I'm using Modaco latest r8 rom with froyo 2.2. I noticed 2 things:
1. wave secure will not download my account data automatically when I factory reset. I need to register again which make it vulnerable. >> Anyone can disable wave secure
2. I don't even need to factory reset and I can reset wave secure by clearing the data in settings!!!!
I have tried in original HTC ROM 2.09(rooted) and flash in /system/app. same situation.
And I've tried that if wavesecure hasn't been register, you can't lock it from wavesecure.com or sms
I don't know if this is due to the nature of froyo or it's been like this since 2.1
wave secure is practically useless right now on my phone!!
Anyone can confirm this?
called them and they said they disabled the function for temp as they are working on some fix, it will be up again in 3 weeks as what they said
Yep, saw this on MoDaCo. Will not be renewing my WaveSecure subscription.
Lets be honest, it was a waste of money to begin with right.
This whole thing makes me wonder...can an Android phone REALLY be protected by these kind of softwares? Even assuming there are no security issues with the app..I mean,a lot of Android phones are rooted by their owners and all are rootable (?) without booting into the OS, so even if said apps are installed as system apps (just like wavesecure can be) what's preventing a "smart/geek" thief from pulling the battery, changing the simcard,(rooting a non-rooted phone), booting into recovery, mounting system and wreaking havoc through adb, including removing the security app?? Am i going on a wild goose chase or is all this sound??
MacCarron said:
This whole thing makes me wonder...can an Android phone REALLY be protected by these kind of softwares? Even assuming there are no security issues with the app..I mean,a lot of Android phones are rooted by their owners and all are rootable (?) without booting into the OS, so even if said apps are installed as system apps (just like wavesecure can be) what's preventing a "smart/geek" thief from pulling the battery, changing the simcard,(rooting a non-rooted phone), booting into recovery, mounting system and wreaking havoc through adb, including removing the security app?? Am i going on a wild goose chase or is all this sound??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but I don't think the average mugger/thief is that smart
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
So can I cancel my current subscription then and get a refund?
If you install wavesecure to /system/app and make sure its only there and not in /data/app as well then you should not have this problem.
Also wavesecure have gone through a rough month, got brought by Mcafee who in turn just got brought by Intel. They need to adjust to the new owners. They are (were) only a small company and lets face it their app is the best around by a long long way.
If you have any problems or suggestions on how to improve they usually listen (it was one of TeamVillain and a xda mod who suggested they make a update.zip for /system/app and a number of other improvements and they did it straight away).
Don't just say "oh no its not working" no app can protect your phone from the right people, if someone who knows all about rooting etc gets your phone then your screwed anwyay. But the average joe thug who steals your phone will get it, put in a new sim the alarm will go crazy then they panic, drop the phone and run. You can then use the tracker to find it, or give details to police.
Just put the apk in your rom next time before you flash in system/app and flash the rom. Restore data from a backup (but not the app) and you still get your market link too.
Lennyuk said:
If you install wavesecure to /system/app and make sure its only there and not in /data/app as well then you should not have this problem.
Also wavesecure have gone through a rough month, got brought by Mcafee who in turn just got brought by Intel. They need to adjust to the new owners. They are (were) only a small company and lets face it their app is the best around by a long long way.
If you have any problems or suggestions on how to improve they usually listen (it was one of TeamVillain and a xda mod who suggested they make a update.zip for /system/app and a number of other improvements and they did it straight away).
Don't just say "oh no its not working" no app can protect your phone from the right people, if someone who knows all about rooting etc gets your phone then your screwed anwyay. But the average joe thug who steals your phone will get it, put in a new sim the alarm will go crazy then they panic, drop the phone and run. You can then use the tracker to find it, or give details to police.
Just put the apk in your rom next time before you flash in system/app and flash the rom. Restore data from a backup (but not the app) and you still get your market link too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While i agree with you that a witch hunt isn't the proper response and that it is unlikely that the average thief will know his way around adb, i have personally tried to remove wavesecure from /system/app...it works...i did it without breaking a sweat. I intentionally triggered the lock by attempting to uninstall the uninstall-protection, pulled off the battery, booted in recovery and got rid of wavese cure with a single command. Reboot and presto! A free phone . So it is true that there is no full-proof way to be safeguarded, at least using this software, and in my humble opinion the guys over at wavesecure should clearly state so on their website. And they don't always listen..there is a long story of noisy silences concerning op's issue...omissions, censorship etc etc. I got a free lifetime subscription so i'm not particularly yelling at anyone, just making hypothetis, but wouldn't you be quite pissed off if someone stole your phone and rendered it's security software (for which you payed) impotent just because he knew "SU"?
MacCarron said:
While i agree with you that a witch hunt isn't the proper response and that it is unlikely that the average thief will know his way around adb, i have personally tried to remove wavesecure from /system/app...it works...i did it without breaking a sweat. I intentionally triggered the lock by attempting to uninstall the uninstall-protection, pulled off the battery, booted in recovery and got rid of wavese cure with a single command. Reboot and presto! A free phone . So it is true that there is no full-proof way to be safeguarded, at least using this software, and in my humble opinion the guys over at wavesecure should clearly state so on their website. And they don't always listen..there is a long story of noisy silences concerning op's issue...omissions, censorship etc etc. I got a free lifetime subscription so i'm not particularly yelling at anyone, just making hypothetis, but wouldn't you be quite pissed off if someone stole your phone and rendered it's security software (for which you payed) impotent just because he knew "SU"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is though, if they knew SU and other commands chances are they will get around any protection whatever it would be.
But Wavesecure offers you a way to track the phone, you can still contact your carrier and get them to IMEI blacklist it, then track the handset down via wavesecure.
hi - just check out secrep5265.blogspot.com - thats interesting information concerning your discussion.
I'm looking for a replacement for Mobile Defense since they seem to have discontinued their product. What's the best FREE app that will locate your phone, blast the ringer, remote wipe, etc...?
Thanks!
....
Lookout is a good app, if u set it up properly u wont even know its there yet, it does its job pretty well, no probs since mt4g came out, its free, but they recently added "premium" services, witch are really just to lock ur phone throught the site, ,, U can backup, locate, an keep virus free, for free though, you just cant lock it from online,.. also i doubt its a battery drainer, i still havent noticed any xtra battery loss
Thanks for the info. I'm looking to be able to remote wipe and remote lock and track the phone as well for free. Mobile Defense does all this but I don't think they're developing anymore and I heard there were issues with it on Froyo...
Lookout Mobile Security
Yea but Lookout charges you for the features I want...
Legaleye3000 said:
Yea but Lookout charges you for the features I want...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sometimes everything is not free. And sometimes you get what you pay for.
True, but if Mobile Defense offers all of those for free, someone else must also. I remember seeing an app that had everything for free, I just don't remember what the other app was.....
I saw this Lost Phone app. Haven't used it but it is free:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/lost-phone/com.gadgetprojects.lostphone
Wavesecure is the best!!!!!!!
When u autolock it sounds an alarm.....and when a different sim is inserted it sends text messages to numbers that u list in ur buddy list....doesn't let the person do a master reset
*Sent from my Tmobile MT4G*
When it comes to goofy apps and misc apps; free is always nice. But when it comes to security, I never compromise. Free or not, you get what you pay for.
I use the Premium version of Lookout. I used the free version for a long time and the jump was worth it.
There will always be someone who wants everything for free. Well...some things AREN'T. Get over it. Deal with it. That's the way it is.
If you want something bad enough and no-one makes it, why don't you be the first then?! Go develop a free security app that does everything you want then give it away to the rest of us who aren't complaining...
JM2C
Prey
The app you're looking for is called Prey. The company's website is PreyProject.com. I tried posting links but I can't because I'm a new user.
Legaleye3000 said:
I'm looking for a replacement for Mobile Defense since they seem to have discontinued their product. What's the best FREE app that will locate your phone, blast the ringer, remote wipe, etc...?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to clarify, Mobile Defense has not discontinued anything as I am still happily using their product. They have simply closed their open beta period (and it has been closed for quite awhile, 6 month or so). If you got in before it closed and simply had to swap phones, they have links on their website to re-download the client as long as you have a login.
You can no longer find them via the Market due to having closed their open beta period.
Please post questions in Q&A section.
chimatt said:
The app you're looking for is called Prey. The company's website is PreyProject.com. I tried posting links but I can't because I'm a new user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are several threads in the MT4G area about 'lost phone' style apps. Even though you sometimes get what you pay for, I'd rather not pay the $20-$30 per year for the ability to lock and fine my phone (as both Wavesecure and Lookout would seem to require) unless there's really no other alternative.
After reading through the recommendations in all of these threads, Prey actually looks like it might be the best in terms of offering the most features in the free version. I'd be interested in hearing more of other people's thoughts and experiences in using these apps (with consideration of their respective prices).
For now, I'm going to download Prey and I'll report back later with my thoughts.
Trip report on Prey:
So I got Prey installed on both Mytouch 4G's on my account and tried it out. The free version of the app lets you specify your phone as 'lost' via a user-defined SMS, and this worked every time. Upon sending the SMS to put the phone in 'lost' mode, you can also have the app perform several actions on the phone, including sounding an alarm, displaying a user-defined alert message, and locking the phone (with the stock android locking mechanism, but a Prey specific unlock password). These actions can be modified from he Prey website control panel (even after phone is in lost mode), and are performed a frequency of between 10 and 40 minutes while the phone remains lost. You also receive an e-mail alert when your phone is put into 'lost' mode. Prey also has the option to put itself into lost mode if the sim card is replaced.
Regarding everything above, Prey seems to work great. A couple things to be aware of though: when the alarm sounds on your phone, it starts at the loudest volume but can be reduced in volume to zero with the rocker on the side of your phone even when locked. If it sounds again after the specified interval, it starts out at the loudest volume, but again can be reduced. Also, if you opt to lock your phone, then the user-defined alert message won't be displayed until the correct unlock password is entered on the device. Thus, you can't both lock your phone and display a message to the person who has it. The developers indicated that a future version of Prey may allow for an alert message to be displayed first, with a keypress then sending the phone to the lock screen. This would be a significant improvement imo, since it would be nice to display contact information for someone who may have innocently found your phone while at the same time protecting your privacy by having the phone locked down.
[[[EDIT: This paragraph no longer applies. As reported in my post (below), the developers have now fixed this problem, but I'm leaving this paragraph here as part of my original review. "Prey currently fails on the MT4G when it comes to generating reports in order to track the activities and location of your lost phone. The reports are supposed to be generated at the same frequency as the actions above (10 to 40 minute intervals) when in 'lost' mode, with the free version allowing you to have up to 10 reports on file before the newest report will replace the oldest one. However, after trying every possible setting I could think of on both the Prey side and phone side, I could never get these reports to generate on a consistent basis (success on <10% of attempts). I contacted the developers about this and other questions/concerns, and they were friendly and helpful with trying to resolve the issue. Apparently they haven't had any problems like this on their test device, but again, the reports are not reliable for the MT4G."]]]
In summary, Prey works great for being able to lock down your phone via SMS if it's lost or stolen, with an optional alert message and alarm sound. It currently does not [EDIT: DOES...the problem was fixed] work in terms of helping you find the location of your lost or stolen phone via gps/wifi, etc.
Note: Lookout does offer the ability to locate your device in the free version of that app, but does not allow wipe or lock without purchasing the premium app. Thus, perhaps using Lookout in conjunction with Prey allows the free version of each of these apps to compliment one another.
Edit: The developers of Prey continue to be very friendly and responsive. They contacted me to let me know that they are continuing to work on resolving the problem with generating reports. I'll report back when the issue is resolved.
Thanks to me if you found this review helpful : )
Update: The developers of Prey did some debugging and were able to find the problem that was keeping the location reports from being consistently generated. I tested out a fixed version on both of my Mytouch 4Gs and it now seems to be working perfectly.
While it has been rumored and feared practically since the operating system's creation, one of the nightmare scenarios for some unlucky Android users has finally become very real. Japan's second largest mobile carrier, KDDI, has gone where no carrier has dared before and has begun disguising advertisements as system notifications on their Android devices.
It seems that an app bundled with KDDI devices is the cause of the controversial ad system. The "au one market" is a secondary market application that comes with most of the smartphones on the carrier's service. This newest evil addition came in the form of an update which prompted the user with two warnings.
Quote
1. au one Market app stays resident even when you are not using the app, 2. notification space will be used to inform good deals to customers.
There are similar ad experiences from certain applications and services already in the U.S. but this is the first time we've seen this behavior from an actual mobile carrier. It's scary to think of this becoming common place so be sure to voice your opposition on this sort of guerrilla advertising to your carrier representatives before it's too late. This is also just all the more reason to keep your rootz skills as up to date as possible. Removing that carrier bloatware is becoming seemingly more and more essential these days....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source: RootzWiki
Read for yourself here
since i've installed an app (don't know which one) i'm starting to something like this on my status bar... do you guys know anything about this?
This sucks... Are they even allowed to do this?
@gigeaky
Check if you have Easy Mp3 Download or DroID3Tagger. One of them should be the Ads source.
Install Airpush Detector or Addons Detector from the market to find the offending app.
Nothing root+delete offending app can't solve.
That said, still sucks, they'll probably end any warranty or whatever services they may offer if they find out. I guess you can still delete any traces of root and send it to samsung. They probably couldn't care less if you uninstalled some carrier app.
I don't mind ads at all while they aren't intrusive. I understand their purpose and their importance. But being randomly interrupted by some notification ad is the worse kind of interruption, as useless as it gets, not to mention the unsolicited data traffic and extra battery drain. I can even see them going a notch up and create random popups out of that you need to dismiss. Now, i like android the best of all mobile operative systems, but i draw a line here. If google ever enforced this at system level with no way around, i'd leave android completely.
I agree, I guess all those stuff is from carriers and not from Google so that I think it won't be difficult delete it.
gigeaky said:
since i've installed an app (don't know which one) i'm starting to something like this on my status bar... do you guys know anything about this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I seem to be getting similar notifications, I can't for the life of me work out what app they are related to...
At least with windows 7.x you could switch ROMs and side load useful apps, with this safeboot thing and Microsoft's lame attitude to give us more of the features and apps that we want it's no wonder why Windows Phone 8 fourms and blogs are so boring. Way to go Microsoft.
Agreed. I used to come here every day but, now it's once a week (kind of how it was on PPCgeeks.com). No roms, No interop unlocks, no unlocks period.
If you want more discussion about WP8, I suggest going to WPcentral.com...It's pretty active over there...
I really wish a hack of some type would hit, this is getting old. I just want my custom colors back (like I have with WP7).... Advanced Config I miss you !!!
Nobody has been able to find an exploit yet , but I don't really mind lack of activity in forms though as long as cobwebs don't settle upon the entire ecosystem itself we'll be fine
DavidinCT said:
Agreed. I used to come here every day but, now it's once a week (kind of how it was on PPCgeeks.com). No roms, No interop unlocks, no unlocks period.
If you want more discussion about WP8, I suggest going to WPcentral.com...It's pretty active over there...
I really wish a hack of some type would hit, this is getting old. I just want my custom colors back (like I have with WP7).... Advanced Config I miss you !!!
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Click to collapse
Yea I agree that WP Central has lost more action going on but it's all the same stuff; I mean how many reviews of itsdagram, Facebook, Angry Birds and Skype can one handle before they get bored.
I always use to wonder why XDA turned into Android forum almost over night; now I know why its thanks to Microsoft. I feel sorry for Nokia though they took a big risk and now MS is being stubborn.
sinister1 said:
Yea I agree that WP Central has lost more action going on but it's all the same stuff; I mean how many reviews of itsdagram, Facebook, Angry Birds and Skype can one handle before they get bored.
I always use to wonder why XDA turned into Android forum almost over night; now I know why its thanks to Microsoft. I feel sorry for Nokia though they took a big risk and now MS is being stubborn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, it's the same *****ing over there sometimes. Don't get me wrong, it's a good site if you want new and useful Windows Phone news. This site used to be a WM haven, just like PPCgeeks was. As that is all there was at the time, we had WM and BB...they were all mainly used by business people or hackers like ourselves.
WP7.x was pretty hackable after a while (with custom roms for most phones and interop unlock for about 90% of the models) so it was pretty active but, now with everyone moving to WP8 (ex WP7 users and converts) and No hacks yet, it's slowed down to almost nothing.
Android is mostly hackable and most phones have or NEED a custom rom, so this became a haven for Android users. And for now, as long as they are not going in this area and trolling, there is no issue with it or at least, I don't have an issue with it.
I do think it's a matter of time, they will find a exploit in WP8. I know why MS locked it down, once WP7 was hacked, it opened the doors for the pirates and some people took advantage if it. Sure there was some cool underground apps but, it just opened the system for the pirates. They wanted to lock down WP8 to make the higher end DEVs come and create the apps and games people want, to grow the system.
Nokia was paid pretty well to make a change to WP and over all they are doing very well with it...and their market is growing.
I'm stil deciding if I am going to pick up the Lumia 928 or stick with my HTC 8X(full price, Not giving up my unlimited data)....Hmmmmm... I just wish I could use Advanced Config to get my custom tile colors back
^stick with 8x at least till Nokia world sometime in September because surprises are on its way
Personally I like the very secure nature of my windows phone, I have rimmed more than my share of devices over the years, so its kind of refreshing to k ow this nuts hard to crack. Nokia did take a big risk but I think its been good for both companies. Nokia has done well with exclusive apps in a starved market and there devices are aimed well at a growing group of android overloaded users. With apps like tumble, netflix, Hulu and others coming over the devices are getting more main stream support and with time that will pay good dividends too. All in all I have found little reason to "root" this device other than for the hell of it. They come pretty lean on apps out of box. The biggest thing people seem to be trying to do is get tethering to work without paying out to a carrier for it. Personally if that's basically the reason your wanting to rom so bad, go back to android its far easier get going. I ramble now though, to sum up phone runs great unrommed, clean eco system and very secure setup makes for an all around pleasant device. I think special rimming is more or less unneeded for these devices. Been running unrommed windows mobile 7 and 8 now for about two years collectively. Have android tablets all rommed and a s3 rommed as a backup device.
Sent from my RM-878_nam_usa_100 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Meh... I considered WP7 without hacks to be nigh-unusable, even though I stuck with a stock ROM. No way to have apps open files automatically, for example (but I could manually add the registry entries, and could write apps that knew how to handle them). No way to access the filesystem (but I could sideload Kindle ebooks using homebrew file managers). No way back up app data or messages (except with homebrew). Minimal control of theming (as a class, this was one of the biggest homebrew categories). No real control over multitasking (I like that the default behavior is so conserving of battery life, but sometimes I don't *want* Puzzle Quest 2 or Fruit Ninja to have to go through its entire launch process just because I switched tasks or let the phone sleep for a bit!). Severe limit on sideloaded apps (I have over 30 of them, counting small utilities that that I developed, and not counting outdated versions, redundent apps, or anything else I removed). No listener sockets (though this didn't require a very fancy hack). No C++ code reuse (same as the server sockets). No way to tell how much space each app was using (but there's a homebrew for that).
WP8 fixes many of the worst problems. We can now register filetype handlers (though Kindle still doesn't register .MOBI or .PRC, so no more sideloading my ebooks for now...), use native code (with restrictions, but it's better than the default on WP7), and theme our phones (well, a litttttle bit more than before; still not enough). They added some much-requested features (SMS backup, variable text size, ability to control the browser app bar at least a bit, WiFi on while sleeping, Skype integration) and of course the change in OS brought many other improvements (multi-core, removable SD cards, higher resolutions, etc.). However, it still has some big problems of its own. True multitasking is still very limited. Data backup is still iffy. Still no filesystem access (or ability to do anything outside an app sandbox except the official Settings tools). Still very limited sideloading.
I promise you, though, people are working on it. I'm one of them, and several of the other names you know from WP7 hacking are as well.
People like GoodDayToDie & netham45 make the windows forums so much fun to follow
nikufellow said:
^stick with 8x at least till Nokia world sometime in September because surprises are on its way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea but, I am on Verizon....After a release of a model it will take 6 months for Verizon to get a phone that is almost outdated on release.
The 8X is so limited on space that it's driving me nuts, If I find app or game I want to try, I have to uninstall a Paid app to install it. It's getting too old. 8X on format is 11.5gb and the Lumia 928 is 23.5gb, a little over double the space might be worth it, depending on what I can get it for, of course.
The blogs are dead because places like XDA that centralize around modding your phone to improve performance isn't necessary when WP8 software already performs flawlessly. Go to blogs like WPCentral and the Windows Phone community is alive and well swapping out our black Lumia shells for yellow and talking about games and apps. Pretty much doing what we should be doing on a phone, not repairing phones that came broken.
Flawlessly? Ahahahahaha
Still no app data backup machanism.
Still no custom themes.
Still no way to sideload XAP files (unless they are "company apps") without a PC.
Still no filesystem access.
Still no way to control the permissions an app has (what if I want to use the app, but don't want to give it access to my camera?)
Still no way remove "Settings" apps.
Still no way to do true multitasking (not the restricted and often crippled things that the official APIs call multitasking).
Still no way to overwrite file associations (you can choose them when opening a file that multiple apps claim to support, but that's it).
Still no way to change the default browser or email client or dialer.
Still no way to install apps to the SD card.
Still have only limited access to Bluetooth.
Still no way to browse, much less edit, the registry.
Still no way to sideload large numbers of (non-"company") apps.
...
Seriously, go look at the list of things that are possible with WP7 homebrew (never mind WinMo or Android or iOS), and then see how many of them are possible with WP8 right now. It's a joke. MS added some (much needed) features, but also took away some things that I think are vitally important, and took away our ability to re-create them for the new OS... unless and until we break it as we have broken OSes in the past.
You imply that WP8 didn't come "broken" and therefore doesn't need modding? Bull.
I've been wanting to root/unlock my Lumia for one purpose only, sideloading my own developed apps. It's gruesome to try an app in the emulator all the time, but in a month that will be fixed with an AppHub account. And after that my real purpose for rooting/unlocking is gone.
Always fun to see what's possible on the unlocked device though, code-wise.
Sent from my Lumia 920 using Board Express
GoodDayToDie said:
Flawlessly? Ahahahahaha
Still no app data backup machanism.
Still no custom themes.
Still no way to sideload XAP files (unless they are "company apps") without a PC.
Still no filesystem access.
Still no way to control the permissions an app has (what if I want to use the app, but don't want to give it access to my camera?)
Still no way remove "Settings" apps.
Still no way to do true multitasking (not the restricted and often crippled things that the official APIs call multitasking).
Still no way to overwrite file associations (you can choose them when opening a file that multiple apps claim to support, but that's it).
Still no way to change the default browser or email client or dialer.
Still no way to install apps to the SD card.
Still have only limited access to Bluetooth.
Still no way to browse, much less edit, the registry.
Still no way to sideload large numbers of (non-"company") apps.
...
Seriously, go look at the list of things that are possible with WP7 homebrew (never mind WinMo or Android or iOS), and then see how many of them are possible with WP8 right now. It's a joke. MS added some (much needed) features, but also took away some things that I think are vitally important, and took away our ability to re-create them for the new OS... unless and until we break it as we have broken OSes in the past.
You imply that WP8 didn't come "broken" and therefore doesn't need modding? Bull.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If there is one thing I do not understand about the new SDK APIs, is why on earth an app can not register itself to open file formats reserved by the system. IMO thats the most retarded idea ever implemented in the history of computing. And to make the retarded thing completely retarded, they made it so most common files are handled by system apps, so you can not override the file association.
I am really wondering what is microsoft going to do about these things. If they really want a marketplace full of games, facebook, youtube and instagram apps, then they should stick to their current plan. WP will never get useful in a broad sense.
I hope the update this fall brings new stuff, otherwise the platform will die soon.
GoodDayToDie said:
Flawlessly? ... You imply that WP8 didn't come "broken" and therefore doesn't need modding? Bull.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although I don't agree with much of his bill-of-particulars, I have to agree with GDTD's sentiment.
Probably, modders need to correct deficiencies. I'm down with MS or anybody else who steps up. I'm in no hurry to crack my OS open right now, though.
I am especially offended at Microsoft's pitiful PDF reader attempt. And some of the apps in the store make me squint. I want to see the author "Google" emblazoned on my YouTube app, not a third party dev. I sure hope MS is putting these apps under a microscope.
The joy of homebrew (and of a developer forum, like this one) is, even if your goals are different from mine, it's possible for you to make your own changes to the device. It's yours; you control it. That's what security *means*, or at least what it's supposed to mean: you (the owner) are in control of what happens.
Ever since the iPhone, though, the trend has been twoards more and more lockdown, taking control away from the device owner and branding this as "security". I don't like it, so I aim to break it. Ideally, we break it in ways that only work with a local attack; I don't want somebody else able to control my device (that really would be the opposite of security)... but I do want to control it myself!
Part of the problem is that there have been no updates in recent months. Portico came out, Nokia dropped some new firmwares last month. But largely, nothing has changed in WP8 since launch. Personally, I find that boring. Maybe I should have an Android phone on the side to keep me entertained with updates, but I find Windows Phone much more usable day-to-day.
It has been more than 6 months since the WP8 launch, and GDR1 didn't really add much. Microsoft should have planned to have GDR2 out by now, even if it meant postponing some features for GDR3. I think most of us would rather have small quarterly updates to WP8, rather than a massive upgrade once a year. It's starting to feel like WP7 and the Mango anticipation all over again, now that it sounds like WP8.1 might be delayed into 2014. Hopefully they come through with their vaporware enthusiast program to keep our attention in the meantime.
I agree with the OP. Cobwebs on this side of the section totally. A thread in a week may be? But there is something I often read on many forums. People who are happy (I know it's a very wide term) with their devices, I.e don't run into problems with their devices, see no need to lurk around. So actually, it is a good sign. It shows how well-thought after a WP device is.
And GoodDayToDie, even though I agree with everything u've noted down, I don't quite believe WP needs all of that.
Still no app data backup machanism. - Umm...Data Sense?
Still no custom themes. - Fair Enough, but again, WP IS NOT meant to be themed to the T
Still no way to sideload XAP files (unless they are "company apps") without a PC. - I believe this is for security reasons.
Still no filesystem access. - Why do you even want that when the system is running flawless, (yes the same word u scorned at.)
Still no way to control the permissions an app has (what if I want to use the app, but don't want to give it access to my camera?) - LOL! You gotta be kidding me right?
Android has the worst permission management I have ever seen in my adult life. Android gives wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy more information out than any OS out there.
Still no way remove "Settings" apps. Umm..u sure u want that?
Still no way to do true multitasking (not the restricted and often crippled things that the official APIs call multitasking). Multi-tasking is really good with WP8.
Still no way to overwrite file associations (you can choose them when opening a file that multiple apps claim to support, but that's it). - Fair enough, but not a deal breaker either.
Still no way to change the default browser or email client or dialer. - I believe you are again entering the territory of themeing, already replied above. Every OS comes with it's own email client. I don't see the point here.
Still no way to install apps to the SD card. - Fair enough. By far the best point in your list.
Still have only limited access to Bluetooth. - In what way?
Still no way to browse, much less edit, the registry. - Again, WHY? WHy mend it when it's not broken.
Still no way to sideload large numbers of (non-"company") apps - U can download the app(paid or otherwise) from the App store on your computer, put it on the SD card and say install from the Store App on the phone. Simple?
DataSense has nothing even remotely to do with backing up (and restoring) app data; where'd you get that idea? Vital feature that homebrew eventually made avaialble in WP7 but is missing in WP8.
"IS NOT meant" nothing! Somewhere under all that sandboxing and locked-down UI is a general-purpose OS running on top of highly capable hardware. It's "meant" to be whatever the owner fo the device *wants* it to be, including (in the case of many, many people if the popularity of WP7 homebrew apps is any sign) theming. Stop being an apologist for Microsoft; it's one thing to say "extensive theming wasn't implemented because other features were higher priority" but when you start trying to tell me that I'm not supposed to theme it, you seriously need to put down the Kool-Ade. Besides, the very claim is ludicrous to the point of disingenious; have you *seen* the WP8 ads? They all stress the customizability of the Start screen. To the point of suggesting you can "meet" a person simply through how they have their phone set up... those ads freaking scream "customize me!" Then you discover there's only a handful of pre-set colors, two background styles, and the ability to mess with the tiles; nothing else.
No, it is quite absolutely *not* for "security" reasons. Security means the owner of the device controlling the device's behavior. If somebody else (like, for example, the manufacturer of the device) is controlling its behavior, that is not security; it's lockdown. The sideloading restriction can only be called security if it's not your device but actually belongs to Microsft. Screw that. Besides, that argument makes no sense anyhow; if I can pay my $99 and sideload with a PC, why can't I sideload without one (or without paying)? The marketplace has DRM to mitigate piracy and that's a darn weak excuse to cripple a device anyhow.
When I can load my Puzzle Quest 2 savegames and other game progress and high scores, copy my PGP keychain, sideload my Kindle ebooks into the Kindle app (yes, this is possible on WP7), extract or replace the built-in audio files, and delete the junk which accumulates in the OS and uses up storage space (without hard resetting the device), then I will stop considering the level of filesystem access a problem. Until then, "running flawless" is quite worthy of scorn indeed.
Wow, I seriously question your reading comprehension. I never mentioned Android in this point, or anywhere else (except to point out that it has a lot of homebrew). But, for your information, the default permissions / capabilities handling in Android is just as broken as in WP8. The difference is that with Android, it is possible (CyanogenMOD did this, for example) to install apps without actually granting them all the permissions they ask for. On WP7, this wasn't properly possible yet, but I was working on a system to do it that hooked the app install process and allowed people to uncheck app capabilities they didn't want to permit.
Um yes, I'd like to remove the non-functioning Samsung apps (until they are fixed) that are taking up space on my phone's storage and making the Settings list longer. I can always re-install them if needed. Every other carrier or OEM app is removable; why should these get special treatment just because they have a field in their app manifest that says "install me in the Settings hub"?
Multitasking - true multitasking, where multiple apps can run at once - is nigh-nonexistent on WP8. Aside from things like audio background agents and once-every-30-minutes-you-get-a-few-seconds-of-CPU-time scheduled tasks, there basically isn't any multitasking (of third-party apps) at all. Fast app switching is *not* multitasking; every app aside from the main one is suspended, unable to do amything until brought into the foreground.
Changing file associations obviusly isn't a deal-breaker, or I wouldn't be using the phone... but definitely a problem. Windows has offered the ability to control file associations since at least Win95, and I think it was possible in 3.1 as well...
Changing the default browser and email client and calendar and dialer aren't "theming" by any conventional definition, but the point made above about theming stands anyhow: it's a matter of personalization. It can also be a matter of functionality (for example, the built-in email client can't handle S/MIME encrypted email at all and has no PGP integration). Or a matter of usability (I use folders a lot; it's a pain needing to expand a menu to get to them)! Or something else... the important point is that it should be possible. Every OS comes with an email client, but every OS except iOS (and WP) allows you to change the default email client, too. This isn't even hard to implement (the relevant registry keys were present on WP7, at least; carrying over the API to control them wouldn't have been hard at all); it's once again a case of Microsoft intentionally restricting what you can do with your phone. If I wanted a mobile OS designed by a control freak, I'd buy an iPhone...
Nothing more really needs to be said here, except that with filesystem access (create a symlink or junction in the apps folder, for example) this would be possible...
Many BT profiles, such as HID devices (for mice and keyboards), are missing from WP8. So far as I know, apps can't use the Headset profile either; the pseudo-turn-by-turn navigation on WP7 would give its instructions via the car's BT if possible, but Nokia/Here Drive must use the phone's speakerphone speaker instead.
When I can change default browser and text editor, create my own themes, enable features that a ROM shipped disabled (have you seen the thread by the guy who can't get visual voicemail?), sideload high-privilege apps (without paying for the privilege), and remove root certificates of CAs that I don't trust (in WP7, these were stored in the registry), then I will stop considering the level of registry access to be a problem.
If they're from the store, they aren't really sideloaded, just downloaded on a different machine. I'm talking homebrew, stuff that the isn't yet, or never will be, or *can't* be (because it breaks some policy of Microsoft's, or requires high privileges to work) put in the store. Besides, many of the most popular WP8 models don't have an SD card slot at all.
GoodDayToDie said:
Flawlessly? Ahahahahaha
Still no app data backup machanism.
Still no custom themes.
Still no way to sideload XAP files (unless they are "company apps") without a PC.
Still no filesystem access.
Still no way to control the permissions an app has (what if I want to use the app, but don't want to give it access to my camera?)
Still no way remove "Settings" apps.
Still no way to do true multitasking (not the restricted and often crippled things that the official APIs call multitasking).
Still no way to overwrite file associations (you can choose them when opening a file that multiple apps claim to support, but that's it).
Still no way to change the default browser or email client or dialer.
Still no way to install apps to the SD card.
Still have only limited access to Bluetooth.
Still no way to browse, much less edit, the registry.
Still no way to sideload large numbers of (non-"company") apps.
...
Seriously, go look at the list of things that are possible with WP7 homebrew (never mind WinMo or Android or iOS), and then see how many of them are possible with WP8 right now. It's a joke. MS added some (much needed) features, but also took away some things that I think are vitally important, and took away our ability to re-create them for the new OS... unless and until we break it as we have broken OSes in the past.
You imply that WP8 didn't come "broken" and therefore doesn't need modding? Bull.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing I can agree with you on is the file system, bluetooth, and not being able to override the default apps associations (seriously, the default apps is the most retarded idea ever).