
About Google piracy solution, I would be better off without it I am against all form of DRM, we will see...
P.S.
If you press and hold on a comment you can mark it as spam in the market...
[Sarcasm] Its perfectly fine. Google promotes it and so do the developers. If you read the forum rules, you'd have never asked such an obvious question. [/Sarcasm]
P00r said:
Android is probably one of the platform where application are priced the cheapest I have seen, so no, downloading an pirated application will not break your phone but it will not make the android platform any better either.
If developer can't make money why would they keep trying, as an example, A symbian chess prg cost 14$, on android it's 3.99 if I remember correctly so yes I pay for my apps.
The platform is still new, it has great potential, site like the one that are advertised can hurt development badly, there's a difference into giving your sister one copy of an application you have and making it available to everybody.
both are piracy but at a much different scale!
I will be really happy when I heard that the maker of an application I use everyday has made 1 millions knowing I contributed 1$ to it...
About Google piracy solution, I would be better off without it I am against all form of DRM, we will see...
P.S.
If you press and hold on a comment you can mark it as spam in the market...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess u're right and thx for the info
faraz1992 said:
[Sarcasm] Its perfectly fine. Google promotes it and so do the developers. If you read the forum rules, you'd have never asked such an obvious question. [/Sarcasm]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maaan, believe me it's not what i meant . and believe me if i knew the answer, i wouldn't ask. i guess it is my mistake for not reading the rules sorry
Meshal-USA said:
ummmmmmmmmmm,
I found some cracked or hacked or prepaid "what ever u wanna call it " apps in the internet. So my question is: Is it okay to download it? or i might have some problems with android or google?
Thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't do it! Let's support our Android developers because by doing so the Android platform will get better and that benefits us as users. All paid apps can be refunded in 24 hours, which is awesome in my opinion because if I buy an app and it doesn't work for me I can always get a refund so I never feel like I wasted my money. So do that, buy an app, try it and if it works for you keep it. Don't pirate it. Plus you get get regular updates to your app and the latest version always by purchasing it rather than pirating.
my 2 cents
By downloading cracked apps, you'll never know what was done to the app.
It's so easy for a cracker to gain access to your phone root permissions (if you are rooted like many of us are) via a cracked app. How will you ever know?!
Unless you yourself are a developer, then you'd know what to look for.
Most users have no idea WHAT to look for, and will download a fun looking app just because their buddy recommended it. For all you know, it's sending your contact list, SMSs, and other private information to some shanty-shack in China.
That's why Google made it an option in the Android™ Operating System to allow or disallow Market Apps. I think it's great that we are allowed to do that *cough*AT&T*cough*restrictions*.
"You wouldn't download a car!"
Don't get cracked apps. They make your balls shrink or your boobs sag!
Also never ask about cracked apps on a forum with lots of developers, you won't make many friends...
While I completely agree that piracy is bad for developers and the community in the long run, it is sometimes very frustrating for users like me. I live in India and have no access to the paid apps in the market.
I would love to pay for apps like psx4droid and a good chess program, but I have no option to do that. And these apps are not available directly from the developers sites as well.
I really hope that Google opens up the market to a wider audience. It is a win-win for everybody.
vsankarn said:
While I completely agree that piracy is bad for developers and the community in the long run, it is sometimes very frustrating for users like me. I live in India and have no access to the paid apps in the market.
I would love to pay for apps like psx4droid and a good chess program, but I have no option to do that. And these apps are not available directly from the developers sites as well.
I really hope that Google opens up the market to a wider audience. It is a win-win for everybody.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't there other alternate market available like slide me etc ?
If they are not available either then I guess you are a bit more justified but you will still burn in hell
or something similar...
Can we lock this thread? The answer is morally no. Technically it will probably run but you risk a trojan and will not get updates automatically.
For people in countries without paid apps, search for Market Enabler, this has been covered multiple times in the past.
netninja said:
Don't do it! Let's support our Android developers because by doing so the Android platform will get better and that benefits us as users. All paid apps can be refunded in 24 hours, which is awesome in my opinion because if I buy an app and it doesn't work for me I can always get a refund so I never feel like I wasted my money. So do that, buy an app, try it and if it works for you keep it. Don't pirate it. Plus you get get regular updates to your app and the latest version always by purchasing it rather than pirating.
my 2 cents
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I won't
OrganizedFellow said:
By downloading cracked apps, you'll never know what was done to the app.
It's so easy for a cracker to gain access to your phone root permissions (if you are rooted like many of us are) via a cracked app. How will you ever know?!
Unless you yourself are a developer, then you'd know what to look for.
Most users have no idea WHAT to look for, and will download a fun looking app just because their buddy recommended it. For all you know, it's sending your contact list, SMSs, and other private information to some shanty-shack in China.
That's why Google made it an option in the Android™ Operating System to allow or disallow Market Apps. I think it's great that we are allowed to do that *cough*AT&T*cough*restrictions*.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
k, now i have another question. I have an unlocked nexus one, i heard i might lose my warrenty if i rooted it, is that correct or not? cause i didn't root my phone yet because of that
vsankarn said:
While I completely agree that piracy is bad for developers and the community in the long run, it is sometimes very frustrating for users like me. I live in India and have no access to the paid apps in the market.
I would love to pay for apps like psx4droid and a good chess program, but I have no option to do that. And these apps are not available directly from the developers sites as well.
I really hope that Google opens up the market to a wider audience. It is a win-win for everybody.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear that bro, and i hope android will figure smth out in the future.
JanetPanic said:
Can we lock this thread? The answer is morally no. Technically it will probably run but you risk a trojan and will not get updates automatically.
For people in countries without paid apps, search for Market Enabler, this has been covered multiple times in the past.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JCopernicus said:
"You wouldn't download a car!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
of'caurse
blablum said:
Don't get cracked apps. They make your balls shrink or your boobs sag!
Also never ask about cracked apps on a forum with lots of developers, you won't make many friends...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
loool, oh sorry man i hope that wouldn't happen, because i wanna be also part of this community. sorry for my innocent question
P00r said:
Isn't there other alternate market available like slide me etc ?
If they are not available either then I guess you are a bit more justified but you will still burn in hell
or something similar...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i never downloaded paid apps, that's why i asked
JanetPanic said:
Can we lock this thread? The answer is morally no. Technically it will probably run but you risk a trojan and will not get updates automatically.
For people in countries without paid apps, search for Market Enabler, this has been covered multiple times in the past.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why r u so upset , thx for the info though
thats wut i dont like about "cracked" apps. you wont get the updates. its much more easier to pay the $3 for the app n just get notifications for updates rather than search around the web for the updated apk. in my opinion, paying the $3 is much easier knowing u will get the updates n will feel morally right
JCopernicus said:
"You wouldn't download a car!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would if i could!
Just a general warning to those who seek out APK's on the internet.
I've noticed an increasing number of people posting APK links on XDA-developers using 3rd party hosting such as multi-upload instead of the official developers websites. This is a potential security risk to your own phone, because Android code CAN be decompiled, and dodgy code can be added before re-uploading. You at a greater risk of downloading compromised APK's if you download them from an untrusted party.
Many of these APK's seem to be hosted officially by the developers already, so please link directly to the developers OWN servers when possible, and those who use their phone for business or store sensitive data on it, should avoid using APK's from sources which weren't set up by the original developers.
andrewluecke said:
Just a general warning to those who seek out APK's on the internet.
I've noticed an increasing number of people posting APK links on XDA-developers using 3rd party hosting such as multi-upload instead of the official developers websites. This is a potential security risk to your own phone, because Android code CAN be decompiled, and dodgy code can be added before re-uploading. You at a greater risk of downloading compromised APK's if you download them from an untrusted party.
Many of these APK's seem to be hosted officially by the developers already, so please link directly to the developers OWN servers when possible, and those who use their phone for business or store sensitive data on it, should avoid using APK's from sources which weren't set up by the original developers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off: Who's to say the original developer can't put this so-called "dodgy code" in their own apks?
Secondly: The Android marketplace doesn't have any strict rules as to what someone can post, and the code isn't even checked. You have just as high a chance of getting this "dodgy code" from any app you download straight from the market.
Nobody. But it is a hell of a lot safer from a trusted first party, than being passed down a chain of untrusted people before it makes it's way to you. Especially since apk's don't seem to be digitally signed (I may be wrong).
I'm just concerned that you can post any APK you want here which have an official website, insert a trojan, and nobody would be none the wiser. I'd simply like to see a change in attitude.. If someone posts an unofficial link to an APK which is already available by developers, I'd like to see people stand up and point to the OFFICIAL website.
At the moment, people are actually ENCOURAGING bad security practices, and doing so makes XDA a target ripe for future attack. And I don't want to wake up to a forum of people *****ing about Samsung, for a problem caused because of a trojaned copy of Angry birds beta on XDA.
We should build awareness now for people to get files from the last link in the chain, rather than wait for someone to try it (which they probably will, and may have already done)
andrewluecke said:
Nobody. But it is a hell of a lot safer from a trusted first party, than being passed down a chain of untrusted people before it makes it's way to you. Especially since apk's don't seem to be digitally signed (I may be wrong).
I'm just concerned that you can post any APK you want here which have an official website, insert a trojan, and nobody would be none the wiser. I'd simply like to see a change in attitude.. If someone posts an unofficial link to an APK which is already available by developers, I'd like to see people stand up and point to the OFFICIAL website.
At the moment, people are actually ENCOURAGING bad security practices, and doing so makes XDA a target ripe for future attack. And I don't want to wake up to a forum of people *****ing about Samsung, for a problem caused because of a trojaned copy of Angry birds beta on XDA.
We should build awareness now for people to get files from the last link in the chain, rather than wait for someone to try it (which they probably will, and may have already done)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you familiar with modifying an APK? It is not nearly as easy as you make it seem. If the developer doesn't release the source code, it can't easily be functionally modified minus a few graphics and the like. Not to mention, this is how the iPhone jailbreak system works in regards to getting content. And has been going on with PC for years.
I really do not think it's something we have to worry about. Just install an anti-virus on your phone if you're worried.
1) Grab 7zip to decompress your apk package.
2) And yep, there are tools to decompile dex files too. Technically it seems to be more like disassembly, but can probably easily be modified to cause the app to ring russian phone sex numbers every 10 minutes without your consent, or do other nasty things. There are some security mechanisms in place, but that doesn't make them invincible.
You tell me, what is the advantage of encouraging reposting of APK's with already existing websites? Because it doesn't seem to have any advantages, but can have BAD security implications.
Good thing to raise awareness among users, but alas - most of them don't even bother to read the permissions requested by apps downloaded from the market.
There are actually quite few people that have an idea of what could happen if they had a rouge app on their phones. I recently tried to give a similar general warning in another forum that people should take care when flashing "beta" firmwares downloaded from some hosting site and not from the developer... You think most of them cared? Sadly they didn't...
There's nothing wrong with being a bit cautious and smart about the way we do things. I'll trust the app if I see the dev is in "the" community.
Sent from my GT-I9000M using XDA App
andrewluecke said:
1) Grab 7zip to decompress your apk package.
2) And yep, there are tools to decompile dex files too. Technically it seems to be more like disassembly, but can probably easily be modified to cause the app to ring russian phone sex numbers every 10 minutes without your consent, or do other nasty things. There are some security mechanisms in place, but that doesn't make them invincible.
You tell me, what is the advantage of encouraging reposting of APK's with already existing websites? Because it doesn't seem to have any advantages, but can have BAD security implications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, obviously you've never tried to actually edit one of those XML files within it. try that and get back to me.
APK's are not open source and cannot be decompiled and edited. The only way for what you are suggesting can happen, to happen, is if the APK in question had its sources released so someone else could release an edited version of the program, made from scratch, in java.
"can probably" is not very sure. The chances of someone posting a completely separate app with the name of a well known app is much more likely than someone editing an existing app (assuming the sources were available).
If you have no clue about android apk development why even bother arguing?
opensourcefan said:
There's nothing wrong with being a bit cautious and smart about the way we do things. I'll trust the app if I see the dev is in "the" community.
Sent from my GT-I9000M using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree 100%. Much better said! You don't know who's releasing what, so watch what you're installing and just make sure it looks like the program you were looking for in the first place..
Electroz said:
So, obviously you've never tried to actually edit one of those XML files within it. try that and get back to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Refer to apktool Link
Or Apk Manager (My Signature)
Xml's can be 100% decompiled/recompiled from binary to human readable and back thanks to apktool.
2 options to make sure ur safe :
1. Dont install root applications (they require 0 upfront standard android api permissions hence u won't know what its doing behind the scenes)
2. Install apps by transferring them to ur phone and using the package manager, that way you can see standard permissions (if any) and judge accordingly.
You know what would be cool, if superuser could log the "su" commands a root requiring app executes
Daneshm90 said:
Refer to apktool Link
Or Apk Manager (My Signature)
Xml's can be 100% decompiled/recompiled from binary to human readable and back thanks to apktool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, my bad.... But no wonder major game companies aren't developing for the platform yet.
But even if the apk that u downloaded from the net have a virus (eg. sends SMS to get money), you will still see the permission when installing so an antivirus isnt needed, or am i wrong?
leoon said:
But even if the apk that u downloaded from the net have a virus (eg. sends SMS to get money), you will still see the permission when installing so an antivirus isnt needed, or am i wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If its a non-root requiring app then yes, it must disclose its permissions prior to installing it through package manager not if u use adb to install.
You just have to judge, if a wifi toggle app is asking for email/sms permissions, you might want to be careful
As for root-requiring apps, theres not much you can do other than read reviews for that app or decompile and try to understand what its doing behind the scenes.
Electroz said:
Wow, my bad.... But no wonder major game companies aren't developing for the platform yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's quite easy to modify disassembled app code as well - trust me ;-) Also I think we will have possibility to decompile to Java code in the future.
Just don't think of your phone as a smaller PC (especially Windows), because this isn't true. There will never be antiviruses for Android and your only protection are permissions. Anyone could create market account and upload malicious app.
About game companies: they usually write in native code and it's really hard to decompile (or maybe even impossible for now). Besides... did you heard about gameloft's recent games? They're really awesome. Note that first 3d-gaming capable Android phones were released just ~10 months ago, so it's still quite early.
leoon said:
But even if the apk that u downloaded from the net have a virus (eg. sends SMS to get money), you will still see the permission when installing so an antivirus isnt needed, or am i wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should, however, what if it is an alternate launcher, in which case, you'd expect it to be able to send SMS's and make phone calls. That's all fine, until you realise the copy of launcherPro you downloaded using a multi-upload in XDA is having phone sex with a russian operator costing you hundreds of dollars.
It's actually good Brut spoke here. Brut[Maps] is relevant, because it introduces new features which distinguishes it from Google's version. However, can we trust Brut as much as we can trust Google? He seems trustworthy yes, but as trustworthy as Google? Questionable. (Btw Brut, good work on your mod). Of course, his mod does have considerable benefits showing he is interested in helping the community and he hasn't caused any problems thus far. That only means his official multi-upload posts are safe though, if I repost them elsewhere, you shouldn't trust my copies.
It's common sense that programs should pass by as few hands as possible to remain secure. We need to build awareness about security practices (particularly for business users who may compromise their companies security or information). I'm not saying all rom's are safe.. Think about it though, if an APK is already readily accessible, why would someone go through the effort of re-uploading it?
Furthermore, we should encourage people using their phone's for important purposes to use the official Kies releases, not random firmware's available from Samfirmware's (which may not even be final versions).
Remember, trojans are common in the warez world, and it's better to change the attitude of the community before they become a problem here too (otherwise, people will be stuck in a poor mindset that compromises herd immunity). XDA is a website targeted at the technical crowd, and we should set a good example.
@Electroz. Haven't disassembled them myself, but checked a tutorial. But someone has responded already anyway.. Just because I don't have experience doing it myself anyway, doesn't mean it isn't widely known to be possible.
Several big guys already launched Antivirus For Android
Norton, Trend, and a few more
i think we are pretty safe with those
however... it's suck if they run in the background all the time eating the juice+cpu power away
Anti-virus only helps for known trojans anyway, and since so few people have it installed, it doesn't help much. When Android has it built in though, it may be more useful.
Anti-virus should be considered a last line of defense anyway. And either way, I'm not concerned, because I try to minimise the risks of my own sgs. However, it's a concern that people here don't believe such a risk exists, and are actually encouraging a global attitude which might make the Android population ripe for social engineering attacks in the future.
@andrewluecke
I understand you, I don't say there is no problem with security. I say it doesn't matter you will get malicious software from mirror or Market itself. We could assume apps downloaded from WWW are more dangerous, but this problem is general one: people should be cautious whenever they install something with critical permissions. If they won't they will have problems anyway - it's just a matter of time.
I agree with you: it's important to aware people of that problem. This is actually only one thing we can do: be aware and cautious.
Ahh and in many situations it's possible to protect yourself against problem with redistribution. First, you could check md5 - many developers give it to people, I do. Second: signatures. Each app is signed by its author, so you could check its authenticity. You could check signatures of downloaded apk using public key uploaded by dev to his WWW or using "safe" apk you downloaded earlier. Unfortunately there are no tools to do that easily :-/ Also Android does this check automatically when you install new software. So if you have installed e.g. GM modded by me, then you have downloaded new version from some mirror and succeed at installing it, you can be sure it was also from me and nobody modified it.
AllGamer said:
Several big guys already launched Antivirus For Android
Norton, Trend, and a few more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm? I think it's impossible, cause apps can't get to data and resources of others apps. And creating an app for root users only wouldn't have much sense.
I have found Norton Smartphone Security for Android and it's anti-theft protection, not anti-virus.
I'm not a coder and came from IT field so I have lots of general questions about apk security and found this thread...great discussion. TY
Just a general question about apk security...how easy is it to alter apk for malicious intent? And is it possible for spyware writers to turn some freebie apk or rom into a bunch of botnet drone? ...just kinda scary to imagine
the news about android virus gets me nervous about installing any apk released from any individual
http://www.talkandroid.com/24949-new-android-trojan-virus-discovered-dubbed-gemini/
kobesabi said:
how easy is it to alter apk for malicious intent?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quite easy for a good developer.
kobesabi said:
And is it possible for spyware writers to turn some freebie apk or rom into a bunch of botnet drone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but I think that would be quickly noticed by people and then these apks, roms and developers would be banned from every forum in the internet.
Brut.all said:
Quite easy for a good developer.
Yes, but I think that would be quickly noticed by people and then these apks, roms and developers would be banned from every forum in the internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, scary. Unless there is something else, that they can't get away, I don't think banning would deter much, they just laugh at the weak security as a fun challenge. If they already got tons of ip under their control...banning by account, ip, or email will not help much...they can always get new ones.
Is there a way user can authenticate/verify apk signing from authentic author/writer? Many just post apk but did not post md5 or sha sum so how can a user find out if it is original or not?
Anyway to test these apk without loading up to real phone?
link : Mod edit - links removed
no root required..instalkl it as a apk
nemer12 said:
link : Mod edit - links removed
no root required..instalkl it as a apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed it last week. But I find it really hard to create a phote where it works. I find it easier to use After Focus Pro to get the same effect. Plus you don't have to have a couple of tries until it can defocus. Just at home when I have the time.
for me is working ok almost all times
nemer12 said:
link : Mod edit - links removed
no root required..instalkl it as a apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trying to get thanks from someone else's work, hey?
Why not link to the original thread that the person that did the work created?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2612382
You've been here more than long enough to know that it's essential to credit the creator of work that you share.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk
nemer12 said:
for me is working ok almost all times
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry didnt mean to thank you it was meant for the post after yours.
Sent from my Xperia Z eXistenZ
kingvortex said:
Trying to get thanks from someone else's work, hey?
Why not link to the original thread that the person that did the work created?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2612382
You've been here more than long enough to know that it's essential to credit the creator of work that you share.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well...i read only the GENERAL forum other(Development, APps etc) very very rare...because I don't have a rooted phone like always(my past phones) and it doesn;t interest me like before..I found this apk on another site..
So...
i dont want any thanks...I dont please myself with " virtual thanks" . and I didn;t steal anyone work..its sony work.
This site is built on people sharing their work. You should check where it came from or at least link where you got it from instead of just posting up the direct link to the apk.
It's this sort of thing that stops people sharing their work. No contributors means no XDA developers.
As for you only checking the general section, that's no excuse. If you had posted this in the correct place, you would have seen that it originated from here in the first place.
As for it being Sony's work, it still required that the apk be modified and signed so it could be installed as a user app and not have to be manually pushed to /system/app.
If that hadn't been done, you wouldn't have it on your phone at all.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk
Thread closed and link removed due to the following
12. Using the work of others.
If you are developing something that is based on the work of another Member, you MUST first seek their permission and you must give credit to the member whose work you used. If a dispute occurs about who developed / created a piece of work, first try to settle the matter by private message and NOT in open forum. If this fails, you may then contact a Moderator and provide clear evidence that the work was created by you.
Convincing evidence will result in the copied work being removed. If there is no clear evidence that it was you who created the work, then in the spirit of sharing, all work will remain posted on the forums.
As an addition, developers have the right to hold exclusivity over their work for as long as it is deemed necessary by that developer. However, if the work is claimed as exclusive, it must remain as such. No selective sharing will be allowed (ie, allowing certain people to use it and not others). Should the developer decide to start sharing the work with others, the work automatically becomes fair game for all to use, albeit with the relative credit displayed.
In regard to permissions, the same rules apply for this but if permission was already given and unless there is a very valid reason, it cannot be revoked (same applies to major updates on the work). Under that same premise, permissions cannot be denied unless the work is exclusive or under extreme circumstances.
In plain English: If you want to keep your work exclusive, go for it. However, if you are going to share your work, do it fairly.
These rules apply to all software posted on XDA (including but not limited to ROMs, RUUs, apps, games, kernels, themes, icons, etc) unless that software comes with a license that waives these rules.
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Hello everyone :fingers-crossed:
I'm creating a watchface that I would like to sell on the google play store when it's done.
Considering the amount of time I put in this project, it wouldn't be cool if someone decided to export the APK and to distribute it for free.
How can I protect my watchface and make sure it hasn't been pirated
Thank you in advance. :highfive:
Regards,
Azsde.
Just don't. Whatever you do, pirates will open up your app and remove the protection. Only people with problems will be legitimate users that will get locked out by possible bugs in protection.
azsde said:
Hello everyone :fingers-crossed:
I'm creating a watchface that I would like to sell on the google play store when it's done.
Considering the amount of time I put in this project, it wouldn't be cool if someone decided to export the APK and to distribute it for free.
How can I protect my watchface and make sure it hasn't been pirated
Thank you in advance. :highfive:
Regards,
Azsde.
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Click to collapse
The only way to prevent pirating is to have half of the program functionality done on the server-side, but you'll be screwing over your legitimate users.
Thank you for your advice, I'll just proguard everything and hope that most of the people will be honest.
Although there is no (yet) statistics showing the real number to how bad the piracy on Android is, there are reports saying more than 90% of installs on Android were not paid for (Google). There have been lots and lotsa blows exchange between developers and hackers (and for gods sake this is never gonna end). Anti-piracy solutions are being discussed here and there, all the discussions are (eventually) pointing towards server authentication as the only way to counter piracy effectively.
As a developer, I am not excused from all this hack-and-anti-hack things. And (obviously) I have no better solution than anyone else. Here, I am gonna share a small library that I have coded to help scan for pirate apps on the device. This library is really simple, what it does is to grab a list (I called it pirate-app-list) from the internet and scan it through the device to determine whether an offended app is installed on the device.
This project is actually a product from the 1st suggestion in this XDA thread. In the thread, it recommends to search for the pirate apps and force the user to uninstall it. I implemented the former part of the suggestion, while leaving the latter to the developers to decide. The only difference that I have made is to put this static list on the internet instead of hard-coding it to save us the trouble of updating the app for the purpose of updating the list.
This project is by no means a solution to anti-hacking. Rather, its a hope that developers can work together to make sure users stay away from those apps (by forcing/reminding them to uninstall it). I believe those apps will not survive if it does not gain enough active users? Or maybe it does..
This project is open-sourced on GitHub together with the pirate-app-list. Feel free to check it out.
Currently, only "Lucky Patcher" and "Freedom" are listed on the pirate-app-list (with filters). Anybody interested in the project are free to join so we can work on the list and more importantly, the definition of what a pirate app is.
Your feedback is very much appreciated.
Thank you.
reserved
reserved
Lucky patcher is also used for functions that do not concern piracy, such as running two versions of the same app... I think that you can't force or continuosly remind a user to uninstall an app that he needs.
Edit: Also, I think that most of the piracy is based on pirated apk, not apps like LP or Freedom, which only act for IAP. The solution to prevent IAP piracy is server validation, but for pirated APK it's not.
Coraz said:
Lucky patcher is also used for functions that do not concern piracy, such as running two versions of the same app... I think that you can't force or continuosly remind a user to uninstall an app that he needs.
Edit: Also, I think that most of the piracy is based on pirated apk, not apps like LP or Freedom, which only act for IAP. The solution to prevent IAP piracy is server validation, but for pirated APK it's not.
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Thank you for your reply.
Actually, as I have pointed out in the thread, this project implements only the scanner part, it doesn't act for the developers. Developers have to decide what they want to do with the detected piracy. Its really nice to be able to run 2 versions of the same app on 1 device, I believe ChelpuS should make another app with this feature, or without other features in Lucky Patcher.
I'm sorry, but if an app tells me to uninstall something - I'm uninstalling that app first
DANIEL TAN said:
Although there is no (yet) statistics showing the real number to how bad the piracy on Android is, there are reports saying more than 90% of installs on Android were not paid for (Google). There have been lots and lotsa blows exchange between developers and hackers (and for gods sake this is never gonna end). Anti-piracy solutions are being discussed here and there, all the discussions are (eventually) pointing towards server authentication as the only way to counter piracy effectively.
As a developer, I am not excused from all this hack-and-anti-hack things. And (obviously) I have no better solution than anyone else. Here, I am gonna share a small library that I have coded to help scan for pirate apps on the device. This library is really simple, what it does is to grab a list (I called it pirate-app-list) from the internet and scan it through the device to determine whether an offended app is installed on the device.
This project is actually a product from the 1st suggestion in this XDA thread. In the thread, it recommends to search for the pirate apps and force the user to uninstall it. I implemented the former part of the suggestion, while leaving the latter to the developers to decide. The only difference that I have made is to put this static list on the internet instead of hard-coding it to save us the trouble of updating the app for the purpose of updating the list.
This project is by no means a solution to anti-hacking. Rather, its a hope that developers can work together to make sure users stay away from those apps (by forcing/reminding them to uninstall it). I believe those apps will not survive if it does not gain enough active users? Or maybe it does..
This project is open-sourced on GitHub together with the pirate-app-list. Feel free to check it out.
Currently, only "Lucky Patcher" and "Freedom" are listed on the pirate-app-list (with filters). Anybody interested in the project are free to join so we can work on the list and more importantly, the definition of what a pirate app is.
Your feedback is very much appreciated.
Thank you.
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Sorry to tell you. But XDA rule number 6 States that you are not allowed to talk about apps like Lucky Patcher and Freedom. I hope the moderators will ignore you for a noob.
Regards,
PoseidonKing
PoseidonKing said:
Sorry to tell you. But XDA rule number 6 States that you are not allowed to talk about apps like Lucky Patcher and Freedom. I hope the moderators will ignore you for a noob.
Regards,
PoseidonKing
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You are misinformed. We allow threads such as these because they are educational and are about preventative purposes against those applications. I would suggest you actually read what the purpose of this thread is about before telling other users about what the XDA rules say, which incidentally is not your 'job' to do.