Android apps

One of the key things about Android is the fact that it’s based on the Linux operating system. Along with that comes many of Linux’s benefits, not the least of which is its open nature, made even more so by gaining root access or ‘rooting’ your phone. It’s when you think outside the box that you find Android capable of some wonderfully creative solutions — including turning your Android phone or tablet into a server.

In the early days, you were pretty safe taking your smartphone online; now you can’t afford to be complacent. As we’ve said before, smartphones are just tiny computers that fit in your hand. And just like any other computer, they’re susceptible to virus attacks and hackers. Here we look at three free Android security apps and other tips.

If you have an Android smartphone, you’ve no doubt already spent too much time exploring the Android Market, which now has over 200,000 apps. Android does pretty well on most counts, but I’ve found four apps that I would definitely find hard to do without now. And you don’t need to root your phone to take advantage of them. You'll find each of these tools with a quick search of the Android Market. 

Unlike AgileBits' paid 1Password Pro for iOS, the free Android-based 1PasswordReader relies on you already having the desktop version — a paid full version is promised soon. This is as basic as software gets, with a simple menu screen to indicate where you’ve left your 1Password data, either on an SD card or via Dropbox. We had problems getting Dropbox to play nicely with our test data set, as it presumes a default folder location. It’s also a read-only solution at the moment, so all you can do is check your current passwords, but not create or modify existing ones.

MobileKnox is ad-supported via AdMob, which is distracting when you’re trying to deal with security issues and being inundated with ads for games. That aside, it’s a rather plain utility concentrating just on password storage. There are no additional field types and even when categorising content, you have to create the content yourself. One odd feature is that it allows you to use passwords that have been used nearby. That’s an unusual feature, presumably for passwords for login doors and the like, but it’s also a premium feature that you only get limited access to with the free client.

KeePassDroid offers a fairly simple interface for loading existing full KeePass files from your Android phone’s storage, or creating new ones. It’s not the prettiest interface, but it covers the basics of keeping your data secure and being able to easily launch URLs from within the application; however, this is via the standard Android browser rather than a reskin within the application itself. Given that it’s as free as KeePass itself and offers simple synchronicity — and it works — we can live with the slightly ugly UI.

Having reviewed PC (Windows) and iOS password managers elsewhere, it would be remiss of us to ignore Android phones and tablets, where the need is just as important. Like other password managers,  they allow you to use, but not have to remember, highly secure and different passwords for every account you log into. However, the apps vary significantly, so here we review three free Android password apps to help you make your decision.

Rooting your Android phone (or hacking it to give you root access) allows you to play in areas phone makers and telcos would rather you didn’t, and it allows you to take full control of your Android phone. You can perform tasks such as full backups and overclocking your phone’s CPU, which can provide added performance; for example, the 1GHz Qualcomm QSD8250 processor in the HTC Desire can be overclocked to 1.2GHz. You can also underclock your phone in order to improve battery life.